Childhood Education

Children were considered a blank slate, hardly human at all until they reached one year of age. The mother had the task of instilling moral precepts into her children. Although the Renaissance learned from classical authors, such as Quintilian, that both parents should set an example of virtue for their children, mothers were responsible for teaching young children. In turn, this meant that girls realized early in life that they would bear this responsibility if they became mothers. Needlework, spinning, simple weaving, and sometimes lacemaking were part of the childhood education of girls, who would later provide the cloth

11.4 Saint Anne reading to the Virgin. Netherlandish oak sculpture, first quarter of the 16th century. Saint Anne’s reading to her daughter was a popular model for childhood education. (Photograph courtesy of Sotheby’s, Inc., © 2003)

And textiles for their own home. Upper-class girls were expected to master the art of embroidery, one of the signs of a cultivated woman. Mary Stuart (1542-87), for example, created exquisitely embroidered pillow covers while imprisoned by Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603). By the 14th century girls were being taught to read and write, especially in the vernacular, as long as the subjects were virtuous or spiritual. Although many parents liked for their young daughters to learn to sing and play an instrument, some pedagogical theorists taught that such “vanities” should not detract from other lessons. The social class of a girl determined the extent of her basic education; upper-class girls even learned some arithmetic, girls of lower status learned only to read and write, and poor girls learned only to read well enough to comprehend their book of prayers, if that. Only a small percentage (probably less than 10 percent) of teachers were women. They instructed primary school pupils, both girls and boys, in the vernacular.