Scottish Education - Schools and University
Chapter I - Schools before 1500

THERE is not so far as I have seen any exact record of education in Scotland earlier than the 12th century. It is however not only a fair but a necessary inference, that there must have been schools of some kind, probably only those in connection with monasteries, from the time of the settlement of Columba in lona in 563. The service of the Church, which was conducted in Latin, must have required that the boys and youths who took part in the service, or who were being trained as clerics, got more or less instruction in that language. The absence of books also required that they should be taught writing with a view to copying the Scriptures and religious books.

We are on perfectly safe ground in stating that between 1183 and 1248 grants of lands, houses, chapels, tithes, and schools were made or confirmed to different parts of the country by no fewer than six Popes, ranging from Lucius to Innocent IV, all for the promotion of education.

The fostering of education was not left to the Popes alone. In the Chamberlain and Exchequer rolls we find abundant evidence of the interest shown by the Scottish kings during the whole of the 14th century. Grant after grant is recorded as being paid by the King’s Treasurer and Chamberlain to meet the expense of food and clothing for certain poor scholars. It is fair to infer from this, that the schools attended by these poor scholars were doing good work. It may be presumed that they were chosen for this royal favour because of their industry and ability. Selection would have been impossible, had the teacher been half-hearted or the pupil indolent.

That the teaching, though probably solid and faithful, was not highly advanced is shown by the fact that those who aimed at the higher reaches of education were obliged to seek it in the oldest of the Oxford Colleges-University, Merton and Balliol-or abroad in France, Switzerland, Germany and Italy, for Scotland at that time had no great schools of her own. Many did so with the help of grants from our sovereigns, and returned to be masters of schools in their- native land. The absence of schools in Scotland in which a liberal education could be completed, the inconvenience of foreign travel for this purpose, and the rapidly growing desire for advanced education `led to the foundation of the three earliest Scottish universities, St Andrews in 1411, Glasgow in 1450, and Aberdeen in 1494.

Before the Reformation there were schools in most of the chief towns, but, north of Aberdeen, only in Elgin and Kirkwall which were cathedral towns. In the third report of the Schools Commission [Vol. I, pp. 1, 2.], dated December 1867, we are told that "schools for Latin, to which were subsequently added 'Lecture' schools for English, existed in the chief towns of Scotland from a very early period." We have authentic notice of a school in Aberdeen in 1124. The schools of Perth and Stirling were in existence in 1173 and charters quoted in Chalmers' Caledonia mention other schools, both in the twelfth and the subsequent century. It would serve no good purpose to enumerate them all, but we may specify St Andrews whose school was under the charge of a rector in 1233 ; Aberdeen and Ayr [Ayr also is mentioned as having a school in 1233] of which we have notices in 1262 and 1264; Montrose, which had the honour of receiving a small endowment from Robert the Bruce in 1329 [The amount contributed was only 2o shillings and scarcely attains to the dignity of an endowment. But it may be added that in the time of Elizabeth 68 was considered sufficient to endow a Hebrew Lecturer or a Fellowship in Emmanuel  College, Cambridge.], and speaking generally it may be said that all the chief towns, and many that have since sunk into obscurity, had schools, such as they were, before the beginning of the 16th century. The statute of the Scottish Parliament in the reign of James IV (1496) which ordains that "barons and freeholders who were of substance should put their eldest sons or heirs to the schools from their being eight or nine years of age, and to remain at the grammar schools till they be competently founded and have perfect Latin" is conclusive and satisfactory proof on this point [Acts of Scottish Parliament, 1496, c. 3, II, 238]. It is satisfactory proof that an act was passed for compulsory education at grammar schools of the eldest sons or heirs of barons and men of substance, but only for them. The act makes no provision for girls or the children of people on a lower level than men of substance. This appears in the further provision, viz. that they must remain three years at the schools of art and `jure' so as to have knowledge of the laws, and that justice may reign universally throughout the realm, and that sheriffs and judges may have knowledge to do justice, so that the poor people should have no need to apply to the King's principal auditors for every small injury [It is to be noted that all sheriffships were at this time hereditary. The Cheynes of Ravenscraig near Peterhead were sheriffs of Banffshire, and, in order to have power of pit and gallows over their tenants, got the parish of St Fergus and their estate of Fetterangus declared to be part of Banffshire as it still remains marked in the map. Such an education as that described was very necessary for a hereditary sheriff.]. Defaulters in respect of this act were liable to a penalty of twenty pounds. There is no evidence of the enforcement of the penalty. It is clear that the statute, striking proof as it is of the King's wisdom and foresight, and such as has no parallel in any other country at this early period, while beneficently providing for the convenience of the poorer people, left their education untouched.

These schools were under the direction of the Church, and were closely connected with the cathedrals, monasteries and other religious establishments of the country. Thus the monks of Dunfermline were directors of the schools of Perth and Stirling [Registrum de Dunfermlyn, no. 93, p. 56.]; Ayr School was connected with the Church of John the Baptist [Burgh Records of Ayr.] ; the monks of Kelso were directors of the schools in the county of Roxburgh. Our first authentic notice of the schools of Dundee is a document in the register of the See of Brechin in 1434. In that year, a priest ventured to teach without the authority of the Chancellor, and was in consequence summoned before the Bishop, and after duly acknowledging his offence was deprived of his office. The burgh of Edinburgh provided a school-house, and paid a salary to its teacher at least as early as 1500, but the High School itself was dependent on the Abbey of Holyrood [Miscellany of Spalding Club, vol. V, p. 69.].

"The Glasgow Grammar School, which existed early in the 14th century, was dependent on the cathedral church, and the Chancellor of the diocese had the appointment of masters and superintendence of education in the city [Registrum Epis. Glasg. I, no. 2 r r, p. 170.]. An offending priest in 1494, who had presumed to teach grammar and other branches without due authority from the Chancellor, was summoned before the Bishop, and ordered to desist. In Aberdeen the early usage was as follows: The Town Council presented the ' master to his office, subject to the approval of the Chancellor of the Bishop who instituted the presentee. We find frequent notices of this from 14 18 downwards. The terms of the appointment of rector in that year are in substance as follows: ` The Chancellor of the Church of Aberdeen to all the faithful, greeting : Inasmuch as the institution to the office of schoolmaster belongs to me as Chancellor, and an honest, prudent and discreet man has been presented to me by the Provost and Council of the burgh, and on examination has been found duly qualified, I have by letter of collation instituted him in the office for the whole term of his life.' Incidentally the last words (pro toto tempore suae vitae) are important as showing the tenure of office in those early times in Aberdeen [State intervention in Education. De Montmorency, p. 113.]."

