Education and Training

In the early fourteenth century, Italian humanist scholars began introducing new ideas about human knowledge and experience. They based their concepts on works written by ancient Greek and Roman philosophers, who placed value on the individual. The humanists' innovations led to the Renaissance, a cultural and social revolution that had an impact on every aspect of life throughout Europe. A major goal of the humanist movement was to change traditional methods of education developed in the latter half of the Middle Ages (c. 800–1200). At that time elementary schools, called Latin grammar schools, and universities were run by the Roman Catholic Church (a Christian religion based in Rome, Italy, and headed by a pope). Christian doctrine (religious beliefs) was the basis of all knowledge and learning. The purpose of education was to train the sons of noblemen—girls were not allowed to attend school—to become church officials. Similarly, the sons of kings and princes were educated to become Christian rulers. Classes in both grammar schools and universities were conducted in Latin, the official language of the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire (the central government for most of Europe). Rules were quite rigid and did not permit students to learn about their world or to express their own ideas.

A new approach to education began emerging in 1350, when the Italian humanist Petrarch (1304–1374) discovered parts of the Instituto oratoria, a work written around a.d. 94 by the Roman orator and teacher Quintilian (a.d. c. 35–c. 100). The complete text was discovered in 1416 by the Italian humanist Poggio Bracciolini (1380–1459). In the Instituto oratoria Quintilian described the education of a perfect orator who would also have the qualities of a good man. According to Quintilian, education should begin in the home during infancy and continue into adulthood. He advocated a teaching method that was adapted to a child's abilities and character traits, progressing from simple to more complex lessons. Quintilian advised that recreation be combined with children's studies. Since he believed that the young are naturally inclined to learn, he did not approve of rigidly applied rules and physical punishment. The Instituto oratoria had a strong impact on education during the Renaissance. It was one of the first printed books in Italy—after the development of the printing press in the mid-1400s made it possible to widely distribute printed materials—and one hundred editions were published by 1496. Scholars later discovered works by the Roman orator Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 b.c.) and others, which led to an emphasis on the teaching of rhetoric (effective writing and speaking).

Humanist education developed

In the early fifteenth century several Italian humanists began developing their own theories of education. The most prominent theorist was Pier Paolo Vergerio (1370–1444), who wrote De ingenuis moribus (On noble customs) in 1404. Although Vergerio developed his teaching methods for the son of a nobleman, his ideas had an impact on the education of other social classes in both Italy and Europe. Vergerio stressed the importance of liberal studies (history, moral philosophy, and poetry) and the seven liberal arts (grammar; dialectic, which deals with discussion and reasoning; rhetoric: music; arithmetic; geometry; and astronomy). He advised that students be taught according to their own personalities and mental abilities, and he rejected harsh punishments. Vergerio recommended the use of discussion as a learning tool, and he even suggested that students teach other students. Finally, he required that pupils receive physical training (then called the art of war). His theory was that educating both the mind and the body would produce virtuous and wise men.

Other humanists emphasized the role of education in creating good citizens. For instance, Francesco Barbaro (1390–1454), one of the first Italian noblemen to become a humanist, insisted that liberal education was beneficial to society. He believed it enriched cultural life and improved the character of political leaders. Barbaro recommended that students perform writing exercises—paraphrasing poetry into prose, translating Greek into Latin and vice versa, and imitating passages from the classics. Passages from Cicero's works were to be read aloud, and large portions committed to memory. Latin was to be spoken among students both in and out of class. Educators also stressed the importance of a graceful writing and speaking style. These ideas were quickly adopted in the princely courts of northern Italy and among merchants and professionals there as well. Soon a humanist education, called studia humanitatis, became a requirement for secretarial, diplomatic, and political posts.

Italian schools start movement

In the fifteenth century, humanist education moved quickly from Italian households into Latin grammar schools. It then spread rapidly into the rest of Europe throughout the sixteenth century. Vittorino da Feltre (1378–1446), known as the greatest schoolmaster in the Renaissance, started one of the first humanist schools in Italy. In 1423 he established a boarding school, Casa Giocosa, at the court in Mantua. His patrons (financial supporters) were the dukes of Mantua, who belonged to the Gonzaga family. Vittorino taught the Gonzaga children as well as the children of other noble families. He also admitted poor children to the school free of charge if they showed promise and were recommended by friends and family. Pupils began their education as early as the age of four or five with reading and spelling. Later, his students were expected to memorize numerous texts by Latin poets and historians. Teachers dictated passages from Latin texts, and students wrote them down. Students were also required to recite passages in Latin, with stress on correct pronunciation. The goal of this training was to enable students to become skilled at both writing and speaking Latin.

Vittorino introduced classical Greek to a select number of older pupils who studied the works of such ancient philosophers as Cicero, Aristotle (384–322 b.c.), and Plato (c. 428–c. 348 b.c.). Teachers were available to give instruction in mathematics, astronomy, and geometry. Vittorino also made sure that his pupils devoted time to games and strenuous physical activity. He stressed the development of mind, body, and character, especially for those who wanted to enter the professions or public service. Vittorino had a strong sense of Christian duty, so he insisted that students attend church often.

Another noted fifteenth-century humanist school was opened by Guarino Guarini (pronounced gwah-REE-nee; c. 1374–1460) in Ferarra, Italy. Guarini required memorization, repetition, catechism (religious instruction), composition, and imitation (imitating passages from the classics). He also concentrated on both Latin and Greek texts in order to provide better understanding of the classics. Guarini's lessons involved defining terms, explaining the text, and analyzing problems of interpretation. His students took detailed lecture notes and were encouraged to make extensive reading notes.

The main humanist curriculum, or plan of study, was generally limited to liberal studies and the liberal arts, as specified by Vittorino and Guarini. Instrumental music and drawing were added by the end of the fifteenth century. Military training was a also a major part of humanist education. For those boys who did not plan to become soldiers, the physical side of their education consisted of ball games, dancing, archery, fencing, gymnastics, riding, and swimming. Most humanist educators insisted that students attend worship services, go to confession regularly, and say their prayers. Humanists understood that they were teaching future advisers to princes, and they were molding the lives of boys who, as men, would have an influence on public life. By the middle of the fifteenth century Venetian noblemen, for example, were committed to humanistic education, either in the public schools or in study with private teachers. By the 1470s southern Italian schools also began to hire humanist teachers. Historians estimate that by the end of the fifteenth century nearly all Latin grammar schools in Italy provided a humanist curriculum.

