The sun., 1916-08-27

twofold, namely. that - the elemen-
tary school and that Of the workshop,
. combination Of tho essentials OF Q
education and vocational
training which gave medieval society
an intelligent and skilled laboring
class.
The influence Of the guild may also
be seen in those great democratic in
stitutions Of the Middle Ages. the uni
versities. Tho student guilds pro-
foundry affected university organiza-
ton. especially in Italy and southern
Europe. where control Of these great
institutions lay In the hands Of he
students. Their influence vas not 80
great in Paris and the universities Of
tho north, those Of tho master type
where control was held by the facul-
ties. but in these also II can be seen.
Even In the designation Of the degrees
the guild nomenclature seems to have
been retained. bachelor was old
French for apprentice. the beginner in
teaching. and doctor" or master"
designated one who had produced his
masterpiece and "a ready for his
life career as teacher.
The student guilds Indicate both the
democratic organization OF the uni
versities and their large cosmopolitan
attendance. for It appears that at first
they were the organizations OF foreign
students. like the nations" Of tho
University OF Paris. one OF which was
the English. The thousands OF stu
dents who filled the university colleges
md settlements in tho fifteenth CEN
fury. as. for example. the seventy or
more colleges Of the University OF
Paris and the 800 colleges and hall: 81
oxford. came from all ranks OF life.
ever the very poor. Some OF the earli-
est colleges at Paris were founded and
endowed for poor students: Ba!liol Coll
lege. Oxford. was founded. in 1851 for
the maintenance OF poor scholars. and
Merton Hall in 1868 by Walter de
Merton. n priest. for needy theological
students. When n remembers that
there were e.shty-one universities in
Europe before the Reformation, at
tended In some cases. like Paris. Boz
locUa and oxford. by thousands OF
students. men who were required to
have had preliminary training in ele-
mentary and grammar schools. he Is
somewha. prepared TO receive and un-
derstand what was the number OF
schools open to youth in the various
countries He will he ready for such
statement az that Of Leach. a Protes-
tant writing for England. who holds
that there was not even in 1865 as
ample provision OF schools in England
in proportion to population as at the
Reformation. England had then n
school for every $500 people. whereas
In 1866 there was n only for every
$4,000. ("Engllsh Schools at the Ref
ormation." 34.)
The activities Of tho Brethren Of the
Common Life who conducted schools
n northern Europe at tho close Of the
Middle Ages suggest another phase OF
popular education: namely. that fur.
nished By religious communities. the
orders OF men and women. The Church
had not left the important field OF
teaching to individual or local enter
prise. The old orders. Benedictines.
Franciscans. Domlnicans and the can
ons regular were all Identified with
schools, as also were the orders OF
women in whose hands usually lay tho
institutions for the education OF girls
At the Reformation the older orders
received new encouragement to con-
tinue with educational work. and new
orders, like the Jesuits. having educa-
ton as a special purpose. sprang UP
and proepered. The Piarists might
serve as an example OF an order
founded at the close Of the sixteenth
century to conduct free schools fOr
Toys and girls. They spread through
out Italy, Austria and Poland. Tho
Fathers OF Christian Doctrine. founded
about the same time, were especially
active In France and Italy. and event.
ually included among their works the
education Of orphans and tho blind.
These were precursors Of the teaching
bodies Of the seventeenth and subse-
quent centuries whose work wa popu-
Lar m the fullest sense Of the word.
The Brothers Of the Christian
schools. who contributed much toward
the elevation Of teaching to the rank
Of . profession. represent one Of the
great organized efforts conducted
under the auspices Of the Church for
the education Of the peo0lA. Founded
IN 1853 At Lyons, France. By st. John
Baptist Do Il Sale. their primary OBJ
ject va the ~gratuitous education OF
the poor. They chose a. . rule the
poorest sections Of tho cities where
the greatest poverty and neglect OF
education was apt to bA there opened
fvsa orimarv achoola. and laborOd In