Meet the Middle Ages
BackNiclis Thoreri
Niclis Thoreri, or Nils Toresson was Schoolmaster of Kalmar in the 1430´s? This means that he taught in the town ´s school. The school lay quite near the huge Nicolai Church where it had been at least since the beginning of the 14th century. Niclis himself probably lived on Västerportsgatan.
The sons of craftsmen, merchants, landowners and of the nobility were taught at the school. Sometimes poor boys who were gifted would also be admitted. In the annual ("Tänkeboken") there is evidence of a poor boy being given the opportunity to study. This happened because the vicar of the parish to which he belonged had said that he was a clever boy.
The schoolboys were called "djäknar". Many of them earned money for their tuition by singing in church, for example at weddings or at funerals. The penniless boy probably sang in church quite often.
Niclis taught the boys to read, write and to count. One used a pen made of horn and wrote on wax tablets or in sand. Only on very special occasions did one write on real paper, with a goose-quill dipped in ink. Most pupils left school after two years. They would then be prepared to take care of a business-establishment or a workshop. The pupils who wanted to have a career in the Church went to Linköping to study at the Cathedral School.
Some girls would be taught to read and write by the nuns at the town ´s convent.