School Troops Resources

Medieval Universities

Students of Medieval Bologna    

 

List of Medieval Universities

  • Spontaneous = schools set up by teachers, evolve into university. This includes luring teachers (but not students) from another school.
  • Migration = migration or "secession" of students from one city to another.
  • Royal charter = grant of Studium generale privileges by King 
  • Imperial charter = grant of Studium generale privileges by Holy Roman Emperor
  • Papal charter = grant of Studium generale privileges by Pope
  • [Brackets] denote the university is no longer in existence (or definitely "defunct" at some date, even if there was a later resurrection).

 
Date Name Manner Country Charter(s) Notes
10th C. [Salerno] Spontaneous Italy   First university, in the sense of a higher-learning, degree-awarding institute, the oldest referred to as a Studium Generale, however limited to a Medical School (Scola medica salernitana) for much of its duration.  Its origins are obscure. Legend claims it was founded by four physicians (a Latin, a Greek, an Arab and a Jew), bringing the medical traditions of four great Mediterranean civilizations into one location.  First mention of its doctors appear in 848  (at the time, the independent Lombard Duchy of Salerno), its fame and repute was already widespread before 946 and quite frequent by 1050.  Its preeminent doctor was probably Constantinus Africanus (fl. 1080s), who introduced translations of Arabic and Greek medical writings into the standard curriculum . Salerno was a professor-based collegium, rather than a student-based universitas.  Emperor Frederick II tried to establish a nearby university in Naples in 1224, with its own medical school, but it was overshadowed by the traditional grandeur of Salerno, so he (nearly) gave it up.  Frederick II issued an edict in 1231 forbidding the teaching of medicine without a royal license, and stipulated that such a license would only be granted after examination by the Doctors of Salerno.  An ordinance deeming Liberal Arts a preliminary requirement for medical students was followed up with an edict in 1243 transferring the remaining colleges of Naples to Salerno, and requiring Licences and Inception of Salerno doctors to be carried out in the royal court.   Salerno's development into a proper, multi-faculty university was stopped and reversed by the subsequent Angevin rulers, who transferred the non-medical colleges back to Naples and forbade anything but medicine to be taught at Salerno.  This prohibition (in place until 1490) compromised the growth of Salerno, and it gradually dwindled and all but disappeared by the 15th Century.   It was rescued by the arrival of the Sanseverino princes of Salerno in 1463, who promptly revived the medical school, and sponsored its expansion to other fields, like law and philosophy, and had fully-fleshed faculties by 1592 (Grendler 2011: p.117).   The University of Salerno continued until it was suppressed by Napoleon's decree in 1811. The modern university of Salerno was founded in 1968. (Rashdall, v.1, p.76)
1088 Bologna Spontaneous Italy   The Alma Mater Studiorum ('Mother of Studies'), oldest European university in continuous existence, the Studium Generale par excellence. A laical school (Studium) was established here around 1088 by the jurist Irnerius, shortly after his recovery of the Justinian Code (Corpus Juris Civilis), turning his school into the epicenter of the study of Civil Law.  Another Bologna jurist, Gratian, compiled the Decretum in 1142, founding the field of Canon Law. Students who arrived in Bologna organized into student associations, known as universitas.  Imperial decree of 1158 acknowledges such associations.  Organized into four nations ("Lombard", "Tuscan", "Roman" and "Ultramontane"), which were subsequently divided into sub-nations. As student associations paid the salaries of the professors, they controlled the university and could threaten "secession" (i.e. moving the entire university to another city). A society of masters, a distinct  college of professors of civil and canon law, is first mentioned in 1215. Seceding Bologna students created other universities elsewhere (e.g. Vicenza, Arezzo, Padua, Siena, Pisa).   