Seventeenth Century Snippets
Br. John Deeney of the Oxford Community has shared his ‘Seventeenth Century Snippets’ that provide a reminder of the conditions that inspired St John Baptist de La Salle to provide education for the poor and vulnerable.
1. How big a problem was poverty in late 17th Century France?
A contemporary writer described France as ‘nothing more than a desolate hospital with no supplies’. Wars, the king and the aristocracy had despoiled the country and intermittent climate catastrophes made things worse.
75% of the population lived at subsistence level and problems such as ill health or scarcity of work could suddenly reduce families to begging or starvation level. ‘Jobs’ often meant casual work taken on for a few hours or a day. “Paris is full of men and children who wait on a street corner for employment. If you call on one boy, another 3 will rush up to you.”
So the concern of De La Salle for the poor is easy to understand given the serious and widespread nature of the problem.
2. How hard was life on the streets for poor children?
Freedom from school, mastery of one’s own time, the run of the streets, hang out with your friends. That can sound attractive but the reality was grim. Food at home was normally in short supply so finding the energy to run around all day could not be taken for granted. Of course, you could scavenge in the markets or even steal food, but the punishments for theft could be draconian, torture and death in some cases. There was also a risk that you could be picked up by some authority and confined in a workhouse or set to some government project such as shipbuilding. Young children could also be sent out to the colonies where there would always be a need for skivvies. A safe school refuge from the streets had much to commend it.
3. Why did John Baptist de La Salle focus on establishing schools in large cities?
Rouen, building in which the Brothers ran a school
France was in the process of enormous change during this period and the movement of population was staggering. During the reign of Louis XIV (i.e. the lifetime of de La Salle) Paris increased in size from 200,000 to 400,000 inhabitants. The majority of these migrants came from poor rural areas where life could be extremely primitive and they had a huge amount to learn in order to adapt to the (chaotic) city life. The children in the Brothers’ schools came largely into this category and were in serious need of education in living standards as well as skills. De La Salle did not ignore the rural problems and set up a training centre for those who wanted to become teachers in small rural schools where they usually had to work on their own.
4. What employment would be available for poor city children?
For anyone with no education the options were limited. Running errands might bring in a few coins; working in a family trade such as carpentry would be for the lucky ones. Physical fitness would offer temporary work as a labourer. A strong person could be a ‘water carrier’. Since there was no running water a porter would carry 2 bucketsful from a fountain up to apartments that could be 7 floors high. A strong man might manage 30 trips in a day. For older children other physical jobs could be dragging delivery carts through the streets or carrying the sedan chairs of the wealthy. A more sedentary but unpleasant job would be cleaning the filth from people’s boots after they had walked the streets.
5. What were the students like in the Brothers’ schools?
They obviously shared the characteristics common to young people throughout the ages but they came from what could be described as ‘challenging backgrounds’. De La Salle acknowledged this and insisted that the Brothers get to know each individual before reacting to their habits or misdemeanours. Records were kept for each student. A sample profile reads thus: ‘Lambert, 12 years old, attending school for 4 years. (His levels in reading, maths etc. are recorded.) Rather passive and superficial but learns and remembers easily. Shows little piety in church or at prayers. His particular weakness is pride and he is upset when humiliated. Punishment is sometimes useful to him. He has been responsible for a row in class and carried out his duties very well.’
In their natural state students were not always presentable so the Brothers were to check that their ears were not full of dirt, hair should be combed and free of vermin, trousers/leggings had to be worn and not just a shirt. And students should not wear earrings since ‘they do not suit a man and are a sign of slavery’. Tattoos are not mentioned!
6. Was it possible for poor people to be happy in their lives?
Life was generally hard, fragile and short. 20% of women died with their child when giving birth. 50% of the children who survived birth died before the age of 20. So death and sadness were ever-present but that was the way life was and the living had to continue to work and struggle and enjoy themselves when they could. There were street festivals and religious festivals that involved lively celebrations and, then as now, beer and wine spiced up life - or caused further problems.
Wealth is never a guarantee of satisfaction in life and poor people who have their immediate essential needs met can live contented lives that should be an example for more spoilt and grasping personalities. In one respect the poor tended to be more fortunate than the wealthy. They were able to marry for love, though they couldn’t write romantic novels about this. They had no assets or status to lose, whereas the rich used arranged marriages to safeguard their wealth and to make alliances with other powerful families.
