Teachers in Germany in the sixteenth century : conditions in Protestant elementary and secondary schools

Front matter

tributions to fibucatlon

Class

Book

CHAPTER I Page

The general political and ecclesiastical background; form of government; relation of church and state. — The Kirchenordnungen. — Meaning of the term. — Need for such legislation. — Content of Kirchenordnungen; of Schulordnungen. — Authorship. — Groups or "families." — Authority under which the regulations were issued. — Enforcement. — Reports of Visitations. — Purpose of Visitation. — Burkhardt's study. — Edition of Saxon reports by Pallas. — Nature of the material. — Purpose for which the sources are to be used in this study 9-20

CHAPTER II Kinds of Teachers and Their Number Two types of schools: German and Latin. — Kinds of each. — Teachers in these schools. — Titles and rank. — The sexton-schoolmaster and his various titles. — The teachers in Latin schools: rector, conrector, cantor, baccalaureus, and other associates. — Evidences from the Kirchenordnungen. Pupil teachers. — Two examples. — Number of teachers in schools of various tj'pes. — Provisions in ordinances. — The total number of teachers. — Inference from the total number of schools. — Figures from Burkhardt and Mertz. — Number of German schools and German teachers. — Fischer's opinion. — Quotation from Saxon Registraturen 21-26

CHAPTER III Character and Training General character of teachers in the sixteenth century. — Estimate by Bartusch. — Opinion of Mertz. — Demands made in ordinances. — Attention given to moral character rather than to intellectual qualifications. — WimpheHng's statement of the ideal. — Quotations from ordinances. — The actual character of teachers as shown in the records of Visitations, etc. — Girls' schools. — Lower schools for boys. — Laziness and neglect of teachers. Sale of wines and liquors. — Pratau, Thobin, Wendishain. — The character of teachers in Latin schools. — The principal vices. — Citations from records: Zahna, Liebenwerda, Prettin, Kemberg. — The good quahties of teachers. —

6 Contents

Girls' schools. — Details in regard to teachers in boys' schools. — Examples. — Records of groups of teachers. — Munden. — Annaberg. — Material from the literature of the time. — Almansor. — Training, in general, required preparation and degrees. Beginnings of seminaries for teachers. — Training during service. — Libraries 27-43

CHAPTER IV Appointment and Tenure

1. Appointment: Predominating influence of clergy. — Prescriptions in Ordnungen: Leisnig 1523, Wittenberg 1528, Zahna and Kemberg 1528, Grimma 1529, Bitterfeld 1531, Baden-Durlach 1536, Havelberg 1545, Saxony 1557, Wittgenstein 1555, Pomerania 1563, Palatinate 1564, Prussia 1568, Brandenburg 1573, Altstadt Salzwedel 1579, Nordhausen 1583. — Material from the records: Bitterfeld 1572.

2. Examination: Minden 1530, Wittgenstein 1555, Jever 1562, Pomerania 1563, Saxony 1557, Bitterfeld 1531, MoUen 1531, Ulm 1531, Mecklenburg 1552, Wurttemberg 1559, Nordhausen 1583, Prussia 1584, Saxony 1580, Lower Saxony 1585.

3. Qualifications: A. Girls' Schools: Leisnig 1523, Hamburg 1529, Brunswick 1528, Gottingen 1531, Hesse 1526, Hall 1526, Saxony 1533, Wittenberg 1533, Pomerania 1535, Brunswick-Wolfenbiittel 1543, Wiirttemberg 1559, Pomerania 1563, Lippe 1571, Brandenburg 1573, Lower Saxony 1585, Strassburg 1598, Liineberg 1564. B. Boys' Schools: Hanover 1536, Pomerania 1563, Lippe 1571. C. Latin Schools: Leisnig 1523, HaU 1526, Hesse 1526, Brunswick 1528, Saxony 1528, Wittenberg 1533, Hanover 1536, Hesse 1537, Schleswig- Holstein 1542, Brunswick 1543, Wittgenstein 1555, Waldeck 1556, Palatinate 1556, Wiu-ttemberg 1559, Lippe 1571, Brandenburg 1573, Saxony 1580, Brieg 1581, Nordhausen 1583, Lower Saxony 1585, Aschersleben 1589.

