O R G A N O N 24 : 1988 A U T E U R S ET PR O B L ÈM ES
Jerzy Drewnowski (Poland)
T H E M O R A L E D U C A T IO N O F Y O U T H IN F IF T E E N T H -C E N T U R Y CR A C O W U N IV E R S IT Y SERM O N S*
In my previous studies o f university serm ons th a t were held at Cracow University in the fifteenth century, I concentrated on the self-image o f the University professor as evident in these serm ons.1 However, these serm ons also show the perceptions th at professors held o f their students. Few medieval docum ents have been examined as to their views on children and adolescents. Since the Cracow serm ons present a unified if m ulti-faceted view o f children, I think an exam ination o f these sermons is justified. In my considerations on this subject, I will refer to the contents o f all types of university serm ons held at the University o f Cracow in the fifteenth century : ordinary serm ons for the university clergy and for the students, introductory lectures, speeches m ade by rectors and deans on special occasions, prom otion speeches at the Faculty o f Law, and those at the Faculty o f A rts.2 Especially useful are the prom o tion speeches at the Faculty of A rts, as they contain abun d ant inform ation on opinions concerning children and adolescents.
Opinions concerning youths were expressed mainly in the context o f an ethical education and were based on philosophical and theological con siderations. A uthors concentrated on the process o f character building and the m oral m aturation o f their students. Children— as a rule—were considered to have m any faults and, therefore, were inferior to adults. (In fact, since evil is contagious, children m ight even exert a bad influence on adults.) The elim ination o f these faults was a continuous process, lasting until m aturity. The respon
* Paper read a t the U niversity in H onolulu, 24 M arch 1986.
1 Cf. J. Drewnow ski, Uczony w świadom ości polskiego środow iska naukowego p ierw szej p o ło w y X V wieku [The Scholar in the Consciousness o f the Polish Scientific M ilieu in the First H a lf o f the 15 th Century], W roclaw, 1987.
2 Cf. M. Kowalczyk, K rakow skie m ow y uniw ersyteckie z pierw szej p o to w y X V wieku [The Cracow U niversity Speeches fro m the First H a lf o f the 15th Century], W roclaw, 1970, pp. 7— 13.
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sibility for this process rested with all persons engaged in eduction, either at home or at school and the enorm ity o f this task was openly stated.
The process o f education was to begin at birth and was to go on continually until m aturity. Like the theoreticians o f education today, the fifteenth-century Cracow authors were convinced th at the first weeks and m onths o f a child’s life would determ ine the directions o f its further development. The role o f the parents was considered very im portant. Like Ju an Luis Vives in the sixteenth century, the Cracow authors were o f the opinion th at the susceptibility to good and evil was not only inherited b u t was also transm itted through chaperons since the first days o f child’s life. Therefore, nurses had to be carefully chosen.3
Once in school, children continued to be characterized as im m ature hum an beings. Based on A ristotle’s Book o f Ethics, a student was com pared m ost often to a tabula rasa or to a trunk o f a young tree that still can be bent in any direction, or to a clay pot which will preserve forever the smell o f th at food with which it is filled first. Such considerations on the plasticity o f the young m ind led to the conclusion that habits were form ed at an early age, good habits as well as bad ones. Some, citing Seneca, held th at young children ought to be rebuked and restrained, this being a precondition for proper psychological and ethical developm ent.4
There was little deviation from the above view on children, although the Cracow scholars o f the fifteenth century differed in their opinion on hum an nature in general and on its ability to develop morally. F o r example, Stanislaus of Scarbim iria (d. 1431), first rector o f the reestablished Jagiellonian University in Cracow, assumed th at hum an nature tended to show an overpowering in clination to evil. In one o f his sermons, he points o ut all the m oral shortcomings th at are typical for the various stages o f life. These stages show a certain hierarchy o f m orality. M ost virtuous is old age. M anhood is m ore virtuous than adolescence. Adolescence is usually sinful. C hildhood occupies the lowest place in Stanislaus’ hierarchy : he does n o t hesitate to call it a “crim inal age” (aetas
nefandissima). “ There is not a crime, he says, that a child would n ot commit, if he
feels like it, or would comm it even for the fun o f it.” s His contem porary, B artholom aeus o f Jaslo (d. around 1407), represents those Cracow scholars who believed in the ability o f each person to overcome this inclination to evil through exercise (exercitium) and the power o f the ratio. He stated th at each baby brings into the world something com parable to a program m e o f its own spiritual development. This program m e was often explained by the A ristotelian theory of m atter and form, m atter being the child’s inherent characteristics and form
