94

CONTROL BY THE ELIZABETHAN CHURCH.

bishop issued articles of enquiry to each parish, of which the following are here in point:

"IV. Item, What schoolmasters are within your parish, and what their names are, that teach publicly or privately within any man's house within your parish, of what state, calling, or condition soever he or they be, in whose house or houses any such schoolmaster or teacher is?

"V. Item, Whether any such schoolmaster, or schoolmasters, is reported, known or suspected to be backward in the religion now established by the laws of this realm, that are thought any way to be secret hinderers thereof1?"

The returns made to the Archbishop in these or in the previous articles of Archbishop Parker do not appear to be extant. If they are in existence they would be invaluable material in any detailed history of the conditions and extent of education towards the end of the sixteenth century. The necessity for such returns from the Protestant political point of view suggests a great deal of both public and private tuition and more than suggests an intolerable tyranny. These articles of enquiry were followed in 1581 by a statute which provided:---"That yf any person or persons Bodye Pollitike or Corporate, after the Feaste of Pentecost next cominge, shall kepe or mainteyne any Scholemaster, which shall not repayre to Churche as ys aforesaid, or be alowed by the Bisshopp or

Statutory recognition of Church control of education.

Ordinarye of the Diocesse where suche Scholemaster shalbe so kept, shall forfaite and lose for everye Moneth so keping him ten poundes; provided that no suche Ordinarye or their Ministers shall take any thinge for the said Allowaunce; and suche Scholemaster or Teacher presuminge to teache contrarie to this Acte, and being thereof lawfullye [convicted] shalbe disabled to be a Teacher of Youth, and shall suffer ymprisonment without Baile or Maineprise for one yeare.

This Act is of high importance both in its immediate and ultimate consequences. It will be sufficient here to point out 1 Cardwell's Documentary Annals. 2 23 Eliz. c. 1, s. 5.

REMOVAL OF RECUSANT SCHOOLMASTERS.

95

that it supplanted by implication the common law of the realm, which, as has been shown, recognised the right of all persons to teach the young. It must not, moreover, be forgotten that this Act was for the most part political and neither it nor the articles of enquiry of 1580 can be laid wholly or indeed primarily at the door of the Church. It is somewhat surprising that a State should have adopted such a policy without also having recourse to a system of compulsory State education, more emphatic than that of 1876 and, according to the tradition of the time, more easily enforceable, and possessing the then crowning qualification of not only educating the people but also of extinguishing papist schoolmasters. It is a noticeable and remarkable fact that the position of the fifteenth century is now reversed; the Lollard is expelling the Papist, not the Papist the Lollard. The State, however, did not see its way to adopt a policy of compulsory education. It was considered sufficient to pursue the irksome and inquisitorial procedure of detecting heresy or so-called heresy among the teachers of youth.

In consequence of a letter as to recusants, dated May 28, 1581, from the Privy Council, Archbishop Grindall issued directions of enquiry of which the seventh article ran as follows:-"VII. Item, you shall inquire, whether any schoolmaster of suspected religion, or that is not licenced to teach by the bishop, or ordinary, doth teach in any public or private place within this diocese." Again in Archbishop Whitgift's letter relating to recusants to the Bishop of London, dated December 12, 1583, is enclosed a copy of articles recommended by the Privy Council in which we find advised "First, a general examination to be taken by the bishop in his province, of all the schoolmasters, as well public as private, with order that such as be unsound may be removed, according to the statute in that behalf provided'."

It will be convenient here to insert the form of licence 1 Cardwell's Documentary Annals. See 23 Eliz. c. 1, s. 5 (p. 94 supra).

96

THE LICENSE TO TEACH.

granted by Archbishop Whitgift for teaching school. It is taken from Strype's Life and Acts of Archbishop Whitgift' and will illustrate the movement that we are now discussing. "John by divine providence Archbishop of Canterbury, of

School

master's

licence.

all England Primate and Metropolitan; to all Christian people to whom these presents shall come, sendeth greeting in our Lord God everlasting. These are to let you understand, that upon receipt. of sufficient testimony of the good life and conversation of William Swetnam, of the parish of St. Margaret Patens in London, fishmonger; and upon further examination of him, being first sworn in due form to the supremacy of the Queen's most excellent Majesty and subscribing to the Articles agred upon by the Clergy in anno 1562, we have licenced, and by these presents do licence the said William Swetnam, to teach and instruct children in the principles of reading, and introduction into the accidence; and also to write, and cast accounts, in any parish within the city of London, or our peculiar churches of Canterbury, within the said city. Enjoyning him, that every week he do instruct his children and scholars in the Catechism made and set forth by Mr Alexander Nowel, now Dean of the cathedral church of St. Paul in London: and that he with his scholars, so many as shall be of the parish where he shall teach, do usually and commonly resort and repair, on all sabbaths and festival days to the church of the parish where he shall so teach3: and he with his scholars do reverently hear Divine service and sermons, and dutifully and diligently attend thereunto. And also we will, this our licence to endure, during his good behaviour, and our pleasure; and no otherways. In witness whereof, we have caused this our seal of our office of principal registry to be put hereunto. Dated this 20th day of July, in the year of our Lord 1599, and of our translation the 16th."

