The Grammar Schools of Medieval England: AF Leach in Historical Perspective

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island.

This book falls broadly into two parts: a descriptive analysis of
Leach’s three major works and his many journal articles, and an
assessment of his strengths and weaknesses in the light of studies
undertaken since his death in 1915. Miner adds his own distinctive
contribution in a fascinating description of the curriculum in the
medieval grammar school: Leach’s own approach was essentially
institutional. The controversies in which Leach found himself embroiled
are clearly delineated. They include his assertion that Edward VI was a
spoiler rather than a founder of grammar schools (Leach estimated that
some 200 had been crippled or abolished); that every collegiate church
of secular canons had had a grammar school attached to it; and that, by
contrast, the monasteries had not been keepers of schools so much as
feudal landlords.

Miner’s treatment throughout is commendably even-handed. He
criticizes Leach in such phrases as “slender evidence,” “not
always consistent,” “use of inference and analogy.” But he also
pays tribute to Leach’s strengths: his care for detail; his patience
in dealing with sometimes obstreperous local communities; his steadfast
refusal to be put off by bureaucratic delay. He commends Leach’s
efficiency, his fairness, his philological and practical turn of mind,
his stylistic verve, his scholarly accuracy, his acknowledgment of
sources of help.

Two other interesting points emerge in Miner’s concluding chapter.
First, Leach was steadfastly not recognized as an academic by the
universities of his day. This situation may have exacerbated Leach’s
adversarial stance. Second, Leach had a full-time job with the Charity
Commissioners. He did not work in a university milieu, where research
was the order of the day. Instead, he had to carve time out of his
leisure hours. As a result he may have cut corners occasionally, making
overly broad generalizations. Nevertheless the polymathic nature of his
close and copious studies is fully recognized today. He was the first in
the field.

Miner’s own style is Horatian: urbane, gracious, relaxed, yet
scholarly withal. Unfortunately, he died just as his work neared
completion. Congratulations therefore go to those who saw his book into
print.