Chapter XXII: Education and Art in the Sixteenth Century (2)

When the students returned to their work in the month of October, they were employed in reading Latin and Greek, preparing for the ensuing session: and about the first of November, when the classes were fully assembled, the Principal in a meeting in the public hall, at nine in the morning, prescribed to the Bajan class a piece of Scotch, which being copied and read aloud, the students were separated, and under the observation of the regents who attended by turns, they translated it into Latin, then having copied their versions, and each subscribed his own one with his name, and the name of the master, who had instructed him in Latin, they delivered the versions to the attending regent before twelve o’clock. At four in the afternoon they re-assembled in the presence of the Principal and regents, and each being called by name, read his Latin version aloud under the inspection of one of the regents, and then returned the paper to be perused by the Principal and the regents; if any one of them was so deficient in Latin as to be unable to follow the instruction given in the class, they were advised to return to the study of that language. The next day, a Latin theme was prescribed to the Semi class, to be translated into Greek, and afterwards read and examined in the form above stated. A passage of some Latin and Greek author was set to the third class to be analysed, and this was disposed of in the same manner. At the opening of the session, the Semi class was engaged for several days in repeating what they had learned before; after this they were publicly examined by the regents and the professor of humanity; they were examined on Ramus’ Dialectics and the compend of Ars Syllogistica, the Greek poets and prose authors; and an account was taken of what had been taught publicly, and also of what each student had acquired by his own energy and industry. The third class was examined on philosophy and the categories, some other parts of Aristotle’s logic, and on Ramus. The Magistrand, or fourth year’s students, were examined on logic, demonstration, on a few acromatical books, and on Aristotle’s ethics.

In the month of July, near the close of the session, the fourth class gave up their names for trial in the public hall, preparatory to receiving the degree of Master of Arts. This examination was nearly similar to the preceding. The evening before the public disputation on the thesis, they met in the presence of the Principal and the regents, and subscribed the Confession of Faith. When the Principal found that they had all received certificates, and that they had performed the necessary exercises, he then took the report of the five regents touching the behaviour and ability of every one, and according to their merit enrolled their names, distinguishing them into ranks. The disputation upon the thesis commenced in the morning, and concluded in the evening about six o’clock, when the candidates were called in by name according to their ranks, and the Principal briefly exhorted them to follow a virtuous life, and then performed the ceremony of graduation in the form still practised on such occasions.¹

¹ Crawfurd’s _History of the University of Edinburgh_;
Dalziel’s _History of the University of Edinburgh_, Volume
II., pages 46‒50. 1862. There is no complete list of the
philosophical theses which were printed before the day
fixed for the graduation of Master of Arts; the earliest
one that has been found is that for the year 1596. In
1599 and subsequent years the names of the candidates
and the presiding regent are affixed, with a dedication
to the provost and magistrates of Edinburgh, or to some
distinguished personage.

There was a steadily growing interest in national education, and the educational institutions were increasing. In the year 1592 a college was founded at Fraserburgh by Sir Alexander Fraser, of Philorth, the lineal ancestor of Lord Saltoun. It did not succeed, however, although its foundation was ratified by parliament, and sanctioned by the General Assembly. The change of Church government, and the disturbing influences thence arising, were against it; while the establishing of Marischal College in the new town of Aberdeen in 1693, probably interfered with the chance of success of the College of Fraserburgh. As originally endowed, Marischal College had only a rector, a dean of faculty, a Principal, three regents, and six bursars; but the number of its professors and bursars gradually increased, and it became a very useful educational institution.¹

¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume IV., pages
35, 147, 148; _Book of the Universal Kirk_; _Records of
Marischal College_. These records have now been carefully
and ably edited by Mr. P. J. Anderson, M.A., LL.B., for
the New Spalding Club, Volume I., under the title of “Fasti
Academiæ Mariscallanæ Aberdonensis,” was issued in 1889,
and contains the original foundations of the Marischal
College and University, and notices of its later endowments;
while the second volume will give an account of the system
of education, including the names of teachers and of
students.