By these means, student associations could blackmail city authorities who did not want to lose business brought by the rich students. In the course of the 13th C., the students and the city struggled for control of the professors' salaries, the city eventually winning out. By 1350, civil authorities were paying all professor salaries out of communal taxes, and thus acquired the power to keep the university in place, and thereby control, regulate and enforce practically everything about it (appointments, curriculum, etc.).   Although Bologna would add other faculties, law remained its principal strength and Bologna was the preeminent Law School of Medieval Europe.  A Studium generale by strength of reputation, Bologna did not bother to apply for a papal charter.  Its statutes got its first papal confirmation in 1253. [R]
c.1150 Paris Spontaneous France
 
Origins obscure. Many separate schools existed in Paris already by the late 11th C.  Cradle of the University of Paris were three schools: those of the Palais Royal, the Notre Dame cathedral and the abbey of Sainte-Geneviève (to which is often added the school of the abbey of Saint-Victor, where Pierre Abelard taught in the early 1100s).  The triple-cradle schools were organized around 1150 into a Parisian guild of masters and students (''universitas magistrorum et scholarium Parisensis''). Royal charter was granted by Philip II Augustus of France in 1200, confirmed by Pope Innocent III in 1215, although it was really the Parens scientiarum bull of Pope Gregory IX (1231), two years after a famous student strike of 1229, that gave the university its independence and constitutional structure. Its most famous college, the Sorbonne, was started as a residence in 1257. Logic and theology was the principal strength of Paris and although it would spawn worthy rivals (most famously, Oxford), the University of Paris remained the preeminent Theology School in Medieval Europe and ground zero of Medieval Scholasticism. [R]
1167 Oxford Migration England   Although studying of some sort is reported already in the 11th C., and local legend proclaims Alfred of Wessex as its founder c.886,  the common founding date is considered to be 1167, when English masters and students were expelled from Paris in the course of a political quarrel, and re-gathered at Oxford.   Oxford narrowly survived the 1539 dissolution of the monasteries by subjecting itself to royal reorganization. The 1571 Elizabethan act of incorporation gave it its first formal charter.  Oldest constituent college still in existence is University College, founded by in 1249, although St. Edmund's Hall (f.1236, but not a college) challenges that title.  Balliol (f.1263) and Merton (f.1264) also lay claim [Rasdhall v.2, pt.2
 before 1181 Montpellier Spontaneous France Lord, 1181;
Papal, 1289
Second oldest in France. Law school founded here by Bologna glosser Placentinus c. 1160. Initially lured to Mantua, Placentinus proceeded to Montpellier. The existence of a Medical School (possibly started as an outpost of Salerno, which it would eventually rival) is confirmed  in a charter in 1181 from William VIII, Lord of Montpellier authorizing anyone to teach medicine here, and was given formal statutes by Cardinal Conrad von Urach in 1220. Received papal charter with bull Quia Sapientia  from Pope Nicholas IV in 1289 (one of the first elevations with jus ubique docendi explicitly stated), formally uniting the two schools with a faculty of theology raised from the local cathedral school (where St. Anthony of Padua taught, c.1220).  Although Montpellier's law school was eventually eclipsed by Orleans and Toulouse, it remained unchallenged as the pre-eminent medical school in France.  It was partitioned into three universities in 1968.[R]
c.1182 [Modena] (disputed) Spontaneous Italy   Founded by Bologna jurist Pillius.  There are already existed an old 9th C. Carolingian School of Rhetoric here.  Although Modena is often claimed to be a Studium Generale, this is not accepted by all historians (e.g. Rashdall  (v.2, p.5-6) acknowledges the existence of a school in Modena in this period, but does not find evidence of graduation).  The post-Medieval University of Modena was chartered in 1683 by Francesco II d'Este, Duke of Modena.
