HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Education Act 1496 was an act of the
Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council of ...
(1496 c. 87) that required landowners to send their eldest sons to school to study
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
,
arts The arts are a very wide range of human practices of creative expression, storytelling and cultural participation. They encompass multiple diverse and plural modes of thinking, doing and being, in an extremely broad range of media. Both hi ...
and
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...
. This made schooling compulsory for the first time in the world. The
humanist Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the individual and social potential and agency of human beings. It considers human beings the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term "human ...
intent was to ensure that
local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loc ...
lay in competent hands and to improve the administration of justice nationwide by making the
legal system The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...
more responsive at the local level. The act states: * all
baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...
s and substantial freeholders shall put their eldest sons and heirs into school from the age of 8 or 9. * these shall remain in
grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary sch ...
s under competent instruction until they have perfect
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
. * They shall next spend 3 years at the schools of art and law. * the purpose of this education is: ** that they have knowledge and understanding of the laws, for the benefit of justice throughout the realm. ** that those who become sheriffs or judges will have the knowledge to do justice. ** to eliminate the need of the poor to seek redress from the king's principal auditors for each small injury (see
Scottish Poor Laws The Scottish Poor Laws were the statutes concerning poor relief passed in Scotland between 1579 and 1929. Scotland had a different Poor Law system to England and the workings of the Scottish laws differed greatly to the Poor Law Amendment Act whi ...
). * anyone who fails to do so without a lawful excuse shall pay the king the sum of £20 Scots. The act was passed by the
Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. ...
at
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore o ...
on 13 June 1496 in the reign of
James IV James IV (17 March 1473 – 9 September 1513) was King of Scotland from 11 June 1488 until his death at the Battle of Flodden in 1513. He inherited the throne at the age of fifteen on the death of his father, James III, at the Battle of Sauch ...
, and in the 19th century it remained in effect as one of the principal Statutes for the management of schools under
Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland ...
. This act is sometimes referred to as the Education Act of 1494, this is due to an error in some editions of the ''Acts of Parliament'' where it is listed as 1494 James IV, c. 54.


References

1490s in law 1496 in Scotland Acts of the Parliament of Scotland School Establishment Acts Medieval Scots law History of education in Scotland Compulsory education 15th century in education Scottish society in the Middle Ages {{Scotland-hist-stub