Latin grammar books

The humanists' emphasis on classical Latin texts created a demand for new Latin grammar books. At the beginning of the fifteenth century, grammar teachers in Italy were using the same basic books that a thirteenth-century grammar teacher would have used. In 1473 the Italian educator Niccolò Perotti (1429–1480), a student of Vittorino, wrote Rudimenta grammatices (Basic grammar). This manual incorporated many classical Latin examples used by humanist teachers. The trend in new grammars then moved to the rest of Europe during the latter part of the fifteenth century. In 1487 the Spanish humanist Antonio de Nebrija (pronounced neh-BREE-ha; 1441–1522) published Introductiones latinae (Latin introductions). To help Spanish readers learn Latin, Nebrija placed a translation in Castilian (a dialect of the Spanish language) alongside a column of Latin text. The Introductiones was reprinted often and exported all over Europe. In 1598 the Royal Council of Castile ordered that no other Latin grammar be used in Spain or Portugal. Nebrija also compiled the first Spanish-Latin dictionary in 1492.

The most popular grammar text was the Grammatica, which was published by Johannes Despauterius around 1520. In France, Scotland, and the Low Countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), it was the basis for Latin grammars until the twentieth century. In 1572 the Portuguese Jesuit educator Manoel Alvers published a book that became the official grammar text in schools run by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits; a Roman Catholic religious order). Humanist schools throughout Saxony (a district of Germany) used an elementary Latin grammar by the religious reformer Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560). It consisted of short sentences, prayers, psalms (poem songs), and fables (tales that feature animals as characters and provide a lesson about life). These brief exercises allowed students to learn grammar and vocabulary from reading and memorization. Melanchthon's grammar book was used in Germany until the eighteenth century.

Lily's Latin Grammar

At the beginning of the sixteenth century in England, teachers at Magdalen College at Oxford and the grammar school at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London produced many new Latin grammars. The only text with a real humanist emphasis was Rudimenta grammatices (Basic grammar) by William Lily, who served as headmaster at the Saint Paul's school from 1512 until 1522. In 1540 and 1542 Rudimenta grammatices was the basis for two Latin grammars that were authorized by the king. One was written in Latin, the other in English. These books were used by teachers well beyond the Renaissance, during the reigns of Protestant and Catholic rulers alike.

Commonplace books

Humanist grammar schools also used commonplace books, which were collections of phrases widely used in speech and writing at the time. Pupils were assigned commonplace books in their early schooling, as soon as they had a grasp of basic Latin. To compile a commonplace book, students were instructed to assemble a large notebook with blank pages. On each page they would write headings and subheadings on topics suggested by their teacher. A typical heading was pietàs (loving respect), which might include such subheadings as respect for God, for country, and for teachers. Under these sub-headings, pupils inserted quotations from the Latin prose and poetry they were studying. At first teachers assigned the quotations, and later students selected their own passages. Usually commonplace books contained short, witty phrases or proverbs, which pupils were required to memorize and recite orally in class.

Soon humanists were recommending a new form of education. This method required students to learn Latin by imitating classical authors in their own Latin compositions instead of memorizing grammar rules. In 1512 the Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466–1536) published De copia verborum (Foundations of the abundant style), an anthology, or collection, of excerpts from classical works. Erasmus's book encouraged the new form of learning. During the sixteenth century it was printed in more than one hundred editions and was the preferred textbook in grammar schools throughout northern Europe.

In addition to commonplace books, humanist grammar schools relied on books called colloquies. These texts consisted of fictional dialogues written in classical style that served as models for speaking Latin outside the classroom. The most popular was Erasmus's Colloquia (Colloquy), which was published in 1518 and went through twelve editions by 1533. Other colloquies were Exercitatio linguae latinae (Schoolboy dialogues; 1538) by the Spanish humanist Juan Luis Vives (pronounced BEE-bahs; 1492–1540) and Colloquiorum scholasticorum (School colloquies; 1556) by Mathurin Cordier (1479–1564). Cordier's colloquy was still in use in English schools in the nineteenth century.

France starts humanist collèges

Italian humanist education became extremely popular in France in the 1520s and 1530s. Leading the way was the French king, Francis I (1494–1547; ruled 1515–47), who inspired leaders in cities and towns throughout the country to start schools called collèges (colleges). Local leaders believed that humanist education contributed to the common good, honored the king, and preserved the republican form of government. Officials in one French town even believed that education was more beneficial than all of the hospitals in the world. The movement barely touched village schools, however. By 1520 universities in Paris had established classical Latin and Greek studies as the foundation of arts and theology (study of religion).

Teaching Greek

Classical Greek was introduced in Italy by the Greek-born scholar Manuel Chrysoloras (pronounced kris-eh-LOHR-ehs; c. 1350–1414) in the 1390s, who taught classes in the language in several cities. While teaching the classes Chrysoloras produced Erotemata sive quaestiones, which was published many years after his death, in 1476, and provided some Greek grammar rules. Greek grammars were written by other scholars later in the fifteenth century. All of these texts were adapted for a Latin-speaking environment with simple rules, explanatory notes, and Latin translations. Students of Greek could expect to begin with some easy Greek prose plus the Gospels (books in the New Testament) in Latin, placed alongside a version in Greek. They went on to read works by major ancient Greek writers.

The introduction of Greek into the humanist curriculum was first attempted by Guarino Guarini at Venice and by Vittorino da Feltre at Mantua. Vittorino taught Greek in a broad style, giving explanations of such subjects as mythology, geography, and important people as well as teaching the actual language. Latin translations were used side by side with the Greek. For Guarini, the goal of Greek learning was to aid the study of Latin, though some students learned to translate from Greek to Latin. Students were not expected to write or speak Greek. In the latter part of the fifteenth century, with the introduction of printed Greek texts, Greek grammar became common in humanist schools in Italy. Even then it was normally taught only to older students.

