The Creation of Medieval European Universities

【Abstract】The creation of the university is one of the most prominent contributions medieval times made to modern Europe.The emergence of medieval European universitiesbecame the origin of the modern university.By adopting qualitative research method， including literature review and analysis， the thesisexplores the creation and distinctive features of medieval European universities.

【Key words】medieval times; medieval European universities; curriculum

【作者簡介】闫珂（1982.04-），男，汉族，四川成都人，四川大学锦江学院外国语学院，助教，硕士研究生，研究方向：国际商务英语、欧洲历史文化及多样性。

The word ‘medieval was first put forward in the 15th century by FlavioBiondo， an Italian humanist historian. Generally speaking， the word ‘medieval in historian circles means the historical period during which the feudal mode of production emerged， developed and declined in the world from the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 to the English Revolution in 1640.

The creation of the university is one of the most prominent contributions medieval times made to modern Europe. The word ‘university， universitas in Latin， was originally a word in Roman law meaning society， group， community， association or guild. In medieval times， there was the need to recreate school education with the creation of medieval universities being one of the major points， and the guilds inspired the organisational structure adopted by the medieval universities. The creation of medieval universities， an extremely significant event in the history of education， symbolises the emergence of modern universities.

In 476 AD， with the fall of the Western Roman Empire， Western Europe entered feudal society. The development of the economy accelerated the emergence of capitalist production relationships， which was accompanied by the emergence of cities. There also appeared a new economic form， the guild， a major activity form that met the needs of urbanisation in Western Europe. The guilds not only had their own rules but also had hierarchies with several levels， such as apprentices， clerks and masters. The guilds were continuously improved to adapt to the development of the economy and society at that time. Teachers and students finally created the medieval university through the form of the guild. With the increasing growth of cities and business in Western Europe， a demand grew for people with professional skills and talents and knowledge of management and law. Medieval universities， emerging in this kind of situation， quickly became a platform for passing on culture and learning skills， serving as the cradle of scientific development.

The emergence of medieval universities met the needs of the developing economy and society， so the universities gradually gained more freedom in the battle against the churches monopoly of education， and many university scholars regarded academic freedom as their value orientation. The medieval university originated from the guild， which was the most fundamental reason it became the origin of the modern university.

The earliest modern universities were the University of Salerno and the University of Bologna in Italy in the 12th century， which were formed based on ScholaMedicaSalernitana and Bologna Law School. Later， universities sprang up in Western Europe， such as the University of Paris， University of Montpellier and University of Toulouse in France， the University of Oxford and University of Cambridge in England， the University of Naples in Italy and the University of Lisbon in Portugal. By 1500， there were 70 universities in total in Western Europe. The emergence of the medieval university can be regarded as the most prominent innovation in the education field of medieval times.

In medieval Europe， education was adapted in line with the Christian religion， which was largely hinged on the ideas sourced from Roman and Ancient Greek civilisations. The medieval university curricula evolved and were influenced by new inventions， growth of urban centres， revival of Roman law， development and incorporation of the idea of the corporation and guilds， growth and dispersion of religious orders， writings of Galen and Hippocrates， and the penetration by the Greek writings and Aristotelian writings into western Europe.The curricula developed as responses to pressures to source all education forces of government requirements， ecclesiastical， and professional requirements of society.The curricula were designed for students pursuing careers within the legal， civil government， or medical practitioners.

Books and subjects were added or removed， and in some instances banned entirely from syllabi as evinced by documents found dating back to the 12th century， the period of the early universities. Translations of these texts are strewn across various articles and monographs on the subject. To demonstrate the structure and significance of curricula， some documentary evidence showcasing how early scholars were aware of the importance of the system， focus and planning in teaching will beused. It is noteworthy that in this period， there were no ‘natural sciences， and medicine was the nearest subject that could be used to combine other subjects like physics，chemistry， toxicology， biology， botany， and anatomy.

As a product of urban business revival， medieval universities had a strong inclination towards secular education from the very beginning. Professional education was at the core， and the purpose was to produce talents who were provided with expertise of some sort and who could manage to seek a position in society.

Similar to the three senior colleges of medicine， law and theology that offered specialised training， the literature division （teaching ‘seven arts）， which belonged to the sector of basic disciplines， was also rather utilitarian and occupation-oriented.Since the vast majority of the students did not continue with their education， the literature division provided them with useful training in such basic areas as reading and writing， debate， thinking， calculation， measurement and natural sciences so that they could be competent enough for the various positions within the church and the secular government.

In conclusion， the creation of the university is one of the most prominent contributions medieval times made to modern Europe.The creation of medieval universities， an extremely significant event in the history of education， symbolises the emergence of modern universities.

References：

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[5]FERRUOLO， Stephen： The Origins of the University. 1100-1215. Stanford： Stanford University Press（1998）：17-24.