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Home , Medieval university

(Edited from Wikipedia)

SUMMARY

A (: universitas, "a whole", "a ") is an institution of higher (or tertiary) and research which grants academic degrees in various subjects. Universities typically provide and . The word "university" is derived from the Latin universitas magistrorum et scholarium, which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars."

HISTORY

The original Latin word "universitas" refers in general to "a number of persons associated into one body, a society, company, community, , corporation, etc." At the time of the emergence of urban town life and medieval , specialized "associations of students and teachers with collective legal rights usually guaranteed by charters issued by princes, prelates, or the towns in which they were located" came to be denominated by this general term. Like other guilds, they were self-regulating and determined the qualifications of their members.

In modern usage the word has come to mean "An institution of offering tuition in mainly non-vocational subjects and typically having the power to confer degrees," with the earlier emphasis on its corporate organization considered as applying historically to Medieval universities.

The original Latin word referred to degree-granting institutions of learning in Western and Central Europe, where this form of legal organization was prevalent, and from where the institution spread around the world.

European higher education took place for hundreds of years in Christian cathedral or monastic schools ( scholae monasticae ), in which and taught classes; evidence of these immediate forerunners of the later university at many places dates back to the 6th century. The earliest universities were developed under the aegis of the Latin by as studia generalia and perhaps from cathedral schools.

Later they were also founded by Kings (University of Naples Federico II, in Prague, in Kraków) or municipal administrations (University of Cologne, University of Erfurt). In the early medieval period, most new

1 universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by .

MEDIEVAL UNIVERSITIES

With the increasing growth and urbanization of European society during the 12th and 13th centuries, a demand grew for professional . Before the , the intellectual life of Western Europe had been largely relegated to monasteries, which were mostly concerned with performing the liturgy and prayer; relatively few monasteries could boast true intellectuals.

Following the 's emphasis on canon and the study of the , bishops formed cathedral schools to train the clergy in , but also in the more secular aspects of religious administration, including logic and disputation for use in preaching and theological discussion, and accounting -- to more effectively control finances.

Learning became essential to advancing in the ecclesiastical [church] hierarchy , and teachers also gained prestige. However, demand quickly outstripped the capacity of cathedral schools, each of which was essentially run by one teacher. In addition, tensions rose between the students of cathedral schools and burghers in smaller towns. As a result, cathedral schools migrated to large cities, like , and .

Hastings Rashdall set out the modern understanding of the medieval origins of the universities, noting that the earliest universities emerged spontaneously as "a scholastic Guild, whether of Masters or Students... without any express authorisation of King, , Prince or Prelate."

Among the earliest universities of this type were:

• the (1088), • (teach. mid-11th century, recogn. 1150), • (teach. 1096, recogn. 1167), • University of Modena (1175), • University of Palencia (1208), • (1209), • (1218), • University of Montpellier (1220),

2 • (1222), • University of (1229), • University of Orleans (1235), • (1240), • (1288), • (1343), • Charles University in Prague (1348), • Jagiellonian University (1364), • (1365), • (1386), • and the (1413).

They were begun as private of teachers and their pupils. In many cases they petitioned secular power for privileges and this became a model. Emperor Frederick I (1158) gave the first privileges to students in Bologna. Another step was when Pope Alexander III in 1179 forbade “masters of the church schools to take fees for granting the license to teach, and obliging them to give license to properly qualified teachers". considered that the integrity of a university was only preserved in such an internally regulated corporation, which protected the scholars from external intervention.

This independently evolving organization was absent in the universities of southern Italy and , which served the bureaucratic needs of monarchs and which Rashdall considered to be their artificial creations.

The University of Paris was formally recognized by Pope Gregory IX in 1231. This was a revolutionary step: (university) and universitas (corporation of students or teachers) existed even before, but after the issuing of the bull, they attained . "[T]he papal bull of 1233, which stipulated that anyone admitted to be a teacher in Toulouse had the right to teach everywhere without further examinations, in time, transformed this privilege into the single most important defining characteristic of the university and made it the symbol of its institutional autonomy . . . By the year 1292, even the two oldest universities, Bologna and Paris, felt the need to seek similar bulls from Pope Nicholas IV."

By the 13th century, almost half of the highest offices in the Church were occupied by degreed masters (, , cardinals), and over one-third of the second- highest offices were occupied by masters. In addition, some of the greatest theologians

3 of the High , and , were products of the medieval university.

The development of the medieval university coincided with the widespread reintroduction of from Byzantine and Arab scholars. In fact, the European university put Aristotelian and other texts at the center of its curriculum, with the result that the "medieval university laid far greater emphasis on science than does its modern counterpart and descendent."