Masters of collèges in Paris developed a plan of study that moved from grammar to oratory (public speaking), logic (thinking based on reason), and natural philosophy (natural science; the study of such fields as physics, chemistry, and biology). Students progressed through the curriculum according to their abilities. The Paris collèges served as models for schools throughout France. Under this system students were divided into classes by age and ability. They studied classical Latin works and learned to translate from French into Latin. They also had lessons in Greek grammar and read a few classical Greek works. By the mid-sixteenth century nearly every town of sufficient size contained such a public school. Staffed by a principal and four to six teachers, each school normally taught several hundred students from a variety of social backgrounds. One of the most famous schools was the Collège de Guyenne in Bordeaux, where the essayist Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592) was educated. The humanist educator Mathurin Cordier served as the grammar master at Guyenne from 1534 to 1536. He then moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where he introduced Guyenne methods to the humanist curriculum of the Collège de la Rive.

The collèges began to decline in the 1570s because of a lack of funds and a shortage of qualified teachers. Town schools had also become a battleground for differing religious views. Large numbers of schoolteachers were attracted to Protestantism, while city and state leaders tried to enforce Catholicism. By 1610 Catholic priests and religious orders were teaching a modified humanist curriculum as a part of religious training. In addition, after 1600 both the church and the king expressed concern that society had too many educated laymen (people who are not members of the clergy), which may threaten the church's and king's power. The humanist curriculum was gradually overshadowed by an emphasis on French culture. Humanism had not been accepted by most members of the French aristocracy, who preferred military training and more practical forms of education. For them humanist learning was associated with Roman and Italian culture and had little importance to France.

Spain and Portugal influenced by Italy

Humanist education in Spain and Portugal began in the courts of kings and noblemen during the fifteenth century. Spanish and Portuguese humanism was heavily influenced by methods used in Italy. For instance, Spanish courts had direct contacts with the court of Alfonso V (1396–1458; ruled 1416–58), king of Naples and Sicily. The Spanish also had contacts with Rome and Florence. Large numbers of Spanish students attended Italian humanist schools, especially the Spanish College of San Clemente at Italy's University of Bologna. Portuguese students were supported by the royal court to study in Paris. Humanism took root in Spain in the last quarter of the fifteenth century. It was encouraged by Queen Isabella I of Castile (1451–1504; ruled 1474–1504) and spread by the production of classical texts by Spanish printing presses. Beginning in the 1490s, Isabella invited humanists such as Pietro Martire d' Anghiera (c. 1447–1526) and Lucio Marineo Siculo (died 1533) to make the palace school into a Latin academy. The royal court established two schools of classical Latin, and aristocratic families hired humanist tutors, a practice that continued into the eighteenth century. By the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese court had hired a humanist tutor from Spain.

The humanist curriculum was probably adopted in numerous Latin grammar schools in Spain and Portugal by the early sixteenth century. These Latin schools were competitive with church schools, and by 1600 they existed in hundreds of communities. Historians estimate that virtually every town with a population of more than 500 had a humanist Latin school. In the second half of the sixteenth century the Jesuits rapidly dominated secondary schools in Spain and Portugal. By 1600 there were 118 Jesuit schools in Spain's major towns and cities, educating perhaps 10,000 to 15,000 boys each year.

Jesuit Schools

The Jesuits were among the first to establish humanist schools. As required by their religious order, they began to educate external (non-Jesuit) students at a school in Gandía, Spain, in 1547. Another school was founded at Messina in Sicily the following year. A Jesuit education began with Latin grammar on three grade levels. Beginning Greek was originally taught at the fourth level, along with Latin humanities. The humanities were then followed by rhetoric at the fifth level. In some schools these five levels were followed by the study of philosophy and theology. Students also continued reading texts in Greek and Latin and occasionally Hebrew. The schools were divided into distinct classes designed to meet the educational needs of each scholar. Jesuit teachers made demanding assignments in writing and public speaking. Pupils also studied mathematics, geography, history, and astronomy. All of these subjects were based on the original Latin texts.

Jesuit schools promoted public performances—theatrical presentations, public debates and orations—that advertised their institutions. The Jesuits were dedicated to both the intellectual and spiritual progress of their students. The education was free and brought in boys from all social classes, though the colleges tended to attract elites. Demand for Jesuit schools put strains on the expanding order. In 1551 Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, established the Collegio Romano, a high school in Rome for boys and young men. He intended Collegio Romano to be a center for the education of future teachers. By the time Ignatius died in 1556, Jesuits were running 33 colleges in seven European countries. By 1586 there were another 150 colleges, and, by 1600, a total of 236, ranging from Japan to Peru and Mexico. Jesuit schools became models for Italian seminaries and the schools of other religious orders.

New schools in England and Scotland

The best-known English humanist school was founded by John Colet (1466–1519) at Saint Paul's Cathedral in London in 1509. Colet reorganized the school to teach 153 students free of charge. He appointed William Lily (c. 1468–1522), a scholar who had traveled widely and had studied classical Latin and Greek in Italy, as schoolmaster. Lily taught Greek at Saint Paul's and also produced several short guides to Latin grammar. Colet's instructions for his school required the use of texts by Erasmus and emphasized Christian piety, or devotion. Colet viewed school as a sacred space, giving special attention to the prayers of schoolboys and the depiction of Christ as a schoolchild.

The driving force behind humanist education in England was Erasmus. He agreed with Colet that education and Christian piety should be combined. Erasmus visited England for the first time in 1499, becoming a friend of Colet and humanist Thomas More (1478–1535). Erasmus visited England again in 1505 and returned in 1509 for his longest stay. During this time he wrote De ratione studii (On the method of study; 1511). In this work he asserted that children should begin life speaking Latin, a task more easily accomplished in a wealthy household. It was less easily accomplished by students learning in a grammar school environment. Students should read extensively, he noted, and not simply memorize grammatical rules. Erasmus's last essay on education, published in 1529, was De pueris instituendis (On the education of boys). It included an attack on current educational practices, especially in monastery schools, where rules were strict and the emphasis was on religion. Erasmus recommended that parents either choose a public school or keep their child at home. Children should be molded from birth, he said, and the proper education of children requires sensitive and supportive teachers. More set up his own household to function as a school based mainly on Erasmus's ideas.

The most famous humanist school in England was at the royal court. There the children of kings Henry VII (1457–1509; ruled 1485–1509) and Henry VIII (1491–1547; ruled 1509–47) were educated along with children of noble families. One of the schoolmasters was Roger Ascham (1515–1568), who taught the future Queen Elizabeth I, daughter of Henry VIII. Ascham and other humanist educators saw education as a means toward reform of the nation and the community. The north of England was slower to embrace humanism in the grammar curriculum. In the 1540s and 1550s most schools in the north were large public institutions in which the curriculum may have been humanist but there was a strong emphasis on discipline. Humanism reached Scotland in the 1560s and 1570s, but there was no consistent curriculum. Many schoolmasters used humanist ideas to compile their own Latin grammar books.