3 Stanislaus o f Scarbimiria, Sermones sapientiales, edited with introduction and critical notes by
B. C hm ielowska, W arsaw, 1979, part 2, pp. 262— 264, 1. 1— 63.
4 Ibid., part 2, p. 159,1. 208— 212; p. 213 1. 95. Cf. anon ym ous sermon in M S. BJ 2459, f. 263 v (59). Figure in brackets indicates the position in a catalogue o f sermons by M . K ow alczyk, op. cit.
The M o ra l Education o f Youth 141
consisting o f the character features o f a fully m ature person, w ho w ould be able to w ork on himself unaided.6
M ost o f the examples o f sinful conduct, given by Stanislaus in his serm on on the stages o f m an, were trespasses against chastity. He reproached young m en for their prodigality, their boastfulness, bu t especially for their uncontrollable attractio n to women. He accused boys o f a willingness to com m it sins against nature (contra naturam) and o f com m itting sins with the same sex (cum sexu
simili).1 Cracow university students were told by their teachers th at these sins
should be regarded as crimes in the full sense o f the w o r d ; they were even worse than m urder, for they prevented the soul’s salvation. Therefore, they could not even be m entioned by n am e.8
One other fault o f children and adolescents was their lack o f adaptability to life in a civilized society. C hildhood and adolescence were regarded as a period o f wildness and m oral uncouthness. The w ord used for the process o f upbringing
(eruditio) m eans etymologically the “process o f extraction from uncouthness.”
Such a process can be com pared to cutting o ff branches from a trunk to tu rn it into a useful object. Thus a ceremony connected with the initiation o f new candidates into a fraternity was called “ shaking off.” Cracow archives contain descriptions by the students themselves o f these acts o f initiation into civilization. One such description depicts a shy boy w ith such incredibly bad m anners th at decorum prevents me from m entioning them in detail.9
M easures to correct the typical shortcom ings o f children an d adolescents were guided by the necessity for spiritual developm ent. M athias o f Łabiszyn (d. between 1451— 56) held th at the possibility o f a successful spiritual developm ent was given to everyone, for the whole hum an race is provided with a free will and a ratio. According to M athias, m an was created to rise, as symbolized by the upright position o f his body. A successful spiritual developm ent, however, required great pain and effort and m ight n o t be accom plished since the hum an intellect as well as the will had been weakened by original sin. M oreover, the carnal natu re o f m an pulled him down tow ard a pleasant and easy life. Y oung hum an beings, M atthias said, were singularly unable to w ithstand the tem p tations o f sensual pleasures.10
Franciscus o f Brzeg attributed this lack o f resistance to the overabundance of young blood and vitality in the adolescent.11A prop er developm ent would be impossible if the child stayed in the com pany o f his peers, which would be like
6 J. D rew now ski, op. cit., pp. 115— 122, 178— 179.
7 Stanislaus o f Scarbimiria, op. cit., part 2, p. 213,1. 89— 95. Cf. ibid., part 1, p. 142,1.123— 125. 8 A n on ym ou s speech by a rector, M S. BJ 1587, f. 135 v (27).
9 Cf. M . K ow alczyk, “Trzy zabytki prozy żakowskiej w rękopisach Biblioteki Jagiellońskiej”
[“Three R elics o f the G oliardic Prose in the M anuscripts o f the Jagiellonian Library”], Biuletyn
B iblioteki Jagiellońskiej, 19:1969, pp. 63— 72.
10 M S. BJ 2231, f. 254— 258 v (96); Cf. M S. BJ 2215, f. 168 (49). 11 Franciscus o f Brzeg, M S. BU W r I Q 380, f. 189 (99).