1188 [Reggio] Migration Italy   Founded by uncertain migration of students from somewhere (probably Bologna), led by teacher Jacopo da Mandra, lured by the communal authorities of Reggio-in-Emilia.  Referred to as Studium Generale by 1210, but gradually deprecated and defunct by the 15th C.  A post-Medieval University of Reggio was re-founded in 1752 by Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena, but by 1772, it was forbidden to grant degrees and relegated to a lyceum.  In 1998 a new university of Reggio was founded, as a branch of Modena, now rebranded as the "University of Modena and Reggio Emilia". [R]
1204 [Vicenza] Migration Italy   The establishment of a Carolingian Law School in Vicenza was ordered already by Lothair I's 825 Capitulary of Corteolona.  First university founded by definitive migration ("secession") of students from Bologna.  Promptly recognized as a Studium Generale, but very short-lived.  Defunct by 1209.  There were attempts to revive it later in the early 1400s - a petition was submitted to (anti-)Pope John XXIII, but to no avail.  [R]
1209 Cambridge Migration England Royal, 1291
Papal, 1318
Founded by migration ("secession") of students from Oxford in 1209 after a town-versus-gown quarrel.  Recognized as SG by 1229, it was granted a royal charter by Edward I in 1291 and papal bull Inter Singula by Pope John XXII  in 1318. Oldest constituent college still in existence, Peterhouse (orig. St. Peter's College), was founded by the Bishop of Ely in 1284.[Rashdall, vol. 2.2]
1212 [Palencia] Royal charter Castile
(Spain)
Royal, 1212
Papal, 1263
First university founded by royal charter, issued 1212 or 1214 by Alfonso VIII of Castile, at instigation of Bishop Tello Tellez de Menezes of Palencia. Charter invites foreign teachers and offers royal salaries, endowed with share of royal tithes.  Elevated from a prior existing cathedral school (where St. Dominic had studied c.1184).  But unable to compete with rising Salamanca and Valladolid, and basically extinct by 1250.  Granted papal charter 1263 in effort to revive it, but apparently to no avail.[R]
1215 [Arezzo] Migration Italy Imperial, 1355 Founded by migration of masters (not students) from Bologna, led by Roffredo di Benevento. University statutes date from 1255. Dwindled afterwards, but received influx of Bologna students in 1338 after a papal interdict. Received imperial charter from Emperor Charles IV in 1355, but began declining again.  Attempts to revive in the early 15th C. did not go far, and was defunct shortly after.  The modern University of Siena opened a branch in Arezzo in 1969.  [R]
1222 Padua Migration Italy Papal, 1346 Arguably Bologna's keenest rival. Teaching already recorded in the 12th C., firmly founded by migration ("secession") of students from Bologna in 1222 after a town-versus-gown quarrel over professor salaries. Sufficiently populous to spawn its own student colony in Vercelli (1228).  Depopulated by the depredations of Ezzelino da Romano, it was revived in 1262 by a new influx of students from Bologna and organization into two nations (Citramontane, Ultramontane), approved by papal bull in 1264.  A recognized Studium Generale by custom,  Padua's SG privileges were confirmed in a 1346 papal bull by Pope Clement V. It received further influxes from Bologna in the 1306 and 1321, and struggled for a while to maintain an independent identity rather than simply Bologna-in-exile.  First college was the Collegium Tornacense (1363). After a period under the lordship of the Carrara family (f.1322), Padua was annexed by the Republic of Venice in 1404, and the university became a flagship for the republic, which presided over its growth. Venetian citizens were forbidden to study elsewhere, while Venetian tolerance and protection from papal reaction attracted many foreign students. [R]
1224 Naples Imperial charter Italy Imperial, 1224, 1258 The University of Naples was the first university founded by imperial charter - indeed, Palencia aside, the first university with any charter (the pope had not yet begun handing out his own charters yet).  It was erected in 1224 by Emperor Frederick II to raise a stable of bureaucrats, jurists and clerics for his dominions and the Ghibelline cause (the emperor was deeply at odds with Guelf Bologna).  Naples was probably also the first Studium Generale to be built from scratch, rather than upon a pre-existing school.  That meant severe growing problems. Lack of academic tradition implied difficulty attracting students (St. Thomas Aquinas was one of the few).  It also had to compete with the well-established school of nearby Salerno, and for a brief spell, the entire university of Naples was shut down and moved to Salerno.  It was only with the  the university's "second founding" in 1258, and the careful doting of the new Angevin rulers of Naples (who arrived in 1266), did the university begin to get traction. However, it did not have independence -  until 1497, the university was under the superintendence of a royal high official in the Neapolitan court, and diplomas handed out in the king's name.  As a creature of the State, it played little role in the Scholastic era.  [R]
