Universities

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The principalCatholic foundations have been treated in special articles; here the general aspects of the subject are presented:

I. Origin and organization;
II. Academic work and development;
III. Renaissance and Reformation;
IV. Modern period;
V. Catholic action.

Origin and organization

Although the nameuniversity is sometimes given to the celebratedschools ofAthens and Alexandria, it is generally held that the universities first arose in theMiddle Ages. For those that were chartered during the thirteenth century, dates and documents can be accurately given; but the beginnings of the earliest are obscure, hence the legends connected with their origin: Oxford was supposed to have been founded byKing Alfred,Paris byCharlemagne, and Bologna by Theodosius II (A.D. 433). These myths, though they survived well on into modern times, are now generally rejected, and the historian's only concern with them is to discover their sources and trace their development. It is known, however, that during the eleventh and twelfth centuries a revival of studies took place, in medicine atSalerno, in law at Bologna, and intheology atParis. The medicalschool atSalerno was the oldest and the most famous of its kind in theMiddle Ages; but it exerted no influence on the development of the universities. AtParis, the study of dialectics received a fresh impetus from teachers likeRoscellin andAbelard, and eventually it displaced the study of the Classics which, especially atChartres, had constituted an energetic though short-livedhumanistic movement. Thedialectical method, moreover, was applied totheological questions and, mainly through the work ofPeter Lombard, was developed intoScholasticism. This meant not only that all sorts of questions were taken up for discussion and examined with the utmost subtlety, but also that a new basis was provided for the exposition ofdoctrine and thattheology itself was cast into the systematic form which it presents in the works ofSt. Thomas, and above all, in the great"Summa". At Bologna, the new movement was practical rather than speculative, it affected the teaching, not ofphilosophy andtheology, but of civil and canon law. Previous to the twelfth century, Bologna and been famous as aschool of arts, while in regard to legalscience it was far surpassed by other cities, e.g.Rome,Pavia, andRavenna. That it became within a comparatively short time the chief centre of the teaching of law, not inItaly alone but in allEurope, was due mainly toIrnerius and to Gratian. The former introduced the systematic study of the wholeCorpus juris civilis, and differentiated the course in law from that in the Liberal Arts; the latter, in his "Decretum", applied the scholastic method to canon law, and secured for thisscience a distinct place apart fromtheology. In consequence, Bologna, long before it became a university, attracted large numbers of students from all parts of the Empire, and its teachers, as they became more numerous, also attained unrivalled prestige.

Theschool growing thus vigorously from within was further strengthened by the privileges which the emperor granted. In the "Authentic"Habita issued in 1158,Frederick I took under his protection the scholars who resorted to theschools ofItaly for the purpose of study, and decreed that they should travel without hindrance or molestation, and that, in case complaint was lodged against them, they should have the option of defending themselves either before their professors or before thebishop. This grant naturally turned to the profit of Bologna; but it also served as the basis of many privileges subsequently accorded to this and to otherschools. ThatParis also enjoyed similar protection andimmunities from an earlydate is highly probable, though the first grant of which there is record was made byPhilip Augustus in 1200. To these two factors of internal growth and external advantage, a third had to be added beforeParis or Bologna could become a university: it wasnecessary to secure a corporate organization. Both cities by the middle of the twelfth century possessed the requisite elements in the way ofschools, scholars, and teachers. AtParis threeschools were especially prominent: Saint Victor's, attached to the church of the canons regular; Sainte-Geneviève-du-Mont, conducted first by seculars and later by canons regular; and Notre-Dame, theschool of the Cathedral on the "Island". According to one account these threeschools united to form the university;Denifle, however (Die Universitäten, 655 sqq.), maintains that it originated in Notre-Dame only, and that thisschool therefore was the cradle of theUniversity of Paris. This does not imply that thecathedralschool as an institution was elevated to the rank of a university by royal or pontifical charter. The initiative was taken by the professors who, with the licence of the chancellor of Notre-Dame and subject to his authority, taught either at thecathedral or in private dwellings on the "Island". When these professors, in the last quarter of the twelfth century, united in one teaching body, theUniversity of Paris was founded (For the older view, seeUNIVERSITY OF PARIS).

Thisconsortium magistorum included the professors oftheology,law, medicine, and arts (philosophy). As the teachers of the same subject had special interests, they naturally formed smaller groups within the centre body. The name "faculty" originally designated a discipline or branch ofknowledge, and was employed in this sense byHonorius III in his letter (18 Feb., 1219) to the scholars ofParis; later, it came to mean the group of professors engaged in teaching the same subject. The closer organization into faculties was occasioned in the first instance by questions which arose in 1213, regarding the conferring of degrees. Then came the drafting ofstatutes for each faculty whereby its own internal affairs were regulated and lines of demarcation drawn between its sphere of action and those of the other faculties. This organization must have been completed within the first half, or perhaps first quarter, of the thirteenth century, sinceGregory IX in theBull "Parens scientiarum" (1231) recognizes the existence of separate faculties. The scholars, on their part, just as naturally fell into different groups. They belonged to various nationalities, and those from the same country must have realized the advantage, or even the necessity, of banding together in a city likeParis to which they came as strangers. This was the origin of the "Nations", which probably were organized early in the thirteenth century, though the first documentary evidence of their existence dates from 1249. The four Nations atParis were those of the French, the Picards, the Normans, and the English. They were distinctively student associations, formed for purposes of administration and discipline, whereas the faculties were organized to deal with matters relating to the severalsciences and the work of teaching. The Nations, therefore, did not constitute the university, nor were they identical with the faculties. The masters in arts were included in the Nations and at the same time belonged to thefaculty of arts, because the course in arts was simply a preparation for higher studies in one of the superior faculties, and hence arts formed an "inferior" faculty, whose masters were still classed as scholars. The professors of the superior faculties did not belong to the Nations.

Each Nation elected from among its members a masters of arts asprocurator (proctor), and the four procurators elected therector, i.e. the head of the Nations, not, at first, the head of the university. As, however, thefaculty of arts was closely bound up with the Nations, therector gradually became the chief officer of that faculty, and was recognized as such in 1274. His authority extended later to the faculties oflaw and medicine (1279) and finally (1341) to the faculty oftheology; thenceforward therector is the head of the entire university. On the other hand, the office ofrector did not confer very large powers. From the beginning the chief authority had been exercised by the chancellor, as thepope's representative; and though this authority, by reason of conflicts with the university, had been somewhat reduced during the thirteenth century, the chancellor was still sufficiently powerful to overshadow therector. Before the university came into existence, the chancellor had conferred the licence to teach, and this function he continued to perform all though the process of organization and after the faculties with their various officials were fully established.