7. What were the school premises like in the early years of the Institute?
The building housing one of the early Paris schools still survives. In the rue Princesse, no. 12 now looks a lot smarter than it would have in de La Salle’s day but the structure is the same. The class was a large, hired room on the first floor and it overlooked the street. It would have been small for the number of pupils (a class could have from 40 – 100 children). It would not have been shielded from street noises and smells, would have been cold in winter and the floorboards would always have creaked. Access from the street led through an archway to the staircase and there was also a small cobbled courtyard that would have enabled students to get some fresh air.
The early schools tended to be just rooms hired as classrooms or were sometimes simple ‘workshop’ premises that gave enough space and were cheap to hire.
8. What was the attitude of the rich towards the poor and their education?
In the 17th century there were a number of very positive initiatives undertaken in favour of educating poor girls and boys. But these were mostly the work of charitably-minded individuals or church-related organisations and none of them achieved the scope of the Lasallian schools.
Official attitudes to the poor were often very oppressive. Two sample opinions from a later date still ignore decades of the impact of Lasallian schools: “to maintain a contented society, it is necessary to have a large number of its members who are both ignorant and poor,” 1764. And Voltaire was of the opinion that manual labourers “... do not have the time or the capacity for learning. It seems to me essential that we should have ignorant beggars.” 1766. That also begs the question, what is our attitude towards poverty and wealth in the 21st Century? That is still a crucial problem in our time.
De La Salle was a revolutionary educationalist in the context of the opinions prevalent in his time, and far more human and Christian in his thinking than most.
9. Did poor children enjoy going to the Brother’ schools?
Schools involve work, ask any student! And there are times when none of us feels much like working on some particular task. Poor children were no different, but if they attended Lasallian schools then it was because they wanted to. “… it is sufficient that their children want to go to school for the parents to be happy to send them.” (Conduite. Lasallian text.)
The Brothers’ schools nurtured carefully the development of the children. They were able to progress at a pace that suited them, they were not given work which was beyond their capacity, and they were always shown respect. Physical punishment was generally discouraged. So school was a place where students could feel safe in a kindly atmosphere and know that they were learning skills that could transform their prospects.
10. What was the town environment like?
Rich and poor had a very different experience of Paris. The king lived in luxury and had little idea of what life was like outside of his cosseted existence. In the poorer quarters life was usually squalid. A British visitor recorded his impressions: “Paris is always dirty. By perpetual motion dirt is beaten into such a thick black unctuous oil, that where it sticks, no art can wash it off. … Besides the stain this dirt leaves, it gives also so strong a scent, that it may be smelt many miles off.” Streets adjoining slaughterhouses flowed with blood and debris; Rue de la Triperie recalls the tripe that was processed there. Chamber pots were emptied into the streets and there was little flowing water available to flush them clean. Regulations about hygiene were commonly ignored.
Congested streets were the norm, with those on foot having the worst of the experience. Being nimble was a huge advantage for dodging carts, horse riders, carriages, people and puddles. There were large numbers of importunate beggars and moving around murky streets after dark could be hazardous.
11. What was good about living in late 17th Century France?
It was an age that produced some great literature – Racine, tragedies; Molière, comedies. High quality art, architecture and music emerged but culturally it was overall more an age of splendour (think of Versailles) than greatness. Where the ‘good’ was most evident was in the sphere of religion – great writers, preachers and conscientious bishops. Pascal, Sts Francis de Sales and Jane Frances de Chantal, St Vincent de Paul were all outstanding figures as were a number of De La Salle’s friends.
It is important never to forget that ordinary life always contains a huge amount that is good and that human kindness, generosity and affection is what we most need in order to live happy lives. Blain, the main biographer of De La Salle, recounts touching incidents that he had witnessed on the streets: “I have seen little children of 3 or 4 leave their houses, their mother’s arms or their play and run up to the Brothers with open arms to give them a hug. … There is no explanation for this extraordinary action other than for it to mean ‘I love you!” The Brothers, no doubt, would have wanted no greater reward.