SCOYOC Origin and Development of The University

Origin and Development of the University
Author(s): Marthellen R. van Scoyoc

Source: Peabody Journal of Education, Vol. 39, No. 6 (May, 1962), pp. 322-333
Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd.
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Origin and Development of the
University
MAR'THEI~TEN R. VAN SCOYOC
Bowling Green, Ohio
The fundamental organization and the tradition of the university

arose out of obscure beginnings which took form during the twelfth
century. At first there were no buildings or endowments, or extra cur-
ricula activities. They were merely a spontaneous combination of
masters and students.
The term university was derived from the Latin word "universitas"
and referred to any community or association of people. Students did
not go to a university but rather to a "studia" or "studium generale"
which implied a center of instruction. A "studia" had three character-
istics:
1. That the school attracted or at least invited students from all parts, not
merely those of a particular country or district.
2. That it was a place of higher education; that is to say, that one at
least of the faculties-theology, law, medicine-was taught there.
3. That such subjectswere taughtby a considerablenumber-at least by
a plurality-of masters.'
There were at the beginning of the thirteenth century three studia to

which the term was pre-eminently applied and which enjoyed a unique
and transcendent prestige; they were Paris for theology and arts,
Bologna for law, and Salerno for medicine."2 Later when schools in
other cities wished to be placed on a par with Paris or Bologna they
applied for a papal Bull or imperial decree to create a "studia gener-
alia." Without a license from the pope, emperor or a king no "studium
generale" possessed the right to confer degrees. A degree, at first,
meant a license to teach and nothing more. A few schools became
1Hastings Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, (Oxford, 1895)
Revised edition, F. M. Powicke and A. B. Emdeu, (Ed) London, Oxford Press, 1936, I, 7.
2
Ibid., 8.
322
known for their excellence of teachingand achieved more than local
importance.
EARLY HISTORY
The Greeksand the Romanshad no universitiesas we know them
today but they did have some great teachers. Much of the instruction
was in philosophy,rhetoricand law but it was not formally organized.
Greatteacherssuch as Socratesor Aristotlegave no certificates. How-
ever, the writingof classic antiquitywere of the greatestimportantin
the revival of learningwhichbegan in the time of Charlemagne(768-
814) and reachedits height with the establishmentof the universities
at Bologna and Paris.3
The barbarianinvasionsdestroyedthe schoolsof the RomanEmpire
and the periodimmediatelyfollowingwas the darkestin the intellectual
history of Europe. This gave rise to the monastic and Cathedral
schoolswhichservedthe needsof the church. "Benedictinemonasticism
created almost the only homes of learning and education, and con-
stitutedby far the most powerful civilizing agency in Europe until it
was supercededas an educational instrumentby the growth of the
universities."'
The eleventh century was the turning point from the Dark Ages
into one of the most progressiveperiods of all times. Religious terror
was replaced by an active religious enthusiasm which produced
scholars such as Pope Silvester II known as Gerbert,Abelard, Peter
Lombardand otherswho changedthe picture of the entire intellectual
world. Furthermore,the Crusadesbroughtdifferentparts of Europein
contactwith one anotherand the East. A passion for inquiry began to
take hold and the schools of Christendomwere soon thronged by
studentsfrom all of Europe.
Theologicalteachingsweretraditionalbut a certainamountof secular
knowledgewas considerednecessaryfor the understandingof sacred
writings. Secularknowledgewas knownas the "SevenArts"whichwas
divided into two parts, Trivium and Quadrivium. The Trivium con-
sisted of grammar,rhetoricand dialectic, the dialectic being the main
s The Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. XXVII (llth Ed.), Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc.,,
New York: 1911, 749.
4Rashdall, op. cit., 27-28.
323
secular teaching during the Dark Ages and became of the utmost
importancein teaching during the formative years of the university.
The Quadriviumconsistedof music, arithmetic,geometryand astrono-
my. Arithmeticand astronomyweretaughtbecauseof their importance
in findingEaster.5
Duringthe twelfthcenturytherewas a great influxof knowledgeinto
westernEurope throughItaly and Sicily but chiefly throughthe Arab
scholarsof Spain. Europenow had booksof plane and solid geometry
written in Arabic notation and these have been used in schools and
colleges ever since. Law and medicine also came into possession of
ancient learning. By the middle of the century scores of men were
engaged in translatingworks from both Greekand Arabic and within
another hundred years all importantand many lesser works were
available for westernuse.6
The most famous scholar of the early twelfth century was Peter
Abelard, born in 1079, the son of a feudal noble. Early in life he
became enamoredwith learning and gave his heritage to a younger
brotherand joined the horde of studentsgoing to the cathedralschools
in France and eventually to Paris. Abelard's most importantcontri-
bution lies in the challenge he gave to the mental habits of his day.
The scholastic movementunder Abelard reached a point where it
might be called a university movementbut it was at least another
generation before the university took form. However, Abelard did
inauguratethe intellectualmovementout of whichuniversitiessprang.'
EARLY UNIVERSITIES
Although Salerno never became a true university it is worthy of

