Course:History 344 Nasty Families/Education/Gentry Education Beyond Grammer School
Gentry Education beyond Grammar school
The gentry class of seventeenth-century England was often concerned with the education of their sons beyond simply the grammar school level. The concerns of a gentry family included the assurance of the well-being of the next generation, the preservation or improvement of the family's social status, the conservation of the family's lands and the securing of future incomes.[1] Education was particularly important in advancing these concerns and goals. Most gentry sons would leave home in their late teens to pursue an education and families often had an influence on the decision although the sons themselves also played a large part.[2] (BN: This would be a good intro to the section, with the rest given their own pages: Inns of Court (already created), University, and Apprentices. Grammar school would also be a good addition.)
The most common educational paths that sons would be encouraged to take include the University, the Inns of Court, and London apprenticeships.[3] The majority of gentry sons would enroll in University. Most likely this form of education would take place at Oxford or Cambridge.[4] However, education at such prestigious universities had different implications for sons depending on their order of birth. For younger sons, their education was much more focused on enabling the young man to earn his own living as his older brother(s) would likely be the sole inheritor of any property or fortune. Therefore, few eldest sons completed a degree and younger sons were less likely to go to university or the Inns but after the third son, the probability increased. Conversely, younger sons were more likely to complete their degrees or training.[5]
The second most common educational path for a gentry son was to enter into and Inn of Court to study law. Similar to the goals of university, the Inns of Court were often less about a career as it was prestige and appearance: "An understanding of the law was recognized as a useful adornment for the early modern gentleman, assisting him in his private and public roles".[6] However, the Inns of court could also provide the foundation for a career for younger sons.
Finally, apprenticeships, particularly in London, were seen as a suitable educational path. These were mostly suited to younger sons as a career was more likely to result.[7] However, not just any apprenticeship was seen as acceptable for the son of a gentleman who was not supposed to work with his hands through labour. Only the trades at the highest end of the market were pursued by gentry sons.[8]
A university education became important for young gentlemen and noblemen particularly after 1560. [9] The development of a central English government required well-educated bureaucrats. The gentry in particular responded to this need. Through their involvement in government, gentlemen raised the status of their families and to some extent redefined the purpose of their class. [10] By 1634, it was expected that a gentleman would be "beneficiall and usefull to his country." [11] Gentlemen needed a good university education in order to do their duty toward the state and "bring in tune a discordant Commonwealth."[12]
- ↑ Patrick Wallis, and Cliff Webb, "Education and training of gentry sons in Early Modern England," Social History 36.1 (2011): 36.
- ↑ Ibid., 48;53.
- ↑ Ibid., 42.
- ↑ Ibid., 46
- ↑ Ibid., 48
- ↑ Ibid., 46.
- ↑ Ibid., 48.
- ↑ Ibid., 44.
- ↑ Jonathan M. Smith, "State Formation, Geography, and a Gentleman's Education," Geographical Review 86, no. 1 (Jan. 1996): 94.
- ↑ Smith, 92.
- ↑ Smith, 94.
- ↑ Smith, 94.