Средневековые европейские университеты

Medieval European Universities

The list of medieval universities comprises universities (more precisely, studia generalia) which existed in Europe during the Middle Ages. It also includes short lived foundations and European educational institutions whose university status is a matter of debate. The degree awarding university with its corporate organization and relative autonomy is a product of medieval Christian Europe.

The list is sorted by the date of recognition. At places where more than one university was established, the name of the institution is given in brackets. Ranking Year Name Contemporaneous location Current location Notes 1 C. 1088 (1158 charter granted) University of Bologna Kingdom of Italy (Holy Roman Empire) Bologna, Italy The first university in the sense of a higher learning, degree awarding institute, the word universitas having been coined at its foundation. Teaching there started much earlier since, for example, Gerard Sagredo, who was born in AD 980, learnt liberal arts there; by that time, the town already had a corporation of legis doctores and causidici which places its founding before that. The faculty and nation system of the University of Paris (along with that of the University of Bologna) became the model for all later medieval universities. The University of Paris was known as a universitas magistrorum et scholarium (a guild of teachers and scholars), by contrast with the Bolognese universitas scholarium. The university had four faculties: Arts, Medicine, Law, and Theology. The Faculty of Arts was the lowest in rank, but also the largest as students had to graduate there to be admitted to one of the higher faculties. The students were divided into four nationes according to language or regional origin: France, Normandy, Picardy, and England. The last came to be known as the Alemannian (German) nation. Recruitment to each nation was wider than the names might imply: the English German nation included students from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. 3 1096–1167 (1248 charter granted) University of Oxford Kingdom of England Oxford, United Kingdom "Claimed to be the oldest university in the English speaking world, there is no clear date of foundation of Oxford University, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris." Teaching suspended in 1209 (owing to the town execution of two scholars) and 1355 (owing to the St Scholastica riot), but was continuous during the English Civil War (1642–1651)—the university was Royalist. All Souls College and University College have repeatedly claimed that they own documents proving that teaching in Oxford started in the year 825, but these documents have never been produced (allegedly, John Speed dated his famous 1605 Oxford maps based on these documents). However, it was not until 1254 that Pope Innocent IV granted to Oxford the university charter by papal bull ("Querentes in agro"). 4 1204 University of Vicenza Commune of Vicenza Vicenza, Italy Laical studium generale, it was closed early, in 1209.5 1209 (1231 charter granted) University of Cambridge Kingdom of England Cambridge, United Kingdom Founded by scholars leaving Oxford after a dispute caused by the execution of two scholars in 1209, and royal charter was granted in 1231. The university takes 1209 as its official anniversary. 6 1212 University of Palencia Kingdom of León Palencia, Spain It was the oldest Studium Generale in the Iberian Peninsula. It disappeared c. 1264, and its remains transferred to University of Valladolid. 7 1218 (probably older) University of Salamanca Kingdom of León Salamanca, Spain It is the oldest university in operation in the Hispanic world. Although there are records of the university granting degrees many years before (James Trager's People's Chronology sets its foundation date in 1134), it received the royal chart of foundation as "Estudio General" only in 1218, making it possibly the fourth or even the third oldest European university in continuous operations. However, it was the first European university to receive the title of "university" as such, granted by king of Castile and León, Alfonso X, and the Pope in 1254. Having been excluded from the university in 1852 by the Spanish government, the Faculties of Theology and Canon Law became the Pontifical University of Salamanca in 1940. 8 1222 (probably older) University of Padua Commune of Padua Padua, Italy Founded by scholars and professors after leaving Bologna. 9 1224 University of Naples Federico II Kingdom of Sicily Naples, Italy The first public university, founded by Frederick II, king of the Kingdom of Sicily. 10 1229 University of Toulouse County of Toulouse Toulouse, France Founded by Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, as a consequence of the Treaty of Paris (1229) ending the Albigensian Crusade against Catharism. The treaty marks an unofficial end to the political autonomy of the County of Toulouse, and because he was suspected of sympathizing with the heretics, Raymond VII was forced to finance the teaching of theology as a means to dissolve the heretic movement. As a consequence, the teaching was done by members of the Dominican Order, which was founded by Saint Dominic in Toulouse in 1216 to oppose heresy. 