What did the school look like in the early Middle Ages? Church schools

Monastic and church schools were the very first educational institutions of the Middle Ages. And although the Christian Church retained only selective remnants of ancient education it needed (primarily Latin), it was in them that the cultural tradition continued, linking different eras. The lower church schools prepared mainly parish priests. Paid education was conducted in Latin. The school was attended by children of feudal lords, wealthy citizens, wealthy peasants. The study began with the cramming of prayers and psalms (religious chants). Then the students were introduced to the Latin alphabet and taught to read the same prayers from the book. Often this book was the only one in the school (manuscript books were very expensive, and it was still far from the invention of printing). When reading, boys (girls were not taken to school) memorized the most common words and expressions, without delving into their meaning. No wonder that not everyone who learned to read Latin texts, far from colloquial speech, could understand what they read. But all this wisdom was hammered into the minds of the disciples with the help of a rod. It took about three years to learn to write. The students first practiced on a waxed board, and then learned to write with a goose quill on parchment (specially treated leather). In addition to reading and writing, they learned to represent numbers with their fingers, memorized the multiplication table, trained in church singing and, of course, got acquainted with the basics of Catholic doctrine. Despite this, many pupils of the school were forever imbued with aversion to cramming, to Latin alien to them, and left the school walls semi-literate, able to somehow read the texts of liturgical books. Larger schools, which provided a more serious education, usually arose at episcopal sees. In them, according to the preserved Roman tradition, they studied the so-called "seven liberal arts" (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music). The liberal arts system included two levels. The initial one consisted of grammar, rhetoric, dialectics. Higher formed all the remaining free arts. From the 11th century the number of church schools grew. A little later, the rapid development of cities leads to the emergence of secular urban private and municipal (i.e., run by the city council) schools. The influence of the church was not so strong in them. Practical needs came to the fore. In Germany, for example, the first burgher schools, preparing for crafts and trade, arose: in Lübeck in 1262. , in Wismar in 1279, in Hamburg in 1281. From the XIV century. some schools teach in national languages. Growing cities and growing states needed more and more educated people. Judges and officials, doctors and teachers were needed. The nobility was increasingly involved in education.

The time has come for the formation of higher schools - universities (associations of teachers or teachers together with students). They arose either on the basis of former cathedral (episcopal) schools (this is how the University of Paris appeared in the 12th century, which grew out of the school that existed at the Cathedral of Notre Dame), or in cities where illustrious teachers lived, always surrounded by capable students. Thus, from the circle of followers of the famous expert on Roman law, Irnerius, the University of Bologna, the center of legal science, developed. Classes were conducted in Latin, so the Germans, French, Spaniards could listen to the Italian professor with no less success than his compatriots. Since the students could not count on the help of the city court in numerous conflicts with local residents, they, together with the teachers, united in a union, which was called the "university" (in Latin - community, corporation). The University of Paris included about 7 thousand teachers and students, and in addition to them, booksellers, copyists of manuscripts, manufacturers of parchment, pens, ink powder, pharmacists, etc. were members of the union. achieved self-government: they had elected leaders and their own court. University teachers created associations in subjects - faculties. They were headed by deans. Teachers and students elected the rector - the head of the university. Medieval high school usually had three faculties: law, philosophy (theology) and medicine. But if the preparation of a future lawyer or physician took 5-6 years, then the future philosopher-theologian - as much as 15. But before entering one of the three main faculties, the student had to complete the preparatory - artistic faculty (the already mentioned "seven free arts). In the classroom, students listened to and recorded lectures (in Latin - "reading") of professors and masters. The teacher's erudition was manifested in his ability to explain what he read, to connect it with the content of other books, to reveal the meaning of terms and the essence of scientific concepts. In addition to lectures, debates were held - disputes on issues raised in advance. In the XIV-XV centuries. so-called colleges appear (hence - colleges). At first, this was the name of the student hostels. Over time, they also began to hold lectures and debates. The collegium founded by Robert de Sorbon, the confessor of the French king, the Sorbonne, gradually grew and gave its name to the entire University of Paris. The latter was the largest higher school of the Middle Ages. At the beginning of the XV century. in Europe, students attended 65 universities, and at the end of the century - already 79. The most famous were Paris, Bologna, Cambridge, Oxford, Prague, Krakow. Many of them exist to this day, deservedly proud of their rich history and carefully preserving ancient traditions.