Organized education in Germany and Low Countries

Humanism reached Germany and the Low Countries in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries as the result of contact with humanists from Italy and France. A humanist education was first available at abbeys (monasteries attached to Catholic churches) throughout northern Europe. By the end of the fifteenth century, city schools in the Low Countries offered a humanist curriculum. These schools sometimes competed and even collaborated with schools associated with the Brethren of the Common Life (a Protestant religious group). In one case the Brethren's school at Liège, Belgium, was picked by the town council to be the main Latin school. Humanism was successfully blended into the Brethren curriculum. In other cases Brethren schools were pushed aside. The new Latin schools could be quite large, with a faculty that was divided into forms (academic years) and that specialized in particular subjects.

One of the most notable educators in the Low Countries was Juan Luis Vives, the Spanish scholar, who had adopted Bruges, Belgium, as his home. Vives was known for his ideas on human psychology. His major plan of study, De disciplinis libri xx (Twenty books on education), was published in 1531. In this work Vives advocated public schools in every township, and he stressed the equality of all languages. That is, he believed that the language spoken in a country (called the vernacular) should be studied alongside Latin and Greek. He also felt that students should learn from their own experience and observation. According to Vives, schoolmasters were engaged in the holy service of teaching children to better their God-given minds.

Throughout Germany and the Low Countries, education took on an organized form, with specialized subjects and classes divided into grades. In Zwickau, Germany, for example, a 1523 Schulordnung (school order) described six classes, going from sixth to first. The lowest class, the sixth grade, learned Latin grammar and German. Students in the fifth class started reading humanist texts and learned beginning Greek. In classes four to one, students learned more Latin and Greek texts and studied the New Testament in Greek. The second and first classes continued the study of Latin and Greek texts. They also read the Old Testament in Hebrew as well as in Latin and Greek translations.

Strasbourg has famous school

A complete humanist education was offered at Strasbourg, Germany, in a gymnasium (secondary school that prepared students for a university) led by Johann Sturm (1507–1589). The Strasbourg Latin school was established in 1538, with Sturm as rector (head), in an effort to consolidate two earlier humanist schools. Sturm's students studied Latin grammar, rhetoric, and dialectic based mainly on Cicero and Aristotle, along with Greek, mathematics, science, and biblical texts. Classical plays, orations, and defenses were presented on stage. Some Hebrew was introduced in the final year. The school was divided into eight highly structured classes, and strict exams were required for promotion. Sturm's gymnasium influenced schools throughout Europe. Although the Strasbourg gymnasium was open to sons of the poor, it actually educated about five hundred sons of wealthier citizens.

The numerous printing presses in the Low Countries and Germany strengthened educational opportunities with the printing of grammars and of Greek and Latin texts. The number of schools increased along with the explosion of printed school-books. Efforts also were made to regulate and standardize education. By the mid-sixteenth century, humanist grammar education, combined with religious instruction, was required by both Protestant and Catholic states in Germany and the Low Countries.

Education for women promoted

During the Renaissance the humanist curriculum was nearly always written with the education of boys and the careers of men in mind. Nonetheless, a few educators promoted classical education for women. They may have been influenced by Quintilian, who gave examples of learned Roman women in his works. He also urged that both parents of a child be as learned as possible. Other influences were powerful women who were active in northern Italian courts in the fifteenth century and female rulers in Europe throughout the sixteenth century. Since humanists believed that children should begin to learn at an early age, they emphasized the need for home education. Usually this education involved a child's nurse or mother. For example, the Italian educator Enea Silvio Piccolomini (1405–1464; later Pope Pius II) referred to perfectly cultured mothers who served as models for sons.

Different educators had different reasons for supporting the education of girls. The Dutch humanist Erasmus argued that girls should learn how to study so they would be less idle and more virtuous. On the other hand, Erasmus's friend, the English humanist Thomas More, provided a classical education for his own daughters because it gave them greater access to a spiritual life. It also increased their chances of forming a marriage based on true companionship. In fact, the general attitude during the Renaissance was that women should be educated in order to prepare them for their roles as wives and mothers. A few writers suggested a link between classical education for women and civic life. For example, the English humanist Thomas Elyot (c. 1490–1546), in his Defense of Good Women (1545), described a sophisticated, learned, and successful female ruler. In 1638 Anne Marie van Schurmann published an essay titled On the Capacity of the Female Mind for Learning, in which she argued that learning was an end in itself—not necessarily a means to a career or a husband—and therefore suitable for both women and men.

Achievements of Renaissance women

The list of learned Renaissance women is long. Especially prominent were women who participated in court life in northern Italy. Many were educated from an early age. Among the students of Vittorino da Feltre at the Gonzaga court was Cecilia Gonzaga (1425–1451). She was introduced to Greek texts at age seven and was writing Greek at age ten. Laura Cereta (1469–1499) of Brescia, who was educated by her father in classical Greek language and literature, left behind a collection of letters. Isotta Nogarola (1418–1466) of Verona wrote Latin prose and poetry, corresponded with humanists, and participated in learned conferences and debates. Cassandra Fedele (1465–1558) was tutored by a humanist in Latin and Greek. She delivered orations before members of the University of Padua, the people of Venice, and the Venetian doge (duke). At the age of ninety-one she delivered an oration welcoming the queen of Poland to Venice. Costanza Varano (1426–1447) was educated partly by her grandmother, Battista da Montefeltro. Varano made several public addresses and left behind letters, orations, and poems. Olympia Morata (1526–1555), tutored by a German humanist at the court of Ferrara, mastered both Latin and Greek. She left behind a volume of poems, letters, and dialogues, some of which are in Greek.

Other European women were also involved in learning and intellectual pursuits. In Spain Queen Isabella supported her Latin tutor and companion, Beatriz Galindo, called La Latina. A more classically trained female humanist was Francisca de Nebrija, daughter of Antonio de Nebrija, who substituted for her father as a lecturer in humanities at Alcala in the early sixteenth century. Luisa Sigea, a Latin tutor at the court of Portugal, wrote Latin poems as well as letters in more than one classical language. Another early sixteenth-century humanistically trained lady at the Spanish court was Ana Cervato. She memorized all of Cicero's orations, displaying an extensive knowledge of the classics.