1228 [Vercellli] Migration Italy   Founded by migration of students from Padua (not Bologna) in 1228, who negotiated better terms from the Vercelli city authorities.  Despite its initial sizeable influx, it dwindled with time, and was defunct by the late 14th. [R]
c.1229 Angers Migration France royal, 1364 Old cathedral school, taught by masters from Chartres in early 11th C., which may have formed kernel.  Angers obtained influx from the Parisian exodus of 1229 (Anjou outside jurisdiction of King of France).  Law school developed here thereafter, almost as famous as Orleans. Firmly under control of Bishop of Angers, referred to as Studium Generale by 1337.  Never got papal bull and only finally got royal charter in 1364 from Charles V, but long recognized as SG by custom. Diocesal statutes in 1373, Angers students revolt against diocesal control in 1389 and appeal to the Parlement. With Parlementary mediation, Angers reorganized 1398 along lines of Orleans.  Law school only until 1432, when Arts and Theology established by bull of Pope Eugenius IV. Powers of students reduced in 1494.  [R]
ante 1230 Salamanca Royal charter Leon
(Spain)
royal, 1242
papal, 1255
Founded c. 1220 by Alfonso VIII of Leon before his death in 1230. Uncertain how, no known charter. "Re-founded" by Ferdinand III of Castile-Leon in 1242 with new charter.  Ascension presided over by Alfonso X the Wise, who expand privileges and royal patronage in 1254 charter, confirmed by 1255 papal bull of Alexander IV (which recognizes that SG already exists, and merely confirms royal privileges, not upgrades them)  Studium schools formally remained under cathedral authority, whose powers were greater than elsewhere, and no autonomous powers given to guilds of masters and students (masters guild limited  to assist bishop & chancellor in examinations and inceptions).  Diplomas handed out in the name of both king and pope.  Secularized 1845.  [Alfonso X's 1263 "code" of Siete Partidas" contains first explicit definition of SG:
- Particular: with one master, est. by town council or prelate
- General: separate master for each seven arts (at minimum Grammar, Logic and Rhetoric), plus one master of laws and one master of decrees, AND can only be established by Pope, Emperor or King, and salaries fixed by latter.(insistence on king unusual - he cannot give jus ubique docendi)
- 1263 act recognizes existence of university as autonomous, defines it as union of professors and students, who elect Rector; also notes it is an exception to regulations against guilds. Rector enforces punishment, and if not, then criminal offenses are province of king, civil offenses of bishop.
- Civil law more prominent, outshine theology. Doctors of Civil Law are deemed "Caballeros", entitled to sit on the bench in any court, and attains rank of "Count" after 20 years service.
- Alfonso X provide 2500 maravedis annually for salaries.
- First to give Music degrees. [R]
ante 1231 Orleans Migration France papal, 1306 Existence of a Carolingian school of law c.830, and a school of letters (grammar, rhetoric) in 12th C., but continuity unclear. Orleans was destination of students expelled from Paris in 1229.  Erection of School of Law at Orleans definitely by 1235, quickly becoming most prominent French university for civil and canon law (civil law was forbidden in Paris since 1219) and SG by custom. Statutes in place c.1288, controlled by Bishop of Orleans in 1301, bull obtained 1306 from Pope Clement V (based on Toulouse) limiting jurisdiction of diocese over the university.  Town vs. gown quarrel in 1309 decided in favor of town by king Philip IV in 1312, who stripped them of their university rights. University defected en masse to Nevers in 1316 (Duchy of Burgundy). Philip V imposed compromise on town in 1320, and scholars returned to Orleans.  Flourished thereafter, however, no evidence of any other colleges in Orleans during the Middle Ages, only a law school down to 1440s.  [R]
