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November 4, 2018

The Seven Liberal Arts – The Foundations of Modern Day Education

The Seven Liberal Arts. While the phrase “Liberal Arts” is nothing new to any student’s ears, the specific term “Seven Liberal Arts” might not have the same sense of familiarity. The term “liberal arts” comes from the Latin word “liber,” which means “to free”; thus it was believed that the Seven Liberal Arts would “free” one through the knowledge gained in each of various disciplines.1 The term “Seven Liberal Arts” or artes liberales refers to the specific “branches of knowledge” that were taught in medieval schools. These seven branches were divided into two categories: the Trivium and the Quadrivium. The Trivium refered to the branches of knowledge focused on language, specifically grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The second division, the Quadrivium, focused on mathematics and its application: arithmetic, astronomy, geometry, and music.2 Greek philosophers believed the Liberal Arts were the studies that would develop both moral excellence and greater intellect for man. However, it was not from the Greeks, but rather from the Romans that we see the first official pattern or grouping of the Seven Liberal Arts. The beginnings of this pattern came from the Roman teachers Varro and Capella.  Varro (116 BCE-27 BCE), a Roman scholar, is credited with writing the first articulation about the Seven Liberal Arts.3 However, Capella (360 AD-428 AD) in his Marriage of Philology and Mercury, set the number and content of the Seven. Branching off of Capella’s work, three more Roman teachers—Boethius, Cassiodorus, and Isadore—were the ones who made the distinctions between the Trivium and Quadrivium.4 Through the writings and research of these men, the foundation for the Seven Liberal Arts was set and ready to be taught officially in the Medieval schools across Europe.

“The Seven Liberal Arts” by the painter Giovanni di Ser Giovanni Guidi circa 1460 | Currently housed in the National Art Museum of Catalonia | Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

The first division of the liberal arts was called the Trivium which means “the place where three ways or roads meet.” The Trivium was the assembly of the three language subjects or “artes sermoincales”: grammar, dialectic, and rhetoric.5 It was expected that all educated people become proficient in the Latin language. After so many years of school with Latin being the spoken language, the student would be deemed proficient in the language and he would begin studying the higher-level curriculum.6 Completion of the Trivium was equivalent to a student’s modern day bachelor degree.7

The grammar aspect of the Trivium aimed to have students critically analyze and memorize texts as well as produce their own writings. One of the most famous grammatical texts studied by students was the Doctrinale of Alexander of Villedieu, which was a work of verse written in 1199. Naturally, the classics, such as Virgil, were studied as well as some Christian texts.8 In the stronger monasteries, other pagan authors besides Virgil were also studied.9 Not only was Virgil studied, but Donatus and Priscian wrote two very popular textbooks for the study of grammar. Donatus’ work was seen as an elementary work because he focused on the eight parts of speech. Priscian’s work, on the other hand, dealt with more advanced grammatical topics, and he cited some of the Roman forefathers of the Seven, such as Capella, Augustine, and Boethius.10

The student interest level in dialectic had been immense since the early days of the Greek schools, since they focused on the arts of reasoning and logic. For some, such as Rhabanus Maurus, dialectic was considered “the science of sciences.” The commonly studied dialectic textbooks were translations of the famous Greek teacher Boethius’ Categories and De interpretatione of Aristotle. By the twelfth century, the study of dialectic, or logic, came to be seen as the major subject of the trivium.11

The final academic aspect of the Trivium was rhetoric, which focused on expression as well as some aspects of history and law. Again, Boethius had some famous works that were studied in this discipline, but the common textbook was the Artis rhetoricae by Fortunatianus. Grammar and rhetoric were encouraged to a greater extent in the first half of the Middle Ages because knowing Latin was essential.12 The Carolingian period saw the expansion of the discipline of rhetoric grow to include prose composition. This discipline set the groundwork for the studies of canon and civil law in medieval schools.13  

“A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts” a painting by Sandro Botticelli. Circa 1483-1485 | Currently housed in the Louvre Museum | Courtesy of the Wikimedia Common

The Quadrivium, whose Latin translation is “the place where the four roads meet,” was the assembly of the four mathematical subjects or artes reales: arithmetic, music, geometry, and astronomy.14 These four areas of study were more advanced than those of the Trivium. Because of this, completion of the Quadrivium would result in the student being awarded a Masters of the Arts degree.15 For Medieval education, all the liberal arts subjects were seen as complementary to ones theology lessons, all of which every educated student would received. The Church encouraged the completion of liberal arts education so strongly that one could not even be ordained a priest if they weren’t deemed proficient in what the Quadrivium demanded.16  

The first discipline of the Quadrivium, arithmetic, focused on the qualities of numbers and their operations. When the Arabic notation gained popularity, its methodology was implemented into study, thus increasing the content and understanding of arithmetic.17 The Church had very specific requirements for a man to be deemed proficient in arithmetic. For example, unless a man was able to compute the date of Easter using the writings of the Venerable Bede, he would not be allowed to be ordained into the priesthood.18 