4. Certificates: Palatinate 1556, Wiirttemberg 1559, Nordhausen 1587, Mecklenburg 1582, Lippe 1571.

5. Degrees: Bitterfeld 1543, Brunswick 1528, Hadeln 1544, Heidelberg 1565, Altstadt-Salzwedel 1579.

6. Installation: Wurttemberg 1559, Stuttgart 1582, Pomerania 1663, Brandenburg 1573, Saxony 1580, Lippe 1571, Nordhausen 1583.

7. Dismissal: Saxony 1557, Prussia 1568, Havelberg 1545, Wiirttemburg 1559, Baden-Durlach 1536, Stralsund 1591, Pomerania 1563, HaU 1.526.

8. Tenure: Baden-Durlach 1536, Pomerania 1563, Augsburg 1558, Palatinate 1564, Burgsteinfurt. — The Registraturen. — Girls' Schools. 44-66

Contents 7

CHAPTER V Economic Conditions op Teachers Pagb The sources of information. — Sources of income; tuition and matriculation; general treasury; church lands; gifts and bequests; house and land; special fees for weddings, etc.; free meals and special gifts; private instruction; gratuities at holiday seasons; civic exemptions; outside activities. — Kinds of income. — Amount in girls' schools; in boys' schools; in Latin schools. — Administration of funds. — Inadequacy of support. — Tendencies 67-90

CHAPTER VI The Teacher's Official and Social Relations Relation to the Church. — Supervision: the supervisors; purpose of supervision; nature of supervision; teacher's attitude toward supervisors. — Relations among teachers. — Relations with parents. — Place in social life 91-103

CHAPTER VII The Teachee's Attitude Toward his Profession Bases of the estimate. — Attitude of those in authority. — Material from the Ordnungen. — Expressions given by teachers : Siber; Hayneccius. — What is revealed by the conduct of teachers. — Transfer to other fields 104-112

CHAPTER VIII Summary op Conditions and Tendencies ReUgious qualifications. — Development of the class of teachers in elementary schools. — Character of teachers. — Preparation. — Appointment and Tenure. — Support. — Supervision. — Legislation 113-122

BIBLIOGRAPHY 123-126

Teachers in Germany in the Sixteenth

Century

The Germany of the sixteenth century was a patchwork of states, two or three hundred in number, held loosely together in an empire which was almost entirely lacking in the essentials of a unified government. The states ranged in importance from the castle and village of some insignificant knight to the powerful principalities of the Electors. To the extent that the empire was lacking as an administrative organization, the various smaller units were able to develop something of local and provincial government. Such states as Hesse, the Palatinate, Bavaria, Brandenburg, and both Saxonies had progressed to a stage where they had at least the beginnings of the cameral form of government. The princes had their councils and their own supreme courts of justice, their own systems of finance and coinage and eventually the control of their own churches. While the councils were made up of nobles and lawyers who were subservient to their princes, they seem to have been able to give some guidance to legislation, both civil and ecclesiastical. With the development of the idea that the religion of a state is that of its prince, it became possible to crystallize the religious movements in the different states and develop a form of ecclesiastical organization which had hitherto been impossible.

This development of church government took the form of the consistorial system with the ruling prince as head of the church, general oversight being vested in him. The consistory, a modified mediaeval episcopal court, was composed of lawyers and divines appointed by the prince and acting in his name. That is to say, the highest religious or ecclesiastical body in the state was under the control of the secular authority. In connection with the consistory we find provision for synods, general and particular. A general synod was made up of the consistory and the superintendents of the various districts within its jurisdiction; the particular synod was merely the superintendent with all the clergy within his district.

Such are the main outlines of the organization of church and state in Protestant Germany. The tendency was toward centralization of civil and ecclesiastical power in the hands of the prince. The church was, from a certain point of view, merely one of the phases of administration for which the prince was responsible to God. This meant that the government of the church was ultimately in the hands of the secular authority just as truly as was the administering of finance or the dispensing of justice.

