The question of the social rank of these Bele Babees,[[6a]] children, and _Pueri_ who stood at tables, opens up the whole subject of upper-class education in early times in England. It is a subject that, so far as I can find, has never yet been separately treated[7], and I therefore throw together such few notices as the kindness of friends[8] and my own chance grubbings have collected; these as a sort of stopgap till the appearance of Mr Anstey’s volume on early Oxford Studies in the _Chronicles and Memorials_, a volume which will, I trust, give us a complete account of early education in our land. If it should not, I hope that Mr Quick will carry his pedagogic researches past Henry VIII.’s time, or that one of our own members will take the subject up. It is worthy of being thoroughly worked out. For convenience’ sake, the notices I have mentioned are arranged under six heads: 1. Education in Nobles’ houses. 2. At Home and at Private Tutors’, p. xvii. (Girls, p. xxv.) 3. At English Universities, p. xxvi. 4. At Foreign Universities, p. xl. 5. At Monastic and Cathedral Schools, p. xli. 6. At Grammar Schools, p. lii. One consideration should be premised, that manly exercises, manners and courtesy, music and singing, knowledge of the order of precedency of ranks, and ability to carve, were in early times more important than Latin and Philosophy. ‘Aylmar þe kyng’ gives these directions to Athelbrus, his steward, as to Horn’s education: Stiwarde, tak nu here Mi fundlyng for to lere 228 Of þine meste{re}, Of wude {and} of riuere; {And} tech him to harpe Wiþ his nayles scharpe; 232 Biuore me to kerue, And of þe cupe serue; Þu tech him of alle þe liste (craft, AS. _list_) Þat þu eure of wiste; 236 [And] his feiren þou wise (mates thou teach) Into oþere s{er}uise. Horn þu underuonge, {And} tech him of harpe {and} songe. 240 _King Horn_, E. E. T. Soc., 1866, ed. Lumby, p. 7.[9] So in Romances and Ballads of later date, we find The child was taught great nurterye; a Master had him vnder his care, & taught him _curtesie_. _Tryamore_, in Bp. Percy’s Folio MS. vol. ii. ed. 1867. It was the worthy Lord of learen, he was a lord of hie degree; he had noe more children but one sonne, he sett him to schoole to learne _curtesie_. _Lord of Learne_, Bp. Percy’s Folio MS. vol. i. p. 182, ed. 1867. Chaucer’s Squire, as we know, at twenty years of age