Formal education for girls in early modern Europe was generally not encouraged, apart from some daughters of the nobility. The rise of humanism and its great emphasis on broad knowledge meant that a very few girls from elite families did receive a thorough education in languages and the classics, but humanism also defined women’s roles as primarily in the home. The Protestant Reformation and its emphasis on individuals studying Scripture in their own language did mean that more people overall, including girls, learned to read in early modern England.
In general, the subject matter for female education focused primarily on piety, chastity, and the large set of skills involved in housewifery. Girls from elite families might share a brother’s tutor for a short time to study literature and classical language. Girls from prosoperous families learned to read, write, and sew by attending an informal town or village school called a dame or petty school, although many were taught these basic skills at home. Poorer girls generally remained illiterate and were educated in necessary household, agricultural, or trades skills.
Women who belonged to elite families may or may not have been formally educated. Two of Henry VIII’s wives (Catherine of Aragon and Catherine Parr) were well educated in the humanist tradition, including learning to read and write in Latin and other modern languages. Queen Elizabeth I was also very well educated, spoke six languages, and is known to have loved to read. Catherine of Aragon’s tutor, Juan Luis Vives, published a book entitled
When she shall be taught to read, let those books be taken in hand that may teach good manners. And when she shall learn to write, let not her example be void verses, nor wanton or trifling songs, but some sad sentence, prudent and chaste, taken out of holy scripture.
Girls of the upper ranks were expected to learn the proper manner to govern a large, complex household, sometimes with dozens of servants. They were also expected to understand how to conduct themselves properly in a social setting, so elite women also learned subjects such as music and dancing. These expectations were usually tied to a woman’s precise social class, generally determined by her father’s or her husband’s status. .
Towards the end of the sixteenth century, the practice of training noble women as intellectuals became less fashionable. Education became lighter and focused on conversational material, household management, and piety. The purpose for education shifted into making women better companions for their husbands.
Girls who belong to the wealthier social classes were often placed in households of a family friend friend or acquaintance in the position of lady in waiting or companion in a fostering process. These placements were arranged by the girl’s family, typically between ages 9-14. At this new household, the girls would learn to read more complex texts, write, keep accounts and manage a household. Girls would also learn desirable social skills at these foster homes such as playing a musical instrument, singing, and dancing.
In the mid-sixteenth century, due to the influence of Protestant ideas, some girls were allowed to attend the growing number of town grammar schools, many founded in the name of King Edward VI or sponsored by a local trade guild. However, many prohibited girls from attending or limited their attendance after age nine. A few boarding schools for girls, such as Godstow, existed in England to replicate the education offered in nunneries in Europe, but these were for wealthier families willing to pay tuition. Universities did not admit women.
Girls were expected to get married, have children, and manage household duties. Unmarried women had few career options. A small number trained as dame school or petty school teachers in a guild school, a school funded by a trade association such as the Merchant Tailors. Once trained, she would be responsible for teaching children how to read, write, and sew.
Girls learned to avoid idleness and instead focus on modesty, obedience, and silence. Young girls were allowed some time to play but most of their time was spent working on small household tasks that increased in complexity as the girl aged. They would occupy their time learning sewing, spinning, weaving, mending, decorative needlework, the properties of herbs and how to prepare basic medicines from them, in addition to playing a musical instrument like the lute or virginal, or reading a suitable book, most likely one with a religious emphasis.