An important milestone in the development of science and education was the creation universities. Universities were born out of the church school system. At the end of the 11th - beginning of the 12th century. individual cathedral and monastery schools turn into large educational centers, which then become the first universities. This is exactly how, for example, the University of Paris arose (1200), which grew out of the Sorbonne - the theological school at Notre Dame - and the medical and law schools that joined it. Other European universities arose in a similar way: in Naples (1224), Oxford (1206), Cambridge (1231), Lisbon (1290). Universities were also established by secular authorities.
The birth and rights of the university were confirmed privileges - special documents signed by popes or reigning persons. Privileges secured university autonomy (its own court, administration, the right to grant academic degrees, etc.), exempted students from military service, etc. The network of universities expanded quite quickly. If in the XIII century. There were 19 universities in Europe, then in the next century another 25 were added to them. The growth of university education responded to the dictates of the time.
The emergence of the university contributed to the revitalization of public life, trade and increased income. This is why cities willingly agreed to open universities. It is known, for example, that the authorities of Florence, devastated by the war, opened a university in 1348, thereby hoping to improve matters. The opening of the university was subject to certain conditions. Sometimes the city community set a specific minimum number of students and agreed to pay the professor only if such a minimum was met.
The Church sought to keep university education under its influence. The Vatican was the official patron of many universities. The main subject at universities was theology. The teachers were almost entirely people from the clergy. The Franciscan and Dominican orders controlled a significant part of the sees. The Church kept its representatives in universities - chancellors, who were directly subordinate to the archbishops. Nevertheless, the universities of the early Middle Ages, in their program, organization and teaching methods, played the role of a secular alternative to church education.
An important feature of universities was their somewhat supranational, democratic character. So, on the benches of the Sorbonne sat men of different ages and classes from many countries. The organization of the university did not require large expenditures. Almost any room was suitable. Instead of benches, listeners could sit on straw. Students often chose professors from among themselves. The procedure for registering at the university seemed very loose. The training was paid. Poor students rented small rooms for housing, did odd jobs, took lessons, begged, and traveled. By the 14th century there was even a special category of traveling students (vagantes, goliards), who repeatedly moved from one university to another. Many vagantes were not distinguished by morality and were a real scourge for ordinary people. But many of them became devotees of science and education. The first universities were very mobile. If plague, war and other troubles began in the surrounding area, the university could leave its home and move to another country or another city.
Students and teachers united into national communities (nations, collegium). Thus, at the University of Paris there were 4 communities: French, Picardy, English and German, at the University of Bologna there were even more - 17.
Later, fraternities (in the second half of the 13th century) appeared at universities faculties, or colleges. They were the names of certain educational units, as well as corporations of students and professors of these units. Communities and faculties determined the life of the first universities. By the end of the 15th century. The situation has changed. The main officials of the university began to be appointed by the authorities, and the nations lost their influence.
Faculties awarded academic degrees, the acquisition of which was assessed in the spirit of apprenticeship and knightly education. Sometimes graduates, like knights, were crowned with loud titles like graph of law. In an academic degree master it is not difficult to guess the title of master that the apprentice of the artisan received. Professors and students thought of themselves in the relationship of masters and apprentices.
When a young man of 13-14 years old came to the university, he had to register with the professor, who was then considered responsible for him. The student studied with the professor from 3 to 7 years and, if he studied successfully, received a bachelor's degree. At first it was considered only as a stepping stone to a scientific degree. The bachelor attended lectures by other professors, helped teach newly arrived students, i.e. became a kind of apprentice. As a result, like a craftsman, he publicly presented (showed) his scientific work, defending it in front of members of the faculty who had already received their degrees. After successful defense, the bachelor received an academic degree (master, doctor, licentiate).
Most early universities had several faculties. The content of the training was determined by the program of the seven liberal arts. Specialization increased. The universities were famous for teaching certain subjects: Paris - theology and philosophy, Oxford - canon law. Orleans - civil law, university in Montpellier (southern France) - medicine, universities of Spain - mathematics and natural sciences, Italy - Roman law.