11 1235 (1306) University of Orléans Orléans, Duchy of Orléans, Orléanais, Kingdom of France Orléans, France In 1219, Pope Honorius III forbade the teaching of Roman Law in the University of Paris. Then, a number of teachers and disciples took refuge in Orléans. In 1235 Pope Gregory IX, in a bull, affirmed that teaching Roman Law was not forbidden in Orléans. Later, Pope Boniface VIII, in 1298, promulgated the sixth book of the Decretals, he appointed the doctors of Bologna and the doctors of Orléans to comment upon it. Pope Clement V also studied law and letters in Orléans and, by a papal bull published at Lyon, 27 January 1306, he endowed the Orléans institutes with the title and privileges of a university. 12 1240 University of Siena Republic of Siena Siena, Italy Originally called Studium Senese, was founded by Commune of Siena in 1240. In 1321, the studium was able to attract a larger number or pupils owing to a mass exodus from the prestigious University of Bologna. Closed temporarily in 1808–1815 when Napoleonic forces occupied Tuscany. On 7 November 1990 the university celebrated its 750th anniversary. 13 1241 University of Valladolid Kingdom of Castile Valladolid, Spain One hypothesis is that its foundation is the result of the transfer of Palencia's studium generale between 1208 and 1241 by Alfonso VIII, king of Castile, and Bishop Tello Téllez de Meneses. 14 1261 University of Northampton Kingdom of England Northampton The University of Northampton was founded in 1261 by King Henry III. Abolished in 1265.15 1262 College of the Valley Scholars Kingdom of England Salisbury The College was founded in 1262 by Giles of Bridport, Bishop of Salisbury, and dissolved in 1542. 16 1272 University of Murcia Crown of Castile Murcia, Spain The University of Murcia was founded in 1272 by King Alfonso X of Castile. It had no continuity after the 14th century, until it was refounded in 1915. 17 1220
(1289) University of Montpellier Lordship of Montpellier, Kingdom of Majorca Montpellier, France A bull issued by Pope Nicholas IV in 1289, combined all the long existing schools, since 1160, into a university. The first statutes were given by Conrad of Urach in 1220. 18 1290 University of Macerata Papal States Macerata, Italy The University of Macerata (Italian: Università degli Studi di Macerata) was founded in 1290, organized into seven faculties. 19 1290 University of Coimbra Kingdom of Portugal Coimbra, Portugal Began its existence in Lisbon with the name Studium Generale (Portuguese: Estudo Geral). Scientiae thesaurus mirabilis, the royal charter announcing the institution of the university, was dated 1 March of that year, although efforts had been made at least since 1288 to create this first university in Portugal. The papal confirmation was also given in 1290 (on 9 August of that year), during the papacy of Pope Nicholas IV. 20 1293 University of Alcalá Crown of Castile Alcalá de Henares, Spain The University of Alcalá was founded by King Sancho IV of Castile as Studium Generale in 1293 in Alcalá de Henares. It was granted university status in a papal bull in 1499, and quickly gained international fame thanks to the patronage of Cardinal Cisneros and the production of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible in 1517, which is the basis for most of the current translations. The university moved to Madrid in 1836 by royal decree. The Moyano Law of 1857 established Complutense as the sole university in Spain authorized to confer the title of doctor on any scholar. This law remained in effect until 1969. 21 1300 University of Lleida Principality of Catalonia Lleida, Spain Founded in 1300 as Estudi General, after a 1297 granting papal bull. It was closed down in 1717 along with the banning of the rest of Catalan universities and the original political institutions of Catalonia. Refounded on 12 December 1991. 22 1303 La Sapienza University of Rome Papal States Rome, Italy Founded by Pope Boniface VIII, but became a state university in 1935. According to the Catholic Encyclopaedia, the university "remained closed during the entire pontificate of Clement VII". 23 1308 University of Perugia Papal States Perugia, Italy Attested by the Bull of Pope Clement V. On 19 May 1355, the Emperor Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor issued a bull confirming the papal erection and raising it to the rank of an imperial university. 24 1320 University of Dublin Lordship of Ireland Dublin, Ireland Papal brief granted by Pope Clement V in 1311 to John de Leche, Archbishop of Dublin, but it was not acted on until his successor, Alexander de Bicknor, issued an instrument establishing the university in 1320. The university had power to confer degrees, and three doctors of theology were appointed. It was based at St Patrick's Cathedral. The university struggled to attract benefactors and disappeared at the time of the Reformation (1530s). It has no relation to the current University of Dublin, which was founded in 1592. 25 1321 University of Florence Republic of Florence Florence, Italy The University of Florence evolved from the Studium Generale established by the Florentine Republic in 1321. The studium was recognized by Pope Clement VI in 1349. 