The Role of Nature in (Latin) Education in the Bohemian Lands in the 16th and Early 17th Centuries

This study investigates the multi-faceted role of nature in (Latin) education within the Bohemian lands during the 16th and early 17th centuries. Avoiding a strictly theological or philosophical perspective, the analysis nevertheless regards the specific historical context as crucial, acknowledging the non-homogeneous yet fundamentally theocentric perception of nature prevalent in early modern Christian thought. Drawing upon a diverse range of sources – including Comenius’ Informatorium maternum, school regulations (ordines studiorum), curricula, and university disputations – the study explores the integration of nature into pedagogical practices. It demonstrates that from early childhood through university, individuals were expected to engage systematically with the natural world. Comenius, for instance, advocated for early exposure to nature, famously likening education to the cultivation of a tree. Similarly, pedagogical guidelines, such as those by Peter Codicillus, frequently employed botanical metaphors, comparing pupils to tender plants. Furthermore, nature was addressed within the framework of the liberal arts as well as in emerging disciplines such as botany and medicine. Learning encompassed both theoretical engagement with classical texts and practical observation. While nature did not constitute a distinct scientific discipline at the time, it was deeply interwoven into the educational fabric, shaping both intellectual understanding and moral principles. Significant shifts in its pedagogical role, however, emerged primarily as a result of 18th-century Enlightenment reforms, a development that warrants further scholarly attention.