The student was required to attend lectures: mandatory daytime (regular) and repeat evening lectures. Disputes took place weekly with the mandatory presence of students. The teacher (usually a master's or licentiate) assigned the topic of the debate. Disputes were held once or twice a year about anything(without a strictly defined topic). In this case, sometimes pressing scientific and ideological problems were discussed.
Universities gradually rejected scholasticism, which was degenerating into the science of empty words. In the XIV-XV centuries. The gap between modern knowledge and scholasticism has widened. Scholasticism increasingly turned into a formal, meaningless philosophy. Scientific studies scholastics could, for example, have discussions on the topic: “How many devils fit on the tip of a needle”; “Why couldn’t Adam in paradise eat an apple and not a pear,” etc.
Universities contrasted scholasticism with active intellectual life.
Higher education differs from school education primarily in its fundamentals - a different teaching methodology, a different scheme for assessing a student’s knowledge - and, of course, a completely different life for the students themselves, who have long ceased to be children, but cannot be called completely adults either. Is this how things were a century or two ago and what did the very first universities look like? Where did they originate and what was customary to study then?
The very first university - Constantinople
Traditionally, the history of universities is usually counted from the 12th century - and considered in the context of the Western European tradition. However, the very first educational institution that could fully correspond to the university level appeared in the middle of the 9th century - this is the Constantinople, or Magnavra school, which existed until 1453.
This university was founded on the basis of an even earlier school, and taught philosophy, rhetoric, medicine and law. By the time of its closure, most universities already existed in Western Europe, which still operate today.
The first universities of Western Europe
In Western Europe, higher educational institutions were completely different from what they are now, at the time of their inception - which, by the way, is impossible to accurately determine, since universities initially had a very distant relationship with education (rather, they were communes formed on linguistic or other grounds) - these social groups and settlements were much more like religious brotherhoods, craft and merchant guilds. This evolutionary process occurred naturally around individual cathedral and monastic schools in the late 11th and early 12th centuries.
Principles of formation of the first universities
This is how, for example, the University of Paris arose in 1200 (it grew out of a theological school, which was later joined by medical and law schools), the University of Naples in 1224, the University of Oxford in 1206, the University of Cambridge in 1231, the University of Lisbon in 1290 year. The official birth of the university was confirmed by privileges - special documents that were signed by popes or high-ranking nobles. These documents defined university autonomy - its own court, local government, and the right to grant academic degrees.
Students were exempt from military service and some other forms of duties. Universities began to appear very quickly - if in the 13th century there were only 19 of them throughout Europe, then a century later another 25 were added to them. Opening a university was quite simple: sometimes the city community simply designated a minimum of students, if available, it agreed to pay for a hired professor, and then - and subsequent ones. On the benches of the Sorbonne at different times one could see men of completely different ages and classes from different countries; sometimes the lecture hall was an ordinary barn, and the listeners sat comfortably on straw instead of benches.
Church and universities
During the Middle Ages, the church tried to keep university education under its patronage; theology remained the main subject for a very long time, and the teachers were mainly representatives of monastic orders - nevertheless, the situation was very democratic, so education was rather secular.
Universities could move - if epidemics of a dangerous disease, famine, or war broke out in the surrounding area, the entire university simply moved to a neighboring city or even country.
Vaganta and “Gaudeamus”
The procedure for enrolling in universities was quite conventional, students rented closets nearby, begged, wandered - by the 14th century, a special category of students constantly wandering from place to place (and from university to university) arose, who were called vagants, minstrels, or goliards. Many of them turned into real robbers and lost their moral character, but many of them became devotees of education and science.
Since teaching in the first universities was conducted for a long time in Latin, wandering students had an excellent command of this language and could communicate with each other quite easily. The Vagantes gave birth to a whole culture of poetry and songs - in particular, the famous hymn “Gaudeamus”, which has been sung by students of all universities in all countries of the world for centuries, belongs to a certain anonymous pen of one of them. This hymn glorifies youth and the triumph of freedom: “So, let us have fun while we are young! After a pleasant youth, after a painful old age, the earth will take us” - and then seven verses in approximately the same spirit. The hymn was transmitted orally for several centuries, so it has several versions.