At Bologna, towards the close of the twelfth century,voluntary associations were established by the foreign, i.e., non-Bolognese, students for purposes of mutual support and protection. These students were not boys, but mature men; many of them werebeneficedclergymen. In their organization they copied the guilds of travelling tradesmen; each association comprised a number of Nations, enacted its ownstatutes, and elected arector who was assisted by a body ofconsiliarii. These student-guilds were known asuniversitates, i.e. corporations in the accepted legal sense, not teaching bodies. Originally four in number they were reduced by the middle of the thirteenth century to two:universitas citramontanorum anduniversitas ultramontanorum. Neither the Bolognese students nor thedoctors, being citizens of Bologna, belonged to a "university". Thedoctors were employed, under contract, and paid by the scholars, and were subject, in many respects, to thestatutes framed by the student-bodies. In spite of this dependence, however, the professors retained control of strictly academic affairs; they were therectores scholarum, while the heads of the universities wererectores scholarium; in particular, the right of promotion, i.e. conferring degrees, was reserved to thedoctors. These also formed associations, thecollegia doctorum, which probably existed at or before the time of the founding of the student "universities". At first thedoctors had full charge of examinations and in their own name granted the licence to teach. But in 1219Honorius III gave theArchdeacon of Bologna exclusive authority to confer the doctorate, thus creating an office equivalent to that of the chancellor atParis. The doctorate itself, as implying theright to membership in thecollegium, was gradually restricted to the narrower circle of thedoctores legentes, i.e. actually teaching. On the other hand, the student control was lessened by the fact that, in order to offset the inducements offered by rival towns, the city of Bologna, towards the end of the thirteenth century, began to pay the professors a regular salary in place of the fees formerly given, in such amounts as they saw fit, by the scholars. As a result the appointment of the professors was taken over by the city, and eventually by thereformatores studii, a board established by the local authority. Meantime the two "universities" were being drawn together in one body and this was brought into closer relations with thecollege ofdoctors; so thatClement V (10 March, 1310) could speak of amagistorum et scholarium universitas at Bologna. At the beginning of the sixteenth century there was only onerector.

The growth of Oxford followed, in the main, that ofParis. In the middle of the twelfth century theschools were flourishing:Robert Pullen, author of the "Sentences" on which the more famous work ofPeter Lombard is largely based, and Vacarius, the eminent Lombard jurist, are mentioned as teachers. The number of students, already considerable, was swelled in 1167 by an exodus fromParis. There were two Nations: the Boreales (Northern) included the English and Scottish students; the Australes (Southern), theWelsh andIrish. In 1274 these coalesced in one Nation, but the two proctors remained distinct. In 1209, owing to difficulties with the town, 3000 scholars dispersed. On their return, thepapal legate Nicholas issued (1214) an ordinance enjoining that the town should pay an annual sum for the use of poor scholars and that "in case a clerk should be arrested by the townsmen, he should at once be surrendered on the demand of theBishop of Lincoln, or thearchdeacon of the place or his official or the chancellor, or whomsoever theBishop of Lincoln shall depute to this office" (Muniments, I, p. 2). The firststatutes were enacted in 1252, and confirmed byInnocent IV in 1254. The chancellor at first was an independent official appointed by theBishop of Lincoln to act asecclesiastical judge in scholastic matters. Gradually, however, he was absorbed into the university and became its head.

The development atParis and Bologna explains the term by which the university was first designated, i.e.studium generale. This did not originally and essentially mean aschool of universal learning, nor did it include all the four faculties;theology was often omitted or even excluded by the early charters. It first appears at Bologna in 1360, at Salamanca towards the end of the fourteenth century, atMontpellier in 1421; yet each of theseschools was astudium generale in the original sense of the term, i.e. aschool which admitted students from all parts, enjoyed special privileges, and conferred aright to teach that was acknowledged everywhere. Thisjus ubique docendi was implied in the very nature of thestudium generale; it was first explicitly conferred byGregory IX in theBull forToulouse, 27 April, 1233, which declares that "any master examined there and approved in any faculty shall everywhere have theright to teach without further examination".

Universitas, as understood in theMiddle Ages, was a legal term; it got its meaning from theCorpus juris civilis, and it denoted an association taken as a whole, i.e. in its corporate capacity. Employed with reference to aschool,universitas did not mean a collection of all thesciences, but rather the entire group ofpersons engaged at a given institution in scientific pursuits, i.e. the whole body of teachers and students:universitas magistorum et scholarium. This is the meaning of the term in official documents relating toParis and Bologna; thusAlexander IV (10 Dec., 1255) states expressly that under the name university he understands "all the masters and scholars residing atParis, to whateversociety or congregation they may belong." Gradually, however, the termsuniversitas andstudium came to be used promiscuously to denote an institution of learning:Universitas Ozoniensis andStudium Oxoniense were both applied to Oxford. There is mention as early as 1279 ofdelicta in universitate Oxoniae perpetrata (Munimenta, I, 39), and in the next century such phrases occur as (1306) inuniversitate Oxoniae studere (ibid., 87 sqq.). That the terms had become practically synonymous at the beginning of the fourteenth century appears from a statement ofClement V, 13 July, 1312, to the effect that theArchbishop ofDublin, John Lech, had reported that in those parts there was noscolarium universitas vel studium generale. About 1300 also the expressionmater universitas was used by the Oxford masters, and these may have taken it from a document ofInnocent IV (6 Oct., 1254) in which thepope speaks of Oxford asfaecunda mater. Later, the expressionalma mater was applied, e.g. toParis in 1389; Cologne, 1392; Oxford, 1411.Alma was probably suggested by theliturgical use, as e.g. in thehymn beginning"Alma redemptoris mater".

The earliest universities had no charters; they grewex consuetudine. Out of these others quickly developed, by migration, or by formal establishment. As the universities in the beginning possessed no buildings like our modern halls and laboratories, it was an easy matter for the students and professors, in case they became dissatisfied in one place, to find accommodations in another. Conflicts with the town often led to such migrations, especially where some rival town offered inducements: hence the secessions from Bologna toVicenza (1204), to Arezzo (1213), to Padua (1222), the "great dispersion" fromParis (1229), and the migration (1209) from Oxford to Cambridge. But causes of a less tumultuous sort were also operative. The privileges enjoyed by the first universities lead other cities to seek similar advantages in order to keep their own scholars at home, and possibly attract outsiders, thereby adding to the local prosperity and prestige. Bologna andParis served as patterns for the new organizations, and the desired privileges were sought frompope or civil ruler. It became, indeed, usual for thepapal charter to include a set formula granting the new university "the same privileges,immunities, and liberties which are enjoyed by the masters and scholars ofParis" (or Bologna); thus Oxford, Cambridge, St. Andrews, and Aberdeen were to a large extent modelled onParis and Glasgow on Bologna. TheParisian type was also reproduced at the earliest German universities,Prague,Vienna, Erfurt, and Heidelberg; but these soon began to depart from the original. The Nations were of less importance; therector might be chosen from any faculty; the authority was vested in permanent and endowed professors who predominated in the university council; and the colleges were under the control of the university, which kept the teaching in its own hands.

InIreland the first step towards establishing a university was taken by John Lech,Archbishop ofDublin. At his instance,Clement V issued, 11 July, 1113, aBull for the erection of a university near Dublin; Lech, however, died a year later, and nothing was accomplished until his successor,Alexander de Bicknor, in 1320 established a university at St. Patrick's Cathedral with the approval ofPope John XXII. The first chancellor was William Rodiart, Dean of St. Patrick's, and the first graduates William de Hardite, O.P., Edward of Karwarden, O.P., and Henry Cogry, O.F.M. Lectures were still given in 1358; in that year Edward II issued letters-patent protecting the members of the university on their travels, and in 1364, Lionel, Duke of Clarence, founded a lectureship. The university failed from want of endowment, as did also the one founded by theIrish Parliament at Drogheda in 1465.