Although it has been assumed that the universities went into decline during the due to the scholastic and Aristotelian emphasis of its curriculum being less popular than the cultural studies of , at least one scholar has noted the continued importance of the European universities, with their focus on Aristotle and other scientific and philosophical texts into the early modern period. He argued that they played a crucial role in the of the 16th and 17th centuries. As he puts it "Copernicus, Galileo, , Kepler, and Newton were all extraordinary products of the apparently procrustean and allegedly Scholastic universities of Europe... Sociological and historical accounts of the role of the university as an institutional locus for science and as an incubator of scientific thought and arguments have been vastly understated."

[In other words, modern historians want to place much more emphasis on the role that the humanistic Renaissance scholars played in discovering science than they deserve. There should be more attention paid to the role of the Christian scholars in the universities. Modern scholars are humanist and biased against . They are not neutral.]

CHARACTERISTICS

Initially medieval universities did not have physical facilities such as the campus of a modern university. Classes were taught wherever space was available, such as churches and homes. A university was not a physical space but a collection of individuals banded together as a universitas . Soon, however, universities began to rent, buy or construct buildings specifically for the purposes of teaching.

Universities were generally structured along three types, depending on who paid the teachers. The first type was in Bologna, where students hired and paid for the teachers.

The second type was in Paris, where teachers were paid by the church. Oxford and Cambridge were predominantly supported by the crown and the state, a fact which

4 helped them survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538 and the subsequent removal of all the principal institutions in . These structural differences created other characteristics.

At the Bologna university the students ran everything—a fact that often put teachers under great pressure and disadvantage. In Paris, teachers ran the ; thus Paris became the premiere spot for teachers from all over Europe. Also, in Paris the main subject matter was , so control of the qualifications awarded was in the hands of an external authority - the Chancellor of the diocese. In Bologna, where students chose more secular studies, the main subject was law.

It was also characteristic of teachers and scholars to move around. There was often competition between universities to secure the best and most popular teachers, leading to the marketization of teaching. Universities would publish their list of scholars, in a bid to entice students to study at their institution. Students of followed him to Melun, Corbeil and Paris, showing that popular teachers would bring students with them.

The students and bad behavior

Students attended the medieval university at different ages, ranging from 14 if they were attending Oxford or Paris to study to their 30s if they were studying Law in Bologna. During this period of study students were often living far from home and unsupervised. As such, they developed a reputation, both among contemporary commentators and modern historians, for drunken debauchery. Students are frequently cricriticized the Middle Ages for neglecting their studies for drinking, gambling and sleeping with prostitutes.

Course of study

The studies for this were organized by the of arts, where the seven liberal arts were taught: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music theory, grammar, logic, and rhetoric. All instruction was given in Latin and students were expected to be able to converse in that language. The trivium comprised the three subjects that were taught first: grammar, logic, and rhetoric. These three subjects were the most important of the seven liberal arts for medieval students. The curriculum came also to include the three Aristotelian : physics, and moral .

Much of medieval thought in philosophy and theology can be found in scholastic textual commentary because was such a popular method of teaching.

5 Cicero's works were used for the study of rhetoric. Studied books on logic included 's introduction to Aristotelian logic, among others.

Once a degree had been conferred, the student could leave the university or pursue further studies in one of the higher faculties, law, , or theology, the last one being the most prestigious. A popular textbook for theological study was called the of ; theology students as well as masters were required to write extensive commentaries on this text as part of their curriculum.

Studies in the higher faculties could take up to twelve years for a master's degree or (initially the two were synonymous), though again a bachelor's and a 's degree could be awarded along the way.

Courses were offered according to books, not by subject or theme. For example, a course might be on a book by Aristotle, or a book from the . Courses were not elective: the course offerings were set, and everyone had to take the same courses. There were, however, occasional choices as to which teacher to use.

LEGAL STATUS AND MORAL CORRUPTION

Students were afforded the legal protection of the clergy. In this way no one was allowed to physically harm them; they could only be tried for crimes in an , and were thus immune from any .

This gave students free rein in urban environments to break secular with impunity, a fact which produced many abuses: theft, rape and murder were not uncommon among students, who did not face serious consequences and students were known to engage in drunkenness.

This led to uneasy tensions with secular authorities. Students would sometimes "strike" by leaving a city and not returning for years. This happened at the University of Paris strike of 1229 after a riot left a number of students dead; the University went on strike and they did not return for two years. As the students had the legal status of clerics which, according to the Canon Law, could not be held by women, women were not admitted into universities.

