The first universities, however, can hardly be said to have been
inspired by the influence of the Church. Nor did the State assist in
their establishment, though it afterward sanctioned them, and conferred
upon them their peculiar privileges. The first universities grew out of
organizations of scholars and students who joined themselves together
for the purpose of study and investigation. The oldest institution of
this kind was that of Salerno, Italy, which Laurie says was a "public
school from A.D. 1060, and a privileged school from 1100." It
taught medicine only, and was established by a converted Jew. It was
entirely independent of both Church and State, and attracted students
from many countries.
The next university was that of Bologna, Italy. It also had only one
faculty, that of law. In 1158 Frederick I. recognized the institution by
giving it certain privileges. It awakened widespread interest throughout
Europe, so that by the end of the twelfth century it is estimated that
twelve thousand students had flocked to Bologna, most of them from
foreign lands. This is an indication that the revival of learning was
quite general throughout the world.
But the greatest university of the Middle Ages was that of Paris, which
attracted at least twenty thousand students. The university of Paris was
evolved from a cathedral school, and it always retained a strong
theological tendency. Philip Augustus gave it privileges as a
corporation, and Pope Innocent III. recognized it as a high school of
theology. The course of study was by no means narrow, as it was held
that broad knowledge was essential as a preparation for theological
study. Consequently it was not long before a philosophical
faculty[46]--the first in history--was added as separate from the
theological faculty. The greatest name connected with the university of
Paris is that of Abelard. Early in the twelfth century he attracted
great numbers of students, and it was his personality that made Paris
the greatest university of the Middle Ages.
The university of Oxford, England, was founded in 1140,[47] that of
Cambridge in 1200. The oldest German university is Prague, founded in
1348. Then follow: Vienna, 1365; Heidelberg, 1386; Cologne,[3] 1388;
Erfurt,[48] 1392; Wuerzburg, 1403; Leipsic, 1409; Rostock, 1419;
Greifswald, 1456; Freiburg-im-Breisgau, 1457; Trier, 1472; Tuebingen,
1477; and Mainz, 1477. In France, after Paris, Toulouse, 1233; Orleans,
Cahors, Caen, Poitiers, Nantes, and others during the fourteenth
century. In the same century at Lund and Upsala in Sweden, Christiania
in Norway, and Copenhagen in Denmark. Italy, Spain, England, Ireland,
and Scotland also felt this wonderful impulse. These universities were
usually modeled after that of Paris.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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