Learned humanist women were quite active in northern Europe, especially in the convents. For instance, Caritas Pirkheimer (1467–1532), who had extensive knowledge of Latin, was head of the scholarly convent of Saint Clare in Bavaria (a district of Germany). Pirkheimer and a number of nuns in other convents regularly exchanged letters with humanist scholars. When nunneries were disbanded in parts of Germany that converted to Protestantism, the convents were turned into schools for girls. The education offered in these schools, however, appears to have been based on the study of Scripture and the German language, and humanism was not part of the curriculum.

Future English queens are educated

In England there were voices raised in favor of educating women, who had not traditionally attended grammar schools. The daughters of King Henry VIII—both future queens of England—Mary Tudor (1516–1558; ruled as Mary I 1553–58) and Elizabeth Tudor (1533–1603; ruled as Elizabeth I 1558– 1603), were taught by humanists. For Mary, Juan Luis Vives designed a rigorous "plan of study" that included the Latin and Greek as well as works by humanists. Elizabeth was tutored by Roger Ascham and became fluent in Latin. She also studied Greek and humanist culture. During Elizabeth's reign the aristocracy did not follow the royal lead in providing a humanist education for their daughters. In addition, Catholic convent schools were destroyed when the Church of England was established, and no alternative schools for girls took their place. The education of women was therefore restricted to households and to elementary schools, with few opportunities for classical training.

The first female humanist of note in France was Margaret of Navarre (1492–1549), author of The Heptameron (1531), an important Renaissance work. Although she was trained in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, she wrote in French and Italian. Another Margaret, the daughter of King Francis I, was likewise humanistically trained and actively supported humanists. Mary Stuart, queen of Scotland (1542–1587), received a humanist education at the French royal court in the 1550s. She read classical Latin texts and works by Erasmus. Her notebook of Latin exercises included several humanistic arguments in favor of the education of women. She addressed the subject of learned women in an address she gave to the court at age fourteen. The humanist education made available to Scottish royalty at the French court did not reach convent schools for girls in Scotland until well into the seventeenth century, however. Public schools in the cities were open to girls at the elementary level but not at the secondary level. Therefore, most girls were not able to take advantage of a humanist education, though they could learn to read and write.

Humanistically educated women became increasingly rare in the seventeenth century, as English educator Bathsua Makin (c. 1600–c. 1674) noted in An Essay to Revive the Ancient Education of Gentlewomen in Religion, Manners, Arts, and Tongues (1673). She argued that women should receive an extensive classical education, especially in ancient languages. Makin herself taught these languages to women at the English court, but her efforts had no real impact on the general education of women in England.

Universities flourish in Renaissance

Only a tiny fraction of the male population taught or studied in universities, yet institutions of higher learning made an immense contribution to Renaissance culture and trained the leaders of society. In 1400, at the beginning of the Renaissance, there were twenty-nine universities in Europe. By 1601 sixty-three new universities had been founded in Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, England, and Scotland.

The main reason for starting new universities was a demand for higher education; increasing numbers of men wanted to learn (women were not permitted to enroll in a university). Society also needed more trained professionals because monarchs, princes, and cities required civil servants, preferably with law degrees. The adoption of Roman law in central Europe created a demand for lawyers and judges trained in this field. Numerous Germans enrolled in Italian universities, which were centers for the study of Roman law. A medical degree enabled the recipient to become a private physician, a court physician, or one employed by a town. Numerous clergymen earned theology degrees and then taught novice clergymen, especially in the schools of the large Catholic orders.

Mary Ward Founded Institute

Mary Ward (1585–1645), an English Catholic, established a network of humanist schools for girls. These schools were patterned after the Jesuit schools for boys. Ward had received a Latin education, and she was inspired by the English Jesuit college at Saint-Omer, a region in northern France. In 1609 she organized the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and her followers were popularly called Jesuitesses. By 1631 the Institute had three hundred female lay teachers and ten houses supervising numerous schools, one of which, in Vienna, enrolled as many as five hundred pupils. The curriculum included Latin and Greek (as well as vernacular education), mathematics, and the performance of Latin plays. The order was suppressed in 1631 by the English government because England was officially a Protestant country. Ward was imprisoned, though she subsequently established another Institute. Her followers have continued her work to the present.

Sometimes princes and city councils founded universities for economic reasons. If a local university existed, young men who lived in the state could study at a considerably lower cost than if they had to go elsewhere. And parents could keep a closer eye on their sons. A university also brought prestige to a city or a ruler. Just as artists created works of art to grace a court, and writers praised a city, the presence of eminent professors at a local university proclaimed that the prince or the city encouraged learning. Most governments at one time or another tried to guarantee a large student body for the local university by forbidding young men from studying elsewhere. But these laws were seldom enforced. At the same time, civic leaders often dreamed that the local institution would attract students from other countries in Europe, as did universities in Paris, France, and Bologna, Italy. Considerable income was brought into a town by wealthy foreign students who purchased lodging, food, servants, and sometimes tutors. Princes and cities exercised control over universities by appointing and paying professors and heads of colleges. They made decisions about adding or eliminating subjects. After Europe divided into Catholic and Protestant lands, state and city leaders imposed religious requirements on faculty and students. University graduates, in turn, often played major roles in ruling the state.

Share common structure

All universities shared a common structure. Students attended lectures on required texts for several years before presenting themselves for degree examinations. Professors presented lectures on Aristotle's works on logic, natural philosophy, and metaphysics (the study of the nature of reality and existence). The works of Greek physicians Hippocrates (c. 460–c. 377 b.c.) and Galen (a.d. 129–c. 199), and the Muslim scientist Ibn Sinā (also known as Avicenna; 980–1037) were the basis of lectures on medicine. Law professors lectured on Corpus juris civilis (Body of civil law) and Corpus juris canonici (Body of canon law); civil law is state law, while canon law is that of the church. The theology faculty based their lectures on the Bible and Sententiarum libri 4 (Sentences) by the Italian theologian Peter Lombard (c. 1095–1160). All texts were written in Latin, and lectures, disputations, and examinations were conducted in Latin. Students were required to attend lectures for one to three years for a bachelor's degree in arts, five to seven years for doctorates in law and medicine, and twelve or more years beyond the master of arts degree for the doctorate of theology. These requirements were sometimes shortened. Professors and students participated in academic exercises, such as disputations, which were formal debates conducted according to the rules of logic.

