University

===Medieval Europe===
{{Main|Medieval university|List of medieval universities}}
[[File:ChiostroPietroMartireNapoli.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Established in 1224 by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor]], the [[University of Naples Federico II]] in Italy is the world's oldest state-funded university in continuous operation.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Storia d'Italia |date=7 August 1981 |publisher=UTET |isbn=88-02-03568-7 |volume=4 |location=Torino |page=122}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Fulvio|last=Delle Donne|title=Storia dello Studium di Napoli in età sveva|publisher=Mario Adda Editore|year=2010|language=it|isbn=978-8880828419|pages=9–10}}</ref>]]

Although there are antecedents, the modern university is generally regarded as a formal institution that has its origin in the [[History of Christianity|Medieval Christian]] tradition.<ref name="Rüegg, Walter 1992, pp. XIX">Rüegg, Walter: "Foreword. The University as a European Institution", in: ''A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 1: Universities in the Middle Ages'', Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-521-36105-2}}, pp. XIX–XX</ref><ref>Verger, Jacques. “The Universities and Scholasticism,” in The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume V c. 1198–c. 1300. Cambridge University Press, 2007, 257.</ref> European higher education took place for hundreds of years in [[cathedral school]]s or [[monastic school]]s (''scholae monasticae''), in which [[monk]]s and [[nun]]s taught classes; evidence of these immediate forerunners of the later university at many places dates back to the 6th century.<ref>Riché, Pierre (1978): "Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: From the Sixth through the Eighth Century", Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, {{ISBN|0-87249-376-8}}, pp. 126-7, 282-98</ref> In Europe, young men proceeded to university when they had completed their study of the [[trivium (education)|trivium]] – the preparatory arts of [[grammar]], [[rhetoric]] and [[dialectic]] or [[logic]]–and the [[quadrivium]]: [[arithmetic]], [[geometry]], [[music]], and [[astronomy]].

The earliest universities were developed under the aegis of the [[Latin Church]] by [[papal bull]] as ''[[Studium Generale|studia generalia]]'' and perhaps from cathedral schools. It is possible, however, that the development of cathedral schools into universities was quite rare, with the University of Paris being an exception.<ref>Gordon Leff, ''Paris and Oxford Universities in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. An Institutional and Intellectual History'', Wiley, 1968.</ref> Later they were also founded by kings - but with prior papal approval.<ref>Univerzita Karlova získala dva unikátní dokumenty z historie české a evropské vzdělanosti, 29. 6. 2018. https://cuni.cz/UK-9137.html</ref> ([[University of Naples Federico II]], [[Charles University in Prague]], [[Jagiellonian University|Jagiellonian University in Kraków]]) or municipal administrations ([[University of Cologne]], [[University of Erfurt]]). In the [[Early Middle Ages|early medieval period]], most new universities were founded from pre-existing schools, usually when these schools were deemed to have become primarily sites of higher education. Many historians state that universities and cathedral schools were a continuation of the interest in learning promoted by [[monasteries|The residence of a religious community]].<ref>Johnson, P. (2000). The Renaissance : a short history. Modern Library chronicles (Modern Library ed.). New York: Modern Library, p. 9.</ref> [[Pope Gregory VII]] was critical in promoting and regulating the concept of modern university as his [[1079 Papal Decree]] ordered the regulated establishment of cathedral schools that transformed themselves into the first European universities.<ref>Thomas Oestreich (1913). "Pope St. Gregory VII". In Herbermann, Charles. Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.</ref>

[[File:Meeting of doctors at the university of Paris.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Meeting of doctors at the [[University of Paris]]. From a medieval manuscript.]]
The first universities in Europe with a form of corporate/guild structure were the [[University of Bologna]] (1088), the [[University of Paris]] ({{Circa|1150}}, later associated with the [[University of Paris|Sorbonne]]), and the [[University of Oxford]] (1167). The University of Bologna began as a law school teaching the ''[[jus gentium|ius gentium]]'' or [[Roman law]] of peoples which was in demand across Europe for those defending the right of incipient nations against empire and church. The University of Bologna, or ''[[Alma Mater Studiorum]]'', is widely recognized as the oldest university that is independent of any direct authority, such as kings, emperors, or religious organizations. Bologna's claim to being the oldest university is based on its unique characteristics, such as its autonomy and its ability to grant degrees.<ref>Makdisi, G. (1981), Rise of Colleges: Institutions of Learning in Islam and the West. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.</ref><ref>Daun, H. and Arjmand, R. (2005), Islamic Education, pp 377-388 in J. Zajda, editor, International Handbook of Globalisation, Education and Policy Research. Netherlands: Springer.</ref>