In forming an opinion on the educational system as it existed in the latter part of the sixteenth century, it is necessary to remember the limited range of the scientific knowledge of the period. As yet the majority of learned teachers had no idea of the modern system of the universe; they knew that the earth is a globe, but they thought it was in the centre of the universe, and that all the heavenly bodies moved round it every twenty-four hours. The idea that it was the earth that moved they thought to be absurd; the earth stood still, they maintained, like the everlasting hills. From this limited view of the universe, there has sprung up a vast accumulation of childish and absurd notions: the most learned men of the age thought that the planets were moved by angels, and that the stars had a magic influence upon the affairs of men. Thus they were ready to believe in visions, in prodigies, in witchcraft, and in the power of the devil to fight pretty successfully against God and mankind. Although a more correct conception and a wider view of the universe had been expounded long before the end of the sixteenth century, yet the mind of Europe had been so long held in leading-strings that centuries were required for its emancipation.

An educational system which assumed that the ancients knew everything, could not have been expected to show much favour to any new discoveries in physical science. Hence the comparatively narrow course of education which so long prevailed in the Scottish universities. This education, however, produced logical habits of thought, which, associated with many other influences, contributed to form a strongly marked national character. The encouragement given to dogmatic instruction in religion, from the humblest of the parish schools to the divinity halls, powerfully conduced to mould that argumentative cast of mind, so characteristic of the Scottish people. This dogmatic and logical system of theology ran very much in one channel for two centuries after the Reformation, before it was at all seriously challenged among the Scots: as they were well contented with their Church and her doctrine, which maintained its ground with wonderful completeness.

The deficiencies of the system in its early stages are seen in the fact, that it was long after the Reformation ere either law or medicine, reached the maturity of a faculty in any of the Scottish universities. The languages and the literature of the Island itself were not deemed worth the attention of the higher schools, till the present century.¹ There were no chairs for history before the eighteenth century; and many other requisites, such as large libraries, were almost entirely wanting in the Scottish universities at the end of the sixteenth century. It is known that there was a collection of books in King’s College at Aberdeen in the sixteenth century, but there is no record touching the library or its management prior to 1634. There were collections of books in the University of Glasgow before the Reformation, but that event in a great measure dispersed them; yet there was a small library in the college in 1578. From that date it has gradually increased, and in the first quarter of the present century it contained upwards of 30,000 volumes. The library of the University of St. Andrews was never large. In the year 1580, Mr. Clement Little, one of the Commissaries of Edinburgh, bequeathed his library for the use of the citizens of the capital. It consisted of 268 volumes, which at that time was considered a valuable collection. They were at first placed in the lodgings of Mr. Lawson, one of the ministers of Edinburgh, who was a warm promoter of the scheme for erecting a college in the city. And in 1584 the Town Council ordered Mr. Little’s donation of books to be removed to the college, and delivered to the care of Principal Rollock. This was the foundation of the library of the University of Edinburgh, which now contains over 158,000 volumes, and 700 manuscripts.

¹ Dr. Bain, in his work entitled _Education as a Science_,
devotes a long chapter to the discussion of teaching the
“mother tongue,” and handles the subject in an exhaustive
and interesting style. Chapter 9, pages 312‒358; 1879.

We have seen that music was cultivated and taught in the schools from a very early period,¹ and there is evidence that singing was regularly taught throughout the kingdom before the Reformation. In January, 1553, the Town Council of Edinburgh resolved to grant a license to James Lauder, the prebendary of their choir, to go to England and France, and remain for a year, and learn better music, and more aptitude for performing on musical instruments. In 1554 the Council ordered the Dean of Guild to repair the song school in the churchyard, so that the bairns may enter and attend it. The same year the magistrates engaged Alexander Stevinson to sing in the choir every festival day, at the masses of Our Lady and the Holy Blood, and ordered their treasurer to pay him twenty merks for the year. To cheer the hearts of the national legislators, four musicians were paid for playing during the sitting of Parliament in 1555; while that year the musicians who played before the image of St. Giles on his day, received forty shillings. In the year 1556, Jacques and his sons were paid for playing on All-hallow-een, and all the time of the fair twice in the day through the town.²

¹ Mackintosh’s _History of Civilisation in Scotland_, Volume
I., pages 131, 245, 417, 468, _et seq._

² _Burgh Records of Edinburgh_, Volume II., pages 176, 192,
197, 219, 220, 336, 360.