Most universities in Europe were recognized by the as a Studium Generale , testified by a papal bull. [They were granted official immunity by the Pope.] Members of these institutions were encouraged to disseminate their knowledge across Europe,

6 often lecturing at a different Studia Generales [university]. Indeed, one of the privileges the papal bull confirmed was the right to teach everywhere.

TOWN AND GOWN

During the Middle Ages, students admitted to European universities often held minor clerical status and donned garb similar to that worn by the clergy. These vestments evolved into the academic long black gown, worn along with hood and cap. The gown proved comfortable for studying in unheated and drafty buildings and thus became a tradition in the universities. The gown also served as a social symbol, as it was impractical for physical manual work. The hood was often adorned with the colors of the and designated the young scholar's university affiliation. Thus by their distinctive clothing, the students were set apart and distinguished from the citizens of the town; hence the phrase "".

[Along with University professors, only two other classes of people wear black robes: judges and ordained ministers. Both are extremely influential in society. The robes are symbols of authority. Humanists captured the levers of power in the away from the Christians by a strategy that RPC instructor Dr. Gary North calls “Capturing the Robes.”]

Greek origins of academic freedom

The idea of a school of higher learning as a distinct and autonomous institution within an urban setting dates back to the founded by Plato c. 387 BC. The Academy was established as a sacred sanctuary for learning outside the city walls of Athens. The Academy endured for nine centuries until it was closed, along with other pagan schools, by Emperor Justinian in 529 AD.

In the 12th century, when the early medieval universities came into existence – first in Italy and then across Europe – they were founded without physical campuses. The masters simply rented halls in the host cities. Early on, there were few identifiable campus buildings (other than the residential colleges that were established at some universities). Most students took lodging in the university towns. The scholars often congregated in identifiable areas of cities, most famously the Left Bank (Rive gauche) of the Seine in Paris – what became known as the Quartier Latin ("The Latin Quarter").

Thus, the medieval institutions were more integrated into the cities than in the case of the Academy. It is no accident that most medieval universities were founded within

7 cities. The schools' existence required a permanent population and an infrastructure that included a vibrant marketplace and system of governance, but their dependence on the host towns was limited.

In most instances, the endowment of the medieval universities was drawn largely, if not entirely, from the revenues of the . Consequently, the universities were largely independent of municipal revenues and, to a great extent, of civil authority.

The medieval university remained a sanctuary in its status as beneficiary of the Catholic Church and in the scholars' exemption from civil law. Such special jurisdictions were by no means uncommon in the Middle Ages. The applicable law varied greatly by person, organization and area: the towns themselves had legal systems totally different from the surrounding countryside, and even inside the town, every guild usually had its own special privileges and rights. The independent jurisdiction of the universities essentially was part of this system.

Anatomy of an adversarial relationship

The initial relationship between the medieval universities and the host town was adversarial for various reasons, and over time, the universities' growing autonomy and independence from local control led to increasing tensions with host towns. Also, the steady encroachment of universities upon neighboring areas created a point of contention between town and gown (continuing to the present).

The medieval universities formed as guilds of masters (teachers) and/or students on the model established by the crafts guilds. Once the scholars were able to receive a charter, they would begin negotiations with municipal authorities to secure fair rents for lecture halls and other concessions. Because they had no investment in a physical campus, they could threaten to migrate to another town if their demands were not met. This was not an empty threat. The scholars at the University of Lisbon in Portugal migrated to Coimbra, and then later back to Lisbon in the 14th century. Scholars would also go on strike, leave the host city, and not return for years. This happened at the University of Paris after a riot in 1229 (started by the students). The university did not return to Paris for two years.

Many university students were foreigners with exotic manners and dress who spoke and wrote Latin, the lingua franca of medieval higher education. Students often could not speak the local dialect, and most uneducated townspeople spoke no Latin. The language barrier and the cultural differences did nothing to improve relations between scholars and townspeople. The tenor of town–gown relations became a matter of arrogance on the one hand and resentment on the other.

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Students in the medieval universities enjoyed certain exemptions from the jurisdiction of the ordinary civil courts. These privileges were normally safeguarded by a conservator Apostolic, usually a bishop or appointed by the pope. By the Papal charter of the University of Paris, Pope Gregory IX authorized the masters, in the event of an outrage committed by anyone upon a scholar and not redressed within fifteen days, to suspend their . This right of cessation of lectures was frequently made use of in conflicts between town and gown.

On various occasions, the themselves intervened to protect the scholars against encroachments by the local civil authorities. Pope Nicholas IV in 1288 threatened to disrupt the studium at Padua unless the municipal authorities repealed within fifteen days ordinances they had framed against scholars. It became quite common for the university to lay its grievances against the city fathers before the Holy See, and its appeal was usually successful.

