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The first European medieval universities were established in Italy and France in the late 12th and early 13th Century for the study of arts, law, medicine, and theology.
For medieval universities in Asia see Medieval university (Asia)
With the increasing professionalization of society during the 12th and 13th centuries, a similar demand grew for professional clergy. Prior to the 12th century, the intellectual life of Europe had been relegated to monasteries, which was mostly concerned with the study of the liturgy and prayer; very few monasteries could boast true intellectuals. Following the Gregorian Reform's emphasis on canon law and the study of the sacramentA sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates or symbolizes divine grace. Sacraments are usually administered by the clergy to a recipient or recipients, and are generally understood to involve visible and invisible components. The invisible component (mas, bishops formed cathedralA Cathedral is a Christian church that serves as the central church of a bishopric. As cathedrals are often particularly impressive edifices, the term is sometimes also used loosely as a designation for any large important church. The term is not official schools to train the clergy in canon lawIn Western culture, canon law is the law of the Roman Catholic and Anglican churches. The Eastern Orthodox concept of canon law is similar to but not identical to the more legislative and juridical model of the West. In both traditions, a canon is a rule, but also in the more secular aspects of church administration, including logic and disputation for use in preaching and theological discussion, and accounting to more effectively control finances.
Learning became essential to advancing in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, and teachers attracted prestige as well. However, demand quickly outstripped the capacity of cathedral schools, which were essentially run by one teacher. On top of that, tensions rose between the students of cathedral schools and burghers in smaller towns. So, cathedral schools migrated to large cities, like ParisEiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city is built on an arc of the River Seine, and is thus divided into two parts: the Right Bank to the north and the smaller Left Bank to and BolognaBologna (from Latin Bononia Bulaggna in the local dialect) is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy, between the Po River and the Apennines. History Bologna was founded by the Etruscans with the name Felsina''. Next the city was the Roman c.
The predecessor of the modern universityA university is an institution of higher education and of research, which grants academic degrees. A university provides both tertiary and quaternary education. University is derived from the Latin universitas meaning corporation since the first medieval found its roots in ParisEiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. Paris is the capital and largest city of France. The city is built on an arc of the River Seine, and is thus divided into two parts: the Right Bank to the north and the smaller Left Bank to, especially under the guidance of Peter Abelard, who wrote Sic et Non ( Latin "yes or no"), which collected texts for university study. Dissatisfied with tensions between burghers and students and the censorship of leading intellectuals by the Church, Abelard and others formed the Universitas, modeled on the medieval guild, a large-scale, self-regulating, permanent institution of higher education.
By the 13th century, almost half of the highest offices in the Church were occupied by degreed masters ( abbots, archbishops, cardinals), and over one-third of the second-highest offices were occupied by masters. In addition, some of the greatest theologians of the High Middle Ages, Thomas Aquinas and Robert Grosseteste, were products of the medieval university.
The development of the medieval university coincided with the widespread reintroduction of Aristotle from Byzantine and Jewish scholars and the decline in popularity of Platonism and Neoplatonism in favor of Aristotelian thought.