The Renaissance

ing a method in which students take
gradual steps in their lessons, and are also
given rigorous physical training to achieve
a balance of mind and body.

Humanism emphasized the study of
the classic Latin and Greek writers in
forming a valuable citizen, one who could
read, write, and speak effectively and make
a contribution to civic life. The most
popular Latin authors for teaching pur-
poses were Virgil, Ovid, Cicero, Terence,
Livy, Sallust, and Horace. Students studied
Latin spelling, grammar, and syntax, and
translated classical authors. One common
exercise was to write in the style of a cer-
tain author, or to translate a passage of
Latin into everyday language, and then
back into Latin. Students memorized im-
portant passages from the speeches of Ci-
cero and others, and were encouraged to
use Latin in the classroom and in their ev-
eryday conversation.

Humanist teaching first took place at
private academies established in noble
courts, where children of the aristocracy
trained for careers as public servants and
leaders. There were notable academies at
the courts of Ferrara and Mantua, where
the classical virtues of endurance, stoicism,
morality, and valor were stressed, and the
student was required to take part in physi-
cal activity as well as regular Mass and
confession. Many of the Italian city-states,
notably Florence, Verona, Venice, and Mi-
lan, adopted this program in their public
schools in the middle of the fifteenth cen-
tury. By the sixteenth century, humanist
education was spreading from Italy to the
rest of Europe.

Printed grammar books became com-
monplace after the printing press was in-
vented in the 1450s. The use of paper,
pens, and notebooks expanded at the same
time. One of the most important school-

books was theInstitutiones Grammaticae

Latinae, or Principles of Latin Grammar,

published by Aldus Manutius. In the

1520s, a Dutch printer, Johannes Despau-

terius, began printing the Grammatica,

which was more popular in northern Eu-

rope and the British Isles. Those opposed

to rote study of grammatical rules had stu-

dents compose their own works in imita-

tion of worthy authors such as Cicero,

Tacitus, and Livy. Desiderius Erasmus, the

Dutch humanist and scholar, collected sev-

eral of these ancient authors in his book

De Copia Verborum, which became the

most popular schoolbook throughout

northern Europe in the sixteenth century.

He was also the author of theColloquia,a

collection of fictional dialogues used as

models for conversation in Latin.

SEEALSO: humanism

Edward VI ......................................

(1537–1553)

King of England from 1547 until his death

of pneumonia at the age fifteen in 1553.

Edward was the son of King Henry VIII

and Jane Seymour, but at the time the

throne passed to him he was only nine

years old. England was ruled by regents, at

first the Duke of Somerset and then, from

1549, the Duke of Northumberland. Dur-

ing his brief reign, the Protestant Church

of England prevailed over the Catholic

Church, expelled from England by Henry

VIII. At the time of his death, the Duke of

Northumberland promoted the accession

of Lady Jane Grey, who was soon deposed

from the throne and replaced by the

Catholic queen Mary.

Elizabeth I ......................................

(1533–1603)

Tudor dynasty queen of England from

1558 until her death in 1603. The daugh-

Edward VI