A very large part of the material upon which this study is based is to be found in the legislation which was promulgated directly or indirectly by the secular government, the Kirchenordnungen. While it is hardly possible to give a concise definition of that term (translated into English as church ordinances), the following statement wdll make clear the general nature of the material: Kirchenordnungen is the name given all those regulations, especially those issued by cities and sovereigns, by means of which the church regulations which had previously been given were modified according to Reformation ideas, and the newly developed church system was more fully organized. (See article on Kirchenordnung in Herzog's Realencyclopddie fur protestantische Theologie).

The Need for Regulations. In the destruction and confusion incident to the Protestant Revolt churches and schools fell into a precarious and chaotic condition. The leaders seemed uncertain what was necessary or desirable. Even where they did gain individual certainty they were not always able to agree among themselves what course should be pursued; but the very nature of affairs demanded that there should be some mutual agreement, that the two groups of leaders, political and religious, should enter upon some kind of united course of action which should produce order and establish the new churches upon a firm foundation. As the Revolt swept away the monasteries and schools of the Roman church or remodeled them according to

Protestant ideas, it was necessary that there be set forth definite principles for the establishment and maintenance of the new institutions. Church and school ordinances had long been in existence ; but they were not suited to the needs of the Protestant movement. In the matter of education the following needs were evident: (1) that schools should be strictly orthodox from the Protestant point of view; (2) that adequate support should be provided and administered; (3) that there should be drawn into the schools a sufficient number of talented boys to ensure plenty of reliable, trained leaders for the future; (4) that suitable teachers should be provided; (5) that all the people should be given such education as would enable them to participate intelligently in the services of the church in addition to knowing such things as were necessary to their eternal welfare; (6) that proper supervision should be established and order secured from chaos. To supply this composite need the various church ordinances, school regulations, visitation instructions, and general articles furnished the material. Without such legislation progress would have been very slow if not absolutely impossible. Every parish would have been a law unto itself; there could have been no system; disorder and consequent misunderstandings would have destroyed the very things for which the Protestants were striving. The need of uniform church regulations is voiced in the Saxon Visitation Book of 1528; but the idea seems to be that they shall be introduced only in such cases as represent situations in which it is impossible to dispense with them.

Luther's early idea of the need of such legislation is in very great contrast with the development which followed. His belief and desire were that there should be the utmost freedom of development, that there should be gradual growth unhampered by narrow prescriptions. He believed that the early regulations of Wittenberg (1522), Leisnig (1523), and Magdeburg (1524) were premature. While he made certain suggestions for the administering of the Lord's Supper and of Baptism (1523) and also published a collection of hymns for public worship (1524), he did not regard his work as binding upon the churches in the least degree; he even insisted that the Wittenberg regulations be cancelled. Although he recognized the pressing need of proper administration of pastoral functions, of caring for the poor, and of providing adequate means of education, he did not believe that such affairs would be best regulated through binding uniform rules. In the Saxon School Plan of 1528 Melanchthon says, "The clergy shall admonish the people to send their children to school in order that men may be educated, able to teach in the churches and also to govern. ... In order to attain these qualifications one must study long, — from his youth up. . . . And such persons are not for the church alone but for the secular government as well, as is also according to the will of God." (Vormbaum I: 1, 2.) The necessity which demanded the organization of churches and the establishment of a system of schools for the training of future leaders brought forth the legislation which contained the rules and governing principles upon which these institutions were based. It was then the impossibility of developing church and school without special legislation that made evident the need of the various forms of Ordnungen.

Content. While the church and school regulations show little uniformity in the details of their material or its arrangement (except as will be shown later in the discussion of groups or "families"), there is in the church ordinances at least a general similarity of content. Three matters were universally under consideration: the administration of the functions and sacraments of the church; the care of the poor; and the nurture of the young. As a rule there is a first part, called "Credenda," which is dogmatic in its nature and is, in more or less definite form, an expression of the agreement of the city or provincial church with the general Lutheran confession of faith. This is followed by the "Agenda," which contains provisions concerning liturgy, appointment of church officers, organization of church government, discipline, matrimony, school regulations, income of church and school, administration of church property, care of the poor etc. It is not to be expected that this material will always be arranged in systematic order.