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“ applying fire to fire.” 12Cracow authors unanim ously believed th at the greatest obstacle in the m oral developm ent o f an im m ature person was the com pany o f his peers. His contem poraries could pull the adolescent down tow ard pleasure and wrongdoing, or to laziness and idleness. Their topics o f conversation were equally pernicious. Instead o f thinking about learning and other difficult though useful m atters, they fervently discussed girls, criticized their teachers, and jeered at them. W orst o f all, they tem pted those friends m ore virtuous than themselves to com m it sins. Close friendship with a person o f one’s age was supposed to be especially harm ful. Bartholom aeus o f Jaslo tells the horrifying story o f two boys, whose close friendship led to paralysis of b o th .13
The w ord “ friendship” is rarely used in the Cracow university speeches and then usually in reference to adults, referring to a circle o f friends rather than to friendship. This does n ot m ean th at m utual help and assistance were not encountered but such acts were explained as caritas, n o t amicitia. The authors stressed the need for adolescents to develop a proper em otional connection with a m ore m ature person who could offer help and act as the stim ulator o f his spiritual developm ent. Students owed their teachers love and gratefulness for all the help they received. Those students who preferred the com panionship o f their teachers to th at o f their peers were praised. N icholas Tempelfeld cites as an example his student, who was also his younger brother, who, even during a wedding party, preferred to pass the time with him, rather than with his peers. In this instance, the ideal o f brotherly love was connected with a pattern o f an ideal relationship between pupil and teacher.14 The teacher provided not only a m easure o f control, but also a role m odel to be em ulated. According to Bartholom aeus o f Jaslo, if a youth was inclined tow ard good, he would choose someone older to be his educator. Know ing the edu cator’s requirem ents and recom m endations, he would try to think, feel, and act, as if this educator were constantly watching him .15
Cracow serm ons sternly criticized those students who, instead of living in boarding houses with their instructors, rented room s in pubs or inns.16One o f the reason for criticism was th at m any o f them were living with girls. Such behaviour was considered a sin against chastity, but interestingly enough, this was n ot the m ost im portant reason for criticism. F ar m ore harm ful was the supposedly overwhelming influence o f passion on the will and the intellect. It would be impossible to use good judgem ent while under the influence o f a w om an.17 Thus
12 Stanislaus o f Scarbimiria, op. cit., part 2, p. 159, 1. 207— 208.
13 Bartholom aeus o f Jaslo, Tria sunt necessaria studentibus : natura, exercitium , disciplina, M S. BJ 2192, f. 81 v.
14 N icolau s Tem pelfeld, M S. B U W I Q 380, f. 37 (65). 15 Bartholom aeus o f Jaslo, M S. BJ 2192, f. 82.
16 Stanislaus o f Scarbimiria, M S. BJ 1272, f. 162 v (159); N icolau s Tem pelfeld, BUW r IQ 380, f. 54— 54v (91).
The M o ra l Education o f Youth 143 criticism was intended to warn against endangering the process o f spiritual development.
It was taken for granted th at such developm ent could only be accom plished through continuous effort. In reality, however, learning was quite often interrupted by festivities, usually celebrated in tim e-honored form. But no trace can be found in the university sermons o f the idea th at such leisure activities would contribute to the m atu ratio n process. All such activities were criticized, even swim m ing.18
It was accepted th at no t all children w ould have the same difficulties in their spiritual developm ent. Children were know n to differ in inclinations and aptitudes. Such inclinations were called complexions (complexio), and in accordance with A ristotelian thought were thought to be related to physical build. It was presum ed, for instance, th at adolescents with an inclination to corpulence showed a tendency tow ard greediness, laziness, obtuseness, and ignorance.19 On the other hand, boys with a slim build were supposed to be especially well disposed tow ard an intellectual and ethical developm ent. Stanislaus o f Scarbim iria held th at some people were born with a good complexion, whereas others were born with a bad one. Unlike Vives a century later, Stanislaus did n o t advocate preventing those born with a bad inclination from further study. He also emphasized the difficulties in distinguishing between those children born with a good complexio and those with a bad one.20 M ost of the fifteenth-century Cracow authors appear to believe th a t such inborn defects can be surm ounted by great effort.21 Here Dem osthenes and his fight against his speech im pedim ent served as an example as did Socrates who had described him self as naturally ugly and as owing his m oral decency only to sheer effort. B artholom aeus o f Jaslo com pared this process with the training o f an anim al. Through learning and exercise, animals, e.g., dogs and birds, acquire skills th at are beyond their nature. By similar training, m an can exceed the plan o f the individual developm ent given to him by natu re.22 Even after the onset o f hum anistic pedagogy, introduced in Poland by Jan o f Ludzisko— who was in turn influenced by Peter Vergerio the Y ounger— this tendency to accentuate inborn differences did n ot change much. It should be pointed out, however, th at Jan o f Ludzisko m entions am ong positive inborn features a tendency to diligence, humility, and obedience, and m ost o f all a sense o f dignity, which stirs a boy to noble deeds and to obtaining good results in his learning. This feature had n o t been m entioned before.23
