still was, after seven or eight centuries of effort, it nevertheless
presents certain clearly marked lines of development. The beginnings of a
new Christian civilization among the tribes which had invaded and overrun
the old Roman Empire are evident, and, toward the latter part of the
Middle Ages, we note the development of a number of centers of learning
(R. 71) and the beginnings of that specialization of knowledge (church
doctrine, classical learning, music, logic and ethics, theology), at
different church and monastery schools, which promised much for the future
of learning. We also notice, and will see the same evidence in the
following chapter, the beginnings of a class of scholarly men, though the
scholarship is very limited in scope and along lines thoroughly approved
by the Church.

In education proper, in the sense that we understand it, the schools
provided were still for a very limited class, and secondary rather than
elementary in nature. They were intended to meet the needs of an
institution rather than of a people, and to prepare those who studied in
them for service to that institution. That institution, too, had
concentrated its efforts on preparing its members for life in another
world, and not for life or service in this. There were as yet no
independent schools or scholars, the monks and clergy represented the one
learned class, Theology was the one professional study, the ability to
read and write was not regarded by noble or commoner as of any particular
importance, and all book knowledge was in a language which the people did
not understand when they heard it and could not read. Society was as yet
composed of three classes--feudal warriors, who spent their time in
amusements or fighting, and who had evolved a form of knightly training
for their children; privileged priests and monks and nuns, who controlled
all book learning and opportunities for professional advancement; and the
great mass of working peasants, engaged chiefly in agriculture, and