A small room with a low vaulted ceiling. Rare rays of sunlight make their way through the narrow windows. Boys of different ages sit at a long table. Good clothes betray the children of wealthy parents - there are clearly no poor people here. At the head of the table is a priest. In front of him is a large handwritten book, nearby lies a bunch of rods. The priest mutters prayers in Latin. Children mechanically repeat incomprehensible words after him. There is a lesson in a medieval church school ...

The early Middle Ages are sometimes referred to as the "Dark Ages". The transition from antiquity to the Middle Ages was accompanied in Western Europe by a deep decline in culture.

Not only the barbarian invasions that finished off the Western Roman Empire led to the destruction of the cultural values of antiquity. No less destructive than the blows of the Visigoths, Vandals and Lombards, was the hostile attitude of the church for the ancient cultural heritage. Pope Gregory I waged an open war against ancient culture. He forbade the reading of books by ancient authors and the study of mathematics, accusing the latter of having links with magic. The most important area of culture, education, was going through particularly difficult times. Gregory I once proclaimed: "Ignorance is the mother of true piety." Truly ignorance reigned in Western Europe in the 5th-10th centuries. It was almost impossible to find literate people not only among the peasants, but also among the nobility. Many knights put a cross instead of a signature. Until the end of his life, he could not learn to write the founder of the Frankish state, the famous Charlemagne. But the emperor was clearly not indifferent to knowledge. Already in adulthood, he resorted to the services of teachers. Having begun to study the art of writing shortly before his death, Karl carefully kept waxed boards and sheets of parchment under his pillow and learned to draw letters in his spare time. In addition, the sovereign patronized scientists. His court in Aachen became the center of education. In a specially created school, the famous scientist and writer, a native of Britain, Alcuin taught the basics of science to the sons of Charles himself and the children of his entourage. A few educated people came to Aachen from all over illiterate Europe. Following the example of antiquity, the society of scientists who gathered at the court of Charlemagne began to be called the Academy. In the last years of his life, Alcuin became the abbot of the richest monastery of St. Martin in the city of Tours, where he also founded a school, whose students later became famous teachers of monastic and church schools in France.

The cultural upsurge that occurred during the reign of Charlemagne and his successors (the Carolingians) was called the "Carolingian Renaissance". But he was short-lived. Soon cultural life again concentrated in the monasteries.

The lower church schools prepared mainly parish priests. Paid education was conducted in Latin. The school was attended by children of feudal lords, wealthy citizens, wealthy peasants. The study began with the cramming of prayers and psalms (religious chants). Then the students were introduced to the Latin alphabet and taught to read the same prayers from the book. Often this book was the only one in the school (manuscript books were very expensive, and it was still far from the invention of printing). When reading, boys (girls were not taken to school) memorized the most common words and expressions, without delving into their meaning. No wonder that not everyone who learned to read Latin texts, far from colloquial speech, could understand what they read. But all this wisdom was hammered into the minds of the disciples with the help of a rod.

It took about three years to learn to write. The students first practiced on a waxed board, and then learned to write with a goose quill on parchment (specially treated leather). In addition to reading and writing, they learned to represent numbers with their fingers, memorized the multiplication table, trained in church singing and, of course, got acquainted with the basics of Catholic doctrine. Despite this, many pupils of the school were forever imbued with aversion to cramming, to Latin alien to them, and left the school walls semi-literate, able to somehow read the texts of liturgical books.

