![]() ![]() ![]() The goal of these schools was to give men the basic training needed before entering colleges. There were many schools in the late Middle Ages for young men to attend. While scholars are not sure whether Julian attended any of those boarding schools, it is at least a possibility. Many English convents in the Middle Ages had boarding schools for girls where they were expected to read and write. The city contained many convents and orders that recognized the importance of education. Throughout the mid-fourteenth century, Norwich was a flourishing centre for religious life. That being said, it is possible that she had received some instruction and that she could read and write. Another interpretation of "unlettered" could be that Julian was illiterate in Latin, the official ecclesial and academic language of her time and place. It might have just meant that she did not receive a formal education because, in the Middle Ages, formal education was rarely available to laywomen. Also, "unlettered" in the Middle Ages did not necessarily mean the inability to read or write. It might be an expression of real modesty or imposed modesty because she did not want to antagonize her readers, especially male readers in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, who would have been offended if she considered herself a teacher. 2), it is possible that she was educated and that "unlettered" carries a more nuanced meaning. Although Julian refers to herself as a simple creature unlettered ( Rev. ![]()
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