The founders: popes and civil rulers

In view of the importance of the universities for culture and progress, it is quite intelligible that there should be considerable discussion and divergence of opinion regarding the authority which should receive credit for their foundation. It has, e.g. been maintained that only thepope could establish a university; contrariwise, it has been held that such an establishment was the exclusive perogative of the civil rulers, i.e. emperor and king. These, however, are extreme positions, neither of which accords with the facts, while both are based on a study of a limited group of universities and, in large measure, on a failure to appreciate the relations ofChurch and State in the thirteenth century. From misunderstandings on the latter pointerroneous conclusions have been drawn, not only regarding the origins of universities, but also the general attitude of the age towards thepapacy and vice versa. Once it is settled, e.g. that, according to the view prevalent in the thirteenth century, only thepope could found a university, it is easy to interpret any similar foundation by a monarch or any initiative taken by a municipality, as evidence of hostility to theHoly See and as a first move towards that "emancipation" which actually came to pass in the sixteenth century. By the same sort of reasoning the inference is drawn that thepope resented the action of thecivil power in granting charters and repressed all attempts at freedom on the part of the universities themselves. To set these conclusions in the proper light, it is sufficient to glance at the various modes of foundation.

Previous to theReformation 81 universities were established. Of these 13 had no charter; they developed spontaneouslyex consuetudine; 33 had only thepapal charter; 15 were founded by imperial or royal authority; 20 by bothpapal and imperial (or royal) charters. Once the oldest universities, especialyParis and Bologna, had grown to fame and influence so that their graduates enjoyed thelicentia ubique docenti, it was recognized that a new institution, in order to become astudium generale, required the authorization of the supreme authority, i.e. of thepope as head of theChurch or of the emperor as protector of allChristendom. Thus in "Las Siete Patridas" (1256-1263), Alfonso of Sabio declares that a "studium generale must be established by mandate of thepope, the emperor, or the king"); andSt. Thomas (Op. contra impugn. relig., c. iii): "ordinare de studio pertinet ad eum qi praest reipublicae, et praecipue ad authoritatem apostolicae sedis qua universalis ecclesia gubernatur, cui per generale studium providetus", i.e. in the matter of universities the authority belongs to the chief ruler of the commonwealth and especially to theApostolic See, the head of the universal Church, "the interest of which is furthered by the university". These last words contain the essential reason for seeking authorization from thepope: the university was not be be a merely local or national institution; its teaching and its degrees were to be recognized throughout theChristian world. On the other hand, in the civil order, the emperor was supreme; hence he conferred on the universities founded by him, without anypapal charter, theright to grant degrees in all the faculties,theology and canon law included. The imperial charters were recognized by thepopes and, whenevernecessary, additional privileges were granted. It cannot then be said that the action of Maximilian I in founding (1502) theUniversity of Wittenberg was an epoch-making event; Charles IV had long before done the same forSiena,Arezzo, an Orange, and the charters with which he founded Pavia and Lucca preceeded by twenty years thepapal grants.

The kings were not on the same plane as the emperor. They could indeed found a university, appoint the chancellor, and authorize him to confer degrees; but they could not establish astudium generale in the full sense of the term; what they founded was a universityrespectu regni, i.e. the degrees it granted were valid only within the limits of the kingdom. This was the situation atNaples, founded (1224) byFrederick II, and especially in theSpanish universities. The kings themselves were aware of their limitations in this respect, and accordingly sought thepapal authorization. Thepopes on their part recognized the royal charters as valid, and added to them the character of university required for astudium generale. In some cases thepapal intervention wasnecessary and was sought, not simply to confirm what the king had established, but to save or revive the university: such e.g. were the measures taken byHonorius III (1220) for Palencia, byClement VII (1379) for Perpignan, and by Julius II (1464) for Huesca — all royal foundations which showed no vitality until thepope came to their assistance. The power ofbishops and municipalities was, of course, still more restricted. They could take the initiative by calling professors, establishing courses of study, and providing endowments; but sooner or later they wereobliged to seek authorization from thepope. This was notably the case inItaly where the free and enterprising cities (Treviso,Pisa,Florence,Siena), stimulated by Bologna's example, undertook the founding of their own universities. AtSiena, it seemed at first that the attempt to get on without either imperial orpapal charter would succeed; thestudium, inaugurated in 1275, had ample funds and a large body of professors and students which was continually increased by an emigration from Bologna (1312); yet in 1325 it was on the verge of collapsing, and its existence was not secured until it obtained university privileges from Charles IV in 1457 andpapal grants fromGregory XII in 1404. St. Andrews inScotland was more fortunate. It was founded by Bishop Henry Wardlaw in 1411; but shortly after its opening thebishop in a document addressed 27 Feb., 1412, to the masters and scholars speaks of the "universitas a nobis salva tamen sedis apostolice auctoritate de facto instituta et fundata". Six months later (28 Aug., 1412),Benedict XIII (Avignon) issued the charter of foundation, and appointed Wardlaw as chancellor.

There is no ground, then, for the inference that the founding of universities by thecivil power and their organization bylaymen for lay students was a symptom of antagonism to theHoly See or an attempt at emancipation from the authority of theChurch. Such an interpretation of the facts merely projects modernideas back into a period in which an entirely different spirit prevailed. That spirit was one of co-operation, even of emulation, in a common cause; and neither the spirit nor the cause would have been possible but for the unity offaith and ofhierarchical jurisdiction which held the West together in one Church. Had this unity included allChristendom, the East would doubtless have had its share in the university movement; at any rate, it is significant that inRussia and the other countries dominated by theschismaticGreek Church, no university was established during theMiddle Ages.

Besides issuing charters thepopes contributed in various ways to the development and prosperity of the universities.

(1)Clerics who heldbenefices weredispensed from theobligation of residence, if they absented themselves in order to attend a university. Bothlay andclerical students enjoyed certain exemptions, e.g. from taxation, from military service, from thejurisdiction of the ordinary courts, and fromcitation to courts at a distance fromParis (privilegium fori). To safeguard theseprivileges was the specialduty of theconservator Apostolic, usually abishop orarchbishop appointed by thepope for this purpose.

(2) By theBull "Parens scientiarum" (1231), the magna charta of theUniversity of Paris, Gergory IX authorized the masters, in the event of an outrage committed by any one on a master or a scholar and not redressed within fifteen days, to suspend their lectures. Thisright of cessation was frequently made use of in conflicts between town and gown.

(3) On various occasions thepopes intervened to protect the scholars against the encroachments of the localcivil authorities:Honorius III (1220) took the part of the scholars at Bologna when thepodestà drew upstatutes that interfered with their liberties;Nicholas IV (1288) threatened to disrupt thestudium at Padua unless the municipal authorities repealed within fifteen days the ordinances they had framed against the masters and scholars. Even the chancellor ofParis, when he demanded of the masters anoath of obedience to himself, was checked byInnocent III (1212), and his powers were greatly reduced by the action of laterpopes. It became in fact quite common for the university to lay its grievances before theHoly See, and itsappeal was usually successful.