Larger schools, which provided a more serious education, usually arose at episcopal sees. In them, according to the preserved Roman tradition, they studied the so-called "seven liberal arts" (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music). The liberal arts system included two levels. The initial one consisted of grammar, rhetoric, dialectics. Higher formed all the remaining free arts. The hardest part was grammar. In those days, she was often depicted as a queen with a knife for erasing errors in her right hand and with a whip in her left. Children memorized definitions, practiced conjugation and declension. A curious interpretation was given to letters: vowels are souls, and consonants are like bodies; the body is motionless without the soul, and consonants without vowels have no meaning. In rhetoric (the art of eloquence), the rules of syntax, stylistics were passed, they practiced in compiling written and oral sermons, letters, letters, business papers. Dialectics (as the art of thinking was then called, later called logic) taught not only to reason and draw conclusions, but also to find in the speech of the enemy positions that contradicted the teachings of the church, and to refute them. Arithmetic lessons introduced addition and subtraction, to a lesser extent - multiplication and division (writing numbers in Roman numerals made them very difficult). Schoolchildren solved arithmetic problems, calculating the time of religious holidays and the age of the saints. They saw a religious meaning in the numbers. It was believed that the number "3" symbolizes the Holy Trinity, and "7" - the creation of the world by God in seven days. Geometry followed arithmetic. She gave only answers to general questions (what is a square? Etc.) without any evidence. Geographic information was also communicated in the geometry course, often fantastic and absurd (Earth is a pancake floating in water, Jerusalem is the navel of the earth ... etc.). Then they studied astronomy. They got acquainted with the constellations, observed the movement of the planets, the Sun, the Moon, the stars, but they explained it incorrectly. It was thought that the luminaries revolve around the Earth along various complex paths. Astronomy was supposed to help calculate the timing of the onset of church holidays. Studying music, the students sang in the church choir. Education often stretched for 12-13 years.

From the 11th century the number of church schools grew. A little later, the rapid development of cities leads to the emergence of secular urban private and municipal (i.e., run by the city council) schools. The influence of the church was not so strong in them. Practical needs came to the fore. In Germany, for example, the first burgher schools, preparing for crafts and trade, arose: in Lübeck in 1262, in Wismar in 1279, in Hamburg in 1281. From the XIV century. some schools teach in national languages.

Growing cities and growing states needed more and more educated people. Judges and officials, doctors and teachers were needed. The nobility was increasingly involved in education. According to the description of the English medieval poet Chaucer, a nobleman of the XIV century - "Fairly knew how to compose songs, He knew how to read, draw, write, Fight on spears, deftly dance."

The time has come for the formation of higher schools - universities. They arose either on the basis of former cathedral (episcopal) schools (this is how the University of Paris appeared in the 12th century, which grew out of the school that existed at the Cathedral of Notre Dame), or in cities where illustrious teachers lived, always surrounded by capable students. Thus, from the circle of followers of the famous expert on Roman law, Irnerius, the University of Bologna, the center of legal science, developed.

Classes were conducted in Latin, so the Germans, French, Spaniards could listen to the Italian professor with no less success than his compatriots. Students also communicated in Latin with each other. However, in everyday life, "strangers" entered into communication with local bakers, brewers, tavern owners and landlords. The latter did not know Latin and were not averse to cheating and deceiving a foreign scholar. Since the students could not count on the help of the city court in numerous conflicts with local residents, they, together with the teachers, united in a union, which was called the "university" (in Latin - community, corporation). The University of Paris included about 7 thousand teachers and students, and in addition to them, booksellers, copyists of manuscripts, manufacturers of parchment, pens, ink powder, pharmacists, etc. were members of the union. teachers and schoolchildren left the hated city and moved to another place), universities achieved self-government: they had elected leaders and their own court. The University of Paris was granted independence from secular authorities in 1200 by a charter from King Philip II Augustus.

The life of schoolchildren from poor families was not easy. Here is how Chaucer describes it:

Having interrupted hard work on logic,
An Oxford student trudged along with us.
Hardly a poorer beggar could be found ...
I learned to endure Need and hunger steadfastly,
He put the log at the head of the bed.
He is sweeter to have twenty books,
Than an expensive dress, a lute, food ...

But the students were not discouraged. They knew how to enjoy life, their youth, to have fun from the heart. This is especially true for vagants - wandering schoolchildren moving from city to city in search of knowledgeable teachers or an opportunity to earn extra money. Often they did not want to bother with their studies, they sang with pleasure the vagants at their feasts:

Let's drop all wisdom, side teaching!
To enjoy in youth is Our purpose.

University teachers created associations in subjects - faculties. They were headed by deans. Teachers and students elected the rector - the head of the university. Medieval high school usually had three faculties: law, philosophy (theology) and medicine. But if the preparation of a future lawyer or physician took 5-6 years, then the future philosopher-theologian - as many as 15. But before entering one of the three main faculties, the student had to complete the preparatory - artistic faculty (the already mentioned " seven free arts"; "artis" in Latin - "art"). In the classroom, students listened to and recorded lectures (in Latin - "reading") of professors and masters. The teacher's erudition was manifested in his ability to explain what he read, to connect it with the content of other books, to reveal the meaning of terms and the essence of scientific concepts. In addition to lectures, debates were held - disputes on issues raised in advance. Hot in heat, sometimes they turned into hand-to-hand fights between the participants.