A good example of a comprehensive Kirchenordnung is that of Hamburg, 1529. Its contents are as follows:

1. Of schools.

2. On the sifting of pupils by the teacher (selection of pupils able to pro-

ceed beyond a certain point in the course).

3. On the permanence of schools.

4. Public Lectures.

5. The library.

6. German writing schools.

7. Girls' schools.

8. Students.

9. Pastors, chaplains, and other clergymen.

10. The superintendent and his assistant.

11. Selection of teachers and predicants.

12. The reception of such persons into the work of the church.

13. The work of predicants.

14. Sermons on Sundays and feast days.

15. Preaching on Saturdays and Mondays.

16. Preaching on other week days.

17. Special times for instruction in the catechism.

18. The paschal season.

19. Sacred stories at other seasons.

20. On preaching in Lent.

21. Confession and sacrament.

22. Visitation of sick and poor.

23. Matrimony

24. The bans.

25. Consecration.

26. Visitation of criminals.

27. Children baptized at home.

28. Baptism of children according to our "use."

29. Support of predicants.

30. Sextons.

31. Organists.

32. Midwives.

33. Pictures and images.

34. Ringing the call to prayer for peace.*

35. Festivals.

36. Business to be avoided on the afternoon of the holy day.

37. Singing and teading by pupils in the parish churches.

38. The Mass.

39. Administration of the Mass.

40. The "Common Chest" and the deacon in charge of it.

41. Administration of funds for the poor.

42. Administration of funds.

43. The deacon in charge of the funds.

44. The four councillors.

45. General accounting of the stewards.

46. Stewards.

47. Of stewards in general.

48. Miscellaneous.

49. Conclusion.

Schulordnungen are likewise diverse in content. Some contain very little more than a mere statement of the kind of school to be organized and maintained, with a brief statement of the most important general regulations. Others are very comprehensive and go into minute detail, even prescribing hours, text-books, methods, and rules for the conduct of teachers and pupils. An excellent example of the brief Schulordnung is that of the margraviate of Baden-Durlach, 1526. Its contents comprise only a brief prescription of the following: 1. Duties of the teacher. 2. Course of study with a few details of method. 3. Provision for special students. 4. Maintenance.

Part I

1. Introductory. General need and purpose of education.

2. Class division and basis of division. Each class is treated separately

and work is prescribed for each day of the week. Thus, for the Fourth Class the following is prescribed for Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays:

At six o'clock: Catechism.

At seven o'clock: Reading.

At eight o'clock: Presentation of dialogues by boys in pairs.

After that follow exercises in Latin forms.

At twelve o'clock : Writing and correction of exercises (Latin and German).

At one o'clock: Declensions, conjugations, etc.

At two o'clock: Exercises for increasing vocabulary, — with short statement of method.

3. Disputations and declamations.

4. Holidays.

5. Examinations and promotions.

Part II

1. The rector: Duties and jurisdiction.

2. Duties of professors and associates.

3. Duties of pupils in general.

4. Piety.

5. Duties of pupils to teachers.

6. Duties of pupils in school.

7. Instruction in regard to study, style, and memory work. (11 rules.)

8. Dismissal. (Four rules in regard to leaving school and going home.)

9. Conduct on the street. (10 rules.)

10. Conduct and service at home. (10 rules.)

11. Duties to strangers. (11 rules.)

12. Duties of paedagogi and assistants. (13 rules governing the conduct of

those, who, while students, are private instructors.)

13. Duties of those who live in the halls. (12 rules.)

14. School employees. (10 rules.)

15. Funerals. (10 rules.)

16. Punishments. (10 rules.)

17. Duties of decurions and monitors. (10 rules.)

18. Disputation and declamation. (10 rules.)

19. The poor and the holders of stipends. (10 rules.)

20. Recreation and refreshment. (21 rules.)

Conclusion. Admonition to teachers and pupils to keep the rules.