The emergence of faculties or colleges
Initially, both students and teachers united into national communities - nations or colleges, which in the second half of the 13th century were transformed into faculties or colleges. Representatives of faculties - deans - chose the official head - the rector, often this position gave annual powers. Later, democracy gradually ended and the main officials began to be appointed by local authorities.
Faculties awarded academic degrees - sometimes graduates, like knights, were loudly called titles like “Count of Law.” The content of training was determined by the seven liberal sciences. For example, at the Faculty of Arts they read Aristotle's works on logic, physics, ethics and metaphysics - some works were translated on the fly from Arabic and Greek and heatedly discussed in the process.
University specialization
The specialization of higher educational institutions gradually increased - for example, the University of Paris willingly produced experts in theology and philosophy, the University of Oxford was famous for teaching canon law, and the University of Orleans - civil law. At the University of Montpellier the teaching of medicine was very strong, at the universities of Spain there were very serious mathematical and natural science schools, and at the universities of Italy they studied Roman law in detail and in depth.
The first university in Russia
In the Russian Empire, the first university appeared 600 years after the opening of Bologna - in 1755. For some strange reason, although universities flourished very nearby - in Prague, Lviv, Krakow - none of the kings thought of bothering with higher education. This was only possible by the self-taught Mikhail Lomonosov, who came on foot, in bast shoes, from God knows where and convinced Empress Elizaveta Petrovna with his enthusiasm and specific initiative and plan.
The decree of the reigning person was signed on January 25, the Day of St. Tatiana, who became the patroness of all Russian students. The creation of three faculties, ten departments and two gymnasiums was envisaged. The duration of study was then only three years, and the university itself was under the jurisdiction of the Senate. Now Moscow University bears the name of its creator - Lomonosov, today it is an educational institution that is one of the hundred most powerful universities in the world.
Highly learned medieval sages, such as Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas, gave their lectures to university students. But the universities themselves were still new at that time - they began to emerge in Western Europe only in the 12th-13th centuries.
"Seven Liberal Arts"In the monastic and church schools of the early Middle Ages, they studied primarily the “seven liberal arts.” This is a set of academic disciplines that emerged at the end of the Roman Empire. The “Seven Liberal Arts” were divided into two groups of subjects: trivium (can be translated from Latin approximately as “three-way” and quadrivium - “four-way”).
The student had to first master the trivium, that is, grammar, dialectics and rhetoric. Grammar, first of all, gave knowledge in reading Latin: students crammed the alphabet, then learned parts of speech and became acquainted with some (not too numerous) works of Latin authors. Dialectics was a discipline similar to modern logic. Here, students (schoolchildren) learned to build evidence and conduct a scientific argument - a debate. Rhetoric taught the art of versification, composing essays, introduced the basics of oratory, and the rudiments of law.
The trivium was a preparation for the more complex quadrivium. It began with arithmetic and geometry, and continued with music and astronomy. These subjects are not similar to modern academic disciplines with the same names. Thus, astronomy included a lot of information from astrology, which was very popular in the Middle Ages (astrology tried to trace the influence of planets and stars on the destinies of people). Music was a complex theoretical subject about the relationships of various intervals and durations and resembled the field of mathematics rather than ordinary music-making.
At the quadrivium, training, as a rule, ended, and only a few, thirsty for greater knowledge, went to study further in the schools of Paris, Salerno or Bologna, which have already been mentioned.