(4) In many instances, especially inGermany, theendowment of the universities was drawn, largely if not entirely, from the revenues of themonasteries and chapters. More than once thepope intervened to secure the payment of their salaries to the professors, e.g.Boniface VIII (1301) andClement V (1313) at Salamanca;Clement VI (1346 at Valladolid: andGregory IX (1236) atToulouse, whereCount Raymond had refused to pay the salaries. Thepopes also set the example of endowingcolleges, and these, founded by kings,bishops,priests, nobles, or private citizens, became not only residential halls for students but also the chief financial support of the university.

Academic work and development

The academic year

In the earlier period lectures were given throughout the year, with short recesses atChristmas,Easter, and Pentecost and a longer vacation in summer. AtParis this vacation was limited by order ofGregory IX (1261) to one month, but by the end of the fourteenth century it had been extended for thearts faculty from 25 June to 25 Aug., fortheology and canon law from 28 June to 15 Sept. The year really began on 1 Oct., and was divided into two periods; the grand ordinary, from 1 Oct. toEaster, and the little ordinary, fromEaster to the end of June. At Bologna the vacation began 7 Sept., and the scholastic year opened again on 19 Oct.; this, however, was interrupted for ten days atChristmas, two weeks atEaster, and three weeks at carnival. InGermany, there was considerable difference between thecalendars of the various universities and even between those of the faculties at the same university. In general, the year began about the middle of October and closed about the middle of June. But atCologne, Heidelberg, andVienna there was a little ordinary from 25 Aug., to 9 Oct. The vacation, however, was not a complete suspension of academic work; the extraordinary lectures, given for the most part by bachelors, were continued, and credit was given to students who attended them. About the middle of the fifteenth century, the division of the year into two semesters, summer and winter, was introduced atLeipzig, and eventually was adopted by the other German universities.

Lectures

Both the annual calendar and the daily schedule took into account the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary or cursory lectures. This originated at Bologna where certain books of thecivil law ("Digestum Vetus" and "Code") were ordinary, while others ("Infortiatum", "Digestum novum", and the smaller textbooks) were extraordinary. In canon law, the ordinary books were the Decretum and the five books of theDecretals (Gregory IX); the extraordinary were the Clementines and Extravagants. Ordinary lectures were reserved todoctors, and were given in the forenoon; extraordinary lectures, known atParis as cursory, and given by masters or by bachelors, were assigned to the afternoon during the year; in the vacation they might be given at any time of the day, as the ordinary lectures were then suspended. Cursory meant either that the lecture was followed by thecursores, i.e. candidates for the licence, or that it ran rapidly over the subject-matter, whereas the treatment in the ordinary lecture was more thorough.

In all the faculties the work of teaching centred about books, i.e. the texts, compilations, and glosses which were regarded as the chief authorities in each subject. At the beginning of the year (or semester) the books were distributed among the professors, who wereobliged to use them in accordance with the regulations established by each faculty regarding the daily schedule, the length of the course, the hall to be used, the academic dress to be worn, and the method to be followed. The lecture was in the strict sense apraelectio (whence the GermanVorlesung); the professor had to read the text; in the ordinary lectures, he was not allowed to dictate anything beyond the divisions and conclusions and such corrections of the text as he deemednecessary. The scholars were supposed to have their own copies of the text; if they were too poor to procure the books, the professor might dictate the text to them, not in the regular lecture but at special classes or exercises (repetitions). The plan of the lecture was analytic: careful explanation and definition of terms (ponere et determinare); division of the matter and discussion of the several points followed by a summary of the essential (scindere et summare); presentation of problems suggested by the text (quaestiones), and solution of objections. In lectures on law the reading of the glosses was an important feature, and cases were frequently proposed to illustrate principles. At the ordinary lectures, the scholars were not supposed to ask questions; at the extraordinary, greater freedom was permitted, the scholars being encouraged to express theirdoubts as to the meaning of the texts and to request further information on obscure matters. More thorough training, however, was given in the resumption and repetitions which the masters held at stated times for the treatment of special problems. The exercises, conducted indialectical form, afforded full opportunity for discussion between scholar and master; and they served as examinations by which the progress of the scholar was tested. But the most important of the academic exercises was the disputation. This was of two kinds:d. ordinaria andd. de quodlibet. The ordinary disputation took place every week and lasted from morning till noon, or till evening according to the number of participants. On the day set apart for this purposes the lectures and other exercises were suspended, so that all the masters, bachelors, and scholars might be present at the disputation. One of the masters (disputans) announced, in the form of question or thesis, the subject of the debate; other masters (opponentes) presented arguments against the thesis; answers to the arguments were given by two or three bachelors (respondentes) appointed for the occasion. The number of arguments were fixed by statute or was fixed by the dean of the faculty whoseduty it was to preside. Throughout the disputation the syllogistic form was employed. Thedisputation de quodlibet was held only once a year, but with greater solemnity than the ordinary, and over a wider range of topics. The master elected or appointed for the occasion, and known as thequodlibetarius, had to debate a separate question with each of the other masters who chose to enter the lists. The disputation lasted several days, sometimes a fortnight. The arguments and their solutions were written out and preserved in book form. A specimen may be found in the "Quodlibetales" ofSt. Thomas. It was mainly out of these lectures, repetitions, and disputations that the works of themedievaldoctors grew; so that the various commentaries,summae, and books of "sentences" afford the bestidea of university teaching both as to content and as to method.

Courses of study: degrees

The distribution of the subjects to be studied and of the books to be read in the course was regulated in view of the degrees, i.e. of the various steps (gradus) by which the student advanced from the stage of a simple scholar to that of a master or doctor. The system of degrees developed out of the necessity of restricting theright to teach, and consequently of fixing the qualifications which the teacher should possess. It did not, any more than the university itself, spring suddenly into existence, nor did it everywhere present the same details. Three degrees, however, were generally recognized: baccalaureate, licentiate, and doctorate or mastership. The requirements for these varied at different periods and in different universities; each faculty, moreover, had its own regulations regarding the length of courses and the subjects of study; in particular, there was a rather broad division between thefaculty of arts and the superior faculties oftheology, medicine, and law. For the courses of study in arts, seeBACHELOR OF ARTS;THE FACULTY OF ARTS;MASTER OF ARTS.

Intheology, the texts were theBible and the "Sentences" ofPeter Lombard; in law, the books mentioned above; in medicine, the works of Galen,Avicenna, and other writers prescribed for Montpellier byClement V in 1309. The medical course included also practical work inanatomy, for which the "Anatomia" ofMondino (1275-1237) of Bologna and a similar text by Henri de Mondeville (1260-1320) of Montepllier, served as guides. The student was further required, before graduation, to accompany the professor on the latter's visits to the sick for the purpose of clinical study. For degrees in the higher faculties, seeDOCTOR.

