Szkolnictwo parafialne w diecezji warmińskiej w świetle akt wizytacyjnych z drugiej połowy XVI wieku

Abstract

The aim of the article was to present the school system in the Warmia diocese in the second half of the 16th century. The author examined the official records of three inspections by the bishops (1565-1572, 1581-1582, 1597-1598) as well as Bishop Marcin Kromer’s Descriptio episcopates Varmiensis. On the basis of the collected material it was possible to state that there were schools affiliated to each parish church and to some succursal ones. The classes were conducted by teachers who were called ludirectores or magistri scholae. The were usually trained in Jesuit colleges or seminaries. Their pay depended on the wealth of particular parishes and on the number of the faithful. It ranged from 3 to 100 grzywnas. The data contained in the records make it also possible to give the number of boys who enjoyed the advantage of attending schools. It was found that in village schools 2 to 12 boys learned, and in town schools - 30 to 120. Lastly, on the basis of the materials gathered by the inspectors we can find out what curricula there were and what handbooks were used in the schools. It appears that the Warmia schools were elementary ones and they taught reading and writing in Latin.