Renaissance ; Humanism

What were the developments of education during Henry VII’s reign?

• ‘Song schools’ and ‘Reading schools’ provided elementary education for the very young

• Secondary education took place in grammar schools - some had been in existence for centuries, but there was an increase in new foundations during this period = 53 new grammar schools founded (1460-1509)

• Majority access to education depended on where they happened to live

• Latin was the centre of grammar schools’ curriculum - the 1480s saw the beginnings of a humanistic approach (particularly at Magdalen College School in Oxford)

• English remained a by-product of teaching Latin

• University education rested with the ancient universities of Oxford and Cambridge

How was drama like during Henry VII’s reign?

• Most important form of art

• Important festive occasions - churches, cooperations and guild combined in public celebrations - straight forward moral and religious messages for moral improvement for audiences

• Most famous dramas were the mystery plays performed at the feasts of Corpus Christi by the guilds of towns and cities - York, Lincoln, Wakefield and Coventry

• Troupes of players, sometimes sponsored by members of the nobility, toured the country

• Plays presented in association with Church - ale festivals

How was music like during Henry VII’s reign?

• Enjoyed at various levels: great choral pieces sung in the country’s cathedrals, local bagpipe and wind groups that entertained the crowds on Saint’s day - sometimes accompanying bawdy drinking songs

• Music performed at court or in the homes of the wealthy - used instruments such trumpets, shawms and sackbuts, softer music used stringed instruments, recorders and lutes

• Most important surviving source for such music - Eton Choirbook complied around 1505 -collection of 93 separate music compositions, +the 2 mot important composers each had very close links with the optical establishment of Henry VII’s reign

• Choral pieces underwent the beginnings of Renaissance - single line chants gave way to polyphonic choral music, different parts o the choir sang independent melodic lines - heard in cathedrals and other major churches

• Secular songs used for entertainment

• Carols popular during Christmas

How was arts and architecture like during Henry VII’s reign?

• Massive amount of building and rebuilding of parish churches that occurred during the time

• Many churches built in the Gothic perpendicular style - indication of the scale of investment - Henry approved of this style in 1502

• William Caxton established his pin tied press in 1478 - traditional medical works were printed

• By the time of Henry VII’s death in 1509, humanist influences had reached England - Humanist scholars became more fashionable - works printed by Caxton also became unfashionable

• English culture still followed the Gothic traditions of northwestern Europe - already primitive visual style