Secular education and especially the profession of law was now the
route for an able but poor person to rise to power, rather than as
formerly through military service or through the church.
The first stage of education was primary education, which was
devoted to learning to read and write in English. This was carried
out at endowed schools or at home by one's mother or a tutor. The
children of the gentry were usually taught in their homes by
private teachers of small classes. Many of the poor became
literate enough to read the Bible and to write letters. However,
most agricultural workers and laborers remained illiterate. They
signed with an "x", which represented the Christian cross and
signified its solemnity. Children of the poor were expected to
work from the age of 6 or 7.
The next stage of education was grammar [secondary] school or a
private tutor. A student was taught rhetoric (e.g. poetry,
history, precepts of rhetoric, and classical oratory), some logic,
and Latin and Greek grammar. English grammar was learned through
Latin grammar and English style through translation from Latin. As
a result, they wrote English in a latin style. Literary criticism
was learned through rhetoric. There were disputations on
philosophical questions such as how many angels could sit on a
pin's point, and at some schools, orations. The students sat in
groups around the hall for their lessons.
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