UNIVERSITIES
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UNIVERSITIES
tion and (Icfiiiition of terms [ponere el (letcrmitmrv);
division of the matter ami discussion of the several
points followed by a summary of the essential (arin-
dere ct sunimnre); presentation of problems suggested
by the text (qu(rstioncs), and solution of objections.
In lectures on law the reading of the glosses was an
important feature, and cases were frequently jiro-
posed to illustrate principles. At the ordinary lec-
tures, the scholars were not supposed to ask ques-
tions; at the extraordinary, greater freedom was per-
mitted, the scholars being encouraged to express their
doubts as to the meaning of the texts and to request
further information on obscure matters. More
thorough training, however, wa-s given in the resump-
tions and repetitions which the masters held at stated
times for the treatment of special problems. The
exercises, conducted in dialectical 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 disputa-
tion. This was of two kinds: d. ordinaria and d. de
quodlihet. The ordinary disputation took place every
week and la.sted from morning till noon, or till evening
according to the numtier of participants. On the
day set apart for this purpose 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) an-
nounced, in the form of question or thesis, the subject
of the debate; other masters (opponentes) presented
arguments against, the thesis; answers to the argu-
ments were given by two or three bachelors (re-
spomientcs) appointed for the occasion. The number
of arginnents was regulated by statute or was fixed
by the dean of the facuhy whose duty it was to
preside. Throughout the disputation the syllogistic
form was employed. The disputation de quodlihet
was held only once a year, but with greater solemnity
than the ordinary, and over a wider range of topics.
The ma.ster elected or appointed for the occasion,
and known as the quodlihelarius, 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 " Quod-
libetales" of St. Thomas. It was mainly out of these
lectures, repetitions, and disputations that the works
of the medieval doctors grew; so that the various
commentaries, summce, and books of "sentences"
afford the best idea of university teaching both as to
content and as to method.
Courxea 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 ma-ster or doctor. The system of degrees devel- oped out of the necessity of restricting the right to teach, and consequently of fixing the qualifications which the teacher should po.s.sess. 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 ma.ster.ship. The requirements for these varied at different periods and in different universities; each faculty, moreover, had its own regulations regarding the length of cour.ses and the subjects of study; in particular, there was a rather liroad division between the faculty of arts and the superior faculties of the- ology, medicine, and law. For the courses of study in arts, see .\rts. Bachelor of; .\rts. The FAcrLTr of; -Vrts, Master of. — In theology, the texts were the Bible and the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard; in law, the books mentioned above; in medicine, the XV.— 13
works of Galen, Avicenna, and other writers pre-
scribed for Montpellier by Clement V in 1309.
The medical course included also practical work in
anatomy, for which the "Anatomia" of Mondino
(1275-1237) of Bologna and a similar text bv Henri
de Mondeville (1260-1320) of Montpellier, s(Vved as
guides. The student Wiis further required, before
graduation, to accompany the professor on the latter'a
visits to the sick for the purpose of clinical study.
For degrees in the higher faculties, see Doctor.
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. The University of Bo- logna owed its origin mainly to associations of foreign students, and among these the Germans enjoyed exceptional jirivileges. At Paris the English nation was prominent, and Irish scholars were found in the continental universities long before they were expelled from the English 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, while Wyclif (d. 1384) placed the "heroic" number at 60,000, in his own day at 3,000; the earlier accounts gave Paris between 20,000 and 40,0000. Recent estimates have reduced these nimibers, allowing Paris as a maximum 6000-7000, Bologna about the same, Ox- ford 1.500-3000 (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 century Vienna had 933, in 14.50-1479 Cologne had 852, in 1472 Leipzig had 062; while Greifswald in 146.5-1478 had only 103 and Freiburg, in 1460-1.500, 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 twentj'-one. The stu- dents of the superior faculties were, of course, older men. Candidates for the doctorate in theology at Paris must have been over thirty; and it was not un- common for priests who had already spent some time in the ministry, to matriculate at the university; an abbot, a provost, or even a bishop might become a student without any sacrifice of his dignity.
The frequent use of the word clericus or "clerk" to designate a university student, does not imply that every student was an ecclesiastic. At Bologna the distinction was clearly drawn between the scolaris and the clericus; the statutes concerning the rector provide that he must be a scholar of Bologna and, in addition, "an unmarried cleric, wearing the clerical dress and not belonging to any religious order". Similar provisions are found at Florence, Perugia, and Padua. Long before the rise of the univer.sities, clerics enjoyed certain pri\'ileges and immunities, and these were extended, when the universities had been established, to all the students, lay and clerical alike. The layman would naturally wear the clerical garb not merely as an academic costume but as an evidence that he w:is entitled to clerical privileges. Even at Paris and Oxford, where the ecclesiastical element domin.ated, the enjoyment of these privileges w;is not dependent on the reception of tonsure, i. e. on admis- sion to the clerical state in the canonical .sense (Rash- dall, II, t>4fi). Celibacy, however, was obligatory on all scholars and masters; as a rule, a master who married lo.st his po.sition, and though married scholars are souK'times mentioned, e. g. at Oxford, they were disqualified for taking degrees. Still, celibacy was not universally enforced; there were married profes- sors of medicine at Salerno, and at the university of the Roman Curia, which was under the direct super- vision of the pope, the masters of law had their wives and children. One of the famous canonists of Bo-