1230/33 Toulouse Papal charter France Papal, 1233, 1245 This is the first university created by papal charter.  Idea long-promoted by Pope Honorius III to bring Catholic theologians into the heart of Albigensian Languedoc.  Became feasible after dispersal of Paris in 1229. In peace treaty of early 1230 between count Raymond of Toulouse and Louis IX, Raymond promised to fund fourteen professorships, and initial schools probably set up by the Parisian exiles, particularly Dominicans, like grammarian John of Garland and theologian Roland of Cremona, with assistance from papal legate.  So Toulouse really established as a school by migration - even if the migration was "managed from above".  But the opposition of the heretical city authorities, Raymond's refusal to meet salary obligations and the imminent resolution of the Paris conflict, endangered the continuation of Toulouse's schools. This prompted Pope Gregory IX to issue a papal bull for Toulouse in 1233, granting jus ubique docendi rights, dispensation from residence, and similar privileges and immunities of Paris.  Success was only really achieved after 1239, when excommunication forced Raymond to cough up the promised salaries and the city authorities were brought into obedience after a rough inquisition. A new papal bull in 1245 by Innocent IV confirmed the charter. Through its first century, Toulouse was primarily a School of Law - the Orleans of the South. Although the teaching of Aristolean philosophy had been permitted from the outset, and it was implicitly authorized to grant theology degrees, Toulouse refrained from doing so, leaving Paris with a monopoly on theology for a while. Toulouse only organized a theology faculty and began granting theology degrees after a 1360 bull of Innocent VI (himself a Toulouse graduate).  Toulouse gradually emerged as a rival to Paris in theology during the Great Schism, when it stood steadfastly by the pope in opposing Gallicanism.  [R]
1244/45 Curia Romana Papal charter Italy Papal, 1244/5 In 1244-45, Pope Innocence IV issued a bull creating the Studium Romanae Curiae (University of the Roman Court), endowing it with the privileges of a Studium Generale,  essentially with the idea that the papal court needed its own school of Civil and Canon Law separate from Bologna. Masters in its small theological faculty were necessarily regulars, usually Dominicans, a condition harking back to Honorius III's Masters of the Sacred College.  It was governed by a College of Doctors, directly under the pope. Residency requirements were usually dispensed with, and degrees granted by papal bull. As they carried the right to teach anywhere with minimal effort, degrees from the Roman Court were often a source of ecclesiastical patronage.   It is commonly asserted this university is distinct, and prior to, the Studium Romanae Urbis (University of the City of Rome - La Sapienza), whose founding is usually dated 1303.  According to some historians (e.g. Rashdall), the Roman Court school was was an unusual, migratory Studium Generale, its teachers moved with the pope's person. So the Roman Court school moved with the Pope to Avignon, and then back to Rome on his return later, and that it existed alongside, but separate, from the proper universities of both Rome and Avignon.  However, other historians have doubted they it was that distinct. As there is little evidence of any teaching going on, some historians have argued the Roman Court university was nothing more than a degree-granting institution. Others have gone further, and suggested it is just an early name for the Sapienza university in Rome, that the two studia, Romanae Curiae and Romanae Urbis, refer to the same university, and thus the Sapienza's founding should be backdated to 1244/45. (e.g. Grendler, 2011: p.56)  However it is partitioned, it does seem the Roman Court school did merge with the Roman City school in the course of the 15th C.  and disappeared as a separate institution. [R, Gymnasio Romano, D]
1246 Siena Migration Italy Imperial, 1357;
Papal, 1408
Migration of students from Bologna in 1246, lured by Siena city authorities. In 1252, Pope Innocent IV appointed bishop of the Siena as conservator of the students.  But students gone back to Bologna by 1275, when civil resolution passed to revive it, but probably didn't go anywhere.  In 1321, Bologna exiles in Imola were lured to Siena by Sienese agents, but gone again after crisis resolved.  In 1338, Bologna interdict allowed Siena to get a serious influx, but unable to get a papal charter (essential by now).  Siena finally obtained an imperial charter from Emperor Charles IV in 1357 declaring a Studium Generale de novo, that had fallen on hard times.  Papal charter granted 1408 by Pope Gregory XII.   [R]
