Mühlhausen. From being a chorister at the Weimar court,
he moved in 1571 to the Hofkapelle in Munich, where he
was a pupil of LASSUS. In the late 1570s he was in the
household of the Augsburg FUGGER FAMILY, before joining
(1579) the chapel of the margrave of Brandenburg-
Ansbach in Königsberg. He was assistant Kapellmeister
until 1604 when he succeeded to the senior post. In 1608
the new elector gave Eccard responsibility for music at his
Berlin court. A Lutheran composer, Eccard made much
use of the chorale melodies in his works; his 1597 publi-
cation of sacred music contains simple harmonizations,
but other volumes of his work develop the complex genre
of the chorale motet, of which he was one of the major
exponents.
Eck, Johann (Johann Maier of Eck) (1486–1543)
German theologian and polemicist
Professor of theology (1510–43) and chancellor at the
university of Ingolstadt in Bavaria, Eck was the first and
most persistent of LUTHER’s adversaries. His attack was ini-
tially launched against Luther’s supporter, Andreas CARL-
STADT, and led to a formal disputation with both men at
Leipzig in June and July 1519. Eck’s various assaults on
Luther were published and widely circulated, and his ac-
cusations, including an association of Luther with Jan
HUSS, forced Luther to define his position concerning the
authority of the Bible, the character of Christ’s Church,
and the papacy and Church hierarchy. Eck helped draw up
the Confutatio declaring Emperor CHARLES V’s total rejec-
tion of Protestant principles that was read at the Diet of
Augsburg (1530). He was one of the three Catholic
spokesmen in the debates at the Colloquy of REGENSBURG
in 1541.
eclogue See PASTORAL
education In the Middle Ages education had been mainly
under ecclesiastical control and was designed for those
who were intended for a clerical career. This was true of
the schools maintained by trade guilds no less than of the
(Latin) grammar schools and choir schools supported by
cathedral and collegiate churches.
From the 14th century onwards secular influences
began to gain ground, and more importance was attached
to training in the LIBERAL ARTS, especially RHETORIC. The
Latin literature of pagan antiquity was studied for its own
sake, and the revival of Greek learning in the West was
begun by Manuel CHRYSOLORAS, who was invited to Flo-
rence from Constantinople in 1395. The De ingenuis
moribus et liberalibus studiis (On gentle manners and lib-
eral studies), written about 1402 by Pietro Paolo Vergerio
(1370–1444) of Padua, argued in favor of a system of ed-
ucation that maintained a harmony of body and spirit. A
number of boarding schools were founded in northern
Italy in the early 15th century; VITTORINO DA FELTRE
founded schools at Padua, Venice, and Mantua. This last,
which enjoyed the patronage of the duke of Mantua,
aimed at making learning pleasant and was known as La
Giocosa. The instruction was entirely in Latin, and the
subjects were mainly those of medieval schools, but the
methods were revolutionary, including the teaching of
mathematics by means of arithmetical and geometrical
games.
At these establishments the daughters of the aristoc-
racy too could enjoy the benefits of a wide humanist edu-
cation, but in their case, since they were unable to proceed
to a university or otherwise exercise their talents in the
public arena, a love of learning often had sad and frustrat-
ing outcomes for girls who developed their intellectual
abilities only to come to a stultifying dead end in marriage
or a nunnery. Cecilia Gonzaga (1424–51) was one of a
number who opted for the latter alternative. In a later gen-
eration Battista GUARINO’s two pupils Isabella (see ESTE, IS-
ABELLA D’) and Beatrice d’Este (1475–97) made good use
of their education when they became the wives, respec-
tively, of the dukes of Mantua and Milan, promoting the
arts and humanistic culture in their husbands’ courts. Less
aristocratic women, such as Laura CERETAand Cassandra
FEDELE, were denied such outlets, and either marriage
brought an end (usually permanent) to intellectual aspira-
tions, or family responsibilities diverted their energies, or
male hostility and derision ensured that they published
little or nothing.
Leon Battista ALBERTI’s treatise Della famiglia
(1435–41) emphasized the importance of the home back-
ground in education. He wrote in Italian, rather than
Latin, as he wished to influence a wide public. The classi-
cal source for much of the educational theory behind
these Italian projects was QUINTILIAN, whose first two
books were known at the beginning of the 15th century.
In France, Spain, and England the new learning was
first promoted in circles connected with the royal court.
LITERACYand even scholarship began to be perceived by
the upper classes as fitting attainments for gentlemen,
rather than as the prerogative of despised “clerks.” In Eng-
land the first of the public schools (schools maintained by
a corporation or body of trustees), had been founded at
Winchester in 1382 by Bishop William of Wykeham,
sometime lord chancellor. Many more such schools were
established in the 15th and 16th centuries; in the latter
part of the period some of the founders were merchants.
Numerous grammar schools also originated at this time.
The most important English treatises on education were
The Boke named the Governour (1531) by Sir Thomas
ELYOTand The Scholemaster (1570) by Roger ASCHAM,
tutor to Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth. Both empha-
sized the importance of teaching English as well as Latin
and included physical exercise as a curriculum subject.
Furthermore, Ascham deplored the harsh methods used
by many of his contemporaries. The elementary educationeedduuccaattiioonn 1 15555