The second aspect of the Quadrivium was music. At first, the extensive music courses aspired to produce worship music. Not only did these courses include composition of music, but also performance aspects. The invention and early use of the organ in the medieval churches caused the interest in music to increase.19 

Geometry was a new academic aspect for the Medieval world. Up until the tenth century, medieval knowledge of geometry was extremely limited. The discipline focused on geographical and geometrical components. More specifically, the focus was towards the practical applications of surveying, map making, and architecture. The works of Ptolemy were the basis for instruction for geometry. From the work of Ptolemy came further understandings of botany, mineralogy, and zoology.20 

The final aspect of the Quadrivium was the teachings of astronomy. However, is was more than understanding how to read the stars. At first, Astronomy was used for arranging the feast days and fast days for the church.17 It also included more complex mathematics and physics. The purpose here was to be able to create and predict the calendar for the church as well as the most advantageous times for harvesting and planting crops. For this discipline, the works of Ptolemy and Aristotle were studied.22 

“A Young Man Being Introduced to the Seven Liberal Arts” a painting by Sandro Botticelli. Circa 1483-1485 | Currently housed in the Louvre Museum | Courtesy of the Wikimedia Common

The Seven Liberal Arts. A previously forgotten, but important foundation to our modern-day educational system. The specific disciplines were great, not only from an academic stand point, but in the contributions they held for society. A lot has changed for academia since the medieval period, but if not for the work of our medieval forefathers, how academia changed towards our experiences in the modern day could have been very different.

  1.  The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907, s.v. “The Seven Liberal Arts,” by Otto Willmann.
  2.  The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907, s.v. “The Seven Liberal Arts,” by Otto Willmann.
  3.  New World Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v. “The Seven Liberal Arts.”
  4. S. E. Frost, Essentials of History of Education (New York: Barron’s Educational Series Inc, 1947), 73.
  5. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 235; The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907, s.v. “The Seven Liberal Arts,” by Otto Willmann.
  6. Stephen Duggan, A Student’s Textbook In The History of Education (D. Appleton-Century Company), 82.
  7. New World Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v. “The Seven Liberal Arts.”
  8. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 236.
  9. Stephen Duggan, A Student’s Textbook In The History of Education (D. Appleton-Century Company), 82.
  10. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 236.
  11. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 236-237.
  12. Stephen Duggan, A Student’s Textbook In The History of Education (D. Appleton-Century Company), 82.
  13. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 237.
  14. The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1907, s.v. “The Seven Liberal Arts,” by Otto Willmann.
  15.  New World Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v. “The Seven Liberal Arts.”
  16. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 237.
  17. Stephen Duggan, A Student’s Textbook In The History of Education (D. Appleton-Century Company), 82.
  18. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 235.
  19. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 237.
  20. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 237-238.
  21. Stephen Duggan, A Student’s Textbook In The History of Education (D. Appleton-Century Company), 82.
  22. Patrick Joseph McCormick, “History of Education: A Survey of the Development of Educational Theory and Practice in Ancient, Medieval, and Modern Times,” The Catholic Education Press (Washington DC, 1953), 239.

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Martina Rodriguez

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Recent Comments

Robert Freise

The seven liberal arts education system is one of the most influential ways of how to educate in all of human history. It is incredible that we still use facets of this today within our own education system. This just shows how history is the perfect correlation of the future, because what happens in the past dictates the future. This is a great article and it really supports the seven liberal arts ways of how to educate.

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06/11/2018

11:55 pm

Christopher Hohman

Nice article. The seven liberal arts are a very important part of our modern education system. I like how the Catholic church influenced the growth of liberal arts education, they really wanted their clergy to have the best education that was available at the time. It is also really cool that many of these subjects and readings are still read in some classes today. I also really thought it was cool that Geometry was introduced so late, considering that it was so important for figuring out seasons and the church calendar

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06/11/2018

11:55 pm

Montserrat Moreno Ramirez

It’s very interesting how the church has influenced so much in todays liberal arts and education. I think is great that people are still wanting to know more about these kind of subjects. I find very important that in spite the constant and radical changes our society has been having we still preserve these arts. Very interesting!

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07/11/2018

11:55 pm

Mia Stahl

It is my strong opinion that Liberal Arts are vital in an education that promotes original and progressive thought. It is necessary to produce such people to join society and progress through time with new and innovative ideas. Critical thought, in my experience, is also a necessary and life-changing experience and completely shifts your worldview. The Seven Liberal Arts in being the beginning of this school of thought are the cornerstone of innovation and free thought.

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07/11/2018

11:55 pm

Max Lerma

This article was a fascinating and highly informative read. Up until I went to St. Mary’s, my educational path followed this classical curriculum and it placed great emphasis on the trivium and quadrivium and your article does a remarkable job in explaining all of this liberal arts curriculum’s nuances. Typically, reading on a topic such as this may become tedious, however, your writing style locks in your audience’s attention and keeps them focused on understanding more of this classical education.

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08/11/2018

11:55 pm

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