Thus, medieval students were under the legal protection of the clergy, who protected them from physical harm. They could be tried for crimes only in a church court under Canon law. The protection from civil law gave students free rein in the urban environs to break secular laws with near impunity. This often led to abuses and outright criminal behavior among students who realized they enjoyed immunity from civil authorities. The anomalous jurisdictional situation only exacerbated tensions between town and gown.

Town versus gown

Conflict was inevitable in the medieval university towns, where two separately governed bodies with different priorities and loyalties shared the same restricted space. Moreover, violence was commonplace in medieval life, not only between scholars and townsmen, but also among ordinary citizens, as well as between scholars from different regions of Europe who attended the universities.

Violent confrontations between town and gown erupted on a recurring basis. One of the most famous was the Battle of St. Scholastica Day, which occurred on February 10, 1355, at the University of Oxford. An argument in a tavern – a familiar scenario – escalated into a protracted two-day battle in which local citizens armed with bows attacked the academic village, killing and maiming scores of scholars. The rioters were severely punished, and thenceforth, the Mayor and Bailiffs had to attend a Mass for the souls of the dead every St. Scholastica's Day thereafter and to swear an annual oath to observe the university's privileges. For 500 years, Oxford observed a day of mourning for that tragedy.

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The University of Cambridge was originally set up after a fight between the townspeople of Oxford and scholars from the University of Oxford forced many scholars to flee to a new location in 1209. Later, the tension between the scholars at Cambridge and the townspeople forced the king to grant special privileges and protection to Cambridge University, which helped enormously in the survival and future success of the university.

By the mid-15th century, kings were putting an end to student power within the universities. They ordered papal legates to reform the universities and restricted student boycotts and strikes. From then on, whether under king or revolutionary government, dictator or Parliament, European universities would customarily be ruled by the central authority – although the degree of control varied widely over time and place.

Following the upheavals of the , relations between the European universities and the host towns evolved toward a pattern of mutual support. Cities, on some occasions, took over payment of and provided loans, while regulating the book trade, lodgings, and the various other services students required. Eventually, cities began to take pride in their universities rather than look upon them as adversaries.

CONFLICT BETWEEN POPE AND EMPEROR

The from 1048 to 1257 was marked by conflict between popes and the Holy Roman Emperor, most prominently the , a dispute over who—pope or emperor—could appoint bishops within the Empire. Henry IV's Walk to Canossa in 1077 to meet Pope Gregory VII (1073–85) has become legendary. Although the emperor renounced any right to lay investiture in the Concordat of Worms (1122), the issue would flare up again.

The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between secular and religious powers in medieval Europe. It began as a dispute in the 11th century between the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and the Gregorian Papacy concerning who would control appointments of church officials (investiture). The controversy, undercutting the Imperial power established by the Salian Emperors, would eventually lead to nearly fifty years of civil war in Germany, the triumph of the great dukes and abbots, and the disintegration of the German empire, a condition from which it would not recover until the unification of Germany in the 19th century!

The struggle between the temporal power of the emperors and the spiritual influence of the popes came to a head in the reigns of Pope Nicholas II (1059–1061) and Pope

10 Gregory VII (1073–1085). The popes fought to free the appointment of bishops, abbots, and other prelates from the power of secular lords and monarchs into which it had fallen.

The reform of the Church, both within it, and in relation to the Holy Roman Emperor and the other lay rulers of Europe, was Gregory VII's life work. It was based on his conviction that the Church was founded by God and entrusted with the task of embracing all mankind in a single society in which divine will is the only law; that, in his capacity as a divine institution, he is supreme over all human structures, especially the secular state; and that the pope, in his role as head of the Church is the vice-regent of God on earth, so that disobedience to him implies disobedience to God: or, in other words, a defection from Christianity.

But any attempt to interpret this in terms of action would have bound the Church to annihilate not merely a single state, but all states. Thus Gregory, as a politician wanting to achieve some result, was driven in practice to adopt a different standpoint. He acknowledged the existence of the state as a dispensation of Providence, described the coexistence of church and state as a divine ordinance, and emphasized the necessity of union between the church and the state. But at no period would he have dreamed of putting the two powers on an equal footing; the superiority of church to state was to him a fact which admitted of no discussion and which he had never doubted.

He wished to see all important matters of dispute referred to Rome; appeals were to be addressed to himself; the centralization [and expanding bureaucracy] of ecclesiastical government in Rome naturally involved a curtailment of the powers of bishops. Since these refused to submit voluntarily and tried to assert their traditional independence, his papacy was full of struggles against the higher ranks of the clergy.

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