The conventional date of 1088, or 1087 according to some,<ref>Huff, T. (2003), The Rise of Early Modern Science. Cambridge University Press, p. 122</ref> records when [[Irnerius]] commenced teaching [[Justinian I|Emperor Justinian's]] 6th-century codification of Roman law, the ''[[Corpus Iuris Civilis]]'', recently discovered at Pisa. Lay students arrived in the city from many lands entering into a contract to gain this knowledge, organising themselves into 'Nationes', divided between that of the Cismontanes and that of the Ultramontanes. The students "had all the power … and dominated the masters".<ref>{{cite book|last =Kerr|first = Clark|date=2001|title = The Uses of the University|publisher = Harvard University Press|pages =16 and 145|isbn = 978-0674005327}}</ref><ref>Rüegg, W. (2003), Mythologies and Historiography of the Beginnings, pp 4-34 in H. De Ridder-Symoens, editor, A History of the University in Europe; Vol 1, Cambridge University Press.p. 12</ref>

All over Europe, rulers and city governments began to create universities to satisfy a European thirst for knowledge, and the belief that society would benefit from the scholarly expertise generated from these institutions. Princes and leaders of city governments perceived the potential benefits of having a scholarly expertise develop with the ability to address difficult problems and achieve desired ends. The emergence of humanism was essential to this understanding of the possible utility of universities as well as the revival of interest in knowledge gained from ancient Greek texts.<ref>Grendler, P. F. (2004). "The universities of the Renaissance and Reformation". Renaissance Quarterly, 57, pp. 2.</ref>

The [[recovery of Aristotle]]'s works – more than 3000 pages of it would eventually be translated – fuelled a spirit of inquiry into natural processes that had already begun to emerge in the 12th century. Some scholars believe that these works represented one of the most important document discoveries in Western intellectual history.<ref>Rubenstein, R. E. (2003). Aristotle's children: how Christians, Muslims, and Jews rediscovered ancient wisdom and illuminated the dark ages (1st ed.). Orlando, Florida: Harcourt, pp. 16-17.</ref> Richard Dales, for instance, calls the discovery of Aristotle's works "a turning point in the history of Western thought."<ref>Dales, R. C. (1990). Medieval discussions of the eternity of the world (Vol. 18). Brill Archive, p. 144.</ref> After Aristotle re-emerged, a community of scholars, primarily communicating in Latin, accelerated the process and practice of attempting to reconcile the thoughts of Greek antiquity, and especially ideas related to understanding the natural world, with those of the church. The efforts of this "[[scholasticism]]" were focused on applying Aristotelian logic and thoughts about natural processes to biblical passages and attempting to prove the viability of those passages through reason. This became the primary mission of lecturers, and the expectation of students.
[[File:Divinity_School_Interior_2,_Bodleian_Library,_Oxford,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|The [[University of Oxford]] is the oldest university in the [[English-speaking world]].]]

The university culture developed differently in northern Europe than it did in the south, although the northern (primarily Germany, France and [[Great Britain]]) and southern universities (primarily Italy) did have many elements in common. Latin was the language of the university, used for all texts, lectures, [[disputation]]s and examinations. Professors lectured on the books of Aristotle for logic, [[natural philosophy]], and [[metaphysics]]; while [[Hippocrates]], [[Galen]], and [[Avicenna]] were used for medicine. Outside of these commonalities, great differences separated north and south, primarily in subject matter. Italian universities focused on law and medicine, while the northern universities focused on the arts and theology. The quality of instruction in the different areas of study varied, depending on the university's focus. This led scholars to travel north or south based on their interests and means. The universities also awarded different types of degrees. English, French and German universities usually awarded bachelor's degrees, with the exception of degrees in theology, for which the doctorate was more common. Italian universities awarded primarily doctorates. The distinction can be attributed to the intent of the degree holder after graduation – in the north the focus tended to be on acquiring teaching positions, while in the south students often went on to professional positions.<ref>Grendler, P. F. (2004). "The universities of the Renaissance and Reformation". Renaissance Quarterly, 57, pp. 2-8.</ref> The structure of northern universities tended to be modeled after the system of faculty governance developed at the [[University of Paris]]. Southern universities tended to be patterned after the student-controlled model begun at the University of Bologna.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Scott | first1 = J. C. | year = 2006 | title = The mission of the university: Medieval to Postmodern transformations | journal = Journal of Higher Education | volume = 77 | issue = 1| page = 6 | doi = 10.1353/jhe.2006.0007 | s2cid = 144337137 }}</ref> Among the southern universities, a further distinction has been noted between those of northern Italy, which followed the pattern of Bologna as a "self-regulating, independent corporation of scholars" and those of southern Italy and Iberia, which were "founded by royal and imperial charter to serve the needs of government."<ref>{{Citation | last = Pryds | first = Darleen | editor-last = Courtenay | editor-first = William J. | editor2-last = Miethke | editor2-first = Jürgen | editor3-last = Priest | editor3-first = David B. | date = 2000 | title = Universities and Schooling in Medieval Society | chapter = ''Studia'' as Royal Offices: Mediterranean Universities of Medieval Europe | series = Education and Society in the Middle Ages and Renaissance | volume = 10 | publisher = Brill | location = Leiden | pages = 84–85 | isbn=9004113517 }}</ref>