King Charles the Bald
In 863, when he was 13 years old, Radbod left Cologne after he had studied at his uncle’s school for eight years. Uncle Gunthar, the Archbishop, had become involved in the scandal surrounding the king’s divorce, something Radbod’s family didn’t want to get associated with. So Radbod was removed from Cologne and travelled to Compiegne, a town in northern France. In Compiegne King Charles the Bald had built a royal chapel, which could rival with the palace his grandfather Charles the Great had built in Aachen.
Connected to this royal chapel was a court school, which was run by bishops. One of the teachers was a man named John Scottus Eriugena, an Irish mystic, philosopher and theologian, and one of the most famous scholars of the day. Radbod is sure to have known him, as Scottus Eriugena died in 877.
Modern historians are still discussing what the court school in Compiegne was like. Were the students all destined for jobs in the church, or was it possible for someone to enrol when he was the eldest son and heir? In any case, the school wasn’t organised like a modern school where students are taught in a class with other pupils. The students of the court school had individual private tutoring, or were possibly taught in very small groups.
The seven liberal arts depicted in a 12th century picture
The subjects the students studied at the school were grammar, dialectic/logic, rhetoric, geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. These seven, so-called, classical liberal arts were not only important for the studying and explaining of the Bible and other church literature, but were also of importance when studying classical poetry and literature.
With all these subjects to study and with famous scholars for teachers, Radbod was able to get the best education possible in the early middle ages. Like Radbod, at least two of his fellow students became bishops later in life, which is not that strange, as the court school of Charles the Bald was known as a breeding ground for bishops.
Radbod studied in Compiegne until 877. During his final years at the school, he had become one of Charles the Bald’s chaplains. When Charles died, Radbod travelled to Tours to continue his studies, but not before he had visited his family in Lomochanum. Radbod was now 27 years old.
Both illustrations are in the public domain.
Fascinating reading! Education of the period looks nothing like that of modern times!
No, indeed it doesn’t, Trish. The only people who could afford (or had the connections) to let their children study were the noble families. And even then the schools were much like monasteries. It can’t have been very easy for the young children to adapt to school life, being away from their families for years at the time.
Hard to imagine these days.
Very interesting! Although a very different education from what one finds today, it does sound very appropriate for the times and issues he’d have been dealing with.
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Yes, you’re right, Trisha. And he loved studying, as he did it for about 45 years!