mention as it was, accordingto Mullinger, the "first university" in
Europebeing knownas a medical school as early as the ninth century
and it became famous throughoutEurope.8 Rashdall completely dis-
agrees with Mullinger, both well known authorities,as to the origin
of the school at Salerno but concludes:9
5
Ibid., 34-35.
6 Carl
Stephenson,MedievalHistory,Harperand Brothers,New York, 1935,415.
Rashdall,op. cit., 89-92.
8 The Encyclopedia Britannica, op. cit., 749.
9Rashdall, op. cit., 76.
324
In all events, the unique fame of Salerno as a school of medicinewas
fully establishedlong beforethe dialecticalmovementcenteredin Paris or
the legalin Bologna.
The name of Irnerius is associated with a period in the history
of medieval law and education,centeredat Bologna,that must not be
overlooked. The irnerianperiod marksthe beginningof the systematic
study of the whole "CorpusInris Civilis" as a regular part of a legal
educationand this revival of legal science separatedthe study of law
from rhetoric and the liberal arts.'?
The intellectualmovementin northernItaly had its spiritual side as
well as the civil. There was a struggle between the Empire and the
Papacy, a battle of ideas; however,events were happeningthat would
help to solve this dispute." There was a growing commercewhich
demandeda more definite applicationof the principles embodied in
the codes handeddownby Theodosiusand Justinian. The Decretumof
Gratianwhich was a systematicstudy of the JustinianCode appeared
in 1151, and it inspired a monkto make a code of churchlaw which
was as completeand as scientificas the code for the State,thus infusing
Romanlaw into the discipline of the church.'2The Decretummet with
such success by the twelfth and thirteenthcenturies that it became
necessary to study it outside of the monasteryand Bologna became
recognizedas the chief school of both civil and cannonlaw.'8
UNIVERSITYOF PARIS
It has been alreadymentionedthat Peter Abelardcame to Paris and
became a master who attracted"hordes of students whose presence
involved that multiplicationof masters by whom the university was
ultimately formed."" He was a great teacher of the dialectic and
applied it to theological dogma when he wrote his famous treatise,
Sic et Non. Later a studentof Abelard's,Peter the Lombard,Bishop
of Paris (1159-1164), wrote The Sentenceswhich became the most
importanttextbookin the theologicalfacultiesof medievaluniversities.16
0 Ibid., 120-124.
11 Ibid., 98.
12
Ibid., 133-134.
8 Encyclopedia Britannica, op. cit., 750.
4 Rashdall, op. cit., 278.
15 S. J. Curtis and M. E. A. Boultwood, A Short History of Education Ideas, University
Tutorial Press, Ltd., London, 1953, 102.
325
Lombard'swork was the inspirationfor numerousbooks of sentences,
the mostfamousbeingthe SummaTheologiaeby SaintThomasAquinas
(c. 1225-1274). With the great intellectualadvancewhich took place
from the time of Abelard to Aquinas it is not surprisingto find the
establishmentof the Universityof Paris in this period.
Whenthe cathedralschool at Paris becamea universityis not known
but it has chosen 1200, the year when it received its first royal
charter.16The Universityof Paris had its first writtenstatutesby 1208
and received recognitionas a corporatebody about 1211 when it was
empoweredto send a representativeto the papal court. When fully
developed, probably by the end of the thirteenth century, it was
divided into four faculties: the superior including theology, canon
law and medicine;the inferiorincludedart whichwas divided into four
nations accordingto the location from which the studentcame. Each
faculty had a dean, each nation was headed by a proctorand a rector
was the head of the whole university. Universitymatterswere decided
by a majority of the faculty and only those teaching had a right to
vote. By the sixteenthand seventeenthcenturiesthis democraticcon-
stitution was supercededby a small oligarchy of officials.1 In our
Americanuniversitiesboth these patternsare found today depending
upon the universityitself.
In order to understandthe medieval university it is importantto
considerthe student. The Paris statutesrequiredthe beginningbachelor
to be fourteen (some were younger), bachelordombeing merely an
apprenticeshipfor mastership. The full course in the arts lasted seven
years, twenty being the minimumage for the mastership. Many stu-
dents were, of course, older. Unlike today, the medieval freshman
enjoyed unfetteredliberty. He was free to choose the master under
whom he would study and to choose the hall to which he would
attachhimself. It was not necessaryor even customary,regardlessof
how young, to live under the supervisionof a master. This freedom
lasted until the fifteenth century when both Paris and Oxford took
steps to compel all students to reside either in a college or a hall
'1 CharlesH. Haskins. The Rise of the Universities,Ithaca, New York, Great Seal Books,
1923, 15.
Encyclopedia Britannica, op. it., 752.
326
(hospicium) presided over by a master.'8 Even the most casual ob-
server should realize that the Americansystem of dormitoriessuper-
vised by counselorsand regulatedby rules had its beginningsin the
Universities of Paris and Oxford. This was also the beginning of
the system of colleges whichhas lasted to the presenttime.
There were two classes of studentsfor which residence in a house
presided over by a master became accepted practice: the rich who
lived in their own houses with a privatetutor and the poor who could
not affordthe expense of the hospiciumand lodged in some miserable
garret. The college was at first simply an endowed boarding house
