Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1911-02-04
stars shine Down Through
Dim and Distant
Ages.
Ministers of Mother Church
Were Leaders of
Progress.
Irish Monks Founded Schools
of Learning On the
Continent.
HISTORY WORTHY OF STUDY

One of the chief objections to the
Catholic church raised by its
enemies Is that it is priest-ridden
and that the church is a foe to edu-
cation, culture and progress. They
gloat over what they call the Dark
Ages or Middle Ages, a period that
extends from the fall of the Roman
empire until the so-called Reforma-
tion. Any careful reader of history
will find that the church and her
ministers kept the light of education
and progress alight during those So
called dark ages.
History proves that it was the
priests and monks who handed the
Bible down from generation to gen
Grafton, and it also shows that in
the very early Middle Ages every
Cathedral and nearly every monas-
terry had its school and library in
accordance with canonical enact
ments. Hallam, the British Prot
estant historian, admits that the
praise of having originally estab-
lished schools belongs 10 some
Bishops and Abbots of the sixth
century, but that, at least so far as
Ireland is concerned, it is certain
that her schools were celebrated
throughout Europe in the fifth cen
tury.
AS TO the continent of Europe,
the historian will find that the
Council OF Watson, in 529 A. d.,
recommended the institution OF free
parochial schools, Then there is a
canon of the third general Council
Of Constantinople, in $50 A. D.,
commanding priests to have free
schools in all country places; an
other of Synod of Orleans, in 500
A. D., ordering the parochial clergy
ito teach little children with the
greatest kindness, receiving no COM
lpensation, save the voluntary of
ferings of parents" A canon of the
Synod of Mentz, in S13 A. D., COM
manded parents to send their chill
dren to the schools in the monas-
teries or in the houses of the parish
clergy; and canon of Rome, in
S26, prescribed schools in every
suitable place.
Higher education was not only
not neglected, but the most cele.
brated universities the world has
ever known were founded and per-
fected during the so-called Dark
Ages. Most renowned of all was
the Irish school of Benchor, later
Bangor, with its thousands of schol-
ars, and the other Irish establish.
ments at Lindisfarne in England, al
Bobbio in Italy, at Verdun in
France, and at Wurzburg, Ratisbon
Erfut, Cologne and Vienna In Ger.
man territory.
Here Is list of some of the cele-
brated universities of Europe and
the years OF their foundation. They
were founded by Catholic monks
and during the Dark Ages: Uni
versity OF Vienna, 1864; that OF
Heidelberg, in 1886; Erfurt, 1892;
Leipsic, 1903; Wurzburg, in 14lO:
Rostock, 1419; Louvain, 1925;
Treves, 1454;; Metz, l477, and
Cologne, 1855.
In these Dark Ages flourished
men like Alfred the Great, Thomas
Aquinas, Abelard and Dante. Linen
writing paper was invented in the
year 100, while paper made from
cotton was in use a century or more
earlier. The art of printing! OF
rather of the press, was invented by
Lawrence Coster, priest of the
Cathedral OF Harlem, or by the
artist Gansfleisch. called Gutenberg
in the year 1896; but printing by
hand was in vogue in the tenth cen
tury.
That music may be called a
science is due to an Italian monk
Guido of Arezo, who determined
the scale, hitherto uncertain, in
1924. His "solmization," or use OF
the ut, re, mi, ia, sol, la, was signi
fled by means of the words of the
first verses OF the yesper hymn foI
the feast OF st. John the Baptist
Before the time of Pope Gregor,
the Great, who was elevated to the
Papaey in 500 A. d., the Italians
used an alphabetical rotation com
posed of the first fifteen letters,
but that Pontiff reduced them TO the
first seven for the diatonic scale
distinguishing the octaves by cap,
itals for the lower, and small letters
for the upper.
The compass, spectacles, the ar
OF oil painting. carpet weaving, the
ase OF the silk worm and windmill
are all handed down TO modern civ
!lization from the Catholic monks O
the Dark Ares