The Reformation, however, was not favourable to the musical art. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1579 stating that the teaching of the youth in the art of music and singing had begun to be neglected. It affirmed that the instruction of the children in music and singing had almost decayed, and must decay altogether, if a timely remedy was not provided. The provosts and councils of the burghs throughout the kingdom, and the patrons and provosts of colleges, were enjoined to repair and “to set-a-going the sang-schools,” and to appoint qualified masters to instruct the young in the science of music.¹

¹ _Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland_, Volume III.

Although psalms were always sung, and sometimes hymns, in the Reformed Church, the organs and all instrumental music were entirely discarded from the public worship. From this and other influences the musical faculty of the people was not so much encouraged and cultivated as it might have been: in fact, in some of its forms music was directly discouraged, while dancing was frowned upon, and sometimes denounced as a sin.¹

¹ _Second Book of Discipline_, chapter 7; Melville’s _Diary_,
page 350.

There are numerous early editions of the metrical Psalms which were adopted by the Reformed Church of Scotland. Touching the singing of the Psalms in the sixteenth century, only the Church part, or the melody of the tune, was given on the tenor cleff C, and not, as now, on the treble cleff G, thus leaving the harmony to be supplied at discretion, according to the skill of the different congregations. The music of the Reformed Church at that time was what is called “plain song.”¹ The importance justly ascribed to singing in public worship, seems to have suggested this simple mode.

¹ “_The Scottish Metrical Psaltery_ of A.D. 1635, reprinted
from the original work; the additional matter and various
readings found in the editions of 1565, etc., being appended;
edited by the Rev. Neil Livingston,” 1864. “There is a
peculiarity in the mode of harmonising the Church tunes
in the sixteenth and early part of the following century
which require notice. The melody, or plain song, as it is
sometimes called, is given to the tenor voice, and not, as
in the generality of modern music, to the treble. This mode
of arrangement was derived from the Roman Church, where the
canto fermo, or plain song, is to this day sung by men’s
voices. It was, no doubt, intended that the congregation
should sing the tune (which from its pitch and compass would
suit any kind of voice), and that the accompanying parts
should be sung by a choir of voices.”――_Proceedings of the
Society of Antiquaries of Scotland_, Volume VII., page 446.

During the sixteenth century architecture made no remarkable progress in Scotland. The most notable peculiarity of the buildings of this period was the adoption of several features of the French flamboyant style, which had become mixed with other characteristics of native origin. This peculiarity was frequently exhibited in the castellated architecture of the period. The flowing tracery was retained till the Reformation, but from that date church architecture has declined. A pretty full account of the baronial and ecclesiastical architecture is presented in Billing’s work, in four volumes, published in 1845‒52; and in other works devoted to the subject.

The Regent Morton greatly embellished his palace of Dalkeith with tapestry and very fine pieces of art. Later in the century, Duncan Campbell of ♦Glenorchy employed artists to decorate his mansion at Taymouth, and others of the nobles then began to show a somewhat better taste in connection with the style, the interior decoration, and the convenient arrangement of their castles and houses; and in some castles the ceilings and roofs were ornamented with a variety of paintings, in small divisions, containing emblematic figures. About the beginning of the seventeenth century, the first Marquis of Huntly rebuilt portions, and repaired the whole of the Castle of Strathbogie; the later portions of the castle were elaborately and finely ornamented, both externally and internally, and some of the chimney-pieces were highly ornamented, one of which is preserved――a beautiful piece of sculpture in freestone.

♦ “Glenurchy” replaced with “Glenorchy”

Wood work, especially carving in oak, had attained a high degree of perfection; but foreign artists have usually received the credit of executing the best specimens of this description of work. A very fine specimen of wood carving in oak is preserved in the chapel of King’s College, Aberdeen, which presents a grand double row of oak canopied stalls, with miserere seats and high open screen. The workmanship is clean and delicate, and the traceried panels are beautifully diversified and relieved by bold and elaborate treatment. The wood carving of the stalls in the Cathedral of Dunblane is also fine, and a few other specimens which have been preserved. The ceiling of the audience-chamber of Queen Mary in the palace of Holyrood was executed about 1558, and it is a good example of oak carving. Many admirable specimens of the wood-workers’ art, such as cabinets, chests, and other articles of household furniture, are preserved in public and in private collections.