The attempts of the Church to possess the exclusive patronage of the schools were not always successful. In Brechin in 1485 a dispute on this subject between the Duke of Ross and the Bishop was settled by the Crown in favour of the Duke, and a warning was given that none of the King's lieges should "take upon hand to make any manner of persecution or following of the said matter at the Court of Rome, since it pertains to lay patronage."

There is little definite evidence that a general education apart from those pupils who were being trained for the Church was aimed at during the 12th and 13th centuries. Mr Grant in his history of the burgh schools mentions an incident recorded by Reginald of Durham from which a general and lower education may be inferred. This school was kept in a church on Tweedside "for the benefit of the neighbourhood." One of the pupils who did not appreciate the benefit, threw the key of the church into a deep pool in the river, hoping to escape "the slavery of learning." A lad in training for clerical service and under the power of the priests would scarcely have dared to seek this remedy. The same Reginald, speaking of a school kept in the church of Norham, says that "it is now a common practice." A school "for the benefit of the neighbourhood" could scarcely mean anything else than a school in which others than those being trained for the Church were educated. We find also evidence of laymen's children, probably only of noble birth, being educated as boarders in the same schools as young ecclesiastics.

In the burgh records of Edinburgh of date I498 we have what seems tolerably clear evidence of the existence of schools other than those under church management. Owing to the prevalence of the plague the municipal authorities ordained that all schools should ` scail,' and that landward children should go home and remain there till God provide remedy. We know that at this time the Grammar School and the Canongate School were in existence, but all would probably not have been used, if these were the only schools. What was the character of these other schools is not shown, but they were probably' lecture' and `dame' schools, in which only elementary subjects were taught, and with which, on that account, the magistrates did not think it necessary to interfere. At the time of the Reformation the Grammar School of Perth was the most celebrated in the kingdom, and was attended by the sons of noblemen and gentlemen who were boarded with Mr Row and instructed in Greek and Hebrew [McCrie's Life of Knox, I, p. 294.].

This slight and very general sketch of the extent to which schools were in existence before the Reformation may be appropriately followed by some account of the school authorities on whose action and functions the success of the school mainly depended.

The officials of the schools under church management were Ferleyn, Master, and Scoloc. The Ferleyn was an official of great dignity and importance. Mr Joseph Robertson has, with characteristic thoroughness and accuracy, shown his position with regard to both school and university [Miscellany of Spalding Club, v, 72-77]. " What the Chancellor became in the English and Scoto-English churches from about the 12th century, the Ferleiginn seems to have been in the Irish and Scoto-Irish churches of an earlier age." By derivation it is said to mean 'Man of learning.' It was his duty to attend to the transcription of manuscripts, and copying of deeds, and to rule or teach the schools. In at least one instance, the same person was both Archdeacon and Ferleyn, viz. in St Andrews. "He had," says Mr Robertson, " ° the right of election of the Master of the Schools of the Metropolitan City [Act. Parl. Scot. IV, 517- 3]. He was conservator of the privileges of the university, and to him belonged the office of investiture of all persons presented to benefices within the diocese of St Atidrews [Ibid. 493-4]. The nomination of the Archdeacon was with the King, and it needs but to consider the list of those who held the office, to see what its dignity and importance must have been, and to be satisfied of the care which was generally taken to choose men of learning for its duties."

The social position of the master or rector of a school, and the high estimation in which the office was held, may be gathered from his being associated with persons of the highest rank in the State, in the Church, and even with the sons of kings, for the settlement of disputes about the ownership of church property. Instances of this are recorded in authentic documents. The rectors of Perth, Ayr, and South Berwick are found associated with high church dignitaries as judges in disputes of this kind. Nor were their functions as prominent citizens confined to questions of church property. They were much in evidence in cases of political importance. Among the guarantors for the payment of the ransom for David II, a prisoner in England, we find the rector of the school of Cupar. In business transactions involving the use of written documents, the rector was doubtless found to be a most valuable person, at a time when writing was almost entirely unknown even to many of the nobility. His importance however was not confined to these very early times. Up to the Reformation he holds a prominent position as a public man. In the 16th century, we find him appointed a deputy for electing the Lord Rector of Glasgow University, and as an examiner of its candidates for graduation. Even the Reformation, which brought about so many other changes, did not affect the social standing of the rector. In 1606 we find that John Ray, and in 1630 Thomas Crawford - both Professors of Humanity in the University of Edinburgh-considered it promotion to vacate their chairs and become rectors of the High School-a remarkable change in the relative dignity of professor and rector. The status of the Scottish rector seems to have been saved from the comparative degradation which fell to the lot of the proctor or rector in Oxford and Cambridge. The humble character of his vocation, and the crude ideas of discipline then prevalent, may be gathered from his being presented, on his appointment to a mastership in the college, with a rod with which he had to make public exhibition of his skill in flagellation [Peacock's Univ. of Cambridge Observations, Appendix A, p. xxxvii.]. "Then shall the Bedell purvay for every master in Gramer a shrewde Boy, whom the master in Gramer shall bete openlye in the Scolys, and the master in Gramer shall give the Boye a Grote for hys Labour, and another Grote to hym that provydeth the Rode and the Palmer etc. de singulis. And thus endythe the Acte in that Facultye." It is evident from this passage that skill in whipping was an important qualification for the office of master. Shrewde and Labour perhaps require explanation. Shrewde formerly meant mischievous or malicious. Hence the purvaying of a boy who, if not at present guilty of any misconduct, was sure to be so sooner or later. Labour often occurs in the sense of suffering. A ship, e.g., labours in a storm. The boy in question suffers from the rod, and the account is squared by his receiving a groat for his suffering.

Erasmus, speaking of England, says "grammarians of his time are a race of all men the most miserable, who grow old at their work surrounded by herds of boys, deafened by continual uproar, and poisoned by a close and foul atmosphere; satisfied however so long as they can overawe the terrified throng by the terrors of their look and speech, and, while they cut them to pieces with ferule, birch, and thong, gratify their own merciless natures at pleasure." Similarly, in a letter written somewhat later, he tells us what difficulty he encountered when he sought to find at Cambridge a second master for Colet's newly founded school at St Paul's, and how a college don, whom he consulted on the subject, sneeringly rejoined - "Who would put up with the life of a schoolmaster who could get his living in any other way."

