flourished 17th century
English author of an educational treatise on proper training for the English nobility that is noteworthy for its insights into the educational goals and techniques of the 17th-century English upper classes. Gailhard seems to have spent a number of years as tutor abroad to “several of the nobility and gentry,” but nothing is really known of his life.
In his Compleat Gentleman (1678), Gailhard supported a broad curriculum, with the emphasis to be placed on education to develop character and noble bearing. In the second part of his two-part book, Gailhard detailed the educational advantages of foreign travel and prescribed a tutorial program for use abroad. He recommended prior knowledge of the native language, the keeping of a diary, regular religious devotions and Bible reading, physical exercise, and music. He suggested a three-year grand tour including stops at specific schools to learn the general principles of medicine and law.
Link to this article and share the full text with the readers of your Web site or blog-post.
If you think a reference to this article on "John Gailhard" will enhance your Web site,
blog-post, or any other web-content, then feel free to link to this article,
and your readers will gain full access to the full article, even if they do not subscribe to our service.
You may want to use the HTML code fragment provided below.
We welcome your comments. Any revisions or updates suggested for this article will be reviewed by our editorial staff. Contact us here.
Regular users of Britannica may notice that this comments feature is less robust than in the past. This is only temporary, while we make the transition to a dramatically new and richer site. The functionality of the system will be restored soon.