and at Paris the endowedhall had a master at its head and he was
supposed to give instructionsomewhatless than that of the public
school. Later it became the custom for the younger membersto be
assigned tutors, the more advanced undergraduatesharing in the
instruction. Indirectly the colleges contributedto the securing of
competentteachers who could not have otherwiseafforded to go on
to the studia of the higher Faculties.
Undoubtedlythe most famouscollege at the Universityof Paris was
the Sorbonne. It was founded by Robertde Sorbon,about 1257, for
poor scholarswho desired to enter into the long study for a Doctorate
in Theology. Originally it was a college of theologians but by the
sixteenth and seventeenthcenturies, Sorbonne became the popular
name for the theologicalfaculty of Paris.'9 Today it is only the build-
ing that houses the Faculty of Arts and Sciences but many Americans
make the mistake of thinking of it as the University of Paris.
With the rapid spread of educationin the twelfth centurythere was
an increasingnumberof masterswho were anxious for permissionto
teach scholars who could pay for the services. It became customary
for the chancellorto grant permissionto mastersto open schools of
their own near the church, however, in 1138 the practice of selling
permission was forbidden. By 1179 the presiding masters of the
church school were requiredto grant a license (licentia docendi) to
every qualified applicant and without a fee. Once the right to the
license was established, teachers began to increase and soon pro-
18
Hasting Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, Vol. III, (Rev. Ed.)
Oxford University Press, London, 1936, 352-357.
1 Rashdall, Vol. I, op. cit., 507-509.
327
fessional customs and unwritten laws came into being. The earliest
academic degree was "licentia docendi" meaning the license to teach.
The words master and doctor were originally synonymous; a Master of
Arts was one qualified to teach the liberal arts and a Doctor of Laws
was certified to teach law. An admission to the degree was the chan-
cellor's permission to "incept" which implied the master's formal
entrance and beginning as a licensed teacher and recognition by others
in the profession.20 So the tradition is carried on and the receiving of
the Doctorate is truly the license to teach in our universities today.
The University of Paris became the model for the great universities
that were to follow. Many other universities sprang up in France dur-
ing the medieval period but the University of Paris remains among
the great universities of the world.
ENGLISH UNIVERSITIES
The rise of the University of Oxford presents a sharp contrast to
that of the University of Paris. Oxford had considerable scholastic
reputation which attracted many students about 1167, however, there
is no evidence of a studium general having been in Oxford before
1167 or 1168.21 "One thing may be taken as absolutely certain-
that the schools in connection with which the university grew up
were never at any time dependent upon any capitular or monastic body
at Oxford."22 It is the hypothesis of the authorities that Oxford origi-
nated in an academic migration and its original masters and students
must have come from Paris. This was a result of a quarrel between
Thomas Becket and Henry II which resulted in a series of ordinances,
ciria 1167, against the partisans of Becket by Henry which stated
that "no clerk shall cross from the continent to England or from Eng-
land to the continent without leave of the King or his Justiciar in
England.""2 All clerks were summoned to return to England within
three months. Undoubtedly a large body of masters and scholars
returned to England in obedience to the royal command."' Where did
these scholars go? At least a part of them were sure to congregate
20
Ibid., 280-285.
21
Rashdall,Vol. III, op. cit., 15-19.
22
Ibid., 9-10.
23
Ibid., 13.
24
Ibid., 12-14.
328
under their old mastersand transferto Englandtheir old studies and
their old organization. At no place is there a record of such a con-
gregationexcept at Oxford.25
At Oxford in 1209 a scholar killed a woman which became an
event of considerablemagnitude. It led to a violent "townand gown"
riot but this was not unusual at medieval universities. However,this
was a period of a quarrelbetweenKing John and the clergy and as a
result of the above incident,two or three studentswere hanged with
the consentof the King.26It is said that at thattime 3,000 studentsleft
Oxfordand went elsewhere. Rashdallstatesthat the studiumgenerale
at Cambridgeowes its existenceto this exodus from Oxford.27Monroe
states that "the town remainedalmost destituteof scholarsuntil 1213,
when John's submission to the Pope compelled the townspeopleto
humblethemselvesbefore the ecclesiasticalauthorities."28
Among the edits was an ordinance which stated, "the town was
forever to pay an annual sum of fifty-twoshillings to be distributed
among poor scholarstwice yearly."29This money was applied to the
foundation of an institution introducedfor the benefit of scholars.
The money was placed in a chest and when a studentwished to bor-
row he was required to deposit some article worth more than the
loan but if the loan was not returnedwithin a year the pledge was
sold at public auction. In the middle ages there were twenty of these
chests establishedat Oxford.80This is the first record of studentloan
funds set up especially for the benefitof scholars.
It is doubtful that a chancellorexisted at Oxford before 1214 as