That this was said by Erasmus early in the 16th century, furnishes a very striking contrast to the social position of the master of the Scottish grammar school of the same period. It is surprising, in view of this description of the grammarian in England, that there seems to have been an adequate supply of candidates for scholastic vacancies.

The relation of the scoloc to the school is not quite so clear. Scolocs are first heard of in 1265, when reference is made to the scoloc lands of Ellon, the old capital of the earldom of Buchan. That scoloc and scholar are identical is evident from contemporary documents. The scoloc, however, was not simply a pupil. He was in some sense an official, a lower grade of churchman, probably of humble origin, a pupil who, by industry and ability, had established a claim to some share in ecclesiastical functions in the absence of the priest, and had acquired a personal interest in the endowment left for his maintenance. The scoloc lands had, in the 14th century, shared the fate of other religious foundations, the greater part being seized by laymen and dealt with by them as an inheritance, the smaller portion by ecclesiastics, who undertook, and, presumably with more or less efficiency, discharged the duties originally contemplated by the endowment. By the middle of the 16th century the designation 'scoloc lands' had become obsolete. They soon ceased to be closely connected with education, and were held by persons more like Crofters than scholars.

While the records bear that Peebles was the first burgh that took in 1464 the appointment of the master out of the hands of the Church and into its own, it does not appear that education flourished under its superintendence. For eighty years subsequent to 1475, the burgh records are blank in respect of education. Except that the two masters appointed between 1464 and 1475 were churchmen, there is no clear evidence that the schools to which they were appointed were schools for advanced instruction, though they probably were. In 1555, "the bailies are to provide the teacher with a chamber, where it may be got most conveniently, and also with the use of the tolbooth to teach his bairns reading and writing English." It would appear from this, that if the school was a grammar school, it was one to which an elementary or `lecture' school was attached, a very unusual arrangement. Next year Sir William Tunno was appointed schoolmaster, and the town became bound to "find him an honest chamber at their expense with chimney, closet and necessaries except furnishing." This arrangement did not last, for in January following another master was appointed to teach the grammar school and to provide a chamber for himself. This is the first occasion on which the designation 'Grammar School' occurs in the Peebles Records.

During the next five or six years the educational condition of Peebles was not satisfactory. There were several changes of teachers, about one of whom there is the following entry, "if he teaches the bairns more diligently, wherethrough they conceive more wisdom nor they did of before, the town to have consideration thereof "With regard to another", "the Council ordains the master to wait on the bairns and not to go hunting nor other pleasures in time coming, without licence of the aldermen, failing which, he will be deposed." Such entries as these, combined with the fact that there was no building set apart for the school, and that change of teachers was frequent, suggest a doubt of the efficiency of the management and the expediency of their dispensing with ecclesiastical interference.

It is interesting to note the varying fortunes of towns at different stages of their history, from both an educational and commercial point of view. Ayr is perhaps one of the most notable in this respect. It was early in the field as having in 1233 an important school now represented by the Ayr Academy. It is therefore much more ancient than any of the Scottish universities and 150 years older than Winchester the oldest of the most famous English public schools. The master was appointed a member of a Papal Commission to settle a dispute between Gilbert of Renfrew and the Abbot of Paisley, about a piece of land to which both laid claim. It was also one of the first to have its school recognised as a burgh school, and, to that extent, freed from ecclesiastical government. Ten years before the Reformation, the Town Council appointed the schoolmaster, though elsewhere, as a rule, magistrates bore the expense, but had no share in the management or appointment of the teacher. For several succeeding centuries, there are unfortunately no records of the success of the school, nor is there any explanation of their disappearance, but it may be safely inferred, from the abundance and character of information about the period subsequent to the Reformation, showing liberality of view, intelligent interest in respect of visitation and examination of schools and appointment of teachers, that attention to the subject was continuous and adequate. The present high position of Ayr Academy is a proof that there is no break in the continuity.

The condition of Ayr from a commercial point of view is widely different. Because of its strong castle and excellent harbour, it was created a royal burgh by William the Lyon in a charter of 1202, which is the oldest of those actually constituting a burgh. Though not strictly relevant to our subject, the quotation of a few extracts from Dr Patrick's Inquiry into the History of Air Burgh School is perhaps not out of place. "Ayr made a much more conspicuous figure in Christendom and in Scottish affairs in the 13th century, than it came to do in the 18th. Unlike its school, the burgh did not maintain, still less increase, its dignity and reputation with the centuries. Many great affairs, in war and peace, took place before the eyes of the Ayr burghers and scholars during the century after we first hear of the school's existence. Alexander III often held his court in Ayr. In Ayr, and beside it, William Wallace performed many of his most startling exploits. After his defeat at Falkirk in 1298, the Earl of Carrick, afterwards Robert the Bruce, burnt the Castle of Ayr to prevent its being taken by the English. Ayr and Ayrshire were, in quite a peculiar sense, the cradle of Scottish independence. It was in Ayrshire that fortune first smiled on Bruce's struggles for the crown. The year after Bannockburn, it was in St John's Church that the memorable national parliament sat, which settled the crown on Bruce and his heirs for ever. At this time, therefore, Ayr stood in the main track of the national history. It was one of the most important of Scottish towns. In respect of its harbour, its 'goode schipping and skilfull marinaris,' it was next after Leith and Dundee only. It was the port of the Clyde, whence ships traded to Ireland, England and France. In 1300, Glasgow, though it had a bishop and cathedral, had only about 1500 inhabitants, and, as late as I556, ranked (far below Ayr) as eleventh among Scottish burghs. Ayr was practically the capital of the west country and behoved to have a good school."