First universitiesIt was in Bologna and Paris in the 12th century. The first universities arose, providing an excellent education at that time. In the XIII-XV centuries. Almost all European countries acquired universities. They were founded by bishops and popes, kings and emperors, princes and cities. The oldest universities in England were Oxford and Cambridge. (It is known that the University of Cambridge began with an ordinary barn, in which four teachers from France opened their school.) In Italy, in addition to Bologna, the University of Naples, founded by Emperor Frederick II, was famous. In Christian Spain, the university in Salamanca enjoyed the greatest honor. In the Holy Roman Empire, the first universities appeared in the Czech Republic - in Prague (1348), then in Austria - in Vienna (1365) and only after that in Germany itself - in Heidelberg, Cologne and Erfurt. The first Polish university arose in Krakow in 1364.
The word "university" comes from the Latin "universitas" - community. A university is a community of teachers and students. It was in many ways reminiscent of a craft workshop. Just as the workshop was headed by masters, the university was headed by teachers - masters. The university received various privileges from its founders and then sacredly guarded and defended them. Enjoying great independence, the university was often beyond the control of local authorities. And if serious disagreements suddenly arose with them, then both the masters and students went to another place as a sign of protest. Usually, after some time, they were asked to return back with apologies: after all, having your own university is an honor for any city.
Students from all over Europe gathered for lectures by famous teachers. In Paris there were sometimes up to 30 thousand students at a time. The entire life of students was determined by fraternities - communities of students of the same origin. Lucky students managed to get settled in colleges - a semblance of modern dormitories. The name of one of the oldest Parisian colleges, the Sorbonne, eventually passed on to the entire Parisian university. In England and France, colleges laid the foundation for special educational institutions - colleges (in England) and colleges (in France).
Teaching was carried out in faculties, each of which was headed by a dean, and the entire “community” was headed by an elected rector or a chancellor appointed by the authorities. The University of Paris had four faculties: one lower - preparatory and three higher. At the lower level, the “seven liberal arts” were studied. The Latin word for arts is "artes", so the faculty was often called artistic, and its students - artists. Of course, these artists had nothing to do with the theater. After studying for several years at the Faculty of Arts, a student could take the risk of taking the exam for the first academic degree - a bachelor's degree. The bachelor was somewhat reminiscent of an apprentice in a craft workshop: he continued to study, but little by little he began to teach himself. A bachelor who had fully completed his studies at the artistic faculty could take a more difficult exam - for the title of Master of Liberal Arts. Only masters of liberal arts were allowed to become students in one of the three higher faculties: theology (the most famous in Paris), law or medicine. At each of them, it was also possible to first become a bachelor, and in case of successful completion of education, receive the highest degree of doctor. The Doctor of Theology, the Doctor of Both Laws (canonical, i.e., ecclesiastical and civil) and the Doctor of Medicine were the most authoritative people in the scientific world of medieval Europe.
Schoolchildren. VagantasThe life of the university was rich in magnificent ceremonies, solemn debates between learned men, and colorful processions on holidays.
Noisy feasts of rowdy groups of schoolchildren were also a characteristic feature of medieval universities. Among the students, especially at the senior faculties, there were enough respectable independent people. But the majority of “artists” are young people, and not always well-off. Many of them worked as best they could, but most often they begged for alms, or even robbed peaceful inhabitants at night. There were bloody clashes between students and townspeople. The reason for one of the most serious was that the schoolchildren “found the wine in the tavern excellent, but the bill presented to them for the wine they drank was too high.”
As a rule, all students - both brawlers and quiet ones - loved their university very much, which they called “affectionate mother” (in Latin - “alma mater”). Until now, students all over the world sing their anthem, composed by medieval schoolchildren. It begins with the words: “So let us rejoice!” (in Latin - "Gaudeamus igitur!").
Many students moved from city to city to listen to lectures by various celebrities. The thirst for knowledge drove them from Salamanca to Paris, from Paris to Naples, from Naples to Oxford... With a couple of books and a crust of bread in their knapsack, they wandered along the roads of Europe. Such wandering students were called vagantes (in Latin - “wandering”). Some of the vagrants eventually achieved the highest academic titles, but there were so many losers among them who never even became bachelors!