In the XIV-XV centuries. so-called colleges appear (hence - colleges). At first, this was the name of the student hostels. Over time, they also began to hold lectures and debates. The collegium founded by Robert de Sorbon, the confessor of the French king, the Sorbonne, gradually grew and gave its name to the entire University of Paris. The latter was the largest higher school of the Middle Ages. At the beginning of the XV century. in Europe, students attended 65 universities, and at the end of the century - already 79. The most famous were Paris, Bologna, Cambridge, Oxford, Prague, Krakow. Many of them exist to this day, deservedly proud of their rich history and carefully preserving ancient traditions.

WHAT AND HOW WAS TEACHED IN A MEDIEVAL SCHOOL.

Comparative table of education in the schools of Byzantium and Western Europe

Byzantium: Greek language

School motto:Teacher do not spare your students for mistakes; “human nature is sinful, and corporal punishment contributes to the purification and salvation of the soul.”

School motto“Read a lot and learn a lot. If you don't understand, don't despair. Having read the book more than once, you will gain knowledge, you will understand it from God. And what you do not know, ask those who know and do not be proud ... It is extremely important to study and understand the nature of things and act properly.

By the 7th century, schools of the ancient type had completely disappeared in medieval Europe. School business in the young barbarian states of the 5th - 7th centuries. turned out to be in a deplorable state. Illiteracy and ignorance reigned everywhere. Illiterate were many kings and the top of society - to know and officials. Meanwhile, the need for literate subjects and clergy was constantly increasing. The Catholic Church tried to correct the existing situation.

A high culture of home education is a characteristic feature of Byzantine life. Of course, the upbringing of children was especially taken care of in families with a high social status, but in the families of artisans, children learned to write and read if their parents were literate.

The bulk of the population did not receive even a minimum education in schools. Children were brought up by their parents in the family and in everyday work.

In Byzantium, there were no social restrictions on education, and everyone who wanted and had the opportunity to study could attend schools.

They wrote on a wax tablet, and then on parchment.

In medieval Europe, there were three main types of church schools:parochial schools, monastic schools, episcopal (cathedral)

The main purpose of all types of schools was to train the clergy.

In monastic schools, at the initial stage, they taught for 3 years:

Memorized prayers and religious chants

Learned the Latin alphabet

Read prayers and texts in Latin

Mastered the letter

Education in church schools of an advanced level was taught according to the program of seven liberal arts for 12-13 years.

One of the first to formulate such a program for medieval Europe was Severinus Boethius (480-524). "Seven Liberal Arts" He unitedarithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music (sciences based on mathematical laws) in educational th cycle "quadrium" (fourth way). This cycle, together with the "trivium" (third way) - grammar, rhetoric, dialectics - subsequently laid the foundation for all medieval education+ THEOLOGY - church teaching about God and divine deeds.

Teaching methods were based on memorization and the development of mechanical memory. The most common teaching method was catechetical (question and answer), with the help of which the teacher introduced abstract knowledge that was subject to mandatory memorization without explaining the object or phenomenon. For example, “What is the moon? – The eye of the night, the distributor of dew, the prophet of storms, ... What is autumn? - Yearly granary, etc.

Astronomy was an applied science associated with the calculations of numerous church holidays.

Music taught with the help of notes, indicated using the letters of the alphabet for church hymns.

Arithmetic program

Geometry- a science that studies the regularities of flat objects in space.

Rhetoric - it is the art of thinking, speaking competently and beautifully.

Dialectics

Grammar

Worship -

Astronomy was an applied science associated with the calculations of numerous church holidays.

Music was taught with the help of notes, indicated using the letters of the alphabet for church hymns.

Arithmetic program meant mastering the four arithmetic operations. Teaching arithmetic was too complicated, the calculations took up entire pages. Therefore, there was an honorary title of "doctor of the abacus" (i.e., "doctor of multiplication and division"). All academic subjects were given a religious and mystical character.

Geometry-science, studying the patterns of flat objects in space.

