A schoolmaster, or simply master, is a male

school A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

. The usage first occurred in England in the

Late Middle Ages The late Middle Ages or late medieval period was the Periodization, period of History of Europe, European history lasting from 1300 to 1500 AD. The late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period ( ...

and

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

. At that time, most schools were one-room or two-room schools and had only one or two such teachers, a second or third being often called an assistant schoolmaster. The use of the traditional term survives in British

private schools A private school or independent school is a school not administered or funded by the government, unlike a public school. Private schools are schools that are not dependent upon national or local government to finance their financial endowme ...

, both secondary and preparatory, and 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 Latin school, school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented Se ...

s, as well as in some Commonwealth boarding schools (such as

the Doon School The Doon School (informally Doon School or Doon) is a Selective school, selective all-boys Private school, private boarding school in Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India, which was established in 1935. It was envisioned by Satish Ranjan Das, a lawyer ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

) which are modelled on British grammar and public schools.

Origins

The word "master" in this context translates the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word magister. In England, a schoolmaster was usually a university graduate, and until the 19th century, the only universities were

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

and

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Their graduates in almost all subjects graduated as Bachelors of Arts and were then promoted to Masters of Arts (''magister artium''), simply by seniority. The core subject in an English

was Latin.

Present usage

Where a school has more than one schoolmaster, a man in charge of the school is the headmaster, sometimes spelt as two words, "head master". This name survives in British independent schools but has been replaced by ''head teacher'' in most British publicly funded schools, although "headmaster" is often still used colloquially, particularly in grammar schools, and is equivalent to the principal in American schools. The term "headmaster" also survives in some American and

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the 15th century. Originally a phrase (the common-wealth ...

independent schools. In such schools, a schoolmaster who is not the head is formally called an "assistant schoolmaster". A range of other terms is derived from "schoolmaster" and "headmaster", including deputy headmaster (the second most senior teacher), senior master and second master (both used in some independent schools instead of deputy headmaster), and housemaster, the schoolmaster in charge of a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

). Some independent schools use other titles for the head of the teaching staff, eg '' High Master'', '' Rector'', ''

Warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

''. The female equivalent of schoolmaster is ''schoolmistress'', which is used with all the same prefixes. A ''

Dame school Dame schools were small, privately run schools for children aged two to five. They emerged in Great Britain and its colonies during the Early modern Britain, early modern period. These schools were taught by a “school dame,” a local woman ...

'' was taught by a ''school dame'', a local woman who would care for young children and teach them the alphabet for a small fee. Dame schools were localized, and could typically be found at the town or parish level.

Older usage

Usher

An older term for the ''Second Master'' in a school in England was the ''Usher''.

Spelling

The term schoolmaster was once commonly two words, and the spelling has varied. Roger Ascham's book ''The Scholemaster Or a Plaine and Perfite Way of Teachyng Children, to Understand, Write and Speake the Latin Tong'' was published in 1570. In 1634, Henry Bury, former master of Bury Grammar School, left in his will £300 to the "ffree school" at Bury "for and towards the yearlie mentayninge of a school maister there, for to teach their children."Derek Hodgkiss
''Bury Grammar School''
henrydunstersociety.org (and Bury: BGS, 1974) accessed 21 November 2016

References

{{Reflist

Bibliography

* Ascham, Roger
The schoolmaster: or, A plain and perfect way of teaching children to understand, write, and speak the Latin tongue
(1570; Based on the edition reproduced by Menston Scolar Press, 1967)
Google books text
* Edward Egglestone, ''The Schoolmaster in Literature'' (2003) Titles Education and training occupations Education in the United Kingdom