Many of the semi-knowledgeable vagants turned out to be excellent poets. Many student songs and rhymes have come down to us from the times when Thomas Aquinas lectured at the Parisian pulpit. Among these works there are lyrics, evil satire, and even not quite decent verses. But the wit and talent of their authors, often anonymous, cannot be denied.
From the decree of the papal legate on students and masters of Parisian schools (1215)Let no one give lectures on the liberal arts unless he has reached the age of twenty-one and has listened to all the basic books for at least six years.
Let everyone promise that he will study for at least two years, unless there is a serious reason to prevent this, which he must declare publicly or before the examiner. And he must not stain himself with any dishonorable act.
When someone has prepared to teach, he must be examined according to the form contained in the decision of the Bishop of Paris...
Those who have passed the examination must teach in ordinary schools Aristotle's books on the old and new dialectics... No one should read Aristotle's Metaphysics and Philosophy of Nature or read the Summa... from these books...
No one should give feasts... at meetings of masters and debates of boys and young men. But everyone can invite friends and associates to their place, so that there are not too many of them. We encourage donations of clothing or other things, as is customary, or even more, in every possible way, especially in relation to the poor.
No Master of Arts teaching in the Liberal Arts shall wear more than one robe, black in color and extending down to the heels... No one shall wear shoes with trim or long toes under the robe...
If a Master of Arts or Divinity dies, all Masters must stay awake all night. Each of them personally reads the Psalter or otherwise provides for its reading. Everyone should be present in church, where services are held until midnight or most of the night, unless there is a serious reason to prevent this. On the day of burial there should be no lectures or debates...
Every master must have the right of trial in relation to his students...
No one receives permission to teach from the chancellor or any other person for money, or by promise, or by any other agreement...
With regard to theologians, we command that no one in Paris can teach theology unless he has reached thirty-five years of age, studied for eight years, and listened to all the necessary books...
No one is allowed to teach or preach in Paris unless he is a person worthy of life and sufficiently knowledgeable in his science. No one in Paris can be considered a student unless he has a certain teacher.
From the poems of the vagants Beggar student I am a nomadic student... Fate has dealt its blow to me like your club. Not for vain vanity, not for entertainment - because of bitter poverty I gave up my studies. In the autumn cold, tormented by fever, in a tattered raincoat I wander through the prickly rain. A crowd poured into the church, and the mass lasted a long time. I just listen to pop music without interest. The abbot calls his flock to mercy, but his homeless brother is cold and languishing. Give me, Holy Father, your cassock, and then I will finally stop freezing. And I will light a candle for your darling, so that the Lord will find a place for you in heaven. * * * I am with you, you are with me, we will live one life. You are locked in my heart, I lost the key to the door, so remember: like it or not, you won’t go free! * * * Without my beloved bottle, I feel a heaviness in the back of my head. Without the kind wine I am sadder than a dead man. But when I’m dead drunk, I have a great time and, bawling in intoxication, I earnestly praise God! Good old days The pinnacle of knowledge, color of thought - This was the university. And now, by the will of fate, it is turning into a den. They walk, revel, eat, never pick up books; for a scoundrel schoolboy, studying is like a game. In the old days, such an idiot sweated over books all his life, And he studied - keep in mind - until he was almost ninety years old. Well, now, in ten years they graduate from university and go out into life without having learned anything! At the same time, they have the audacity to lecture others. No! Drive such blind guides away from the doors. Unfledged chicks are allowed to mentor the young! The lamb, having put on the mantle, decided that he was a learned lion!... Is Blessed Augustine really mired in the most vile of quagmires? Has the wisdom of all ages really been reduced to the debauchery of taverns?! The proud spirit of bygone times has been crucified, ridiculed, and distorted. Here nonsense is considered wisdom, but wisdom is called stupidity! Since when, explain, learning is a whim, diligence is nonsense. But if the above is decay, what do you offer in return? Eh, young gentlemen, be afraid of the Last Judgment! If you ask for forgiveness, who will want to forgive you?! After the fall of the Roman Empire in 476, the European Middle Ages began, which for a long time determined the path of development of education. The boundaries of this era are blurred and individual for each country. The Middle Ages are usually divided into the early Middle Ages (V-XI centuries), developed (XI-XIII centuries), later (XIII-XV centuries) and the Renaissance (XV-XVII centuries). How have schools and universities changed over 16 centuries?