1 Vol. I. p. 384, and see also vol. 1. p. 468.

2 In accordance with statutes 1 Eliz. c. 1, and 5 Eliz. c. 1, s. 4.

3 In accordance with statute 23 Eliz. c. 1.

SPIRITUAL SUPREMACY OF THE CROWN.

97

This licence shows little of the tyranny over schoolmasters that was destined to develope in the course of the succeeding century, but it incorporates the legislation that imposed religious conformity upon the teachers of youth. Such conformity Church and Crown alike were determined to

secure.

Care of

Church and religious education and conformity.

State for

By the eighth Article of the Articles in the Visitation in the diocese of Chichester in 1585 we find the enquiry, "Whether doth any in your parish teach children publickly, or in any man's house privately; is such licenced by the ordinary; is he known to resorte to publick service, and to be of sound religion; doth he teach the catechism to his schollars, which was set out for that purpose; and doth he train up his schollars in knowledge of true religion now established, and in obedience to the prince or no?" The thirteenth Article in Archbishop Whitgift's Articles of Visitation in the diocese of Sarum in 1588 asked:-"Item, Whether you do know any scholemaster that doth teach within your parish without license of his ordinarie under his seal or no?" Canon LXXVII. of the year 1604 declared that No man shall teach either in public school, or private house, but such as shall be allowed by the Bishop of the Diocese, or Ordinary of the place, under his hand and seal, being found meet as well for his learning and dexterity in teaching, as for sober and honest conversation, and also for right understanding of God's true religion; and also except he shall first subscribe to the first and third Articles afore-mentioned simply and to the two first clauses of the said Article 2." These subscriptions affirmed the King's supremacy over the Church of England, the true and Apostolic character of that Church, and censured those attempting to impugn the King's spiritual supremacy. This important canon followed the passing of the statute 1 Cardwell's Documentary Annals. 2 Davis's English Church Canons.

98

WAR TAX ON SCHOOLMASTERS.

which provided that no person should keep a school or be a schoolmaster except he were specially licensed by the Archbishop, the Bishop or the guardian of the spiritualities of the diocese, or except he were in a public or free grammar school or in a non-recusant's private house. The punishment for the offence was a fine of 40s. a day'. It is clear from the wording of the statute that the grammar schools at this date were absolutely under the control of the Church and gave no difficulty to the Bishops. Canon LXXIX. of 1604 ordered the teaching of the longer or shorter Catechism in English or Latin as children were able to bear, and the teaching of Edward VI.'s grammar and of none other. Article 46 of Archbishop Bancroft's Visitation Articles of 1605 enquired, "Item, Doth any take upon him to teach school in your Parish without special license of his ordinary: and whether doth your schoolmaster bring his scholars to the church to hear divine service and sermons 3?"

In 1621 the King issued a letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of Lincoln in respect to a contribution from the clergy, which contained the following somewhat remarkable passage :-"And we do further require, that you and the other Bishops do likewise move the same to all the schoolmasters, which have licence to teach within your or

1 The text of the section (1 Jac. I. c. 4, s. 8) is as follows: "No person after the Feast of St Michaell Tharchangell next, shall keepe any Schoole, or be a Schoole Master out of any of the Universities or Colledges of this Realme, excepte it be in some publike or free Grammer Schoole, or in some such Noblemans or Noblewomans or Gentleman or Gentlewomans House as are not Recusants, or where the same Schoole Master shall be speciallie licensed thereunto by the Archbishop Bishop or Guardian of the Spiritualties of that Diocesse, upon paine that aswell the Schoole Master as also the Partie that shall retaine or maintaine any such Schoole Master contrarie to the true intent and meaninge of this Acte, shall forfeite each of them for every day so wittinglie offendinge fortie shillings (see 1 Ventris's Reports, p. 41). Section 5 of the same Act forbad the sending of children beyond the seas to papist schools, colleges and seminaries.

2 See Davis's English Church Canons. 3 Cardwell's Documentary Annals.