Touching the higher forms of art, painting and sculpture were as yet, almost a blank in Scotland. The remarkable revival of art in Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries had little effect in this northern corner of Europe. Indeed, painting may be said to be an importation among us; for, with a few exceptions, Scotland had no painters till a recent period. It is not, however, to be supposed that the Scots made no attempts at the figurative arts; only their efforts in this department were so crude, comparatively, as to place them nearly beyond criticism. No doubt a large quantity of decorations, and frescoes, associated with the churches in Roman Catholic times, disappeared at the Reformation. In the sixteenth century painters were mentioned both before and after the Reformation, but probably few of them were artists. A considerable number of portraits were painted in Scotland in the sixteenth century. A few seem to have been painted in the reign of James V., and a greater number in the latter part of the century: and amongst those of the later time, were portraits of Esme Stewart, Duke of Lennox; the Earl of Mar, Regent of Scotland; and his brother, Sir Alexander Erskine of Gogar, by unknown artists. Arnold Bronkhorst, a Fleming, appears to have attended the court of James VI., and was employed as a painter. He received sixty-four pounds for painting three portraits, viz., “a portrait of His Majesty from the belt upward, a portrait of His Majesty full length; and another portrait of Master George Buchanan,” and moreover a gift of one hundred merks for his coming to this country. It seems that Ruthven, the unfortunate and last Earl of Gowrie, showed a taste for art. It was not any inaptitude of the mental characteristics of the Scots in relation to art, but their social and material condition, which in the sixteenth century rendered art so backward amongst them. As yet the art of the professional painter can scarcely be said to have existed.

The Reformation in Scotland was at first unfavourable to the culture of the fine arts. Calvin admitted painting and sculpture to be gifts of God, which should be used purely and lawfully; but he was disposed to limit the subjects of the artist and the sculptor. He objected to all images in churches and places of worship.¹ Thus the change in the creed of the nation had a retarding influence on the development of art in Scotland for several generations.

¹ Institutes, Book I., Chapter 12. The relation of fine art
to Christianity is well discussed by Mr. Symonds in his
“Renaissance in Italy.” He said――“Looking back upon this
phase of painting, we are able to perceive that already the
adoption of art to Christian dogma entailed concessions on
both sides.... There was consequently a double compromise,
involving a double sacrifice of something precious. The
faith suffered by having its mysteries brought into the
light of day, incarnate in form, and humanised. Art suffered
by being forced to render intellectual abstractions to the
eye through figured symbols.

“As technical skill increased, and as beauty, the proper end
of art, became more rightly understood, the painters found
that their craft was worthy of being made an end in itself,
and that the actualities of life observed around them had
claims upon their genius no less weighty than dogmatic
mysteries. The subjects they had striven to realise with
all simplicity, now became the vehicles for the display of
sensuous beauty, science, and mundane pageantry. The human
body received separate and independent study, as a thing
in itself incomparably beautiful, commanding more powerful
emotions by its magic than aught that sways the soul. At the
same time the external world with all its wealth of animal
and vegetable life, together with all the works of human
ingenuity in costly and superb buildings, was seen to be in
every detail worthy of most patient imitation.” Volume III.,
pages 21‒23.

“On the very threshold of the matter I am bound to affirm my
conviction that the spiritual purists of all ages――the Jews,
the iconoclasts of Byzantium, Savonarola, and our Puritan
ancestors――were justified in their mistrust of plastic art.
The spirit of Christianity and the spirit of figurative
art are opposed, not because art is immoral, but because it
cannot free itself from sensuous associations. It is always
bringing us back to the dear earth, from which the faith
would sever us. It is always reminding us of the body which
piety bids us neglect. Painters and sculptors glorify that
which saints and ascetics have mortified.” _Ibid._, page 24,
_et seq._