How did medieval lords get education?

Answer 1

The English King Henry I, a son of William the Conqueror, is reputed to have said, "an illiterate king was a crowned ass." Henry I was also called Henry Beauclerk, meaning that he was well educated. His remark shows that he had an expectation that a king should be educated, but that some were not.

There is a link below to an article on Henry I. There is also a link to the related question, "How were people educated in the middle ages?" which contains information on the educational policies of Charlemagne and King Alfred the Great. These were kings of the Early Middle Ages; kings of the later Middle Ages were more likely to be educated and to support education.

Answer 2

No. 90% of the population couldn't read or write. The other 10% were nobles and monks who could read and write. Monks often taught noble boys as tutors and wrote books.

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The Middle Ages saw the birth of some of the most renowned universities. University of Paris, Padua, Oxford etc. Large cities were hotbeds of learning.

More:

The Byzantine Empire had schools open through the entire medieval period. These ranged from primary schools, which operated at the village level, to universities, such as the University of Constantinople, which opened in 425 AD. This school system was maintained until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

In the West, some schools opened under the Roman Empire were maintained through the Middle Ages also. One example was Cor Tewdws (Theodosius College) which was opened in Wales some time prior to 395 AD and was closed by the English King Henry VIII, after the Middle Ages ended. The Visigoths and Anglo-Saxons were both opening schools during the 6th century, one of which, the King's School in Canterbury, remains open to this day.

Charlemagne expanded the Frankish schools and Alfred the Great expanded the Anglo Saxons'.

The university movement in Western Europe began with the consolidation of schools that already existed. This began in 1088 with the opening of the University of Bologna.

There were schools called abacus schools that began opening in the 12th century to educate children in merchant families, both boys and girls, in reading and writing in the vernacular, and in mathematics using Arabic numerals.

Answer 3

First AnswerMost didn't have much of a formal education. Many were taught by monks at home in childhood. There were no formal schools and most of the population couldn't read or write. They also received an education directly through a mentor as in becoming a knight. They would begin training as a knight around 7-8 years old and train with an older knight until 21 years old when they became a full knight. Most learning in this time was done by this process. Second AnswerMost members of the nobility whose education is recorded seem to have been tutored at home or taught in convents or monasteries. Some were school educated. We know, for example, that Matilda of Scotland was taught in a convent school to prepare her to be a queen. The fact that this was recorded was accidental, and so it should not be assumed it was unusual because the educations of other royal or noble children were not recorded. There is a link to an article on her below.

The Byzantines opened the first primary schools in 425 AD. They kept the system going until Constantinople fell in 1453. See the link on schools below.

The King's School in Canterbury was opened in 596 and continues to operate.

The Beverley Grammar School, in Yorkshire, was opened as a state run school in 700 AD and was kept open by the Vikings when they took the area over. It is still in operation. There are 70 other schools (not including universities) open today that were opened in the Middle Ages. See the link to a list of the oldest schools in the world below.

The first University was opened in Bologna in 1088. It was formed by combining existing schools in the area into a single formal unit. By the end of the middle ages there were over 70 universities open in Europe. See the link to a list of the medieval universities below.

Answer 4

1st AnswerNo. The foot solider was a peasant who was required to fight for the manor. He did weapons practice, but his weapons were his farm tools. The knight was a noble so he could have had some education as a child from the monks who may have tutored him. The knight began his knighthood education at 7-8 years old so his life was spent becoming a knight at 21. 2nd AnswerThe answer above is probably right for continental Western Europe of the Middle Ages. In the Byzantine Empire, soldiers were expected to be literate, and the state ran a primary school system for the purpose. The system was opened in 425 AD and continued until 1453. In England, times varied, but Alfred the Great had an educational policy that was intended to see that all people of the status of freeman or higher could receive an education in English, which was why the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was kept in English.

There is a link below to the related question, "How were people educated in the middle ages?"