Wrote on paper with a quill

At the first stage of education - in literacy schools - children received an elementary education. The course of study, as a rule, lasted 2–3 years, and children began to study from the age of 5–7. From 7-10 years old.

Elementary schools for most children were the first and last stage of organized education.

However, in the methodology of teaching literacy, the practice of the previous era was preserved: students were trained according to the literal method with the obligatory pronunciation of what was written aloud, “in chorus”. First, students memorized letters, then syllables in all their diversity, and only after that they began to read whole words and sentences. The method of memorizing texts by heart dominated.

The reliance on memory learning was justified at that time for the reason that the language of the school and the book was different from the spoken Greek. In school education, traditional texts of ancient schools (Homer, fables, etc.) were used, supplemented by the Psalter and the lives of Christian saints.

There were practically no changes in teaching counting: first, counting on the fingers, then pebbles were used, then - a counting board - an abacus.

Primary education lacked the physical preparation of children, and music was replaced by church singing.

Didascalus is a school teacher.

Grammar school. 10-16 years old (5-6 years old)

The school day of the Byzantine schoolchild began with the reading of prayers . One of them has been preserved: “Lord Jesus Christ, open the ears and eyes of my heart, so that I understand your word and learn to do your will.”

In Byzantium, it was believed that every educated "Roma", as the Byzantines called themselves, should own"Hellenic Science" opening the way to higher philosophy - theology. Greater attention was paid to grammar, rhetoric, dialectics and poetics.

Rhetoric is the art of thinking, speaking competently and beautifully.

Dialectics - the art of arguing and reasoning

Poetics - a science that studies the laws of literature, the construction of poetic works and the works themselves.

Grammar - a science that studies the change of words and their combination in a sentence.

The "mathematical quaternary" - arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy - was studied by a few in Byzantium. Ultimately, the goal of education was to form a common culture and eloquence among the youth, to develop thinking. An important means of learning was the competition of schoolchildren with each other in the interpretation of texts and rhetoric.

The teaching methods in higher schools were traditional: the teacher read, gave interpretations, asked students questions, answered students' questions, and organized discussions. School education was aimed at teaching children active language skills, developing their ability to retell, quote texts from memory, give descriptions, and improvise. Pupils composed speeches, comments on texts, gave descriptions of art monuments, improvised on an arbitrary theme, etc.

Mastering the art of interpretation required from the students a sufficiently broad knowledge in the field of ancient and biblical history, geography, mythology, etc. As a result, those who graduated from school had to know quite well the content of Homer's Iliad, the works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Hesiod, Pindar, Theocritus, as well as the Bible, the works of the "fathers of the church" - Augustine, John Chrysostom, Gregory the Theologian, John of Damascus and etc.

Didascalus, with the help of a senior student, checked the knowledge of students at the end of the school week. Failure in studies and violation of discipline according to the Hellenistic tradition were punished with rods.

After comparing the main characteristics of education, children are given the task of creating their own schedule, choosing the school that is closer to them in spirit.

Schedule of lessons in ________________________________________

COUNTING BOARD ABAK

In the medieval school In medieval Europe, there were types of schools: parochial (at a church parish), in which the priests prepared a shift from the laity; monastic, where they taught boys preparing to be tonsured monks. They also trained the lower clergy; cathedral or cathedral schools were opened at episcopal residences. In all schools, children of 715 years old were taught the basics of literacy and singing, there was a strict discipline.

Grammar, rhetoric and dialectics (knowledge and skills for conducting disputes on religious topics) were taught in monastic and cathedral schools. In larger educational institutions of this type, schools, in addition to the listed subjects, taught arithmetic, geometry, astronomy with a religious orientation (equipping students with the skills to calculate the time of the onset of Christian holidays, build churches), music (singing psalms and prayers). All these subjects, studied in monastic and cathedral schools, were known under the name of "seven liberal arts". Education mainly served the needs of the church.

In the 18th century secular educational institutions began to emerge, combining general education with special education: for example, the medical school in Solerno, the law school in Bologna and Padua (Italy). The development of manufactory, crafts and trade, the growth of cities contributed to the emergence in the XIII-XIV centuries. new type - shop and guild. They were created for merchants and artisans. Guild schools provided the children of artisans with an elementary education. This type of school was maintained at the expense of the guilds, provided general education, and the training in the craft was carried out in the families of artisans or in the process of guild apprenticeship. Guild schools were created by guild associations of merchants. These schools were paid, the children of wealthy parents studied in them: the sons of artisans were usually not allowed in them. In workshop and guild schools, education had a practical orientation, which was expressed in the increased role in them of mathematics and the disciplines of the natural science cycle, which were of real vital importance for future merchants and artisans. The basis of education in these schools was the native language. The discipline was also severe: the teacher could resort to physical punishment.

