Medieval University System

Timeline

1. 1088–1200Bologna · ItalyBologna centered on a community of law teachers and students; the students' guild hired teachers and set statutes on its own, pioneering the 'student university' model and influencing later traditions of academic autonomy.
2. 1150–1300Paris · FranceThe University of Paris was renowned for theology, philosophy, and the arts; the teachers' guild led governance, scholasticism flourished there, and it became a European academic authority and talent pool for the papacy.
3. 1300–1440Central and Western Europe · EuropePapal and imperial edicts founded universities; the three-tier degrees of bachelor, master, and doctor and the college system became standardized, and the university network covered Germany, Iberia, and Eastern Europe.
4. 1441–1450Italian and German universities · EuropeIn the 1440s, the revival of classical languages and humanist curricula penetrated university faculties of arts, paving the way for the Renaissance scholarly transformation; traditional scholasticism still predominated but faced challenges from new methods.