18 Franciscus o f Brzeg, M S. BU W r IQ 381, f. 104— 107 (9).
19 Bartholom aeus o f Jasło, BJ 2215, f. 111. C f J. D rew now ski, op. cit., pp. 104, 178. 20 Stanislaus o f Scarbimiria, M S. BJ 723, p. 367, 370 (119).
2] M S. BJ 2215, f. 111. 22 Ibid., f. 111 v.
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U ntil now, I have discussed those theories o f education th at were based on the perception o f youth in general. From the speeches held to com m em orate the granting o f various university degrees, it is also evident th a t an awareness existed o f distinct stages o f youth. The Baccalaureate in A rts was usually obtained between eighteen and twenty years o f age. In speeches com m em orating this event, crude references ab ound to the candidate’s boyish weaknesses, to his plays, pranks, and practical jokes o f previous years. In the speeches m ade on the occasion o f conferring licentiates or M asters’ Degrees, no rem arks were m ade ab o u t frivolous behaviour or the appearance o f the graduate, though occasional ly a breach o f m oral principles could be criticized. The literary convention of prom otion speeches at the Faculty o f Law, where students were usually older, did n ot allow for a single w ord abo ut any o f the graduate’s faults. The au tho r m ight only m ention th at the newly prom oted bachelor or d o ctor had fought valiantly against tem ptations and th at he had come out the victor.24 It was stressed th at men, n ot boys, graduated from this faculty. It was also explained th at m aturity is not achieved until the age o f thirty. Even Christ did n o t start teaching until he was at least twenty-eight. This thought was expressed m ost strongly by Jan Elgot (d. 1452) in his prom otion speeches.2 5 The literary and social conventions o f the time m ake it appear th at those prom oted in the Faculty o f Law were considered m ature persons, no t only because they had attained a certain age but also because they were considered spiritually m ature. M oreover, the prestige o f this Faculty dem anded such consideration.
Those speeches, however, which were written with a singular concern for adolescents, e.g., prom otional speeches and speeches by the D eans o f the Faculty o f A rts, w arned th at m aturity m ight never be reached, th a t one m ight rem ain an eternal child, a puer centum annorum26 (a term from the Scriptures), or, to use m odern expression, a puer aeternus. This m eans that the progress o f outgrowing boyhood was n o t thought to be autom atic but had to be worked for, and that students should be encouraged and stim ulated to do so. N icholas Tempelfeld (d. 1471) said in one o f his speeches th at boys should reach for the summit (pueri
tolluntur in altum).27 Lucas o f Wielki Koźm in (d. 1422), exhorted his young
audience to become “ a m an in your soul” (“indue mente virum”).28In his speech
“Ecce senex iuvenis" (“ Here is an old youngster”) he advised his audience to
w ork tow ard the restraint th a t comes with old age.29 This was no t m eant to be a glorification o f old age, b u t only o f the m ature restraint th at comes with it. According to Lucas, youth with its vigour and efficiency is a virtue in spite o f the need to suppress the sensual desires th at come with it. M athias of Łabiszyn