In the church statutes of Aberdeen reference is made to the existence of schools in the latter half of the 13th century, such as the statute defining the right of the Chancellor to the appointment of a master [Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, II, p. 452], who shall "know how to teach the boys in grammar as well as in logic," and the witnessing of an ordinance by Master Thomas of Bennam, rector of the schools of Aberdeen. There is, however, little in the burgh records bearing on education till 1418, when the Chancellor collates a master to the grammar school, "a prudent and discreet man, who, being found of good life and laudable conversation, is given corporal and real possession of the benefice [Burgh Records of Aberdeen]. "For sixty-one years the records are silent, and even then there is simply an entry that a master is to receive 65 yearly, till he is promoted to a benefice. For the next thirty years the entries are very varied but not educational [All men between the ages of 16 and 60 are ordained to be ready for war, and watch the town against "our ald enemies of Ingland." Another ordains that "no swine must go at large" during the Queen's visit in 1501. Another records that Philip Belman was fined "for the sellinge of ane apill for ane penny, quhan he micht have sauld thre for ane penny."]. By this time the Town Council had apparently become tired of paying the piper, without having the privilege of calling the tune. They accordingly in 1509 appointed John Merschell master of the grammar school in due form (part of which was a gift of a pair of beads [Grant's Burgh Schools, p. 31. The old name for a rosary was `a pair of beads.' The Prioresse in Chaucer had "a peire of bedes, gauded al with grene" Prologue, 159.]) and ignored the Chancellor who had hitherto appointed the master. Out of this arose a contest between the council and the Chancellor, as to the right of appointment. The particulars of the contention-perhaps the first seed of town and gown antipathies in Scotland-are not known, but apparently the town had the best of it, for Merschell retained his office till 1523 [Between 1523 and r538 the condition of the school seems to have been unsatisfactory in respect of both decayed buildings and poor attendance. "In 1529 Bisset, the master of the school, is to receive £10 Scots yearly to pay his board till he is provided with a benefice of ten marks Scots ... because now the school is deserted and destitute of bairns and it will take a long time before it comes to such perfection that he may get profit thereof."].

In 1538 the council appointed Master Hew Munro, and asked him-perhaps as a matter of courtesy-to go to the Chancellor for his admission conform to the King's command. The Chancellor, however, was not satisfied at being even ceremoniously deprived of what he claimed as his right, and had chosen for the office Master Robert Skene, a discreet and suitable man, whom he asked the council to receive thankfully. Here again details of the struggle between the Church and council are wanting, but the latter were again successful, and Munro remained master till 15 50 when he retired with a "pension for his whole life for teaching the bairns, till they provide him with means of living of that value [This Town Council seem to have made full use of their powers. They fined a man six shillings and four pence, for having his bonnet on his head in the wedding kirk door; and they ordained that "no tailor shall sell any cloth, but only made breeks and boxes of tartan." No reason is assigned for the preference given to the two latter commodities.]." From this time forward the council kept the appointment of master in their own hands. As successor to Munro, James Chalmer was elected "during the town's will." He retained office for seven years when he was made regent in the new college of Old Aberdeen.

It is tolerably clear that Dundee, though not claiming to be an educational centre, had gained a good reputation in the 15th century, when Boece the historian was a pupil in the grammar school [If Harry the minstrel is to be trusted, which is doubtful, William Wallace was educated in Dundee, "In till Dunde Wallace to scule thai send, Quhill he of witt full worthely was kend."]. On the approach of the Reformation an impulse was given to education, and the Dundee schools began to flourish. In the year before the Reformation we have proof of educational activity, and of the healthy interest shown by the Town Council. The master of the grammar school was in favour of the new faith, but a number of the burgesses favoured the old. These took offence and removed their children without paying their fees. The council were in sympathy with the master's views, for it was "ordainit that na masters nor doctors, fra this day furth, tak upon them to receive into their schools ony bairns in Maister Makgibbon's school, without Maister Thomas' testimonial that he is thankfully payit of ilk ane of them that happens to depart for his lawbours made upon them, and gif the other masters or doctors fail herein, they sall be compellit to pay of their awn proper guids the debt owing to Maister Thomas Makgibbon [Maxwell's History of Old Dundee, pp. 87, 88.]."

Though there are references in the burgh records to the existence of schools in Edinburgh in the 15th century, the first mention of the grammar school occurs in 1519, when Vocat was master. Becoming disabled by advancing age, he was succeeded by Henryson in 1524, and thereafter the record of the school is continuous. Henryson was appointed for life. His successor was Adam Melville of whom little is known, but it is supposed he was of the same family as the famous Andrew Melville of whom McCrie speaks as "the first Scotsman who added a taste for elegant literature to an extensive acquaintance with theology." This Adam must have been either a boaster or a very remarkable teacher-probably the former, since little is known of him-for he bound himself to make his scholars perfect grammarians in the short space of three years. On this engagement Steven the historian of the Edinburgh High School remarks, " It is much to be regretted that we have no means of ascertaining what were Adam Melville's ideas of grammatical perfection, and that the process, by which he attained a consummation so devoutly to be wished, has not been handed down to his official successors [Steven's High School of Edin. p. 5.]."

So far it does not appear that the school had a local habitation, but only a name. About the middle of the 16th century, however, we are told that a venerable mansion at the foot of Blackfriar's Wynd, once the town residence of Cardinal Beaton, was hired for the school. Soon, thereafter, the scholars were removed to a house, which had been built for their better accommodation, near the present site of the university. It is not clear whether this house was built by the magistrates, or temporarily hired, but the evidence, such as it is, points to its being hired. It is however definitely stated that in 1552 "James Henderson, a public-spirited burgess of Edinburgh, proposed to the Town Council that, for certain privileges mentioned, he would build for the town `ane fair scule to mak pepill cum to the toun.' It is warrantable to believe that, as there is no mention of this offer having been refused, it was accepted. " This," says Mr Grant, " is probably the first of those educational benefactions which have made Edinburgh a name in the history of education [Grant's Burgh Schools, p. 69.]. " If Mr Henderson's aim in making people come to the town was successful, as it probably was, a fashion was set which has been followed for upwards of 300 years with excellent results. There is probably no other city of similar size, into which so many children of both sexes and all ages flock for education from outside, and no city which has been so abundantly enriched with educational benefactions. Before the establishment of higher grade schools in 1900 there was no other city that had so many secondary schools, fully equipped, charging moderate fees and, in respect of local distribution, conveniently within the reach of every boy and girl of average health and activity. Further there were as many bursaries connecting the ordinary with the secondary school, as there were boys and girls intellectually qualified to make a profitable use of advanced education. It is not too much to say that any lad in or within easy reach of Edinburgh had a university career open to him, if he had the requisite ability and pluck. If he was wanting in either, the university was no place for him. To complete this estimate it is necessary to add what is a simple corollary to the foregoing remarks, that, if there was one corner of Scotland, where the tacking on of a secondary department to an ordinary school was unnecessary, that corner was Edinburgh. The function of higher grade schools will be dealt with in a subsequent chapter.