Very often material of a trivial nature finds its way into the Schulordnungen. This seems to be more generally the case where the rules are formulated by schoolmen themselves than where they are merely part of a Kirchenordnung formulated by men primarily interested in ecclesiastical matters. While regulations prepared specifically for a certain school are likely to prescribe such details as the manner in which pupils should greet teachers, the general regulations embodied in the Kirchenordnungen are not likely to contain material other than broad instructions in regard to the course of study, maintenance, selection of teachers, and similar administrative matters. But there is no exact line to be drawn; for even the Kirchenordnungen occasionally descend to the trivial in school matters; for example, that of Wiirttemberg (1559) prescribes that pupils are not to go to school without their coats. (Part II, Statuta, No. 4, Vormbaum I: 93.)

Authorship. The authorship of the various Kirchen- und Schulordnungen may be traced to the leading men of the church. Of those regulations which bear closely upon schools and educational history many bear the names of men famous in the Protestant Revolt. First of all stands Melanchthon. He was concerned in the writing of at least nine. The following are his work: Niirnberg (1526) probably, Saxony (1528), Herzeberg (1538) and Wittenberg (1545). The following are in part his work: Eisleben (1525), Cologne (1543), Mecklenburg (1552), the Palatinate (1556), and Pfalz-Zweibriick (1557). Luther was likewise deeply interested in this work. He was the author of the Wittenberg Church Regulations of 1523 and was concerned in the writing of the following: Leisnig (1525), Lippe (1538), and Herzberg (1538). Johannes Bugenhagen was author of the following: Brunswick (1528), Hamburg (1529), Ltibeck (1531), Pomerania (1535), Schleswig-Holstein (1537), Brunswick- Wolf enbiittel (1543), and Hildesheim (1544). In addition to this work, he assisted in the making of the following: Wittenberg (1533) and Lippe (1538). The so-called "Wittenberg Reformation" of 1545 although written by Melanchthon is signed by Bugenhagen also. Johannes Aepin is credited with the following: Stralsund (1525), Hamburg (1539), Buxtehude (1552). It is possible that he assisted Bugenhagen in the writing of the Hamburg Ordnung of 1529. At any rate, to Aepin was left the work of putting the plan into operation. Trotzendorf, the celebrated pupil of Melanchthon, wrote the Goldberg Schulordnung of 1546 and the School Laws for the same place in the same year. In addition to these men we find a great many others ; among them, Nikolaus Krage, Heinrich Winkel (Gottingen Kirchenordnung 1530), Martin Butzer (Ulm 1531), Urbanus Rhegius (Liineberg 1531, and Hamburg 1536), Johann Timann (Bremen 1534), Antonius Corvinus (Nordheim, 1539, Kalenberg-Gottingen 1542, and in part Hildesheim 1544, and Brunswick- Wolf enbiittel 1543), Johannes Honterus (Kronstadt 1543), and Johann Brenz (parts of Pfalz-Zweibriick 1556 and of the great Wiirttemberg Kirchenordnung of 1559)-

In addition to these there are many others (the total number of Ordnungen of various kinds being several hundred) which grew out of local needs and were adapted to some special or temporary occasion.^

Groups or '' Families. " From what has been said of the authorship of the various church and school laws, it will readily be seen that many of them fall into groups according to authorship. Further than this, the regulations laid down by famous men like Melanchthon and Bugenhagen often served as models upon which were based other ordinances, thus enlarging the group. The

1 Sehling prints 209 in his first volume, 153 in the second, and 119 in the third, — a total of 481, with perhaps two volumes to follow. The celebrated Bokehnann collection contained 162 Ordnungen of the sixteenth century; and Mertz has a list of 115 church and school ordinances, which he regards as exceptionally significant.

Visitation Instructions of Saxony (1528) became the basis of Bugenhagen's Kirchenordnung for Brunswick (1528). Upon these two were based the regulations of Hamburg (1529), Ltibeck (1531), Pomerania (1535), and Schleswig-Holstein (1542). The Brunswick regulations were still further the progenitor of the following series: Minden (1530), Gottingen (1530), Soest (1532), Wittenberg (1533), Bremen (1534), Brunswick- Wolfenbiittel (1543), Osnabriick (1543), Bergedorf (1544), and probably others. In turn Wittenberg (1533) of the foregoing series is the basis of the Halle regulations of 1541; Pomerania (1535) of the ordinance of 1563 for the same place; Schleswig-Holstein (1542) of Hadeln (1544); Brunswick- Wolf enbuttel (1543) of Hildesheim (1544).