Students

The most conspicuous feature of the student body as a whole was its cosmopolitan character. This is evidenced by the division into Nations mentioned above. TheUniversity of Bologna owed its origin mainly to associations of foreign students, and among these theGermans enjoyed exceptional privileges. AtParis the English nation was prominent, andIrish scholars were found in the continental universities long before they were expelled from theEnglish universities in 1423. What the total number was at any of the older universities is a debated question. According to Odofredus, Bologna, at the close of the twelfth century, had 10,000; Oxford, according to Richard Fitz Ralph (d. 1360), had at one time 30,000 and in his own day 6,000, whileWyclif (d. 1384) placed the "heroic" number at 60,000, in his own day at 3,000; the earlier accounts gaveParis between 20,000 and 40,000. Recent estimates have reduced these numbers, allowingParis a maximum 6000-7000, Bologna about the same, Oxford 1500-3000 (Rashdall, op. cit. infra). For the German universities, the numbers are still smaller; in 1380-1389 Prague had 1027, in the second half of the sixteenth centuryVienna had 933, in 1450-1479 Cologne had 852, in 1472 Leipzig had 662; while Greifswald in 1465-1478 had only 103 and Freiburg, in 1460-1500, only 143 (Paulsen). In respect of age the differences were considerable. A boy could begin arts at between twelve or fifteen years of age and graduate at twenty or twenty-one. The students of the superior faculties were, of course, older men. Candidates for the doctorate intheology atParis must have been over thirty; and it was not uncommon forpriests who had already spent some time in the ministry, to matriculate at the university; anabbot, aprovost, or even abishop might become a student without any sacrifice of his dignity.

The frequent use of the workclericus or "clerk" to designate a university student, does not imply that every student was anecclesiastic. At Bologna the distinction was clearly drawn between thescolaris and theclericus; thestatutes concerning therector provide that he must be a scholar of Bologna and, in addition, "an unmarried cleric, wearing theclerical dress and not belonging to anyreligious order". Similar provisions are found atFlorence,Perugia, and Padua. Long before the rise of the universities,clerics enjoyed certainprivileges andimmunities, and these were extended, when the universities had been established, to all the students,lay andclerical alike. Thelayman would naturally wear theclerical garb not merely as an academic costume but as an evidence that he was entitled toclericalprivileges. Even atParis and Oxford, where theecclesiastical element dominated, the enjoyment of theseprivileges was not dependent on the reception oftonsure, i.e. on admission to theclerical state in the canonical sense (Rashdall, II, 646).Celibacy, however, wasobligatory on all scholars and masters; as a rule, a master who married lost his position, and though married scholars are sometimes mentioned, e.g. atOxford, they were disqualified for taking degrees. Still,celibacy was not universally enforced; there were married professors ofmedicine atSalerno, and at the university of theRoman Curia, which was under the direct supervision of thepope, the masters oflaw had their wives and children. One of the famous canonists of Bologna wasJoannes Andrea (1270-1328, whose daughter Novella sometimes lectured in his stead. AtParis theobligation ofcelibacy for masters in medicine was removed by Cardinal Estouteville in 1452, for those in law by thestatutes of 1600. The firstrector atGreifswald (1456) was married, as was also therector atVienna in 1470. In other German universities the requirement ofcelibacy remained longer in force, owing in part, at least, to the fact that many of the chairs were endowed with the revenue ofcanonries; but this did not imply thatlaymen were excluded from university positions.

An important element in the student body and in the entire life of the university was contributed by thereligious orders. InItaly they had long been the recognized teachers oftheology, and when the faculty oftheology was established at Bologna in 1260, they supplied the professors and the majority of the students. TheDominicans settled atParis in 1217 and at Oxford in 1221; theFranciscans atParis in 1230 and at Oxford in 1224. At both universities theCarmelites and Augustinians also had theirconvents. The members of these orders in their community life enjoyed many advantages; a permanent home in which their material needs were provided for, regular hours of study, discipline, and religious practice; and for each order the bond of membership was a source of strength and solidarity. It is not then surprising that the regulars took high rank as scholars and teachers. Of the secular clerks some lived in apartments, others with their masters, and other again, the "martinets", with the townsmen. The students frequently banded together and lived in a rented hall (hospicium) under the management of one of their own number, a bachelor or a master elected by them as principal. For the poorest students colleges were established and endowed with burses by generous founders. Between 1200 and 1500Paris had six colleges; Oxford, eleven; Cambridge, thirteen. The founders were mostlybishops, canons, or otherecclesiastics; but thelaity, including the sovereigns, did their share (seeUNIVERSITY OF OXFORD: I.Origin and History). At Bologna the most famous was the College ofSpain founded by Egidio Albornoz,CardinalArchbishop of Toledo (d. 1367). The colleges at the German universities were primarily for the benefit of the teachers, though scholars also were received. The college residents atParis were students in arts ortheology; they were known associi (fellows) and were governed by a master, or by several masters if the students belonged to different faculties. The masters were required to hold repetitions on the subjects treated in the universityschools and "faithfully to instruct the scholars in life and indoctrine". This tutoring gradually became more important than the university lectures, and attracted to the colleges large numbers of students besides the holders of burses or scholarships; by the middle of the fifteenth century almost the whole university resided in the colleges, and the public lecture halls served only for determination and inceptions. In this way theSorbonne, originaly a hospice for poor clerks, became the centre oftheological teaching atParis. The university, however, claimed and exercised the right of visitation and of disciplinary enactments; in 1457 itobliged the martinets to live in or near some college, and forbade the migration of scholars from one master's home to another; and in 1486 it enacted that teachers in colleges should be appointed by thefaculty of arts.

With the founding of the colleges, discipline improved. The earlier university regulations dealt chiefly with academic matters, leaving the students quite free in other respects. According to all accounts this freedom meant licence in various forms — fighting, drinking, and graver offences against morality. With due allowance for the exaggeration of some writers who charge the scholars with every crime, it is clear from the collegestatutes that there was much need of reform. It should, however, be remembered that in any age the boisterous and lawless elements are more conspicuous than the serious, conscientious student; and it is doubtless to the credit of themedieval university, as a social factor, that it succeeded in imposing some sort of discipline upon the motley throngs which it undertook to teach. When the reform did come, it fairly rivalled, in minuteness and strictness, the monastic way of life. But it did not prevent the survival of certain practices, e.g. the initiation or deposition of thebejaunus (yellow-bill), themedieval form of hazing; nor did it establish perfect tranquility in the university.

Agitations of a more serious nature affected the development of the universities. BothParis (1252-1261) and Oxford (1303-1320) were embroiled in struggles with themendicant friars. Repeated conflicts with the town, notably the "Slaughter" of 1354 atOxford, turned eventually to the benefit of the university, which, as Rashdall says (II, 407) "thrived on her own misfortunes". It was the chancellor who profited most and whosejurisdiction was gradually extended until, in 1290, it included "all crimes committed in Oxford where one of the parties was a scholar, except pleas ofhomicide and mayhem" (Rashdall, II, 401). In 1395, aBull ofBoniface IX exempted the university from all episcopal andarchiepiscopaljurisdiction; but in consequence of thearchbishop's opposition theBull was revoked byJohn XXIII in 1311, only to be renewed bySixtus IV in 1479. The conflict betweenNominalism and Realism was in itself a scholastic feud; yet it was closely connected with the "reform" inaugurated byWyclif; and whileWyclif may be regarded as a champion ofintellectual freedom, it is interesting to note among hiserrors condemned atConstance (1415) and byMartin V (1418), the proposition that "universities with their studies, colleges, graduations, and masterships, were introduced by vainheathenism; they do theChurch just as much good as thedevil does" (Denzinger-Bannwart, "Enchiridion", n. 609).

