Juan Luis Vives and Richard Mulcaster: a humanist view of language

Humanist writers were multifaceted and thcir writings eclectic, delving into a wide range of fields of enquiry Many issues wcre raised and addressed, pursued ur abandoned, uftcn unsystematically. ‘[his hetcrogeneity has frequently lcd tu the neglect of specific facets of authurs who have gained renuwn in uthcr fzelds. ‘[his 1 believe tu be the case fur Richard Mulcaster and Juan Luis Vives, whuse contribution tu language Éhcory has been eclipsed by their rclatively mudem views un educatiun. ‘[heir views un language merit mure attention, if not fur their originality as such, at least fur te testimony they pruvide uf a periud in transition. ‘[he work uf these authors show 1mw views un language evolved thruughout te periud mié convey a sense uf its dynamic character. Profoundly cunservative attitudes coexist with progressive unes and, tliough ruoted in the past, thcy strain tuwards a new vision uf the nature and functioning uf language in human sucicty.