Another great "family" is derived from the Artikel des Visitationskonvents zu Schwahach and the Visitationsordnung des Markgrafen Georg von Brandenburg of 1528. In this group are the following: Brandenburg (1533, 1540, and 1553), Nurnberg (1533), Mecklenburg (1540), Wurttemberg (1536), Neumark (1538), Cologne Reformation (1543), Schweinfurt (1543) and Waldeck (1556).

In some cases there is a combination of sources; for example, the Mecklenburg Kirchenordnung of 1552 derives material from Saxony of 1528, 1539, and the Wittenberg Reformation of 1545. The Palatinate Kirchenordnung of 1563 comes from the Brandenburg-Nuremberg (1533), Saxony (1539), Geneva Liturgie (1541) — through the medium of Frankfort a-M. 1554 — , the Kirchenordnung of Johannes a Lasco of 1550, and the French Evangelical of 1563. (Herzog Vol. X.)

Authority under which Ordnungen were issued. Ordnungen of great importance applying to large districts were promulgated in the name of the governing princes. Sometimes the ruler himself issued the ordinance directly ; and sometimes this was done by a committee acting with his authority. The Ordnung of Cleve, 1532, was promulgated by Duke John; that of Pomerania, 1535, by Barnym and Philip; that of Wurttemberg, 1536, by Count Ulrich; while the very important Saxon Unterricht der Visitatoren an die Pfarhern of 1528 was issued under authority of Elector John by the Visitation Committee. In the cities the custom was for the council to issue Ordnung with the approval of the parish (Gemeinde) or of the citizens (Burger). The Hamburg Kirchenordnung of 1529, of which Bugenhagen was the author, was issued "durch Raths- und Biirgerheschluss" ; that of Brunswick, 1528, by "Radt und Gemeinde'' ; that of Northeim, 1539, by " Radt, Gilden, und Gemein." Within the group of Kirchenordnungen come also those regulations which were issued by bishops to their dioceses and even those instructions issued by local pastors to their parishes. But in general we find that in the sixteenth century these ordinances concerning church and school affairs were issued as ordinary matters of state legislation and were regarded as such.

The various forms of promulgation may be summed up as follows: (1) by the ruling prince; (2) by a committee appointed by him; (3) by the prince and the local magistrates; (4) by the local magistrates and council; (5) by the local council with the consent of the citizens, the parish, or the gilds; (6) by a bishop; and (7) even by a local, pastor.

Enforcement of Church Regulations. The theory that it was the duty of the evangelical states to maintain and protect the Protestant churches gradually developed, especially after the Peasants' War. From that time the earlier liberal ideas in regard to the universal priesthood of believers and particularly in regard to the advisability of diversity in church matters gave way to the theory that the secular power must, as the representative of the community of believers, accomplish the work of organizing and maintaining the church.^ This means that the regulations of the various state churches of the sixteenth century had a relation to the secular government altogether different from that which the Protestant Episcopal, Roman CathoUc, or Methodist Episcopal "Discipline" has in this country at the present time. The secular government, as a power ordained of God, was responsible for the proper government of the church as well as of the state. The principle, "Cujus regio, ejus religio, " of the Religious Peace of Augsburg could be interpreted only as making the prince responsible for the church within his territory. It is not to be inferred, however, that all the different Kirchenordnungen coming from the various sources enumerated in the discussion of the authority under which they were issued

* See Lindsay, History of the Reformation, 1 : 400, if.

had the status of civil laws. But there was behind the church regulations a general background of secular support. The actual administration was largely if not entirely in the hands of the church, the clergyman with the greatest responsibility being the Superintendent of the district.