In the calmer appreciation of modern historians themedieval university was a potent factor for enlightenment and social order. It aroused enthusiasm for learning, and enforced discipline. Its training sharpened the intelligence, yet subjected reason tofaith. It was the centre in which the philosophy and thejurisprudence of antiquity were restored and adapted to new requirements. From it the modern university has inherited the essential elements of corporate teaching, faculty organization, courses of study, and academic degrees; and the inheritance has been transmitted through the manifold upheavals which submerged the ancient learning and rentChristendom itself asunder.

Renaissance and Reformation

The effect of the "new learning" on the German universities was revolutionary. At first the Humanist professors got on fairly well with the rest of the faculty; but when they asserted their superiority as representatives of the only realknowledge, bitter attacks and recriminations ensued. the Humanists ridiculed the barbarous Latin of the university and the wretched translations ofAristotle used in commentaries and lectures. Then they assailed theScholastic method of teaching with its endless hair-splitting and disputations, and strove to substitute rhetoric for dialectic. Finally they struck at the content itself, declaring that much time was spent in gaining very littleknowledge of hardly any value. All the charges were drawn up in publications marked by brilliant style and sharp invective; e.g. the "Epistolae obscurorum virorum", written against the professors of arts andtheology, especially those of Leipzig and Cologne. This violent satire contained much that wasfalse or exaggerated, and therefore calculated rather to add new disturbance than to effect the reform which was really needed. The better days ofScholasticism, in fact, had passed; the universities had no longer such leaders of thought as the thirteenth century had produced; both studies and discipline were on the decline.Humanism triumphed, in the first place, because, as a reaction and a novelty, it appealed to the younger men who were anxious to be free from the dryness ofScholastic exercises and the restrictions imposed by collegestatutes. Their unruly conduct and their ceaseless brawls with the townsfolk afforded the princes and the city authorities a pretext to undertake university reforms; and the reforming was accomplished by placing the Humanists in control. These conflicts and remedial measures, however, were only the surface of a much deeper movement. Before it asserted itself in the universities,Humanism had won over the higher and more influential classes of the people by catering, in the form of literature, to the spirit of luxury which the growth and increasing wealth of the cities had engendered. There was no doubt a charm in the elegant diction of the Humanists; but their attractive force lay in the rehabilitation of those views and ideals of life which thenaturalism of thepagan world had expressed in perfect form and which brought men back to themselves and to earth.Aristotle had triumphed in the thirteenth century; he was overcome in the fifteenth by the orators and poets.

TheRenaissance, originating inItaly, had thence spread to the northern countries. Its introduction into the universities ofItaly andFrance did not lead to revolt against theChurch; thepopes were its patrons, and many distinguished Humanists remained loyal toCatholicism. InGermany andEngland, on the contrary, theRenaissance coalesced with another movement which had far more serious consequences.Luther, though not in sympathy withHumanism, was bent on sweeping awayScholastic theology by returning, as he claimed, to the pure teaching of the Gospel; and he would have made an end to the universities, which he denounced as thedevil's workshops. The violenttheological discussions aroused by the reformdoctrine had a disastrous effect, not only onHumanism but also on the life of the universities. Some of them closed their doors, and nearly all were in danger of dissolution for want of students.Melanchthon declared that philosophy was the worship of idols and that the onlyknowledgenecessary for aChristian was to be obtained from theBible. But the reformers soon realized that their cause could not dispense with the highereducation; and it wasMelanchthon himself who reformed the existing universities and organized the new, i.e.Protestant, foundations, Marburg (1527), Königsberg (1544), Helmstadt (1574). The endowment was supplied chiefly from the revenues of confiscatedmonasteries and otherchurch properties. Classic philology and the newtheology took the place ofScholasticism; and the universities became state institutions under the control of secular princes.

As a result, the universities lost in great part their international character. In place of themedievalstudium generale, there arose a multitude of institutions each limited to its own territory and devoted to the creed of its founders. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the traditional organization was preserved; but Classical culture was on the wane, and there was little progress in other lines. "At the end of the seventeenth century the German universities had sunk to the lowest level which they ever reached in the public esteem and in their influence upon theintellectual life of the German people . . . Academicscience was no longer in touch with reality and its controllingideas; it was held fast in an obsolete system of instruction by organization andstatutes and toilsome compliance was the sole result of its activity. Added to this was the prevailing coarseness of the entire life. The students had sunk to the lowest depths, and carousals and brawls, carried to the limits of brutality and bestiality, largely filled their days" (Paulsen, "The German Universities", p. 42).

WhenErasmus came toEngland in 1497, Classical studies imported fromItaly were already cultivated at Oxford by men like Colet, Groeyn, Lynacre, andSir Thomas More. In 1516, Richard Fox,Bishop ofWinchester, endowed the first lectureship in Greek and founded Corpus Christi College. In 1525,Wolsey founded Cardinal College and engaged eminent teachers to "cultivate the new literature in the service of the old Church" (Huber). But his princely designs were checked by the question of Henry'sdivorce from Catherine of Aragon. At Cambridge also theRenaissance movement was furthered by the teaching ofErasmus and the exertions ofBishop Fisher; but at the same time the writings ofLuther were being studies by a group of scholars under Tyndale and Latimer, and it was Cranmer, then a fellow of Jesus College, who suggested that the legality of Henry's marriage should be referred to the universities ofChristendom. After some opposition both Oxford and Cambridge gave an opinion favourable to the king; and finally they declared for the separation fromRome which was consummated by the Act of 1534. By the Royal Injunctions of 1535, the teaching of canon law and of the Sentences was abolished;Aristotle, however, was retained, and the study ofcivil law, Hebrew, mathematics,logic, and medicine was encouraged. The spoliation of themonasteries, which had sheltered many of the poorer scholars, reduced the numbers at the universities. In 1549 a royal visitation eliminated from thestatutes every trace of popery, and abolished numerousstipends that had formerly been given for Masses. In a spirit of iconoclasm, altars, images, andstatutes were torn from the collegechapels, and many valuablemanuscripts of thelibraries were burned. Under Mary's brief rule theProtestants in turn suffered; Cranmer, Ridley, and Latimer perished at the stake atOxford, and the anti-Catholicstatutes were repealed. During Elizabeth's reign and Leicester's chancellorship, every Oxford student above sixteen years of age wasobliged at matriculation to subscribe to the Thirty-Nine Articles and the Royal Supremacy, a measure which made the university an exclusivelyChurch of England institution. At Cambridge a royal mandate in 1613 required all candidates for B.D. or for the doctorate in any faculty to subscribe to the Three Articles. In both universities,Puritanism was a disturbing element, and a number of its adherents wereobliged to withdraw from Cambridge. In 1570 the Elizabethanstatutes were enacted "on account of the again increasing audacity and excessive licence of men" as the preamble declares. These new regulations circumscribed the powers of the proctors and provided that they should be elected, not as formerly, by the regents, but according to a cycle of colleges. The Elizabethan code remained in force for nearly three centuries. Under Charles I similar provisions were made for Oxford byt he Laudianstatutes (1636), and the whole administration of the university was entrusted to the vice-chancellor, the proctors, and the heads of colleges. "This statute effectually stereotyped the administrative monopoly of the colleges, and destroyed all trace of the old democratic constitution which had been controlled only by the authority of themedieval Church" (Brodrick). Oxford was governed by this code until 1854.