When he felt prepared, the student submitted himself to a degree examination. A so-called college of doctors, a committee composed of professors and graduates of the university in the degree subject, examined the candidate. If the examiners were satisfied with the student's performance, he received one or more degrees recognizing him to be an expert in a subject and authorizing him to teach it anywhere in Europe. Approval of degrees came from charters issued by the pope and the Holy Roman Emperor authorizing universities to grant degrees.

The size of universities varied greatly. The University of Paris enrolled several thousand students, and several hundred teachers lectured at various levels. This was because Paris had numerous younger students, and older clergymen came to the university as both teachers and scholars. The clergymen taught liberal arts subjects to the teenage students while studying for advanced degrees themselves. Bologna, the largest Italian university, had seventy-five to one hundred professors and fifteen hundred to two thousand students in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Other universities were smaller. A typical university had thirty to forty professors who taught three hundred to five hundred students. Some universities had only ten to twenty professors teaching two hundred to three hundred students. But even the smallest provincial university was immensely important to the intellectual life of a region. The number of university students and degrees awarded increased in Europe as a whole between 1400 and 1600, in spite of many obstacles. Numerous wars forced universities to close temporarily, and the Protestant Reformation produced a sharp enrollment drop in German universities. The increased number of degrees suggests that society valued learning, or perhaps only the degree, more than it had in earlier centuries.

Students could easily attend more than one university because the texts were the same and all instruction was in Latin. Students sometimes traveled from university to university, following a famous professor. As a result, universities competed for a few renowned professors, especially in civil law. Attracted by higher salaries, these fortunate professors moved from one university to another. The majority of professors, however, spent their entire careers at a single university.

Universities Known for Fields of Study

Although European universities shared common characteristics, the subjects emphasized and the level of instruction varied greatly from institution to institution. The University of Paris in France and Oxford University in England emphasized instruction in arts and theology. Medicine and law were much less important. Indeed, Paris did not teach civil law. Paris and Oxford had many teenage students and awarded numerous bachelor's degrees. Universities in central Europe tended to pattern their curriculum on the University of Paris. Spanish universities, and French universities outside of Paris, tended to concentrate on law.

Italian universities were centers for instruction in civil (state) law, canon (church) law, and medicine at the doctoral level. They taught liberal arts subjects, such as logic and natural philosophy, as preparation for medicine, but they offered few theology courses before the second half of the sixteenth century. Doctoral degrees normally included the master's degree, which gave students the right to teach. The bachelor's degree had disappeared from Italian universities by the early fifteenth century.

During the Middle Ages university students had organized themselves into "nations" corresponding to their homelands. They elected student leaders to represent them in the city where they were attending a university. These organizations asserted student rights against local governments and helped choose professors. During the Renaissance student organizations retained their prestige but lost much of their power. City and town governments appointed professors and increasingly dominated other aspects of university life.

Impact of humanist education

The most important change in universities during the Renaissance was the introduction of humanistic studies into the curriculum. Professors who taught ancient Latin and Greek texts began to appear at Italian universities in the first half of the fifteenth century. They took university posts in northern European universities in the early sixteenth century. Sometimes they faced strong opposition from theologians who were already on the faculty. Humanists stressed better understanding of ancient Latin and Greek. Most important, they read texts critically within a historical context: By the late fifteenth century, and especially in the sixteenth century, humanist professors of philosophy were reading the works of Aristotle in Greek, rather than in medieval Latin translations. They also read the ancient Greek commentaries on Aristotle, which had been neglected because, prior to that time, few scholars knew Greek. The results were strong criticism of medieval commentators and new interpretations of Aristotle's works.

Professors of medicine used their newly acquired humanistic skills to examine the medical texts of Galen, the Greek philosopher (see "Medicine" in Chapter 10). The scholars found the medieval Latin translations inadequate, so they produced new Latin translations based on a better understanding of the original Greek. This process is sometimes called medical humanism. Other changes in university medical research included greater emphasis on anatomy as a result of more frequent and more detailed dissection of human bodies. In 1545 the Universities of Padua and Pisa simultaneously established the first university botanical gardens in order to improve the study of the medicinal properties of plants. Clinical medicine (medical instruction based examination and discussion of patients) began in 1545 when a professor at Padua took students to hospitals in order to lecture on a disease at the bedside of an ill patient. These innovations, in combination with medical humanism, produced a revolution in teaching and research of medicine at Padua by 1550. Other universities quickly followed Padua's lead.

Humanism also influenced the study of law. The new scholarly procedures produced the field called humanistic jurisprudence, which meant the attempt to reconstruct the social context of ancient Roman law. Scholars wrote commentaries on law, based on their discoveries. Sixteenth-century French universities welcomed humanistic jurisprudence, but Italian universities did not incorporate the new field into their curriculum.

Professional Training

Law, medicine, the civil service (government administration), the church, and teaching were the major professions in Europe during the Renaissance and Reformation period. Membership in these professions gave a man a higher status than other citizens, with the exception of rulers and aristocrats (noblemen) who enjoyed privileges based on birth. Becoming a professional required specialized training, often a university degree, and acceptance by a regulatory body.

Training to enter a profession began at an early age because nearly all professions required the ability to read, write, and sometimes speak Latin. Lawyers, physicians, university professors, clergymen, notaries (officials who certified legal documents), and governmental secretaries and administrators used Latin daily. A boy had to begin studying Latin as early as the age of six or seven in order to acquire this skill. Boys who attended Latin schools could enter the professions. Those who did not attend Latin schools usually took jobs as workers or artisans (see "Artisan training" section later in this chapter).

Law and medicine

Most lawyers and some physicians had to have university degrees. In Italy and southern Europe a boy began university studies at the age of seventeen or eighteen and emerged five to eight years later with a doctorate in law or medicine. In northern Europe boys aged thirteen or fourteen began to attend a residence college in a university town, where they were taught by masters and advanced students. After four or more years of study they obtained bachelor's degrees in arts, then they might continue to study for doctorates in law, medicine, or theology. In England residence at one of the Inns of Court in London often completed the training of an aspiring lawyer or civil servant.