Though Henderson's was probably the first educational benefaction made to Edinburgh, there are records of similar bequests of earlier date by public spirited donors to Glasgow, Crail and Kirkwall [Grant's Burgh Schools, p. 34-36]. These mortifications however have been diverted from the purpose for which they were intended, but when and how they were lost to the schools is not recorded [Bequests for charitable objects are, in Scots Law phraseology, called Mortification.].

It does not seem necessary to discuss in detail the action of all the towns in which grammar schools existed before the Reformation. What has been said of Peebles, Ayr, Aberdeen, Dundee and Edinburgh, and the incidental references to Perth and Montrose, practically represent all that is typical of pre-reformation schools. A considerable number of those towns which have now grammar schools had none before 156o, and the records of some who had are meagre and comparatively valueless.

Besides the schools connected with the Church all over the country, there were three classes of schools more directly under its superintendence, from which grammar schools mainly sprang -cathedral, abbey, and collegiate schools. Those connected with cathedrals were under the practically absolute rule of the Chancellor; those connected with abbeys under that of the Abbot who represented the Bishop : and the collegiate schools were in connection with college churches, and "were instituted mainly for performing divine service and singing masses for the souls of the founder's patrons and their friends [Grant's Burgh Schools, p. 24]." Their function appears to have been religious rather than educational. There were thirty-three collegiate churches in Scotland. Mr Grant makes reference to only two of them - Crail and Biggar. In the former, Sir William Myrtoun intended "to found a school for teaching grammar, but his intention does not appear to have been carried into effect." Subsequently, however, Sir David Bowman founded a grammar school, and appointed a kinsman to be preceptor of it. In the charter granted for it the outstanding motive was "the offering of prayers for the prosperity and safety of James V, Mary his queen, David Archbishop of St Andrews, his own soul, those of his father and mother and brother," while nothing is said about education [Charter chest of Crail. In the deed there is one strange provision: "Master John the priest and his successors are forbidden to be gamblers, card-players, drunkards, night-watchmen, or to have a housekeeper or public concubine." This prohibition is clearly in the interest of sound morality, but that it should have been thought necessary, suggests suspicion about the character and conduct of John and his successors. As to the night-watchmen, it is difficult to make out why a priest should wish to be a night-watchman, or if he should wish it, why it should be forbidden, unless his object was to shirk his work next day].

The college of Biggar was founded by Lord Fleming, Great Chamberlain, for a provost, eight prebendaries, four singing boys, and six poor men; one of the prebendaries being teacher of the grammar school. Apparently nothing is known about the school.

The Church which up to the beginning of the 16th century had the superintendence of both church and burgh schools began to lose its influence, and the burgh authorities gradually claimed and obtained control over them. In this Peebles set the example in the 15th, and Ayr in the 16th century.

Symptoms of dissatisfaction with ecclesiastical authority and of the coming reformation began to show themselves. This was very clearly seen at Perth where a friar was preaching against heretics in presence of a large school. The boys thinking they detected in his manner and arguments a resemblance to a preacher of whom Sir David Lyndsay had given a description in his Satyre of the Three Estates, commenced hissing so vigorously that the friar was frightened and ran out of the church.

We have here, as elsewhere in the attitude of the laity, indubitable evidence that ecclesiastical influence over education was on the wane, that supremacy in the management of schools, for which the Church had so hardly and so beneficially struggled, and which they had so long enjoyed, was passing from their hands. It may be said, and with truth, that the aim of the clergy was not education itself, with its power of sweetening life, promoting culture, and strengthening the commonwealth, but education as a means of adding to the power and ensuring the stability of the Church. The Church could hardly be blamed for this in an age when it was "thought baseness to write fair." It is certainly the case that, in the 12th and several succeeding centuries, the only schools of which we have any record were invariably connected with ecclesiastical institutions. What may have been the attitude of laymen we have little means of knowing, but the Church at least had that motive. Whatever the motive, it is beyond question that to it, in those early ages, education owed its maintenance and advancement. It is further worthy of remark, that this traditional connection between the Church and education came down to our own times, till it was much weakened by the bill of 1872. Till then, ministers were the only men who, as a class, watched over education. If they did little, which generally is not true, they at any rate did more than others. Till then, the minister and teacher, the Church and the school were closely and, as a rule, harmoniously and beneficially connected. Nor can it even now be said that their zeal has grown cold. They have now only a share in the oversight of schools, not because they were tired of exercising full responsibility, and gave it up, but because parliamentary action, in the establishment of school-boards by popular election, left them only a small portion of what had been, for more than twelve centuries, their almost exclusive possession. But the tradition still survives. The Church is proportionately more fully represented on school-boards than any other single profession. Clergymen realise more fully than any other section of the community Ninian Winzet's estimate of the importance of education. His quaintly expressed opinion is perhaps worth quoting.

"I judgeit the teaching of the youthhood in virtue and science, next after the authority with the ministers of justice, under it and after the angelical office of godly pastors, to obtain the third principal place most commodious and necessar to the kirk of God. Yea, sa necessar thought I it, that the due charge and office of the prince and prelate without it, is to them, after my judgment, wondrous painful and almost insupportable, and yet little commodious to the commonwealth, to unfeignet obedience and true godlyness, when the people is rude and ignorant; and contrary, by help of it to the youthhood, the office of all potestates is light to them and pleasant to the subject [Winzet, Third Tractate, I, p. 33, Hewison's edition S.T.S.]."

A modern educationist says much the same with admirable terseness, " A sound system of education is the first condition of national greatness."

We have, in the history of education in Scotland, abundant proof that the learned Winzet's estimate of the importance of education was that held by the Church generally, not only in the 16th century, but from the earliest period about which we have fairly trustworthy information. In this connection it would be most unfair to withhold full recognition of the part played by municipal authorities in the promotion of education. While the Church claimed, and with only a few exceptions possessed, the right of management and appointment of masters, the expenses generally, including the providing and upkeep of buildings, was met by Town Councils from the common good of the burgh, or by voluntary assessments imposed by the burgesses, or by fees or other perquisites. In some cases the salaries of the masters were paid by endowments from church lands, but these were of rare occurrence. Not till the 15th century did the burghs claim to have a voice in appointing the master. That, up to that time, they submitted to taxation without representation is a strong proof of either the power of the Church, or of the educational zeal of the burgesses, or of both.

