Katherine the Queen: The Remarkable Life of Katherine Parr by Linda Porter Read Free Book Online

would welcome in adulthood, and it also provided security. Meanwhile, her education would equip her to function fully as a lady of her class.
    We do not know who Katherine Parr’s tutors were or precisely what she studied, though an overall impression can be gained from looking at her interests and attainments as an adult and from the sort of programme followed by her contemporaries. Herliteracy in English was clearly of a high standard, as she was to demonstrate in her writings as queen of England. The growth of humanism, however, with its concept of ‘New Learning’, did not itself promote the desirability of the vernacular as the basis of good education, or, indeed, of a worthy life. Rather, it emphasized the need to return to a better, direct understanding of the classical languages of Greece and Rome, so that the scriptures could be read without the interpretation placed on them by centuries of commentary by leading figures of the Church. This belief, that the word of God should be read directly, and applied to civic duty and personal piety, was eventually to be transformed into a conviction that the Bible should be available in the vernacular. Katherine Parr became one of the keenest exponents of this belief, although during her girlhood the leap had not yet been made.
    But though the study of classical languages was fundamental for young men, its place in the education of women was less clear. While Mary Tudor learned Latin to a high standard and her younger sister, Elizabeth, studied Greek as well, ideas on education were changing by the time Elizabeth began to learn and both were, of course, the daughters of a king. Their opportunities and expectations were different from those of other young women, even those who were well born. Katherine Parr evidently learned some Latin, but there is still debate about the extent of her abilities in the language. What seems likely is that she acquired a basic knowledge as a child, and that circumstances allowed her to improve significantly as an adult. Few high-born women in the early sixteenth century, no matter how pious, had an extensive knowledge of Latin. Margaret Roper, Thomas More’s much-loved daughter, was unusually gifted in the language, but this is hardly surprising with such a father. Other ladies tended to have more modest achievements. Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII, is a good example. She was a clever and influential woman, the benefactress ofSt John’s College, Cambridge and other academic institutions, but she herself acknowledged that her reading ability in Latin was limited to the headings in her religious books.
    Modern languages, however, were a different matter. Katherine learned French and could probably read Italian. At her death, her library contained a copy in Italian of Petrarch’s sonnets. This could, of course, indicate merely a desire to have such a book in her possession, as a collector, but she was definitely learning Spanish while married to Henry VIII so it seems quite possible that she was already competent in Italian. Both Katherine’s parents could speak French. This was considered a desirable attribute in court circles.
    The basic curriculum proposed for children by Tunstall and Vives embraced the leading classical thinkers and writers: Quintilian, Plutarch, Cicero, Homer (in Latin translation) and Aristotle. Erasmus, the English Latinist and medical expert Thomas Linacre and the French scholar Guillaume Budé completed the list. Budé, the founder of the Collège de France, was a prolific writer; diplomat and royal librarian to Francis I, he was regarded by many as the leading Greek scholar of his day. Study of the scriptures was, of course, an essential part of learning. Familiarity with classical scholarship and humanist writers trained the mind, exposing children to ideas and revealing to them first hand the richness of their European inheritance. It also gave to women like Katherine Parr confidence to discuss