1248 [Piacenza] Papal charter Italy Papal, 1248 First Italian town school elevated to a Studium generale.  Placentinus (of Montpellier) moved to Piacenza in late life and founded law school.  Town applied for charter from Pope Innocent IV to elevate his Studium particular to Studium generale in 1248 (first such application) [first school not designed to advance papal/imperial agenda to be given bull;  granted "privileges of Paris", implying jus ubique but not explicit]. Despite that,  not much success until  Gian Galeazzo Visconti suppressed Pavia in 1398 and made Piacenza the sole university of the Duchy of Milan.  Despite lavish attentions, experiment failed and later Visconti transferred university back to Pavia in 1414. Piacenza lingered on a little longer, essentially as a cheap degree-mill. [R]
c.1250 Valladolid (Papal in 1260)     Foundation obscure, as there are hardly any records before 14th C. A town school in Valladolid (no bishop) existed for some time, although probably not very important (goes unmentioned while Palencia continues to be doted upon by Castilian kings until the mid-13th).  But by 1293 Valladolid is spoken of as significant (foundation of Alcala in 1293 with "privileges of Valladolid"), so Rasdhall estimates sometime in mid-13th.  In 1304, Ferdinand IV refers to Valladolid as an existing SG and grants it significant subsidy.  But Pope Clement VI refers to is a studium particular and elevates it to SG only in bull of 1346.  [R]
1254 Seville Royal charter   Royal, 1254
Papal, 1260
Studium in Seville for the study of Arabic works was already in operation by 1250.  Alfonso X the Wise granted a charter to Seville in 1254, similar to that of Salamanca.  1260 bull of Pope Alexander IV confirm Seville's status as Studium Generale. Subsequent history obscure, unclear if even existed.  [R]
1290 Lisbon-Coimbra Papal charter Portugal Papal, 1290 Founded in Lisbon 1290 by Denis of Portugal, and granted papal charter by Pope Nicholas IV that same year. Originally three faculties (Law, Arts, Medicine, but no Theology until 1388).  Moved to Coimbra in 1308, returned to Lisbon in 1338, back to Coimbra 1354, again to Lisbon 1377 and finally back to Coimbra permanently in 1537. [R]
1303 Rome (Studium Urbis - Sapienza) Papal charter Italy Papal,1303 Founded by 1303 bull Supremae praeminentia Dignitatis by Pope Boniface VIII (with many privileges, but surprisingly jus ubique not mentioned). Practically evaporated during Great Schism.  Effectively refounded in 1431 by Pope Eugenius IV, assigning wine tax for its maintenance. The Curiae and Urbis universities were merged  during the papacy of Leo X, and established in a building known as "La Sapienza".  Not very important in Middle Ages.[R]
1303 Avignon Papal charter   Papal, 1303 [R]
1308 Perugia Spontaneous/
Papal charter
Italy Papal, 1308;
Imperial, 1355.
Perugia repeatedly hired professors to teach law (e.g. 1276), and a universitas of students already existed by 1308, when it received its first papal bull from Pope Clement V granting SG privileges.  New bull of 1318 from Pope John XXII allowed promotion to doctors of law, that of 1321 promotion of medicine and arts.  Got imperial charter in 1355 to reinforce it.  Enjoyed great fame after luring jurist Jacobus de Belviso in 1316, who in turn lured other civil and canon jurists, putting Perugia's law schools for a while on par with Bologna and Padua.  Theology college (Collegium Gregorianum), founded 1362,  became arguably the most prominent theology college in Italy at the time (although that is not saying much, since theology was largely ignored in Italian universities).  1457 statutes merged Citramontane (Rome, Tuscany, Marche, Sicily)  and Ultramontane (France, Germany, Catalonia) into one university, and merged Arts and Medicine into one college.  [R]
1318 [Treviso] Imperial charter Italy Imperial, 1318 Had an early Studium, revived by city authorities in 1267 after the fall of Ezzelino.  City went on hiring spree in 1314 and applied for papal bull, but didn't get one, so instead got an imperial charter in 1318 from anti-king Frederick I Hapsburg, Duke of Austria. University remained small, got a lift after Treviso was annexed by the Republic of Venice in 1339, but doomed when Venice also acquired Padua, and issued edict in 1407 forbidding Venetian citizens from studying anywhere but Padua. [R]