24 A b ou t this literary convention see J. D rew now ski, op. cit., p. 58. 25 MS. BJ 2400, f. 182 v (169).
26 Stanislaus o f Scarbimiria, op. cit., part 1, p. 4 3,1. 190— 196. 27 M S. B U W r I Q 380, f. 9— 12 (93).
28 M S. BJ 2215, f. 243— 246 v (58). 29 M S. BJ 2215, f. 251— 255 (53).
The M o ra l Education o f Youth 145 stressed th at this youthful efficiency o f senses and body could be a condition favouring spiritual developm ent. But other au tho rs did not seem to notice the m erits o f youth at all. Stanislaus o f Scarbim iria, while praising medicine, never m entioned the physical health o f m ost young people.30
In sum we can draw the following conclusions ab o u t the concept o f the pre-adult as expressed by scholars connected with Cracow University. First o f all, in this period o f life a hum an being was especially susceptible to good and bad influences, the effects o f which could become fixed very easily. He was also m orally inferior to an adult, because he could n o t control the tem ptations o f the body and he lacked the ability to ad apt to the dem ands o f society. His good habits were no t yet firmly rooted, his bad habits not yet uprooted. This is why a child was said to be a dangerous influence on his peers. To develop properly, a child had to stay under the con stan t supervision and guidance o f adults, who were to act as supervisors, educators, and examples. Only a concerned and continuous effort could lead to spiritual developm ent. If done properly, a child w ould realize the possibilities inherent in his hum an nature. The child m ight even overcome the limits m arked by a lack o f these inborn predispositions. O n the other hand, negligence and im proper influence from the outside w ould halt the child’s developm ent at any stage. According to the Cracow scholars, the child was
a human being, whose moral development was not simply predestined but given as a task. This was true for adolescents as well.
In later times, philosophers and scientists often diverged from the views ju st discussed. Jean Jacques R ousseau and his optim istic educational individualism , Cesare Lom broso and his thesis ab o u t inborn crim inality, and E rnst K retschm er and his constitutionalism , all m inimized the role o f childrearing. Some m odern pedagogical theories have done likewise, those th a t espouse an a n tiau th o ritarian upbringing, o r those advocating several types o f paidocentrism . A ccording to these theories, a child— like a p lan t—developes unaided and cultivation suffices. C om pared with such theories, the medieval university writings appear m ulti faceted. D oubtlessly sketchy, devoid o f m any im p o rtan t details o f description b rought ab o u t only by m odern science, they still evidence ongoing philosophical observations th at had been gathered over m any centuries. They reflect a prim ae val experience which testifies to the greatness as well as the spiritual misery o f m an. Cracow authors were aware o f this m ultiplicity when thinking o f children and adolescents, and avoided simplifications th a t would have falsified hum an nature.
H istorians today m ight be interested in instances when the medieval authors o f these serm ons provided details o f everyday-life, in this case biographical details o f student life. There are instances which show the a u th o rs’ ability to note individual character features o f certain students, or a sensibility to the difficult life o f m any o f their pupils, especially those th at were living in poverty. Such d a ta can also be found in the serm ons from the Prague University, which often served
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as a m odel for the Cracow sermons. However, in the Prague serm ons as well as the ones from Cracow , these details usually served only as an illustration o f general ethical considerations or helped describe the characters o f those who were ab o u t to graduate. In m any cases, the a u th o r appears to have wanted to am use his audience with a funny authentic anecdote. Such biographical details were, therefore, typical exempla and o f the same kind as those appearing in the biographies o f ancient philosophers. In fact, their occurrence in these ancient biographies legitimized the m ention o f any individual biographical detail at all, as this was otherwise n o t deemed proper in the scientific writing o f the time. In some cases, we note a genuine fatherly concern, and an expressed need to observe carefully a child entrusted to one’s care. The Cracow authors w ould have agreed with a Parisian scholar o f the thirteenth century who said : “ Students are ducklings bravely sailing forth to the m iddle o f the pond, and their teacher resembles a terrified hen, who rem ains on shore.” 31
As we have seen, the Cracow serm ons provide a wealth o f detail abou t the concept o f child and adolescent a t the end o f the M iddle Ages, which throw s additional light on the existence o f this concept at the end o f the M iddle Ages. Any investigation should, however, be undertaken in the wider theoretical context th at I have outlined here.**
31 Eudes de C hateauroux, M S, Bibliotheque N ation ale Paris 338, f. 185 v. ** A bbreviations used in footnotes :
BJ— Biblioteka Jagiellońska (Jagiellonian Library)