There are few things more remarkable in the history of civilisation than the thirst for education at the beginning of the 15th century, a thirst unquestionably created at first by the Church, but now largely shared by laymen and Town Councils. From the church schools and not from Acts of Parliament sprang our burgh schools, and from these again our universities. Kings, Popes, and Parliaments were heartily responsive to the demand for higher education [Exchequer Rolls, 99.], and towards the end of the century schools were established in every considerable town in Scotland. The receipt of the Bull for the foundation of St Andrews University was made the occasion of universal festivity and rejoicing.

In 1496 the famous act already referred to was passed, ordaining that all burgesses and men of substance should keep their eldest sons at school, till they were competently founded and had perfect Latin.

But enthusiasm for higher education was not confined to Kings, Parliaments, and Town Councils. Outside and below these recognised authorities private persons started schools which these authorities had great difficulty in suppressing. In Edinburgh and elsewhere burghers were forbidden to send their children to any but the principal grammar school, under a penalty of ten shillings for each person neglecting this order [Burgh Records of Edinburgh.]. In Ayr the private teacher was ordered to pay over to the teacher of the grammar school the fees received from private pupils [Burgh Records of Ayr.]. The motive for this, right or wrong, was not objection to the spread of education, but the welfare of the burgh school through the maintenance of the position and dignity of the master. It was held, with some show of reason, that by such regulations men of higher education would be induced to offer themselves for the position of master, and the interests of education be promoted.

As a rule the prohibition of private schools applied only to those in which the province of the grammar school was invaded. Schools in which "only grace buke, prymar, and plane donat" were taught were not forbidden. The grace buke and prymar were meant for religious instruction. What 'Plane' donat was as a school subject is matter for conjecture, and perhaps meant such elementary Latin as would prepare for admission into the public grammar school. The origin of the name `donat' is no mystery. Aelius Donatus was one of the earliest grammarians who lived in Rome in the 4th century, and was the author of the most important school book in the Middle Ages. He was also the author of valuable commentaries on Terence and Virgil [Sandys' Hist. of Classical Scholarship, 1, p. 230, ed. 1906]. John Despauter was another famous scholar and teacher who lived from 1460 to 1520, and had a large share in reforming the text-books of Latin grammar then in use, and in popularising the study of Latin [Ibid. ii, p. 212.].

The passing of the Act of 1542, which granted the privilege of having the Scriptures in the vulgar tongue, not only hastened the religious movement for which the public mind had been for some time preparing itself, but had a powerful influence on the spread of education. The Archbishop of Glasgow, for himself and in the name of all the bishops in Scotland, seeing doubtless that the act would injure the Church, dissented till a provincial council of the clergy should decide if such an act was necessary. Sir David Lyndsay thought it was.

It is quite impossible to arrive at any satisfactory estimate of the emoluments of teachers of schools previous to the Reformation. In the first place, there are no means of comparing the purchasing power of money then and now, even if a definite amount were stated for a definite period of service. In many cases the amount paid is stated in marks, pounds, or shillings, but the period for which it is given is not mentioned. In many cases the amount is not given, and all that is stated is that the council have ordered the master to be paid yearly, or termly, or half quarterly. In other cases, the master is to "have all the school, and that those who put any bairns to him should pay him a year's payment," which seems as if he had nothing to depend on but the fees. In others, he is to receive a certain sum "besides his daily portions" which probably means partial or total board. In some there is a fixed sum with the addition of a capitation grant. In a number of cases, the council guarantee a certain sum yearly, until he is provided with a benefice of a certain annual value. In some cases, a schoolroom is provided for the master, in others, he must provide it for himself. In the end of the 16th century, education in Peebles seems, as has been already said, to have been in rather a bad way. The authorities there had recourse to " payment by results," but we have no means of knowing whether its unsatisfactory condition was the cause or the result of this mode of payment. It would appear from the burgh records generally of Orkney, Aberdeen, Peebles, Haddington, Edinburgh and Ayr that there was no fixed education rate, but a kind of voluntary assessment payable by freemen " according to their estates."

Though it is obviously difficult to determine even the approximate emoluments, there is reason for believing that as a rule they were regarded as sufficient. The instances in which the master complains of insufficient remuneration are few, and there does not appear to have been any difficulty in finding candidates for vacant posts. Contentment with a possibly small salary may be to some extent accounted for by the fact that the school was, especially in Aberdeenshire, a stepping stone to the Church. There are frequent references to cases in which the Town Councils guarantee to the master a fixed amount till he is provided with a benefice. In 1559 John Hennerson, master of Aberdeen Grammar School, was admitted to the chaplaincy of St Michael's altar. There are many similar notices. This connection between the school and church has in the three Dick Bequest counties-Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray-survived to our own time. Formerly, but to a smaller extent in later years, the parish schoolmasters in these counties were in many cases licentiates of the Church, looking forward to, and often obtaining, the status of a parish minister. It is not irrelevant to remark that to this circumstance the superiority of the Dick Bequest schools is largely due. In the sequel the superiority of these schools will be dealt with in tolerably full detail.

In many cases the appointment of masters was for life, ad vitam aut culpam, but it was by no means uncommon to fix a year, or " during the Town's will " as part of the bargain.

Peebles has been already mentioned as a burgh which was not uniformly successful in its management of school matters. In the 16th century the same burgh furnishes two examples of what involves culpa and dismissal. The schoolmaster is laid under this obligation, that if it be found that he "pass from teaching the children in the school for four days without licence of the bailies and council, he shall lose his balance of fees due, and be discharged of his service incontinently thereafter [Burgh Records of Peebles.]."

The training of choristers for the service of the Church was no doubt attended to from very early times. One of the earliest sang schools of which there is any record is that of Aberdeen about the middle of the 13th century. The importance attached to the sang school is shown by its being provided by statute that on all greater feasts there shall attend four singing boys-two for carrying the tapers, and two the incense-who will be present at matins and great mass, and that the master is enjoined to secure their regular attendance [Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis, II, p. 49]. As it was intended only for the choir, nothing else was taught in it but " music, meaners, and vertew," and at first sang schools existed only in cathedrals. We find however that, in the 15th and 16th centuries, such schools were found in connection with abbeys and in almost all large burghs, that, in addition to music, English, arithmetic and writing were also taught, and that the instruction was not confined to the choristers. The Aberdeen school had a high reputation. The master was appointed for life, and all the expenses of the school were met by the magistrates. The salary of the master was here, as in some other burghs, upwards of 20 marks Scots annually [The importance of the master of the sang school is found in the solemnity of the contract entered into on his appointment. He obliges himself by the faith of his body, all the days of his life, to remain with the community of the burgh, singing, keeping, and upholding mass, matins, evensongs, completories, psalms, responses, antiphonies and hymns in the parish kirk on festival and feral days, for a salary of 24 marks Scots annually. Book of Bon-Accord, p. 1'24].

