The Rise of Universities in the Middle Ages

The pivotal juncture in Western cultural history arrived with the inception of the initial universities during the transition from the 12th to the 13th centuries. Within the 12th century, various significant European cities saw a proliferation of “educational hubs,” where groups of scholars and learners established organized bodies with distinct regulations. As the 13th century dawned, the papacy officially acknowledged and endorsed these universities, bestowing upon them safeguarding, advantages, and self-governance.

The concept of “universitas” emerged in Western culture to denote the collective of educators and their pupils. The most ancient seats of learning were founded almost concurrently around 1200 within locations that had been active during the late 12th century: Bologna, Paris, Oxford, and Montpellier. These four establishments endured as the most esteemed Western universities throughout the medieval era and beyond.

As early as the year 1200, King Philip Augustus bestowed legal privileges upon teachers and learners in Paris. In August of 1215, Robert de Courson, the papal legate, granted the masters and “scholars” (the terminology used for students) of Paris an initial charter that instituted the structure of educational pursuits.

The regulations of 1215 gave the new university its official status. The pope gave his blessing to the university’s self-governance in its most important parts, such as admission to the teaching profession, self-governed arrangements for teaching and testing, and legal immunity. Pope Gregory IX announced the protection of Parisian masters and students in a papal decree that he issued in 1231.

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University Studies in the Middle Ages

The statutes of Robert de Courson detailed the curriculum in the “faculty of liberal arts,” which formed the essential foundation of university studies.

The duration of studies was set at six years, with a minimum age of twenty-one to attain the degree of Master’s. After initial education in small grammar schools or under a tutor, young students aged 14 to 15 were required to become clerics to enter the university. After three or four years of studies, the student could obtain the first degree, the bachelor’s degree, through an examination.

With this title, the student assisted the professor and became a tutor for younger students. The faculty of liberal arts used the bachelor’s degree to regulate access to the license. The bachelor’s degree in liberal arts was the first to be formally organized under the auspices of the Church.

Starting in 1179, the chancellor of Notre-Dame de Paris issued a “licentia docendi,” which was an authorization to teach; this license foreshadowed the university degrees that emerged from the 13th century onward.

In the realm of liberal arts education, achieving a master’s degree required six years of dedicated university study and served as evidence that the individual possessed an extensive grasp of knowledge fit for imparting education.

When a student decided to continue their education after getting a bachelor’s degree, they could get a master’s degree in liberal arts. This accomplishment marked their integration into the esteemed community of university scholars and granted them special access to ecclesiastical privileges.

University rituals clearly distinguished a bachelor’s degree, a license, and a master’s degree, even though the three degrees formed an inseparable whole.

The pinnacle of accomplishment in the liberal arts faculty was the attainment of a master’s degree, which not only concluded one’s academic pursuits in this domain but also paved the way for further studies in advanced faculties such as medicine, law, and theology.

Finally, the highest echelon of scholarly distinction was the doctorate, a distinction that was gradually bestowed within the realms of law, medicine, and theology. Holding the title of doctor lent authoritative weight to the holder’s judgments and bestowed a heightened level of prestige within the academic establishment.

During the medieval era, universities were established with distinct faculties and typically comprised five main divisions. The faculty of arts attracted the largest student enrollment and was responsible for instructing the seven liberal arts: grammar, rhetoric, dialectic, geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music.

These subjects formed the fundamental basis for all university learning. Upon attaining a master’s degree in liberal arts, students were then presented with the choice of furthering their studies within faculties such as medicine, canon law, civil law, or theology.

A student of medicine underwent at least six years of medical studies (after obtaining a master’s degree in liberal arts) to achieve a doctorate in medicine. The training for a theologian could span up to fifteen years (after obtaining a master’s degree in liberal arts), and the minimum age to obtain a doctorate was 35 years, according to the statutes of the University of Paris.

The Importance of Writing

The authority of knowledge was enshrined within written documents (such as the writings of Church Fathers, biblical scriptures, and ancient authors), while assessments were conducted verbally. Certain thinkers held foundational positions, including Aristotle, Cicero, Euclid, and Ptolemy.

Avicenna and Averroes’ contributions strengthened the works of Hippocrates and Galen, which served as cornerstones in the field of medicine. Theologians drew upon the Bible and the writings of Peter Lombard, while legal experts turned to Gratian’s texts.

Medieval university education primarily hinged on the examination and incorporation of written materials. These educational institutions were heavily reliant on books, which presented practical challenges due to the scarcity and high expense of manuscripts.

Starting in the 13th century, Paris and Bologna emerged as hubs for manuscript production, competing with conventional religious scriptoria found in monasteries.

The implementation of effective techniques, such as compact formats and extensive abbreviations, substantially decreased the cost of educational texts. Additionally, the innovation of the “pecia” system (detachable, easy-to-copy pages), likely originating in Bologna and well-documented in Paris after 1250, expedited the work of scribes and upheld the caliber of texts distributed by the university.

University Education and Examinations in the Middle Ages

Education placed significant importance on verbal performances (which had always been conducted in Latin), through activities like analyzing texts by reading, and even more prominently through debates known as “disputes.”

The most ancient and essential exercise, known as “lectio,” involved reading a segment from an authoritative text and offering commentary based on one’s understanding. The student outlined the work’s structure, identified its author, and highlighted the core aspects of its argument.

Subsequently, the student provided a line-by-line analysis of an excerpt from the text. To wrap up, the student reexamined the contradictions and challenging elements presented within the studied text.

In the latter part of the 13th century, the practice of “lectio” evolved into “disputatio,” or disputed question. A sentence or a few words extracted from a text initiated an open and dialogic discussion among multiple scholars who assessed their grasp of grammar, logic, and rhetoric.

The instructor introduced the topic for debate, contributed the concluding remarks, and provided a rationale for the perspectives put forth by the participants and students.