In the early Middle Ages, schools of the ancient type dominated, training mainly the clergy. Later, schools of elementary education appeared (taught children seven to ten years old) and large schools (for children over ten years old).
In education and training in the Middle Ages, pagan, ancient and Christian traditions were intertwined. Church schools occupied a special place in the education system. Pedagogical thought was practically absent in the Middle Ages, replaced by the postulates of the church and religious education. There were two types of church educational institutions: cathedral (cathedral) and monastic schools.
The first trained clergy, but also prepared them for secular activities. They provided a broader education than monastery schools. The program of cathedral schools included reading, writing, grammar, counting, and church singing. During the late Middle Ages, some cathedral schools taught subjects of the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, dialectics) or information from the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music). At the end of the 12th century. Cathedral schools were transformed into comprehensive schools and then into universities.
Monastic schools were divided into three main types: pastoral-monastic (prepared clergy for parish service), dormitory schools at monasteries (prepared boys to become monks) and schools for teaching literacy and church scripture for boys who did not intend to stay at the church or monastery. The studies were theological in nature with some secular elements. Cruel punishment of children was considered natural and godly. Vacations and physical education were virtually absent.
In addition to the Christian tradition, knightly culture had a huge influence on the education system. The feudal lords instilled in their children the ideal of knightly education, which included sacrifice, obedience and, at the same time, personal freedom. Parallel to the knightly ideal, there was a program of “seven knightly virtues”: riding, swimming, wielding a spear, fencing, hunting, playing chess, writing poetry and playing musical instruments.
Women's education remained strictly at home. The daughters of feudal lords were raised in the family under the supervision of mothers and special women. Girls were often taught reading and writing by chaplains and monks. The practice of sending girls from noble families to be raised in nunneries, where they taught Latin, introduced them to the Bible, and instilled noble manners, became widespread. Girls from unprivileged classes were at best taught housekeeping, needlework and the basics of the Bible.
In the late Middle Ages, guild and city schools became widespread. This was primarily due to the increased role of cities. Guild schools, supported by artisans, provided general education. City schools were born from guild and guild schools. They were not under the supervision of the church for long. The head of the institution was called the rector, and teachers very often had the status of “vagrants”. The fact is that the school hired a teacher for a certain period, so after some time he was forced to look for a new place. The program included the following subjects: Latin, arithmetic, office management, geometry, technology, natural sciences.
Often schools in Central Europe were created by some order (for example, the city schools of the Jesuits during the Renaissance). The educational institutions of this order were distinguished by the fact that the elite of the nobility studied there. The order was characterized by the strictest discipline, unquestioning subordination of the younger to the elder. At the request of the elder, the Jesuit had to lie, slander, kill... The Jesuits sought to raise a “future” for themselves, in order to then influence political and social life.
At the end of the XII - beginning of the XIII century. the first universities appeared. The word "university", derived from the Latin universities - "integrity", "totality", meant a corporation of teachers and students. The medieval university included the following faculties: law, medicine, theology, philosophy. However, training began with a special, preparatory faculty, where the famous “seven liberal arts” were taught. And since the Latin for art is “artes,” the faculty was called artistic. Teaching was in Latin.
The word "lecture" means reading. The medieval professor actually read the book, sometimes interrupting the lecture with explanations. Thousands of people flocked to cities where the famous scientist and professor came. In fact, this is how universities were formed. In the small town of Bologna, where at the turn of the XI-XII centuries. An expert on Roman law, Irnerius, appeared, and a school of legal knowledge arose, which turned into the University of Bologna. Similarly, another Italian city, Salerno, became famous as a major university center for medical science. The University of Paris, founded in the 12th century, was recognized as the main center of theology.