the Bishop failed to appoint one. The officewas an imitation of the
Paris chancellorshipbut the absence of a cathedralplaced him in a
very different relationshipwith the university. "At Paris the Chan-
cellor was a memberof a hostile corporation;his rule was violently
resisted by the scholars;their guild or universitygrew into corporate
existencevery largely as a meansof emancipationfrom his authority.""'
25
Ibid., 23.
26 Paul Monroe, A cyclopedia of Education, Vol. III, Macmillan Co., New York, 1914, 578.
27 Rashdall, Vol. III op. cit., 34.
28
Monroe,op. cit.
29 Rashdall, Vol. III, op. cit., 35.
80
Ibid., 35-36.
s1 Paul Monroe, A cyclopedia of Education, Vol. IV, Macmillan Co., New York, 1914, 579.
329
At Oxford the chancellor owed his existence to the university, the
scholars had no reason for viewing him with jealousy or rebellion as
he was chosen from the ranks of the masters. Under these circum-
stances he became the recognized head of the university.
During the thirteenthcenturythe intercoursebetweenParis and Oxford
was so close that everyfresh developmentof corporateactivityon the part
of the masterof Paris was more or less faithfullyinitiatedor reproduced
at Oxford,thoughthe processof developmentwas modifiedat every step
by the differentpositionof the chancellor.32
The University of Oxford as a corporation had little influence in
the political and ecclesiastical history of England but its scholastic
fame was second only to Paris. It was the center of speculative
thought. The three most famous teachers at Oxford in the thirteenth
century were Edmund Rich, Robert Grosseteste and Roger Bacon. The
writings of Bacon are still of great importance. Nor should John Wy-
cliff be overlooked in the intellectual movement at Oxford in the
fourteenth century. At Oxford these men began a movement which
lead to a greater intellectual freedom.33
It was previously mentioned that the University of Cambridge prob-
ably came into existence at the time of the Oxford incident of 1209,
although there were undoubtedly grammar schools in Cambridge before
that time. The students returned to Oxford in 1214 and it was not until
1229 that Cambridge was heard of as a studium when Henry III
promised asylum in certain English towns to dispersed Paris scholars.
Cambridge was probably one of the towns.3'
The history of privileges at Cambridge follows very closely that
which developed at Oxford, however, it developed at a much slower
rate. At both Cambridge and Oxford the earliest patterns of collegiate
life were supplied by the Mendicants. Peterhouse was the first secular
college at Cambridge and was founded in imitation of the statutes
of the great Merton College at Oxford.35 These illustrations show the
relative position of Cambridge to Oxford and explain why "up to the
end of the fourteenth century-that is to say up to the downfall of
" Rashdall, Vol. III, op. cit., 49.
33
Ibid., 236-248, 269-271.
Ibid., 276-278.
Ibid., 279-280, 293-298.
330
Scholasticism-Cambridge was a third-rateuniversity."86
There was a rapid increasein the numberof colleges at Cambridge
toward the middle of the fourteenthcentury which shows the growth
made at that time. This was a period whenthe scholasticmovementof
Wyclif was ingrainedin Oxfordand may have been one of the reasons
why Cambridgewas selected for royal patronage. "It was thought
that in Cambridgea new school of the Churchmight be raised up to
rival or supplant that 'second School of the Church'which had so
grievouslyfallen from her first estate."" This state of affairsprobably
had its influenceand Henry VI located King's College at Cambridge
ratherthanat Oxfordin 1441. Cambridgefor the firsttime was nearly
on the level of Oxford.
It is interestingto note the differencein eventsthat precededthe rise
of Oxford and Cambridgewith that of the University of Paris. The
University of Paris was established as the outcome of a revival of
learning. The Universities of Oxford and Cambridgegrew, directly
or indirectly, out of the political and religious quarrels of the day
which resulted in great migrations of students. NeverthelessParis,
Oxfordand Cambridgeafter many centurieshave remainedamongthe
great universities of the world and have contributedmuch to our
culturalheritage.
GERMAN UNIVERSITIES
Germanyhad no universitiesuntil the middle of the fourteenthcen-
tury. When the earliest universities arose, Germany was too far
behind culturally,and political conditionsdid not favor the establish-
ment of a university. Germany,for nearly two centuries, was un-
affected by the university movementexcept as its students went to
foreign lands to study. The studentswere probablyyoung nobles and
the wellborn.8
CharlesIV, King of the Romansand King of Bohemiawas a German
scholar who had lived in France and had been influencedby French
ideas. By his effortsa Papal Bull of foundationwas issued which was
followed by an Imperialcharterin 1347 and the Universityof Prague
36
Ibid., 284.
37 Ibid., 316.
38
Hastings Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, Vol. II, (Rev. Ed.)
Oxford University Press, London, 1936, 213-216.
331
came into being. Because of Charles' influence, Paris became the
model for this first and subsequentGerman universities. The new
universitywas a success from the start and broughteducationwithin
reach of the sons of tradesmenand artisans.
MartinLuthercould hardlyhave enjoyeda universityeducationif he had
to go to Paris for it; and withouta universityeducationfor Luther,and
such as Luther,the GermanReformationcould not have been.89
The universitiesestablishedat Prague,Vienna,Heidelberg,Cologne,