After receiving a degree, the new lawyer or physician had to be accepted by the professional association in the town in which he wished to practice. Called a guild (for example, the guild of physicians and apothecaries) or a college (for example, the college of lawyers and notaries), this body regulated the profession and determined who might practice. Local sons, especially of prominent families or those with male relatives in the guild, found easy acceptance. Anyone not locally born had more difficulty and was sometimes rejected. Once accepted, the young lawyer might establish a private practice or work for the town or state. Physicians practiced privately or were hired by the community to treat poor people who were ill.

Probably only a minority of men who practiced medicine were university trained. The rest included surgeons and empirics (practical doctors) who dealt with wounds, fractures, and rashes. Also in this group were barbers, who did cupping (drawing blood to the surface with a heated glass) and bleeding (draining blood from the body). These men learned as apprentices (those who learn by experience from a skilled member of a profession) or taught themselves by reading texts of practical medical advice. Medical guilds accepted surgeons and empirics if they passed a practical examination but rejected barbers. These members of the medical profession did not enjoy the prestige or income of university-trained physicians.

At the time of the Renaissance and Reformation, states were rapidly expanding. They therefore employed an increasing number of administrators, secretaries, judges, and prosecutors—all professionals with specialized training. Sometimes the state established special schools to train boys for careers in government. Notaries were also essential for both government and business, because they recorded business partnerships, contracts, property sales, marriage agreements, and wills. Licensed by the state and members of a guild, notaries wrote Latin in a handwriting so difficult to read and full of special formulas and abbreviations that it protected their professional status. Prospective notaries learned from experienced notaries and sometimes had university training.

The clergy

Many men became religious professionals during the Renaissance and Reformation era. The Roman Catholic Church had a great variety of clergy such as parish priests, priests who served bishops in many capacities, bishops, cardinals, diplomats, Vatican officials, and the pope. The church had its own courts, which required clergymen with legal training, and large staffs of secretaries, who served popes and bishops. Another group treated as clergymen were unordained monks, friars, and lay brothers who were members of religious orders.

While most clergymen were ordained priests, training varied according to a man's professional aspirations. Indeed, education helped determine how high a clergyman could rise within the church. Parish priests often received only a few years' education in a local Latin school and informal guidance from an established priest. A priest who hoped to rise into the highest ranks of the church needed a university degree, and he often obtained a law degree. The overwhelming majority of Italian popes, cardinals, and bishops in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries held degrees in canon law, or in both civil and canon law. Clergymen expecting to become teachers and scholars of theology obtained theology degrees. This situation changed somewhat by the late sixteenth century. The development of Catholic seminaries and schools founded by new religious orders, such as the Jesuits, gave future clergymen training in liberal arts, philosophy, and theology. These subjects were more appropriate to the religious profession. Protestant churches also established schools for their clergy, which emphasized Bible study, theology, and preaching.

Social position linked to education

A person's social position was determined by his education and profession. An example is teachers, whose training and social position varied. University professors had degrees and shared the world of lawyers and physicians. Teachers at the secondary level, especially those who taught at Latin schools, came close to the training and social position of professors. But elementary-school teachers, a few of whom were women, lacked social distinction and received low salaries. Anyone could become a teacher, because the profession lacked regulatory organizations. The vast majority of professionals outside the church came from professional families. Hence, dynasties of lawyers and physicians were formed during the Renaissance, as father, son, grandson, and nephew all became lawyers, or all became physicians. For example, numerous members of the Sozini family in Siena, Italy, became lawyers, judges, and professors of law in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

Artisan training

Artisans (also called craftsmen) were skilled workers who made items to be sold in the extensive trading networks that had been developing since the eleventh and twelfth centuries. A craft guild was an organization of all the producers of one particular item in a town, such as shoemakers or blacksmiths (those who make objects out of iron). Each guild set standards of quality for its products and regulated the conduct of its members. The guild also set procedures for the training of its members. To become a shoemaker, for instance, it was necessary to spend about seven years as an apprentice (one who learns a trade under the supervision of a master). Apprentices or their parents normally paid the master for their training, and apprentices remained with one master for the entire period of their training.

The apprentice then spent another seven years as a journeyman (one who travels from job to job) working in the shop of a master shoemaker. Journeymen received room and board and sometimes a small wage. They often traveled from master to master gaining skill and experience until they were ready to make their own masterpiece—a fine example of their craft that demonstrated their expertise. The masterpiece had to be approved by the other master shoemakers, who decided if the market for shoes was large enough in their town to support another shoemaker. Once the masters approved the journey-man's masterpiece and gave him permission to work in the town, he became a master and opened his own shop. Although the time required to be an apprentice and journeyman varied slightly from craft to craft, all guilds followed the same training procedures.

Artists

In book thirty-five of Natural History, the ancient Roman scholar Pliny the Elder (a.d. 23–79) tells of the ancient Greek artist Pamphilus (after 390–350 b.c.), who was "the first painter highly educated in all branches of learning, especially arithmetic and geometry, without the aid of which he maintained art could not attain perfection." Pamphilus trained the most famous painter of Greek antiquity, Apelles (fourth century b.c.). Pamphilus put his pupils through what was effectively a twelve-year course of study, and through his influence the art of painting was elevated to the level of a liberal art. Pliny's account of Pamphilus's training methods provided a model for Renaissance artists—painters and sculptors. Between 1400 and 1600, artists sought to elevate the status of their profession and to expand artistic training by introducing liberal studies. At the beginning of this period painters and sculptors, like most artisans of the time, underwent an apprenticeship with a master. By the end of the Renaissance, in the late sixteenth century, both private and state-sponsored artistic academies had been founded to give students practical instruction along with exposure to art theory, mathematics, and anatomy.

Apprenticeship

Throughout the Renaissance period, a young artist learned his craft by apprenticing with a master. Historians have determined the nature of these apprenticeships by investigating documents from the period. These documents include guild or municipal regulations, contracts between individual masters and pupils, handbooks or treatises (largely Italian) written by practicing artists, and surviving drawings and prints.

