Learning and Education

• Church Education

  • by 1100, all cathedrals and larger churches had schools, some were established prior to the Conquest like King's School, Canterbury (597)
  • Church schools focused on Latin, music, astronomy, maths, law
  • Latin was the language of the Church
  • Music needed for future priests and monks
  • Astronomy and maths needed to help with the Church calendar
  • Law helped in carrying out administration
• Secular Schooling

  • wasn't until 1382 with the establishment of Winchester College where schools became independent from the Church
  • this saw the development of a broader education
• University Education

  • teaching started in Oxford in 1096, but truly flourished in the 12th century
  • only university in England until Cambridge was founded in 1209
• What did the Normans also have a large impact on?

  language
• Latin Language

  • language of the government and the Church, seen as the most important
  • Anglo Saxon Chronicles ended in 1154, only history written in English
• Everyday Language

  • whilst Latin was the official language, most spoke Norman-French or English
  • Norman-French became the favoured language as Saxon teachers were replaced by Normans. it became the vernacular for upper and middle classes and clerks
  • it developed into Anglo-Norman and became the language used in law courts, schools and universities
  • influence of Normans in language is huge, around a quarter of modern English words have French roots