Erfurt, Leipzig and Rostochbetween 1347 and 1419 were, in part, a
naturalconsequenceof the new intellectualmovement,the Renaissance.
A need for these universitieswas found by territorialprinces to be a
meansof strengtheningtheir rule, to confinethe clerial and intellectual
life within their own boundaries.
An event in the history of Germanyis worthyof note as it played
an importantpart in the subsequentdevelopmentof our own uni-
versities. Prussia, as a result of the Napoleonic conquest, began to
gain intellectual power which was to replace what had been lost
materially. The Universityof Berlin, establishedin 1810, was founded
on the policy of a greateracademicfreedom. Pure idealism was to be
the dominant principle in the search for truth. The University of
Berlin was a free intellectual communitywith professors as masters
and students as assistants and both were occupied with the task of
solving the same problem. This principle soon found its way into all
German universities and this laid the foundation for Germany's
position in internationalculture.40
The Germanuniversity system gave intellectual leadership in the
nineteenthcenturyand evolved instructionaltechniqueswhich reflected
its interestin pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. It developed
learned seminarsand scientific laboratoriesin which the master and
his students investigatedthe problems in their respective fields. By
the middle of the centurythere was a streamof Americanstudentsto
Germany. The German-educatedscholar brought back to America
the key which helped to establish the ideal of productive research
39 Ibid., 216.
40 Monroe, Vol. III, OD. cit., 94.
332
which became the guiding light of Americanhigher education.41
CONCLUSION
The American university has developed a system which is unique
in itself, however, it is dependent upon the universities of the past
for its traditions. The American university is a hybrid, the under-
graduate structure took its form from the English college system,
while the graduate school of arts and sciences has taken its pattern
from the Faculties of the German university. Although the English and
the German universities developed somewhat different patterns of
education, both were modeled originally from the mother University
of Paris. The intellectual revival of the eleventh and twelfth centuries
at Paris was truly the beginning of the university system which is now
found throughout the world and on which cradles the hope of genera-
tions to come.
41John S. Brubacker and Willis Rudy, Higher Education in Transition, Harpers and
Brothers, New York, 1958, 184.
333

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Origin and Development of the University

Author(s): Marthellen R. van Scoyoc

The fundamental organization and the tradition of the university

There were at the beginning of the thirteenth century three studia to

Although Salerno never became a true university it is worthy of

The universitiesestablishedat Prague,Vienna,Heidelberg,Cologne,

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