InScotland, after the abolition ofpapaljurisdiction and ratification ofProtestantdoctrine in 1560, the universities suffered severely. "To St. Andrews, as to the other universities, theReformation did serious injury. Their constitution and organization were upset byecclesiastical dissent; their income was sadly reduced by the rapacity of the nobles who appropriated the lion's share of the patrimony of theChurch. From a greatly diminished income they had to uphold the stipends of theparishes which belonged to them. This was necessarily accompanied by a reduction of the salaries of the professors, for which certain grants by successive administrations made small but inadequate amends. The attendance of students was also injuriously affected" (Kerr, p. 108). Though various schemes of reform were proposed, especially byKnox, theyproved ineffectual owing to the tumults about religion and the alternations between presbytery andepiscopacy. The universities became institutions of the state in 1690 and religious tests were enforced for all teachers and officials. Curricula and organizations, however, retained for a long time theirmedieval features. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, various modifications were introduced in the courses of study; new chairs were founded and the financial condition improved.

AtParis this period witnessed the long struggle between the university and theJesuits (seeSOCIETY OF JESUS:History;France), the inroads of Gallicanism andJansenism, and the substitution of royal forpapal supremacy. As far back as 1475, Charles VII had placed the university under thejurisdiction of the Parlement; by the end of the sixteenth century the secularization was complete. IfRichelieu, by rebuilding theSorbonne, andMazarin, by establishing the Collège des Quatre-Nations, enhanced the outward spendour of the university, they did not endow it with vitality sufficient to check the newphilosophical movement which culminated in the work of theEncyclopedists and theRevolution. In 1793 the university was suppressed and with it all the other universities ofFrance.Napoleon I reorganized them as faculties under the one imperial university situated atParis; and this arrangement continued until, in 1896, the faculties were restored to university rank.

Modern period

InGermany, the eighteenth century brought decided changes which some authors (Paulsen) regard as the origin of the modern university. From Halle, founded in 1694, Christian Wolff'srationalistic philosophy spread to all theProtestant universities, and from Göttingen (1737) the newHumanism, especially the study of Greek. Freedom of research became the characteristic feature of the university; the systematic lecture replaced the exposition of texts; the seminar exercises supplanted the disputation; and German was used instead of Latin as the vehicle of instruction. The foundation of the University ofBerlin (1800) was another advance in the way of free scientific culture. Philosophy became the leading subject of study. Next in importance was philology, Classical Romance, and German. The development of the historical method and its application in all lines of research are among the principal achievements of the nineteenth century. In the naturalsciences laboratory training was recognized as indispensable, and the study ofmedicine was put on a new basis by improved methods of investigation. Specialized research with producing scholarship, rather than accumulation ofknowledge, was held up as the aim of university work. As a result the departments ofscience multiplied and in each the number of courses rapidly increased. This was the case especially in the faculty ofphilosophy, which came to include practically everything that did not belong totheology, medicine, or law. TheB.A. degree disappeared, the M.A. was merged with the doctorate inphilosophy, and this had its chief significance as a requisite for teaching. Great importance was attached to the preparation of teachers for theschools and gymnasia, while in the university itself, the recruiting of professors was provided for by the system ofPrivatdozents, i.e. instructors who have the privilege of teaching but no officialduties or salaries. These instructors often teach at various universities before being promoted to a professorship, and thus acquire a wide experience as well as an acquaintance with conditions in different parts of the empire. The students also are encouraged to pass from one university to another. They no longer live in colleges, nor are they exempt from municipal control and military service. Most of them, however, are members of someVerein orVerbindung which develops the social spirit, though it often encouragesduelling, drinking, and other practices hardly conducive to moral orintellectual advance.

InEngland andScotland the nineteenth century was marked by numerous and far-reaching changes. A succession ofstatutes revised the system of examinations and degrees: religious tests were abolished at theEnglish universities in 1871, at the Scottish in 1892; many of the traditionaloaths disappeared, and the restrictions imposed by the Elizabethan code were in large part removed. The tendency of legislation (Acts of 1854, 1856, 1877) was in line with the reforms advocated by the Royal Commission in 1852, i.e. "the restoration in its integrity of the ancient supervision of the university over the studies of its members by the enlargement of its professorial system, by the addition of such supplementary appliance to that system as may obviate the undue encroachments of that of private tuition . . . the removal of all restriction upon elections to fellowships and scholarships . . . an adequate contribution from the corporate funds of the several colleges towards rendering the course of public teaching, as carried on by the university itself, more efficient and complete". This movement toward a revival of the authority of the university has been furthered by Lord Curzon in his "Principles and Methods of University Reform" (1909). The monopoly of highereducation so long enjoyed by Oxford and Cambridge was broken by the creation of new universities; Durham was established in 1832, and the University ofLondon, founded in 1825 and chartered as an examining and degree-conferring institution in 1838, was reorganized on a broader basis in 1889. The university extension movement, inaugurated atCambridge in 1867, was taken up by Oxford also.Women were admitted to examinations and degrees atLondon in 1878, Cambridge in 1881, and Oxford in 1884. The Scottish universities were remodelled in 1858 and in 1889; the system of studies and degrees was reorganized and greater uniformity in government was secured. At Aberdeen and Glasgow, however, therector is still elected by the matriculated students, who are divided into four nations as in theMiddle Ages.Women were admitted as students in 1892.

For the earliest foundations in America seeSPANISH-AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES. In theUnited States the oldest universities grew out of colleges modelled on those ofEngland; Harvard (1636), Yale (1701), Princeton (1726), Washington and Lee (1749), University ofPennsylvania (1751), King's, i.e. Columbia (1754), Brown (1764). The first step towards university instruction was the addition of graduate studies pursued by resident students (mentioned at Harvard towards the end of the eighteenth century). During the first quarter of the nineteenth century, American students began to study inGermany and they naturally, on returning to their own country, sought to introduce elements from the German universities. It was not, however, until 1861 that the doctorate inphilosophy was conferred (Yale); since that time, the universities have developed rapidly but not according to any uniform plan of organization. In all these institutions there is a combination of graduate with undergraduate study, and in many of them departments of purescience exist alongside of professionalschools; but it would be impossible to select any one of them as the typical American university, and difficult to group them on any purelyeducational basis. This diversity is largely owing to the fact that the American institutions, especially the more recent, have been organized to meet actual needs rather than to perpetuate traditions; and since these needs are constantly changing, it is quite intelligible that new forms of university organization should appear and that the older forms should be frequently readjusted. Apart, however, from details, what may be called the university situation presents certain features that are noteworthy.