A special form of investigation and adjustment which has a great value for this study of teachers is found in the Church Visitation. As early as 1528 there began in the Electorate of Saxony a visitation which later served as a model for all the evangelical states of Germany. The Visitors went into every parish and made a careful investigation of the (1) "cure of souls" (Seelsorge), that is, preaching, the dispensation of the sacraments, catechetical instruction, and the pastoral visitation of the sick; (2) the instruction of the youth; (3) the care of the poor. They held conferences with parish priests; they interviewed the heads of families; they conferred with the local councils. The records of these visitations (called Registraturen, or Protokolle) give the most available account of conditions that actually existed in church and school during this period.

Burkhardt has published a careful study of the Saxon church and school visitations for the period 1524 to 1545.^ This affords a valuable introduction into the subject; although it does not present copies of any of the original Protokolle. He furnishes a great number of tables showing results of the visitation in various "circles" and at different times. There is naturally little that has direct bearing upon the schools. Pallas has edited a numerous series of the reports of visitors in such a way as to make them directly available to the student.^ This work actually presents (in edited form) the reports and records of the Visitation Committees. It is to this material that one must go in order to learn how the regulations which were laid down in the Ordnungen were actually observed. It is somewhat disappointing in its content since the Visitors were much more concerned with the practical

1 Burkhardt, C. A. H., Geschichte der sachsischen Kirchen- und Schulvisitationen von 1524 bis 1545, Leipzig, 1879.

2 Pallas, Karl, Die Registraturen der Kirchenvisitationen im ehemals sachsischen Kurkreise. Herausgegeben von der Historischen Kommission fiir die Provinz Sachsen und das Herzogtum Anhalt. Four parts in three volumes, Halle, 1906.

problem of support of church and school than with various other matters which would be of much greater interest for the purposes of this study. Only here and there does one find the muchdesired pictures of local schoolmasters or statements of the social conditions in which they lived; although nearly every report shows how much the teacher is paid and what sources of income he has. If it had not been for the practice of giving special opportunity to schoolmasters to voice their complaints and to patrons of the school to state their attitude toward the teacher, the records would be practically without material bearing upon the work of teaching. The condition of church affairs, matters of doctrine and finance, the training and orthodoxy of ministers, general moral and religious conditions with special reference to signs of outbreaking immorality, and the attitude of the people toward the work of the church hold a much more prominent place than the condition of school teachers. From the attention given to church lands and revenues and the administration of church funds, one is forced to the inference that the Visitation Committees were attempting to give a "business" administration.

The purpose of this study is to use all this material and such other as is available in such a way as to show the condition of the teaching body of the time, to show the advantages and disadvantages under which they worked, to give as clear a picture as possible of their character and attainments, and in general to deal with them from a point of view external to the school room. Further than this an effort has been made to learn what tendencies are to be discovered in the legislation and conditions of the period in so far as teachers reveal them or are affected by them. No attempt has been made to deal with the actual work of the teacher within the school itself as such a study would lead into too wide a field for this work. The reader need expect no discussion of such topics as courses of study, school room methods and management, or other problems which grow out of the teacher's immediate contact with his pupils in the process of instruction.

Chapter II Kinds Of Teachers And Their Number

Two distinct types of schools stand out in the sixteenth century, the one German, the other Latin. Although the German school was not completely developed, it was slowly progressing from the stage where the chief purpose was to give catechetical instruction, to a higher plane where the work embodied at least rudiments of intellectual education. Included in this class are the schools for girls (Madchenschulen) and those for boys {deutsche Knahenschulen or merely deutsche Schulen). The work was purely elementary, catechism, reading, and writing being the principal or sole parts of the curriculum. In the latter part of the century there developed also German writing schools {Modistenschulen, "deutsche Schreiberei und Rechenschulen") the purpose of which was to give special preparation to such boys as expected to enter the service of the state or community in the capacity of clerks, secretaries, and the like. The Wiirttemberg Ordinance of 1559 gives the first official recognition of the need of such institutions in a section which shows clearly that they were distinct from the ordinary vernacular schools {deutsche Schulen). Merz sees in the Modistenschulen the forerunners of the Realschulen, citing as evidence the fact that both attempted to supply the same need, that of preparing for official service such boys as did not wish to study Latin, and the coincidence that as the number of Realschulen increased that of Modistenschulen decreased, the latter finally disappearing early in the nineteenth century.