26 1336 University of Camerino Papal States Camerino, Italy The great poet and jurist Cino da Pistoia, living in Marche in the years 1319–1321, and in Camerino in the spring of 1321, remembers the territory blooming with juridical schools. Camerino had been a center of learning since no later than 1200, offering degrees in civil law, canonical law, medicine, and literary studies. Gregory XI took the decision upon the request of Gentile III da Varano with the papal edict of 29 January 1377, directed to the commune and to the people, authorizing Camerino to confer (after appropriate examination) bachelor and doctoral degrees with apostolic authority. 27 1339 University of Grenoble Dauphiné Grenoble, FranceThe university was founded in 1339 by Dauphin Humbert II of Viennois and Pope Benedict XII to teach civil and canon law, medicine, and the liberal arts. 28 1343 University of Pisa Republic of Pisa Pisa, Italy It was formally founded on 3 September 1343, by an edict of Pope Clement VI, although there had been lectures on law in Pisa since the 11th century. Today it is one of the most important universities in Italy. 29 1348 Charles University of Prague Kingdom of Bohemia Prague, Czech Republic Three of four faculties closed in 1419, joined with Jesuit university and renamed Charles Ferdinand University in 1652, split into German and Czech parts in 1882. The Czech branch temporarily closed during the Nazi occupation (1939–1945), and the German branch definitively closed in 1945. 30 1349 University of Perpignan Principality of Catalonia Perpignan, France Founded in 1349 by Peter IV of Aragon, it was closed in 1794. Refounded in 1971, and in 1979 as independent university with the name Université de Perpignan Via Domicia. 31 1356 University of Angers Charles V of France Angers, France Founded in 1356, closed down in 1793, and re established in 1971. By 1080, the Studium or the School of Angers was already a renowned scholarly institution. It received the title "university" in 1356, and in 1364, Charles V granted the university its autonomy and privileges. 32 1361 University of Pavia House of Visconti Pavia, Italy Closed for short periods during the Italian Wars, Napoleonic wars, and Revolutions of 1848. 33 1364 Jagiellonian University Kingdom of Poland Kraków, Poland Founded by Casimir the Great under the name Studium Generale, it was commonly referred to as the Kraków Academy. The institution's development stalled upon the king's death in 1370, owing primarily to a lack of funding. The academy lacked a permanent location, so lectures were held across the city at various churches and in the Kraków Cathedral School. Further development again resumed in the 1390s, by the initiative of King Władysław Jagiełło and his wife Jadwiga of Poland; at which point the school became a fully functioning university with a permanent location. The university was forcibly shut down during the German Occupation of Poland (1939–1945). The staff was deported to Nazi concentration camps, and many of its collections were deliberately destroyed by the occupying German authorities. Within a month after the city's liberation, the university again reopened with some of the original pre war staff who survived the occupation. 34 1365 University of Vienna Holy Roman Empire Vienna, Austria Modeled on the University of Paris. 35 1367University of Pécs Kingdom of Hungary Pécs, Hungary The first Hungarian university was founded by the Hungarian king Louis the Great (Nagy Lajos), in 1367 in Pécs. 36 1379University of Erfurt Holy Roman Empire Erfurt, GermanyDisestablished 1816 and reopened 1994. The first universities founded in the German speaking world were Prague (1348), Vienna (1365), and Erfurt (1379). The University of Erfurt claims to be the oldest university in what is present day Germany, although it was closed for 178 years. Heidelberg University (founded 1386, before actual teaching started in Erfurt) also claims to be Germany's oldest university. 37 1380University of Dyrrachium Medieval Kingdom of AlbaniaDurrës, Albania Established in 1380 it was a theological university (Studium generale) in Durrës (Dyrrhachium), Albania, then Medieval Kingdom of Albania. The university was established around 1380, and then transferred to Zadar in 1396, amid the mounting Turkish threats in south eastern Europe. 38 1386 Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg Holy Roman Empire Heidelberg, Germany Founded by Rupert I, Elector Palatine. 39 1388 University of Cologne Holy Roman Empire Cologne, Germany Founded by the city council of the Free City of Cologne. Pope Urban VI granted a university charter in the year of foundation. Closed in 1798, refounded in 1919. 40 1391 University of Ferrara House of Este Ferrara, Italy Founded by Marquis Alberto d'Este. 41 1395 University of Óbuda Kingdom of Hungary Óbuda, Hungary Founded by the Hungarian king Sigismund of Luxembourg. On 6 October 1395 Pope Boniface IX signed Óbuda University’s first deed of foundation on the Hungarian king’s, Sigismund of Luxemburg’s request, thus this university became the country’s second and the capital’s first university. In 1504, Pope Julius II approved the foundation of the university. 74 1495 University of Aberdeen Kingdom of Scotland Aberdeen, United Kingdom Founded by a papal bull. 75 1498 Viadrina European University Frankfurt on the Oder Germany 76 1499 Valencia Kingdom of Valencia Spain