(1) The oldest universities were established and endowed by privateindividuals, and they have retained their private character. Even where the states have organized universities of their own, no measures have been taken to prevent private foundations; the latter in fact are as a class more influential than those controlled by the State, and, on the other hand, the private universities are empowered to give degrees through charters granted by the State. This freedom is far more in accordance with the spirit of American institutions and more essential to the national welfare than any hard and fast uniformity under state domination.

(2) From the beginning, as the oldest charters explicitly declare, the furthering of morality and religion, not merely in a general way, but in accordance with thebelief of someChristian denomination, was an avowed purpose of the founders; and divinityschools are still maintained at Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. But the state universities and nearly all the more recently founded private universities excludetheology. There is a decided tendency with powerful financial support to make the university non-sectarian by eliminating all religious tests and removing denominational influence.

(3) Besides the state appropriations, vast sums of money are contributed byindividuals to the endowment of universities and the establishment of institutes for scientific research. Such liberality is an evidence of the practical interest taken ineducation, which is considered as the best means of improving moral, social, andeconomic conditions. Whether the final result will be the application of a money test in deciding what is and is not a university, must depend largely on the standards of scholarship which are adopted and theidea of its functions as a social power that is formed by the institution to which so much wealth is entrusted.

(4) The practical character of university training is shown by the attention that is paid to technical instruction in all its forms. The preference for appliedscience manifested by many students has a serious effect not only on university policies and curricula but also on the work of secondary and elementaryschools, in which the relative value of cultural and vocational studies is keenly debated.

(5) As the efficiency of the university is in part determined by the quality and extent of the student's previouseducation, one of the chief problems demanding solution at present is the relation between the university and the preparatoryschools. In the endeavour to secure satisfactory relations between college, high school, and elementaryschool, the university exerts an influence which becomes more permeating as theeducational system is more thoroughly articulated. The entire question of adjustment will probably be settled not so much by discussion or legislation as by the training of teachers, which now holds a prominent place in each of the larger universities.

(6) Althoughwomen have long formed the majority of teachers in elementary and publicschools, they were not admitted to the universities until about the middle of the nineteenth century. The co-educational movement began in the state universities of the West, received a fresh impetus at the University of Michigan in 1870, and then spread rapidly through the East. In some universities all departments of insturction are now open towomen on the same footing as men; in others,women are excluded from the courses in law, medicine, and engineering, and receive separate instruction in affiliated colleges.

(7) Within recent years, university extension, correspondence courses, and local examinations have enabled the university to widen out its sphere of activity. It might seem indeed that the centripetal movement which in theMiddle Ages brought students from all parts to thestudium generale, were now to be reversed or at least to be reflected in the opposite direction.

Catholic action

The universities ofFrance,Italy, andSpain, though affected to some extent by theReformation, had remained loyal to theCatholicFaith, and preserved their chairs ofecclesiasticalscience.Louvain especially, while it developed Humanisticsciences to a high degree, resisted the encroachments ofProtestantism. TheCouncil of Trentordained that provision should be made for the study of Scripture, thatbeneficed studying at universities should enjoy their traditional privileges, thatbishops and other dignitaries should be selected by preference from among university professors and graduates (Sess. V, can. i; VII, xiii; XIV, v; XXII, ii; XXIII, vi; XXIV, viii, xii, xvi, xvii). It also provided for theeducation ofpriests by its decrees regarding the establishment ofecclesiastical seminaries. (SeeECCLESIASTICAL SEMINARIES.) But theChurch did not lose interest in the universities or desist from establishing new ones. In spite of the loss of revenue from the confiscation ofchurch properties,Catholic universities or academies were founded atDillingen (1549),Würzburg (1575),Paderborn (1613), Salzburg (1623), Osnabrück (1630), Bamberg (1648), Olmutz (1581), Graz (1586), Linz (1636),Innsbruck (1672), Breslau (1702),Fulda (1732),Münster, (1771). To this period also belong theFrench universities atDouai (1559), Lille (1560), Pont-a-Mousson, later Nancy (1572), and Dijon (1722); the Italian atMacerata (1540),Cagliari (1603), andCamerino (1721); the Spanish atGranada (1526) and Oviedo (1574); Manila in thePhilippines (1611), and the South American foundations (seeSPANISH-AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES). Most of these new universities were entrusted to theJesuits, whose colleges in regard to Classical studies rivalled, and in matters of discipline, surpassed the universities. After the suppression of the Society (1773), the chairs which they had held were either abolished or transferred to secular professors. Among thepapal documents bearing on universities should be mentioned: the Constitution, "Imperscrutabilis", addressed byClement XII (4 Dec., 1730) to Philip V ofSpain regarding the University of Cervera; the "Quod divina sapientia", published, 28 Aug., 1824, byLeo XII for the reformation of university studies in thePapal States and some other provinces ofItaly; theBrief by whichGregory XVI, 13 Dec., 1833, approved the action of theBelgianbishops in restoring theUniversity of Louvain; and theApostolic Letter ofPius IX, 23 March, 1852, approving thestatutes of the University ofDublin, the founding of which had been decided upon by theIrish episcopate at the Council of Thurles in 1850.

During the latter half of the nineteenth century the Spanish andItalian universities were taken over by the State, and the faculties oftheology disappeared. InFrance, under the present system, there is no faculty oftheology in any state university; theCatholic faculties atParis,Bordeaux,Aix,Rouen, andLyons were abolished in 1882, and theProtestant faculties at Pais and Montaubon became freetheologicalschools in 1905. In 1875, however, theFrenchbishops established independentCatholic universities or institutes atAngers,Lille,Lyons, Paris, andToulouse. InGermany, though all universities are state institutions, there areCatholic faculties oftheology atBonn,Breslau,Freiburg,Munich,Münster,Strasburg,Tübingen, andWürzburg. The professors are appointed and paid by the State, but they must be approved by thebishop, who also has theright to superintend the teaching. TheAustrian universities, though injured in the eighteenth century byJansenism and modified in the nineteenth by various reforms, have still retained the teaching oftheology in the faculties of Graz,Innsbruck,Cracow,Lemberg,Prague, Olmutz,Salzburg, andVienna; and inHungary atAgram and Budapest. It should be noted, however, that inGermany andAustria the existence of a faculty ofCatholictheology does not make the whole universityCatholic; the other faculties may include members who profess no creed. This situation naturally gives rise to difficulties forCatholic students, especially inphilosophy and history. In countries where a larger freedom is enjoyed, theHoly See has encouraged new foundations.Pius IX gave a charger to Laval,Canada (1876);Leo XIII toBeirut,Syria (1881), and to Ottowa,Canada (1889). TheUniversity of Fribourg,Switzerland, established in 1889, was warmly approved byLeo XIII. The project of founding aCatholic university in theUnited States was suggested at theSecond Plenary Council of Baltimore in 1866; its execution was resolved on at the Third Plenary Council in 1884, and thestatutes of theCatholic University of America were approved byLeo XIII in theApostolic Letter of 7 March, 1889.

Present law of the Church

The principal laws now in force regarding universities are as follows:

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