History A new kind of school
Universities began in the Middle Ages. In cities such as Bologna, Paris and Oxford, teachers and students formed guilds to protect themselves and organize their studies. Teaching already existed at Oxford in some form by 1096. Because all lessons were in Latin, students could travel to study anywhere in Europe.
Students first studied the arts: grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy. Then they could go on to law, medicine or theology, the study of God and the Bible.
History Colleges
At first students rented rooms around town. Then wealthy founders built colleges where students and teachers lived, ate and studied together around a courtyard. Merton College in Oxford was founded in 1264, and its Mob Quad, built in the 1300s, is one of the oldest college courtyards. The words "bachelor", "master" and "doctor" for degrees all come from medieval universities.
Art In this artwork
This college with its cloister walks and clock tower is the artist's design, inspired by real old colleges.
Look closer
- Find the clock tower.
- Where could students walk out of the rain?
Think about it
- Why would a common language like Latin help students travel?
- What would you most like to study, and why?
- Which words from medieval universities do we still use?
Key words
- University
- A community of teachers and students; it comes from the Latin for "the whole".
- College
- A place where students live and study together.
- Theology
- The study of God and religious belief.
Sources
The history on this page is a short summary based on these sources:
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, "University"
- University of Oxford, "Introduction and history"