To become a university, an institution had to receive a papal bull (decree) of its creation. With such a bull, the Pope removed the school from the control of secular and local church authorities and legitimized the existence of the university. The rights of the educational institution were confirmed by privileges - special documents signed by popes or reigning persons. Privileges secured university autonomy (its own court, administration, as well as the right to grant academic degrees) and exempted students from military service. Professors, students and employees of the educational institution were subordinate not to the city authorities, but exclusively to the elected rector of the university and elected deans of faculties. If a student committed some kind of misconduct, the city authorities could only ask the university leaders to judge and punish the offender.
Students were usually divided into nations and communities, which designated associations of students from different regions. They could rent apartments, but many lived in colleges (colleges). These colleges were usually formed by nation, with representatives of one community living in one college.
The student’s responsibilities included attending lectures: mandatory daytime (ordinary) and repeat evening lectures. An important feature of universities of that era was debate. The teacher (usually a master's or licentiate) assigned a topic. His assistant, a bachelor, led the discussion, that is, answered questions and commented on the speeches. If necessary, the master came to the aid of the bachelor. Once or twice a year, debates were held “about anything” (without a strictly defined topic). In this case, pressing scientific and ideological problems were often discussed. The participants in the debate behaved very freely, interrupting the speaker with whistles and shouts.
As a rule, a wonderful career awaited a university graduate. On the one hand, universities actively collaborated with the church. On the other hand, along with the gradual expansion of the administrative apparatus of various feudal lords and cities, the need for literate and educated people increased. Yesterday's students became scribes, notaries, judges, lawyers, and prosecutors.
The student population was very diverse - the majority came from noble townspeople, but even the children of peasants could receive a scholarship and education. There were many monks and clerics. It was in the Middle Ages that the concept of a wandering eternal student - a vagant - appeared. They moved from one university to another in order to obtain knowledge from various sources. The poetry of the Vagants is known all over the world; it is a fusion of folklore and Latin traditions. Its main themes are love, death, fun, feasts, education. The real names of the authors are unknown: as a rule, most of them preferred to remain incognito in order to avoid clashes with representatives of the Inquisition.
Sapozhnikova Marina
Strictly speaking, the very first university to appear in the Western world can be considered the University of Constantinople, founded back in 425 AD, but received university status only in 848. Students studying there received knowledge in the fields of medicine, law and philosophy. In addition, one of the required disciplines was rhetoric - the ability to express one’s thoughts. From the 9th century, other natural sciences began to be studied in this educational institution: astronomy, arithmetic, geometry and music. But since Constantinople, the city now called Istanbul, is located on the border of Europe and Asia, many are inclined to give the palm to the university of the Italian city of Bologna, which was founded in 1088 AD.This educational institution was the first in Western Europe to receive a Charter from Frederick I Barbarossa in 1158; by that time, students had been studying theology and civil law at the university for 70 years. The charter gave the university the right to implement its research and educational programs independently of either ecclesiastical or secular authorities. From that time on, the program included a course in grammar, logic and rhetoric. The University of Bologna is the oldest educational institution that provided continuous academic degrees to its graduates. It is currently the second largest of the Italian universities. Today, about 100 thousand students study at its 23 faculties.
Other oldest universities in Europe
In 1222, former teachers and students of the University of Bologna, who were in conflict with its leadership, founded a new educational institution with a university program and level of education in another Italian city, Padua. This university had two departments, in one, students studied theology, civil and canon law, in the other, medicine, rhetoric, philosophy, dialectics, grammar, astronomy and medicine.In the English-speaking world, Oxford is recognized as the oldest university, the year of its foundation is 1117. Initially, the English clergy received theosophical education within its walls, but already from the 13th century the highest nobility began to study there. Currently, this educational institution trains students in the humanities, mathematicians, physicists, sociologists, doctors, botanists, ecologists, etc.
Another oldest European university is the French Sorbonne, founded in 1215. At first it was a union of church colleges, but since 1255, young people from poor families received the right to study theology in this institution. Since the 16th century, the Sorbonne University has been considered the center of European philosophical thought.