1332 Cahors Papal charter     [R]
1339 Grenoble Papal charter     [R]
1340 Perpignan Papal charter Aragon
(Spain)
  [R]
1343 Pisa Papal charter Italy Papal,1343 Notable school existed here since late 12th C., expanded greatly with the 1338 exodus from Bologna. Pisa acquired SG privileges in 1343 bull In supremae dignitates of Pope Clement VI.  Proposition to redirect ecclesiastical revenues from diocese to pay for studium (common in Spain, unheard of in Italy) was refused by Pope Benedict XII, although Sixtus IV authorized a tax on clergy to support it.   Black Death dealt a huge blow in 1348, and the university was suspended after the Florentine conquest of Pisa in 1406.  In 1472, Lorenzo de Medici shut down the university in Florence and designated Pisa as the sole university of Tuscany. Grew rapidly after that. The Medici donated Pisa's grain exchange (Piazza del Grano) to erect Pisa's palatial Sapienza building for the university in 1492.    [R]
1347-48 Prague Papal charter Bohemia
(Germany)
  [R]
1349 Florence Papal charter Italy Papal, 1349;
Imperial, 1364
No trace of any old schools in Florence.  First attempt to erect a studium was in 1321, when Florentine agents were dispatched to lure exiled Bologna students (then camping in Imola) to relocate to Florence, but Sienese agents had reached them first, so only a few came.  Jealousy of Pisa provoked Florentine authorities to try again - Pope Clement VI granted Florence a SG bull for all faculties in 1349, 2500 florins were set aside to for expenses, and  a few big name professors,  like Baldus and Angelus di Perugia, were lured.  Nonetheless they soon went elsewhere, and the university failed to take root.   Florentine authorities issued law forbidding Florentine students from studying elsewhere, obtained a reinforcing imperial charter from Emperor Charles IV in 1364, established Europe's first chair of poetry (first held by Boccaccio, 1373) and first professorship of Greek (1396).  In 1429, it set up a "domus sapientiae" for poor students.  Pope Martin V approved a tax on ecclesiastical property to benefit the studium.  Nonetheless all these measures failed - probably because living costs in Renaissance Florence were simply too unaffordable for students.  The law school died out by the mid-15th C, and in 1472, Lorenzo de Medici finally put an end to the experiment, designating Pisa the only university in Tuscany. [R]
1359 Huesca Royal charter     [R]
1361 Pavia Imperial charter Italy Imperial, 1361;
Papal, 1389
A Studium of Rhetoric (proto-Law School) attached to the royal Lombard palace in Pavia had already existed since the time of Lothair I (mentioned 825). Pavia became a notable center of Civil and Canon Law in the 11th C., but faded in the 12th C. as Bologna rose. Communal authorities of Pavia resurrected the law school to new heights in the early 14th C., but it was only formally chartered as a Studium Generale in 1361 by Emperor Charles IV (at the request of Galeazzo II Visconti) and, as a result, Pavia is commonly relegated to being founded after Bologna  (Pope Boniface IX gave Pavia a papal charter in 1389, which ignores the existence of the prior imperial charter).  In conjunction with the charter, in 1361, Galeazzo II Visconti forbade Milanese students from studying anywhere else.  This was reversed by Gian Galeazzo, who suppressed Pavia in 1398 in favor of Piacenza.  After death of Gian Galeazzo in 1402, Piacenza began to wither and Pavia was revived in 1412 by Filippo Maria Visconti. By 1421, it was fully operational and flourishing again. [R]
1364/97 Cracow ?, Papal charter 1397     [R]
1365 Vienna Papal charter     [R]
1365 Orange Imperial charter     [R]
1367 Pécs Papal charter   of Hungary [R]
1385 Heidelberg Papal charter     [R]
1388 [Cologne] Imperial charter     defunct 1798. [R]
1389 Buda Papal charter   of Hungary [R]
1391 Ferrara Papal charter Italy Papal, 1391 Ferrara had schools in law and medicine by c.1250, but it only became a Studium Generale in 1391, when Alberto d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara-Modena, requested a papal charter from Pope Boniface IX.  The marquis saddled the city of Ferrara with responsibility for paying expensively-promised professor salaries, which it was unable to afford.  Attempt to resurrect it in 1402 failed.  Real resurrection began in 1430, on the initiative of the Ferrara city government, who lured Bologna humanist John de Finotis to secede (with students) to Ferrara.  More lures and an elaborate reformation in 1442 turned it into a flourishing SG, albeit one with a reputation for "cheap degrees", the refuge of the destitute.   Governing council of reformatores were appointed partly by the Duke, partly by the city.[R]
