Guarino had first established a school in 1415 in Venice, where he was joined by Vittorino. He subsequently moved to Ferrara where, from 1429 to 1436, he assumed responsibility for the humanist education of the young son of Nicolò d’Este, the lord of Ferrara. Guarino wrote no treatises, but something may be learned about his work and methods from his large correspondence and from De ordine docendi et studendi (1485; “On the Order for Teaching and Studying”), written by his son Battista. Guarino organized his students’ courses into three stages: the elementary level, at which reading and pronunciation were primarily taught, followed by the grammatical level, and finally the highest level, concentrating on rhetoric. The education given in his schools was perhaps the best example of the humanistic ideals, since it underlined the importance of literary studies together with a harmonious development of body and spirit, to the exclusion of any utilitarian purpose.
Vittorino was a disciple of both Barzizza and Guarino. He conducted boarding schools at Padua and Venice and, most importantly, from 1423 to 1446 one at Mantua, where he had been invited by the reigning lord, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga. This last school, known as La Giocosa (literally, “The Jocose, or Joyful”), soon became famous. At La Giocosa only those who had both talent and a modest disposition were accepted; wealth was neither necessary nor sufficient to gain admission. In fact, the school was one of the few efforts made during this period to extend education to a wider public. The program of study at La Giocosa was perhaps closer to the medieval tradition than that of the other boarding schools but, in any case, the spirit was different. Studies were stimulating; mathematics was taught pleasantly—Vittorino going back to very ancient traditions of practicing mathematics with games. After having studied the seven arts of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, and logic) and the quadrivium (geometry, arithmetic, harmonics, and astronomy), students completed the cycle by a study of philosophy and then, having mastered this discipline, could go on to higher studies leading to such professions as medicine, law, philosophy, and theology. Italian was completely ignored at Vittorino’s school; all instruction was given in Latin, the study of which, along with Greek, reached a high level of excellence. Great importance was given to recreation and physical education; his concern for the health of his students did not come to an end with the scholastic year, for during the summers, when the cities became unhealthy, he would arrange for his students to go to Lake Garda or to the hills outside Verona.
Vittorino’s educational philosophy was inspired by a profound religious faith and moral integrity, which contrasted with the general relaxation of standards within the church itself; but, if he was severe with himself, he was very open and tolerant with his pupils. The school continued only for a while after his death because, more than in the case of the other schools, La Giocosa was identified with the personality of the founder. Nonscholastic traditions
Leon Battista Alberti, one of the most intelligent and original architects of the 15th century, also dedicated a treatise, Della famiglia (1435–44; “On the Family”), to methods of education. Alberti felt that the natural place for education was the home and not scholastic institutions. The language in which he wrote was Italian, education being in his view so important in social life that he felt that discussion of it should not be limited to scholars. He stressed the importance of the father in the educational process.
Baldassare Castiglione expressed the transition of humanism from the city to the Renaissance court. He himself was in the service of some of the most splendid princes, the Gonzagas at Mantua and the Montefeltros at Urbino. Just as in the 15th century the humanists had been concerned with the education of the city burgher, so in the 16th century they turned their attention to the education of the prince and of those who surrounded him. Il cortegiano (“The Courtier”) was published in 1528, and within a few years it had been translated into Latin and all the major European languages. The courtier was to be the faithful collaborator of the prince. He had to be beautiful, strong, and agile; he had to know how to fight, play, dance, and make love. But this was not all, since great importance was also attached to the study of the classics and the practice of poetry and oratory; the courtier had to be able to write in rhyme and in prose and have perfect command of the vernacular, which was becoming important in political affairs; but above all he had to have skill at arms.
The courtier described by Castiglione, though in the service of necessarily devious princes, had to know how to keep his dignity and his virtue. Castiglione’s moral standards, reflecting the spiritual climate at Urbino, completely disappeared, however, in Giovanni della Casa’s work, Galateo (1551–54), in which considerations of etiquette were placed above all others; the values of humanism no longer existed, and all that was left was ceremonial. The humanistic tradition of northern and western Europe
The economic and social conditions behind the intellectual and cultural revolution of humanism in Italy were also present, though in different forms, in other parts of Europe. In some states—chiefly England, France, and Spain—humanism and educational reforms developed around the courts, where political power was being concentrated. In others, such as the Netherlands, they were brought about by the city burghers, whose power, both economic and political, was increasing. The educational reforms that the humanists brought about in northern and western Europe developed slowly, but on the whole they were lasting, since they affected a greater number of people than was the case in Italy, where they tended to be restricted to a narrow circle of families. There were close relations between Italian and other European educational humanists, as there were among English, Dutch, French, and German humanists, and, thus, national differences were not so significant. Dutch humanism
In the Netherlands the ground for educational reform had already been prepared in the 14th century by the Brethren of the Common Life, a group founded by Gerhard Groote to bring together laymen and religious men. Although their work was not originally in the field of education, education started when they set up hostels for students and exercised some moral direction over these students. This work was extended, and the Brethren eventually set up schools, first at Deventer and then in other cities. Some of the most important humanists of the Netherlands and Germany attended their schools—including, among others, Erasmus.
The school at Deventer came to have great prestige under Alexander Hegius, rector from 1465 to 1498 and author of a polemic treatise, De utilitate Graeci (“On the Usefulness of Greek”)—underlining the importance of studying Greek—and of De scientia (“On Knowledge”) and De moribus (“On Manners”). Hegius had great talent as an organizer and succeeded not only in attracting some of the best scholars of the time but also in giving the school an efficient structure that became a model for many schools in the north.