Musical Training

Little is known about music education during the Renaissance. Some formal instruction was given in cathedral choir schools in France and Flanders (located in parts of present-day France, Belgium, and the Netherlands). Similar training was given to choirboys at the major Italian cathedrals. In general, however, most musicians received individual instruction at home, a practice that was especially true for girls. The printing of musical primers began in the late sixteenth century, but knowledge of music was usually passed down from a master to a student rather than through textbooks. Many singers and composers were clerics (church officials), particularly in Catholic countries. A few, like the French composer Guillaume Dufay (c. 1400–1474), performed throughout Europe, while others, like the Flemish composer Heinrich Isaac (c. 1450–1517), were given honored positions at the court of the Holy Roman Emperor. But the employment situation for musicians and composers was unstable. They were often fired from their positions when a new duke gained power at court or when a major church made financial cutbacks. If a composer wanted to publish his music he had to find a patron who would subsidize (help pay for) the printing costs. The composer would then dedicate the work to the patron. Although some musicians, such as the famous Italian composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina (c. 1525–1594), became wealthy, many depended on their jobs as chapel masters or directors of music in churches for an income.

As a rule, most musicians and patrons were men. Nevertheless, a few women made contributions to music of the period. Historians know that noblewomen in Italy, France, and Flanders acted as patrons. Among the most prominent was Isabella d'Este, duchess of the Italian city-state of Ferarra, who played a role in the development of songs called frottole. A famous woman musician was Laura Pevenara, who performed at the court of Ferrara. Women were also active in music outside the court. Presses in Antwerp, Belgium, printed music performed by amateur female musicians. During the late sixteenth century Italian nuns in Bologna, Milan, and Verona became increasingly involved in the music world.

Local artists' guilds regulated apprenticeships to varying degrees. The goal was to equalize practices among the various artists' workshops and to ensure a consistent level of quality in their products. Hence, guild statutes might specify how many apprentices a master could take into his shop at a time and how long an apprenticeship should last. Statutes also stated that a pupil should not leave one master for another during his apprenticeship, or that a pupil could not sell works independently. Specific terms were also set out in contracts drawn up between the master and the father or guardian of the potential pupil, who was typically a male between twelve and fourteen years old. Some contracts specified that in addition to receiving food, lodging, and clothing, the apprentice would be paid a salary. Others required that the master be paid a yearly fee, which could be reduced as the training progressed—and as the youth presumably became more useful to the shop. A contract that required payment of the master was apparently the norm in northern Europe. Italian apprenticeship agreements might be of either type, suggesting that, at least in Italy, the profession did not draw exclusively from one economic class.

The lengths of time mentioned in these contracts varied widely, from one to eight years, and sometimes ignored guild statutes. If the apprentice did follow the full course of training and could afford to pay dues to the guild, he could open his own workshop and take on apprentices himself. In some cases, mostly in northern Europe, guild certification involved submitting a piece of work to demonstrate mastery (that is, a masterpiece). If the fully trained artist did not have the funds to pay guild dues and start up a workshop, he often hired himself out as a journeyman or assistant until his financial position improved.

The actual training program for an apprentice artist is not addressed in guild statutes and is usually only hinted at in contracts. A fuller picture of Italian training is found in Il libro dell'arte (Craftsman's handbook), which was written by the painter Cennino Cennini (c. 1370–c. 1440) around 1400. Cennini apprenticed in the late fourteenth century under the Florentine painter Agnolo Gaddi (c. 1350–1396). Although his book was apparently composed while he was at the court in Padua, his was probably the typical apprenticeship of a painter in Tuscany. Cennini claimed to have spent twelve years of study under Gaddi. He described essentially a thirteen-year training period. He spent the first year copying artistic models with a stylus (pen used for drawing) on a small wooden panel. For the next six years he learned basic tasks such as mixing pigments and preparing panels to be painted. During the final six years he mastered the techniques of painting on a panel and a wall.

At the end of the fifteenth century the Tuscan artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) began preparing notes for a treatise about painting. One of his goals was to develop an ideal training course for an apprentice. Leonardo's notes reflect the new emphasis on studying perspective and proportion that was taking place in the Renaissance art world. Yet he indicated that the central feature of artistic training was drawing, which began with copying two-dimensional examples from the works of other artists and then moving on to three-dimensional examples, like sculptures. The final stage was drawing objects in living nature. The imitative practices described by Cennini and Leonardo are reflected in numerous drawings made by Renaissance artists.

Informal and formal academies

In the 1570s and 1580s academies for the training of artists were being formed in Italy and northern Europe. The concept of an academy originated in Italy in the early sixteenth century, when artists gathered for group drawing sessions after the work day was over. Both Cennini and Leonardo discussed the practice of apprentices drawing in groups. Although Leonardo was concerned that pupils might be distracted by the presence of others, he noted that these sessions could stimulate healthy competition among young artists. In 1531 the Italian artist Agostino Venenziano put the word "Academia" (Academy) on an engraving. It depicted artists drawing statuettes by candlelight in the studio of the Italian sculptor Baccio Bandinelli. A later engraving by the Italian artist Enea Vico, made around 1550, shows a group of artists drawing by lamplight. The items in the studio include skeletons, perhaps suggesting that by the mid-sixteenth century apprentices were doing anatomical studies.

Informal academies were also appearing in northern Europe. The Dutch artist Karel Van Mander (1548–1606) is said to have formed an academy for drawing with several other artists in Haarlem during the 1580s. Van Mander had visited Florence and Rome in the mid-1570s, and it is likely that he imported the practice of group drawing sessions from Italy. In fact, by the time Van Mander passed through Florence, a formal artistic academy, the Compagnia e Accademia del Disegno (Company and Academy of Design), had been founded in that city by artist Giorgio Vasari (1511–1574). The academy had developed out of the Company of Saint Luke, an artists' social organization called a confraternity. It provided an educational program for artists, eventually replacing the functions of painters' and sculptors' guilds. After 1571 painters and sculptors were no longer required to belong to a guild. Vasari received support from Cosimo I de' Medici (1519–1574), the duke of Florence. The Compagnia e Accademia del Disegno became a sort of sister organization to the Accademia Fiorentino, the state-sponsored literary academy that promoted the Tuscan language. The Accademia del Disegno became a model for institutions in other Italian cities, such as Rome, Bologna, and Milan. In 1648 in Paris, the last chapter in the early history of modern artistic education was begun with the founding of the state-sponsored Académie Royale de Peinture et Sculpture (Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture). Various national academies followed in Vienna, Austria; Madrid, Spain; St. Petersburg, Russia; and other European capitals.