Leonardo+Da+Vinci

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 * Leonardo Da Vinci - the Universal Man**

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you lived in the 16th century in a European country? As a teenager you had to have tutoring. That means that you didn't go to school, if you were rich, but had the teacher come to your house and give you lessons! Nice? What would you be missing then? You usually started schooling at the age of seven and by the age of fifteen you would have been ready to either take your father's business or get married and have children.

If your family didn't have money then again you didn't go to school. You had to go to work! Not so nice, ah? You had to work with your father and gradually take up his business or you could go to a monastery and get some education from priests and the clergy but that would mean, in most cases, that you would become a priest or a monk yourself whether you wanted it or not.Of course, if you had a talent like Leonardo da Vinci you would be sent to a very known artist to learn the trade and, hopefully, become a very known artist and be lucky enough to have, in future, a 'protector' or a 'patron'.

Now, if your family was rich and you had tutoring what lessons would you be taking?? Arithmetic, for one because most probably you would become a merchant after you had 'finished' school, grammar, Ancient Greek (so as not to be able to talk to any Greek living around your place), Latin, rhetoric, logic and philosophy - no options there. Think of this: two out of the four compulsory subjects were languages not anymore spoken. Why? Because all 'books' written by then were in these two languages and these books had things like philosophy, geography, art, and so many other stuff. In addition, since at one point you would have to enter the 'high society', you had to be trained in swordsmanship (fencing), riding, dancing, writing poetry, how to court a lady and the arts of war. If you were a rich girl, on the other hand, you would have been lucky to have someone come to your house to teach you. Your parents would have sent you to a convent or nunnery where nuns would teach you how to read, maybe, how to count, embroidery, religious knowledge and how to be obedient. If you decided not to marry at all and stayed there your parents would have been, most probably, happy since that way they would not have to give you dowry. If you read Shakespeare's 'the Taming of the Shrew' you will get the idea. If you were not so rich, and had to go to school, you had to face long hours sitting on uncomfortable chairs, harsh discipline and very bad food.

Today people graduate from high school and get a school leaving diploma. To do so they have to pass exams. How did people do these things back then?? The good thing is that they didn't have to pass exams but on the other hand they had to be very good at several things like a) be a good sportsman and win a fencing match, b) write good poetry and articles or books, c) be a good scientist and know about art, d) have enough fortune as not to be necessary to ever work in your life. Easy? It gets even better: to be called a 'good scientist' you had to write an article or do some work that other scientists would recognize it as original and scientific. The Renaissance Man had to be a rounded personality to be accepted in high society as an 'educated' man (women could get away with it with their 'good looks' as they were trained to become mothers, wives, sisters).Leonardo da Vinci was recognized as a typical 'Renaissance Man' although he lacked some characteristics. Go to the following link and list these characteristics.