The choristers sometimes were of the poorer class. In 1541 the Aberdeen council ordered 40 shillings to be paid to each of two boys in the sang school to help to buy them clothes.

In the burgh records of Edinburgh in the middle of the 16th century, sums of £10 and £4 are mentioned as fees paid to different masters of the sang school, but the periods for which these payments are made are not stated. The parish clerk of Ayr in 1551 offers to teach a sang school within the burgh, instructing "neighbours' bairns or others whomsoever, for payment." Such notices from their indefiniteness are of no value.

Going back to the 12th century we find that 'grammar,' which meant all classical literature, was the principal subject of instruction in schools. By degrees the horizon widened and in the 15th century, law, theology, and philosophy were added to the curriculum. The earliest library of which there is a record is that of the Culdees in Lochleven Abbey, which consisted of 16 books, 4 of which were for the services of the Church. The others were portions of the Old and New Testaments, and commentaries upon them, the works of Origen, St Bernard, etc., all of purely theological type. The next is that belonging to the Glasgow Cathedral, consisting of 165 books catalogued in 1432. Many of them were required for the services of the Church, and others were treatises on law, theology, metaphysics, and natural philosophy. There were a few Latin, but no Greek books. In view of the amount of labour and time expended on the transcription of so many books, this may well be thought a large library. The next is that of the monastery of Kinloss [Record of the Monastery of Kinloss, p. 60.], of which Ferrerius made use in his teaching. It is not so large, but of much the same character as the cathedral library of Glasgow.

There is little definite information as to the amount and character of the instruction given in schools in the 12th and 13th centuries. It is probable that it did not go much, if at all, beyond the contents of such documents as are described in the catalogue of the library in Lochleven. There is however evidence of great and steady expansion in the list of the library belonging to Glasgow Cathedral in the 15th and in that of Kinloss in the 16th century'. That the industry which went to the production of 165 volumes, many of them dealing with science, law and philosophy, should have failed to raise to a higher level the standard of instruction in the schools is to the last degree improbable. But as to this we are not left to conjecture. There is authentic record that the master prelected on Terence, Virgil and Cicero; that pupils were forbidden to converse in the vernacular, and had to choose Latin, French, Gaelic, Greek, or Hebrew. This was doubtless a counsel of perfection. It is exceedingly improbable that either Greek or Hebrew would be chosen as the vehicle of conversation. Greek was very little known till the 16th century and Hebrew probably not at all. But that another language than their own was imperative implies a striving after liberal culture of most satisfactory promise. It is certain that even in the 14th century crowds of Scottish students went to the University of Paris in search of a higher education than could be obtained at home. In Paris they must have conversed in either French or Latin, and probably the latter, that being the language common to the whole academic world. If Latin was generally chosen, we should be disposed to pardon Latinity of questionable purity, in consideration of the mental discipline which it secured. We have it on the authority of Knox that in 1543 Greek was better known by members of parliament than by the clergy [Knox's History of the Reformation, 34. ], and Andrew Melville was taught Greek in Montrose before the Reformation.

It is perhaps necessary to accept with a grain of salt the account given of a visit by James V and his Queen to Aberdeen in 15 40. " They were received with diverse triumphs and plays made by the town, university, and schools, where there were exercise and disputations in all kinds of sciences with diverse orations made in Greek, Latin, and other languages, quhilk was mickell commendit bi the king and quene and all thair company [Fasti Aberdonenses, p. xxiv.]."

The commendation was probably courteous rather than critical. James V was a poor scholar. Bellenden's translation of Livy was made for the King's benefit, who was "nocht perfyte in the Latin toung." Accounts vary considerably both as to the time when the teaching of Greek was introduced, and the extent to which it was taught. Erskine of Dun is said to have been so proficient that, when he entered St Andrews "quhilk student, he could read the logics of Aristotle in Greek, was a wounder to the regents of the college that he was sa fyne a schollar," whereas in 1574 James Melville says that he was taught only the A B C and the simple declensions of Greek in St Andrews, and that the regent " went no farder [Melville's Diary, p. 30, ed. 1842.]." Again John Row is said to have taught Greek and Hebrew in the grammar school of Perth shortly before the Reformation [M'Crie's Life of Knox, ii, pp.].

Latin grammars by Donat and Despauter were, long before the Reformation, taught in schools. Despauter was a Flemish grammarian, but John Vaus, a Scotsman, was the author of another grammar printed in Paris in 1522. He was master of the grammar school of Aberdeen. The book exhibits at length his method of teaching grammar. Considerations of space forbid quotation of the details in which he explained the use of the parts of speech, of tenses, cases, and other grammatical minutiae. Suffice it that his explanations and definitions are singularly accurate.

The printing of certain school books was a monopoly granted by Mary of Guise in 1559. A list of the books generally used in schools is given in the deed granting the monopoly. The titles of upwards of a dozen are given, several having for their object the teaching and learning of the Scottish languages ["Ane short introduction elementar degestit into sevin breve taibles, for the commodius expeditioun of thame that ar desirous to reid and write the Scottis toung (eight lines giving the names of books used). Ane instructioun for bairnis to be lernit in Scottis and Latin ; Ane regement for educatioun of young gentillmen in literature and virtuous exercitioun ; Ane A B C for Scottismen to rede the Frenche toung, with an exhortatioun to the nobles of Scotland to favour thair ald freindis ; The geneologie of Inglishe Britonis." Grant's Burgh Schools, p. 56.]. It is evident from this that the Scottish dialect of the English language was at a very early date taught in the schools.

In Melville's Diary we have a record of the curriculum followed in the schools of Logie and Montrose before the Reformation. At the age of seven in Logie instruction in religious subjects, Latin, and French vocables was given. This was followed by etymology and syntax, the colloquia of Erasmus, Virgil, Horace, and Cicero. After five years' attendance, Melville was sent to Montrose, where he was again drilled in the rudiments of Latin, in the first and second parts of Sebastian's grammar, and read the Phormio of Terence, the Georgics of Virgil and was exercised in composition and "diverse other things'." Unless a great deal is covered by " diverse other things," it would seem that either the five years' course in Logic had been too ambitious, and the teaching lacking in solidity, or that the Montrose school was not sufficiently progressive. But there does not appear ground for either alternative, for on the one hand, the teacher at Logic is especially commended for the accuracy of his teaching, and on the other, the Montrose school had a high reputation, as being the school in which Andrew Melville was taught Greek, while that language was elsewhere in Scotland little known. This is shown from the rare occurrence of early Greek books in private libraries and the catalogues of Scottish booksellers, and yet it is certain that Scottish scholars like Boece and Buchanan, who were in the forefront of learning on the Continent, ultimately returned to their own country. Florence was the first university in Europe to provide in 1360 a professor of Greek, and early in the 15th century Greek was taught in Paris, Bologna, Padua, Salamanca and Oxford.

