General Information
The History of Private & Public School Uniforms: Middle Ages
After the fall of Rome, formal schooling in the West disappeared. The rare vestiges of school were the song schools of the cathedrals and monasteries. The boys chosen at first were taught to prepare them for holy orders. We have only limited information about the clothing for these early choristers. Formal schooling in Europe outside of church schools were rare in Europe until about the 10th century. The great bulk of the population was iliterate.
The number of children attending schools was very limited for several more centuries. There were similarities in the development of schools throughout Europe, but the pattern varied significantly in many areas. We have little information at this time about clothing at these early schools. There does appear to have been some uniformity in the clothing worn by the choristers in the early song schools. This appears to have been less common in the secular schools which slowly developed during the second millennium.
Chronology
After the fall of Rome, formal schooling in the West disappeared. The rare vestages of school were the song schools of the cathedrals and monestaries. The boys chosen at first were taught to prepare them for holy orders. We have only limited information about the clothing for these early choristers. Formal schooling in Europe outside of church schools were rare in Europe until about the 10th century. The great bulk of the population wa iliterate. The number of children attending schools was very limited for several more centuries.
We have little information at this time about clothing at these early schools. Even during the late middle ages, the most advanced schools in the Western world were the Arab Islamaic schools called "mederasas". We note grammar schools being founded in England during the 12th century. One such school was the Lancaster Grammar School, one of the earliest such schools in England.
School Types
The types of schools that developed in midieval Europe were quite similar. Only in the late medieval era did more destinctive schools appear.
School Life
School life was very differet in medieval Europe. Most schools had no access to books. Before printing was developed, books were enomously expensive and were not used in schools. Pupils leared by rote. The abilities of medieval teachers, often called masters, varied greatly. Most were priests, often with only a very basic education themselves.
The size of classes varied greatly. Informal parish schools could be quite small. Schools in large cities could have classes of more than 100 boys. Schools were for boys. Medieval Europeans saw no need to school girls, although theymight attend classes in local parish schools. The school day could be quite long. Boys might be at school for more than 12 hours. Discipline could be very strict and the pupils were often beaten.
Clothing
There does appear to have been some uniformity in the clothing worn by the choristers in the early song schools. This appears to have been less common in the secular schools which slowly developed during the second millenium.
Countries
There were similarities in the development of schools throught Europe, but the pattern varied significantly in many areas.
England
There was of course no comprehensive national educational system in medieval England. As a result a variety of different schools developed. England like other European countries had a variety of different schools. Few children at the time attended these schools and the quality of the teaching was often very poor. I am not sure what kind of schools excisted in England during the Roman era. The only schools we know of in the ealy medieval period (5th and 6th centuries) schools operated by the Church. Although information is limited this must be the case as very few people were literate, including the aristocracy.
The few people who were literate were priests, and only some of them. The earliest schools we know of are song schools at cathedrals and monestaries. Song schools served not only to provide coral singers to add to church services, but also to train priests. At first most of the boys in early song schools were preparing for a religious vocation. Thus the St. Albans Chour School is sometimes looked on as the first English school tracing its origins to the monestary sing school in the 6th century. Gradually other schools developed in early medieval England. Unfortunately information on these schools is very limited. Some paish churches set up informal schools. Some monastaries set up almonry schools for the poor.
There were also chantry schools. These were also church schools. As the medieval era progressed schools with more secular foundation appeared, but were often still associated with the church either through the curriculum or religious scholars who taught in the schools. The first secular schools which appeared were the schools founded by the guilds which were organized in medieval cities. Then grammar schools began to appear. The grammar schools became a key institution in English education. Much of our knowledge is of the more fully evolved grammar schools from the late medieval era. Many of these schools had royal sponsors, several still operatingbin England bear the name of their royal sponsors.
A major development in English education was the appearance of universities (10th century). English universities evolved in cathedral citirs, probably from early grammar schools.
France
The father of French education is generally considered to be Charlemagne, the father of the French nation. Charlemegne (742-814), who was largely uneducated, respected learning and incouraged the resumption of formal education. He reversed the descent toward barbarianism in western Europe that had followed the fall of the Roman Empire. We only have limited information, however on how boys were educated at the time and what they wore.
A popular tradition at midieval schools, especially cathedral, monastic, and other church schools, was the boy bishop tradition. Gradually the tradition spread and a community or parish might choose a boy bishop from a secular school.