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is the old customary name for a medieval university in medieval Europe.


Overview

There is no official definition for the term . The term ' first appeared at the beginning of the 13th century out of customary usage, and meant a place where students from everywhere were welcomed, not merely those of the local district or region. In the 13th century, the term gradually acquired a more precise (but still unofficial) meaning as a place that (1) received students from all places, (2) taught the arts and had at least one of the higher faculties (that is,
theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing th ...
, law or
medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
) and (3) that a significant part of the teaching was done by those with a master's degree. A fourth criterion slowly appeared: a master who had taught and was registered in the Guild of Masters of a ' was entitled to teach in any other without further examination. That privilege, known as , was, by custom, reserved only to the masters of the three oldest universities: Salerno,
Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...
and
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
. Their reputations were so great that their graduates and teachers were welcome to teach in all other , but they accepted no outside teachers without an examination. Pope Gregory IX, who, seeking to elevate the prestige of the papal-sponsored University of Toulouse, which he had founded in 1229, issued a bull in 1233, allowing Masters of Toulouse to teach in any without an examination. It consequently became customary for , eager to elevate themselves, to apply for similar bulls. The older universities at first disdained requesting such privileges themselves, feeling their reputation was sufficient. However, Bologna and Paris eventually stooped down to apply for them too, receiving their papal bulls in 1292. Arguably, the most coveted feature of the papal bulls was the special exemption, instituted by Pope Honorius III in 1219, which allowed teachers and students to continue reaping the fruits of any clerical benefices they might have elsewhere. That dispensed them from the residency requirements set out in
canon law Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is t ...
. As this privilege was granted only to those in ', certainly routinely by the 14th century, it began to be considered by many to be not only another (fifth) criterion but the definition of a '' .'' (Although the old universities of Oxford and Padua, which resisted asking for a papal bull, had sufficient reputation to be referred to as ' without a bull, Oxford masters were not allowed to teach in Paris without examination. Oxford reciprocated by demanding examinations from Paris masters and ignoring the papal privileges Paris enjoyed.) Finally, the pope could issue bulls guaranteeing the autonomy of the university from the interference of local civil or diocesan authorities, a process that had begun with the issuing of the 1231 bull for the University of Paris. Although not a necessary criterion, bestowing the "privileges of Paris" to other ' became customary. The pope was not the only supplier of privileges. The Holy Roman Emperor also issued imperial charters granting much the same privileges, starting with the University of Naples in 1224. A universal student body, one or more higher faculties, teaching by masters, the right to teach in other , retention of benefices, autonomy: those were common features in '. In other respects (structure, administration, curriculum etc.), ' varied. Generally speaking, most tended to copy one of two old models: the student-centred system of Bologne or the master-centered structure of Paris.


History

Most of the early ' were found in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
,
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
,
England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
,
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...
and
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...
, and these were considered the most prestigious places of learning in
Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. The Vatican continues to designate many new universities as ', although the popular significance of this honour has declined over the centuries. As early as the 13th century, scholars from a ' were encouraged to give lecture courses at other institutes across Europe and to share documents, and this led to the current academic culture seen in modern European universities. The universities generally considered ' in the 13th century were: *
University of Bologna The University of Bologna ( it, Alma Mater Studiorum – Università di Bologna, UNIBO) is a public research university in Bologna, Italy. Founded in 1088 by an organised guild of students (''studiorum''), it is the oldest university in contin ...
(founded in 1088) *
University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...
(founded in 1167) * University of Cambridge (founded in 1209) * University of Palencia (founded in 1212) * University of Paris (founded in 1215) * University of Arezzo (founded in 1215) * University of Salamanca (founded in 1218) * University of Padua (founded in 1222) * University of Naples Federico II (founded in 1224) * University of Toulouse (founded in 1229) * University of Northampton (founded in 1261, closed in 1265) *
University of Siena The University of Siena ( it, Università degli Studi di Siena, abbreviation: UNISI) in Siena, Tuscany, is one of the oldest and first publicly funded universities in Italy. Originally called ''Studium Senese'', the institution was founded in 12 ...
(founded in 1240) * University of Valladolid (founded in 1241) * University of Salerno (uncertain) * University of Montpellier (founded in 1289) * University of Coimbra (founded in Lisbon in 1290) * University of Alcalá (founded in Alcalá de Henares on May 20, 1293) Both theological and secular universities were registered. This list quickly grew as new universities were founded throughout Europe. Many of these universities received formal confirmation of their status as ' towards the end of the 13th century by way of papal bull, along with a host of newer universities. While these papal bulls initially did little more than confer the privileges of a specified university such as Bologna or Paris, by the end of the 13th century universities sought a papal bull conferring on them , the privilege of granting to masters licences to teach in all universities without further examination (Haskins, 1941:282). Universities officially recognized as ' in the 14th century were several, among them: *
University of Lleida The University of Lleida (officially in Catalan: ''Universitat de Lleida'') is a university based in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It was the first university founded in Catalonia and in the ancient Crown of Aragon. It was founded in 1300, using th ...
(founded in 1301) * Sapienza University of Rome (founded in 1303) * University of Perugia (founded in 1308) * University of Florence (founded in 1321) * University of Pisa (founded in 1343) * Charles University in Prague (founded in 1348) * University of Pavia (founded in 1361) * Jagiellonian University in Kraków (founded in 1364) * University of Vienna (founded in 1365) * University of Zadar (founded in 1396)


Contemporary usage

Today ' is primarily used within a European university context as a description for lectures, seminars and other activities which aim at providing academic foundations for students and the general public. They are in line with the humanistic roots of the traditional universities to reach outside of their boundaries and provide a general education. In the early post-war years in Germany the concept was re-introduced, for example, with a formal programme begun in 1948 at the Leibniz College of University of Tübingen. Today the term is often used interchangeably with ''orientation year'' and may be regarded as the academic equivalent of a Gap year.


''Studium particulare''

A tended to take local students. A ', by contrast, would take students from all regions and all countries.Georgedes, Kimberly. "Religion, Education and the Role of Government in Medieval Universities: Lessons Learned or Lost?." Forum on public policy. Vol. 2. No. 1. 2006
Link


See also

*
List of oldest universities in continuous operation This article contains a list of the oldest existing universities in continuous operation in the world. Inclusion in this list is determined by the date at which the educational institute first met the traditional definition of a university used ...


Notes


References

* Cobban, Alan, ''The Medieval Universities: Their Development and Organization,'' London: Harper & Row, 1975. * Haskins, George L (1941) 'The University of Oxford and the Ius ubique docendi,' ''The English Historical Review,'' pp. 281–292. * Rashdall, H. (1895) ''The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages'', Vol. 1. {{Authority control Medieval European education Medieval organizations History of academia