Trivium

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This article is about the theory of education. For the band, see Trivium (band). For other uses, see Trivium (disambiguation).

In medieval universities, the trivium comprised the three subjects taught first, grammar, logic, and rhetoric. <ref name=RenewAmerica> A cure for the educational crisis: Learn from the extraordinary educational heritage of the West. RenewAmerica analyst. Retrieved on 2006-06-02. </ref> Grammar is the mechanics of a language; logic (or dialectic — logic and dialectic were synonymous at the time) is the "mechanics" of thought and analysis; rhetoric is the use of language to instruct and persuade. (As Latin was both a second language and the international language of scholarship and thought, it had to be learned intentionally and thoroughly.) These were considered preparatory fields for the quadrivium, which was made up of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. In turn, the quadrivium was considered preparatory work for the serious study of philosophy and theology. The trivium was the beginning of the liberal arts. At many medieval universities this would have been the principal undergraduate course.