The only extant account of the way in which a school was conducted is that of the grammar school of Aberdeen. The directory for this school was printed at the end of John Vaus's Rudiments of Grammar. The provisions on every point bearing on school life are almost painfully minute. For every hour from 7 in the morning to 6 in the evening occupation is specified. The first duty on entering the school is prayer on bended knee. When a certain amount of work has been finished, the preceptor enters and punishes, either by word or strokes, the deficients. At 8 there is a public prelection of all the lessons by the preceptor. Then breakfast, and at 10 a private prelection by the assistant masters. At 11.30 a second prelection by the head master on Terence, Virgil or Cicero, and at 12, dinner. Before 2 the class prelections are heard and errors noted by assistant masters, who are requested to see that they do not themselves the things which it is their official duty to blame others for doing. At 4 the boys rehearse the work of the day to their tutors. The head master will hear one or other class besides the highest, when it suits him. From 5 to 6 there will be disputations, then prayers. Neophytes and scholars in the rudiments must maintain a Pythagorean silence for one year. The table of confession must be learnt by heart, and some progress must be made in arithmetic. All will speak in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French or Irish, and never in the vernacular, with the exception of those who know Latin. Every scholar will carry his own rod. The family will not deal with strangers, nor any grammarian with a dialectician.

These in a somewhat shortened form are the rules for the conduct of the Aberdeen Grammar School. We can only guess at what is meant by public and private prelections and disputations, and the form in which they were carried out. Nor does the method by which a Pythagorean silence was maintained lie entirely on the surface. The custom of every scholar carrying his own rod, and the prohibition against intercourse between the family and strangers, and between grammarians and dialecticians, probably have reference to conditions no longer existing [Grant's Burgh Schools, p. 61, and Miscellany of Spalding Club, v, 44, preface].

Laws also are laid down against bartering or buying without the consent of the master. There must be no gambling for books, money, clothes or dinner, but the older boys may stake leather pins or thongs, but dice may not be used. Bullying is forbidden, and the offenders will be punished. If two boys fight, both will be punished, but if instead of words any one gives blows, he alone who gives the blows will be punished. Old pupils who tempt younger ones to transgress shall receive double punishment. Among the offences which subject the pupil to punishment are inattention, lateness, unpreparedness, restlessness, talking, and using the vernacular.

The relation of schoolwork to Sunday is found in the burgh records of Dundee and elsewhere, and we find that for the teachers Sunday was not a day of rest. They had to attend to the behaviour of the pupils in the same way as on week-days, and see that they neither play, cry, nor dispute during the preaching, under pain of being punished with all rigour. It is also ordained that if bairns break any ` glasen windows' the parents must repair them at their own expense'. It is to be hoped that we are not compelled to infer from this that windowbreaking, and generally riotous conduct, was especially characteristic of Sunday.

At this stage it is probably convenient to give a summary of what has been attempted in the foregoing pages.

It has been shown that, from a very early period, schools of various kinds existed over the greater portion of Scotland, and that, in the more important towns, there was more or less complete provision for advanced education. Teachers were not daunted by their being sometimes obliged to find for themselves rooms in which to conduct their classes. Schools of this higher type were invariably under the care of the Church, which had for its aim its own stability, and the advancement of spiritual culture and correct life, rather than intellectual development. The pitch of the instruction varied considerably, but from the books used we may infer that it was fairly high. Latin, doubtless of questionable purity, was generally the vehicle of communication in both class-room and conversation. The precise period of the introduction of Greek is somewhat doubtful, but it is safe to say that it had got a footing about the middle of the 16th century. At first, the only pupils were candidates for service in the Church, but, in the 14th and 15th centuries, laymen were both teachers and pupils in the schools under ecclesiastical management. Till the 15th century, the authorities in cathedrals, abbeys, and collegiate churches had the exclusive control of education and appointment of teachers, while the expense of maintenance was met by municipal funds. It was about this time that some Town Councils claimed, and after a struggle obtained, the right to appoint head masters to the grammar schools. There is evidence of the existence of other schools of a lower type, with which neither the ecclesiastical nor municipal bodies interfered, but the welfare of the grammar schools was carefully guarded by both. Adventure schools were forbidden to teach any subjects which were considered the special province of the grammar school. The object of such prohibition was the maintenance of the prestige and high social position of the grammar school master, which was one of great dignity and importance. We have seen that there was the heartiest cooperation among all classes, from the King to the burgher, in promoting education. The influence of the Church was however becoming weaker. Its policy was one of defence not of attack. Its aim was to establish orthodoxy rather than search for truth, and the means by which it meant to accomplish this was dogma, not reason. It was consequently not progressive enough to satisfy the demands of a people, who had been touched by the great intellectual movement which accompanied the transition from the middle ages to modern times, and which received stimulation and activity from a variety of sources-the spread of vernacular literature, the invention of printing, the enlightenment and freer exercise of thought imported into their native country by Scottish students who had resided in continental universities. In these circumstances, the barren subtleties of scholastic philosophy, which did not touch the problems of practical life, could not hold their ground against reason, which is essentially free and makes for progress. Hence the foundation of the three pre-reformation universities which, we shall see in a future chapter, were established in response to a popular demand.

It is impossible to compare the emoluments of teachers in those early times with those of the present day, but from the fact that comparatively few complaints were made of insufficient salaries, and that little difficulty was found in filling vacancies, it may be inferred that the payment was fairly adequate. The tenure of office was oftener than not ad vitam aut culpam. Sang schools also existed from very early times, but there is not any record about the character and quality of the music. However narrow, from one point of view, were the labours of the Church in promoting education, we should be indeed ungrateful not to recognise that to the Church we owe the beginnings of that which has been, and still is, our proudest boast-a system of education that can boldly challenge comparison with that of any other country.

Return to Book Index Page