Germany and the Netherlands

In the late 14th century a religious group called Brethren of the Common Life was founded in Germany, its members the chief supporters of devotio moderna (modern devotion; see chapter 2). Although the Brethren of the Common Life had died out by the 17th century, during the 15th and 16th centuries their emphasis on private pietism contributed significantly to the improvement of education. The more learned a person could be, the more completely that person’s understanding might be developed. Many famous humanists were trained in schools founded by the Brethren, including Desiderius Erasmus (c. 1466-1536), arguably the most important humanistic scholar of the Renaissance (see England and ScotLand, pages 276-277). In general, humanistic curricula in northern Europe had a religious undercurrent, and biblical studies were a core component of the program. Philipp Melanchthon (1497-1560) was one of the leading theologians of the Protestant Reformation (see chapter 2). A professor of Greek who

Education

Corrected Luther’s German translation of the New Testament, Melanchthon was a reforming educator. He had a humanistic school in his own home, and his Latin curriculum combining biblical passages with the Latin classics was adopted throughout Germany.

During the Renaissance Strasbourg, today in eastern France, was part of Germany. In 1538 the reformer Johannes Sturm (1507-89) moved to Strasbourg and founded a gymnasium (public secondary school) that would become a model of the humanistic curriculum. At times it had as many as 500 students. Sturm had been educated by the Brethren of the Common Life and at the humanistic University of Louvain. Before moving to Strasbourg, he had lived among humanists in Paris, teaching the literature of the classics. His program at the Strasbourg gymnasium, of which he was rector, included the dramatic presentation of classical plays. This pedagogical tool, also utilized by Jesuit schools in other parts of western Europe, became more prevalent in education by the close of the 16th century. Sturm’s curriculum consisted of eight divisions of students (like today’s grades) with strict standards for advancement. His school had an outstanding faculty, many of whom published grammars and textbooks. These publications were disseminated throughout Europe by German publishers.

Juan Luis Vives (1492-1540) was a humanistic scholar from Valencia who had studied in Paris. He taught privately in Bruges and then Louvain and returned to Bruges after spending five years teaching and advising the queen in England. Humanism in public schools in the Netherlands was promoted as a result of Vives’s treatise De disciplinis libri xx (Twenty books on education, 1531). He advocated teaching in the vernacular, as well as in Latin and Greek; associative learning; and pious devotion to one’s education. His other pedagogical works included Linguae latinae exercitatio (Exercises in the Latin language, 1539, dialogues for beginning students). As a result of the influence of Vives and his contemporaries, the Netherlands instituted a rigorous, comprehensive humanistic educational system that remains influential even today.