In parallel with the church school system and urban educational institutions, a secular, knightly education system existed in the Middle Ages. It was based on the "seven knightly virtues", which only outwardly, by name, can be recognized as analogous to the "seven free arts" of medieval schools. In essence, by their content (riding, swimming, wielding a spear, fencing, the ability to hunt, play chess, write poetry or play musical instruments), the “seven knightly virtues” reflected the specific features of the position and customs of representatives of this social stratum of medieval society.

Medieval University The first universities arose in the 12th century, partly from episcopal schools that had the most important professors in the field of theology and philosophy, partly from associations of private teachers of specialists in philosophy, law (Roman law) and medicine.

Teaching in medieval universities was conducted in Latin. The main method of university teaching was the lectures of professors. A common form of scientific communication was also disputes, or public disputes, arranged periodically on topics of a theological and philosophical nature. The discussions were attended mainly by university professors. But disputes were also arranged for scholars (scholar students, from the word Schola school).

Conclusions, sources of information. Generalization of the topic: What can we say about the development of education in this era of the Middle Ages? Would you like to get an education at a university? Which? Unified educational collection, history grade 6, author Vedyushkin V.A.: Chapter VIII. Culture of Western Europe in the XIXIII centuries § 22. Education, science and philosophy in the heyday of the Middle Ages§ 22. Education, science and philosophy in the heyday of the Middle Ages In a medieval school In a medieval school The structure of medieval university education The structure of medieval university education Medieval university Medieval university Portraits: Pierre Abelard, Thomas Aquinas Portraits: Pierre Abelard, Thomas Aquinas

The Middle Ages is a huge and very controversial historical period, consisting of three conditional stages: the early Middle Ages (V-XI), the developed Middle Ages (XI-XIII) and the late Middle Ages (XIII-XV). And each of these eras is an important part of the development of human culture and civilization.

It was in the Middle Ages that the active Christianization of the West took place, through the prism of religion a certain picture of the world, ethical norms and knowledge about a person were formed, behavior, thinking and the whole way of life of an individual were regulated. At the same time, the foundations of upbringing and education were laid, and a general system of education was being developed.

However, the entire intellectual and moral evolution of medieval society is steadily subjected to the unceasing control and monopolization of the church. Therefore, the image of a typical representative of the Middle Ages is a person of a religious-ascetic worldview with a respectful, often sacred, attitude to the word, book (Holy Scripture) and church dogmas.

At the beginning of the era, all education is reduced to theological education and the development of church postulates. But with industrial development and the expansion of the horizons of Europeans, from the 11th century, the first educational institutions of various levels began to form - schools and universities.

School types

Monastic. Education is conducted in monasteries, where future clerics are trained from 7-10 year old boys. Three types of schools: pastoral-monastic (for the clergy of the parish ministry), monastic hostels (black monks) and external for the laity to teach boys to read and write and church writing. The nature of study is theological. Reading disciplines: grammar, dialectics, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music theory.
Episcopal (cathedral). Education for children of parishioners. Schools were organized at the department of the city cathedral.
Parish. The most common educational institutions of the Middle Ages. They were located in the church gatehouse or the priest's house. The most unsystematic and least organized type of school. The program includes the law of God, writing and church singing.
Urban. Organized from the XII century from the converted parish. Designed for children of the upper classes. Subjects: reading, writing, counting, grammar. Later, guild (for children of artisans) and guild (for children of wealthy merchants) schools appeared.

School levels

Elementary: writing, reading, arithmetic and singing.
Medium (cycle "trivium"): grammar, rhetoric and dialectics.
High (quadrium cycle): arithmetic, geometry, astronomy and music.

The crown of medieval education was the so-called seven liberal arts (grammar, dialectics [logic], arithmetic, rhetoric, geometry, astronomy, music) and theology. The dominant influence of Christianity and the Church on the content and organization of the educational system was decisive until the Renaissance.