Timeline for What did it mean to be a Grecian in late-18th Century British schools?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
23 events
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| Apr 20, 2021 at 14:33 | vote | accept | walrus | ||
| Apr 11, 2021 at 14:21 | comment | added | dbmag9 | It might be of interest to note that Christ's Hospital school still has its Tudor uniform as standard wear for students (although I think the Doc Martens a lot of students wear are probably a more recent development). Christ's Hospital also still has a naval connection even today. images.app.goo.gl/vYLzYrZTSbrRo1Bs8 | |
| Apr 11, 2021 at 11:36 | comment | added | walrus | Also he must have started on the Quadrivium - or the geometry and arithmetic sections of it at least - almost the next sentence after those quoted says that "his mathematical studies were far advanced". | |
| Apr 11, 2021 at 10:19 | comment | added | walrus | Project Gutenberg has a copy of Mr Midshipman Hornblower here: gutenberg.ca/ebooks/forestercs-mrmidshipmanhornblower/… | |
| Apr 10, 2021 at 23:20 | comment | added | David Siegel | @ Pieter Geerkens I'll take a look | |
| Apr 10, 2021 at 23:19 | comment | added | Pieter Geerkens | @DavidSiegel: Thank you. It's been decades since I read the books, and I no longer own them. Can you possibly dig up quotes for those remarks? | |
| Apr 10, 2021 at 23:10 | comment | added | David Siegel | Hornblower notes, I think in the same story, that his father was the local doctor, adn that he had to show deference to the local Squire's son. He was also, IIRC, a Kings Letter Boy, which means that he was, unusually for that time, appointed a midshipman without being chosen by his captain. Midshipmen were typically appointed (not commissioned) by the Captain. This was more likely to be a favor to a friend or patron than a straight purchase, but could be for whatever reason the Captain chose. Only when becomming a Lieutenant, after passing the exam, was an officer commissioned. | |
| Apr 9, 2021 at 23:25 | history | rollback | Pieter Geerkens |
Rollback to Revision 8
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 23:22 | history | edited | C Monsour | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Irrelevant and confusing verbiage deleted
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 23:05 | comment | added | Pieter Geerkens | @Spencer: The Lieutenants' Exam made the Royal Navy a very strict meritocracy. Only those boys who were thought capable of passing it would have been commissioned as midshipmen - in point of fact there were more midshipmen from the professional classes than from the aristocracy for just that reason. The aristocratic dullards purchased commissions in the cavalry instead. | |
| Apr 9, 2021 at 20:53 | comment | added | Spencer | You edited your comment in verbatim? Seriously, I wouldn't know the first thing about what the cost of a commision would be, relative to a public school education. But it can't be trivial, or everyone would be a naval officer. You added useful clarifications, but it's probably a good idea to reduce that edit to just the bare facts and remove the ad hominem. | |
| Apr 9, 2021 at 20:19 | history | edited | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 20:18 | comment | added | Pieter Geerkens | @Spencer: 1) It's not canon unless it's in the books. 2) You think an education at Eton, or even a lesser English public school, is comparable in cost to purchasing a midshipman's commission in His Majesty's Royal Navy in 1793? Seriously? I doubt the cost of a midshipman's commission would have purchased even a single term at any public school half as notable as Christ's Hospital. Further, charity also includes scholarship and bursary students. | |
| Apr 9, 2021 at 19:30 | comment | added | Spencer | In the TV miniseries, Captain Pellew speaks of Hornblower "repaying the debt you owe your father" which implies Hornblower Sr. purchased his son's commission, which implies he had sufficient means to do so. So I'm not convinced HH had "charity status" as opposed to just a non-aristocratic upbringing. | |
| Apr 9, 2021 at 19:23 | history | edited | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 18:20 | history | edited | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 17:42 | history | edited | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 17:25 | history | edited | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 17:07 | history | edited | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 16:54 | history | undeleted | Pieter Geerkens | ||
| Apr 9, 2021 at 16:54 | history | edited | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
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| Apr 9, 2021 at 16:38 | history | deleted | Pieter Geerkens | via Vote | |
| Apr 9, 2021 at 16:38 | history | answered | Pieter Geerkens | CC BY-SA 4.0 |