What is "modistae"

The Modistae ( Latin for "Modists"), also known as the speculative grammarians, were the members of a school of grammarian philosophy known as Modism, active in northern France, Germany, England, and Denmark in the 13th and 14th centuries. Their influence was felt much less in the southern part of Europe, where the somewhat opposing tradition of the so-called "pedagogical grammar" never lost its preponderance.