«Sub virga magistri». Custodia e disciplina nell’educazione carolingia dei pueri oblati

The education theme in the Middle Ages is one of the monastic history basis. Becoming a monk meant not only leaving the secular life style in search of God, but also, gradually, learning a severe discipline by living in the cloister. A particular attention was paid to the children donated by their parents to the monastery, in order to serve God, as in Samuel biblical example, who were called pueri oblates or pueri nourished. The Carolingian Age commentaries on the Benedictine Rule are rich about the formation of these pueri, such as that of Smaragdo of Saint Mihiel and especially of Hildemar of Corbie, from which the method, the tools and the purpose of their education are learnt. A pedagogical framework of great interest emerges from these sources, based on the principles of “custody” and “discipline” entrusted to teachers. These principles have marked, and in part still influence, the educational system of monastic orders, religious congregations and seminaries up to the Second Vatican Council and beyond.