1392 [Erfurt] 1379,
(Papal charter 1392)
    defunct 1816. [R]
??? (formally, only 1582) Würzburg       [R]
1405 Turin Papal charter Italy Papal, 1405;
Imperial, 1412;
Papal, 1413
Founded  in 1405 by Louis of Savoy, Count of Piedmont, Prince of Achaia, with a papal charter from Pope Benedict XIII. Seeking to profit from the disorders during the break-up of the Milanese empire of Gian Galeazzo, which had kept students away, Turin set itself up as peaceful haven, hiring unemployed professors from Pavia and Piacenza.  It receive an imperial charter (which included theology) in 1412 from Emperor Sigismund, and another papal charter from anti-Pope John XXIII in1413.  University went into decline after death of Louis of Savoy in 1418, and by 1421 had de facto transferred to Chieri, formally so in 1427.  Moved to Saviliano in 1434, then back to Turin in 1436, with another charter by Duke Amadeus VIII of Savoy.  Duke appointed entire board of reformatores, and assign 2,000 florins from the salt tax, while city of Turin committed 500 florins.  The Collegio Grassi, a sapienza for poor scholars, was founded in 1457; another by Sixtus IV in 1482.  Turin was never a leading university in the Middle Ages, but improved in reputation in the late 15th C.   [R]
1409 Aix Papal Charter     [R]
1409 Leipzig Migration
(Papal Charter, 1409)
    migration from Prague during Hussite troubles.  [R]
1413 St. Andrews Papal charter Scotland   First Scottish university, founded by Henry Wardlaw, Bishop of St. Andrews, who incorporates school in Feb. 1411, with consent from Edinburgh Parliament. St. Andrews obtains bull from Pisa Antipope Benedict XIII in 1413.  Receives royal confirmation from James I of Scotland only in 1432. [R], [Wr1, Wr2
1419 Rostock Papal charter     [R]
1422 Dole Papal charter     [R]
1425 Louvain Papal charter     [R]
1431 Poitiers Migration
(Papal charter)
    [R]
1437 Caen Papal charter     [R]
1441 Bordeaux Papal charter     [R]
1444 Catania Papal charter Sicily papal, 1444,
royal, 1444
Catania petitioned  Alfonso V of Aragon-Sicily in 1434. Got papal bull in 1444 from Pope Eugenius IV. Published with simultaneous royal edict erecting it. King granting 1500 ducats. Had some growing pains and had to be reformed several times. [R]
1450 Barcelona Papal charter     [R]
1450 Glasgow Papal charter Scotland   Second Scottish university, founded by William Turnbull, Bishop of Glasgow in 1450, with a bull from Pope Nicholas V on student-centered Bologna model. It will come into operation in 1453, with additional charter of privileges granted by James II of Scotland.  Earliest extant statutes in 1482.  Granted new erection as protestant university by James VI in 1577. [R],  [Wr1, Wr2]
1455/56 Greifswald Migration 1428
Papal charter 1455 (or 1456)
    [R]
1455/56/57 Freiburg Papal charter     [R]
1459 Valence Papal charter     [R]
1459/60 Basel Papal charter     Oldest in Switzerland. [R]
1454/1473/72 [Trier] Migration/Papal charter (73/72)     Defunct 1798. [R]
1459/1472 [Ingolstadt] Migration
(Papal charter 1472)
    moved to Landshut 1800, then Munich 1826. [R]
1460 Nantes Papal charter     [R]
1464 Bourges Papal charter     [R]
1465-67 Pressburg Papal charter     [R]
1474 Saragossa Papal charter     [R]
1476 (or 1477) [Mainz] Papal charter     defunct 1790. [R]
1477 Tübingen Papal charter     [R]
1477 Uppsala Papal charter     [R]
1483 Palma (Majorca) Royal charter     [R]
1482 (??? Avila) Royal charter     [R]
1485 (Besancon???) Papal charter     [R]
1489 Siguenza Papal charter     [R]
1494 Aberdeen Papal charter Scotland   Third Scottish university, founded by William Elphinston, Bishop of Aberdeen, on power-sharing model of Orleans, with missionary objective to educate the clergy of the Scottish Highlands. Granted papal charter by Pope Alexander VI in 1494 (pub. Feb 1497)  Royal charter confirming privileges granted by James IV of Scotland in 1494.  Comes into existence by 1500, with first college King's College, established in 1505. [R], [Wr1, Wr2]
1499 Alcala Papal  check charter     [R]
1500 Valencia Papal charter     [R]
1502 [Wittenberg]       annexed by Halle 1817. [R]
1506 [Frankfurt-am-Oder] Papal charter     annexed by Breslau 1811. [R]
           


 


 

  


 
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Resources on Medieval Universities

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