Imagine a guild of masters and scholars. That is how the University of Paris began. It was not founded by a royal charter but grew organically. It emerged near the Notre Dame Cathedral in the 12th century.
This University of Paris became a beacon of knowledge. It was known as a universitas magistrorum et scholarium. This Latin term meant a guild of masters and scholars. The University of Paris quickly became a model for other medieval universities. Bologna also served as a model.
The University of Paris was structured into four faculties. These were Arts Medicine Law and Theology. Arts was the lowest rank but the largest. Students had to graduate from Arts to enter higher faculties. Students were divided into four nationes. These were based on language or regional origin. The nationes were France Normandy Picard and England. The English nation later became the Alemannian German nation. Recruitment was wider than names suggest. The English-German nation included students from Scandinavia and Eastern Europe.
Three schools were especially famous in Paris. These were the palatine school the school of Notre-Dame and the school of Sainte-Geneviève. Royalty’s decline led to the decline of the palatine school. The other two schools had ancient origins.
Hubold was the first renowned professor at Ste-Geneviève. He attracted many students through his teaching. Notable professors from Notre-Dame in the 11th century included Lambert Drogo and Anselm. These schools drew scholars from across the world. They produced many illustrious figures. Saint Stanislaus Gebbard and St Stephen were among them. William of Champeaux Peter Abelard and Peter Lombard also added esteem.
Originally instruction included grammar rhetoric and arithmetic. It also included geometry music and astronomy. Higher instruction involved theology and canon law. The Bolognese compendium of canon law led to a division. Theology and church discipline had been studied together. The collection necessitated a special course. Orléans and Paris then created chairs of canon law. Medicine also began to be taught publicly in Paris in the 12th century.
To become a professor one needed knowledge and appointment. Knowledge was proven by examination. The examiner the head of the school granted the appointment. This was called the license to teach. The license had to be granted freely. Teaching without it was prohibited. However it could not be refused to deserving applicants.
Besides Notre-Dame Ste-Geneviève and St-Victor schools existed elsewhere. Anyone with the right to teach could open a school. This was allowed if it was not near a principal school.
The number of students grew. Lodgings became insufficient. French students included princes and nobility. Foreigners flocked to Paris for studies. Popes Celestine II Adrian IV and Innocent III studied there. German and British students also attended. Chroniclers called Paris the city of letters. They placed it above Athens and Rome. Poets compared it to greatness and nobility.
King Philip II issued a diploma in 1200. It ensured the security of scholars in Paris. Students were subject only to ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Royal officers could not arrest students unless handing them to the Church.
Robert de Courçon’s statutes dealt with professorship conditions. They also covered the subject matter and license granting. Teaching arts required being 21 and studying arts for six years. Theology chairs required being 30 with eight years of theological studies. Pure morals were as important as reading. The license was granted freely. Instruction was also free.
In 1229 a denial of justice led to a strike. Pope Gregory IX intervened praising Paris. He called it the mother of sciences. He empowered the university to frame statutes. These concerned discipline instruction and professors’ costumes. Most importantly the pope recognized the right to suspend courses if denied justice.
The University of Paris assumed its basic form. It comprised the four nations of arts and the three superior faculties. These were theology law and medicine. St. Louis praised the university’s doctrine.
Scholars often faced lodging difficulties. Some rented rooms at high rates. Colleges were founded to offer shelter. These were simple student boarding houses. They catered to students of the same nationality or science. They enabled wise use of time.
The Collège de Sorbonne was founded in 1257. It was one of the first colleges. In 1970 the University of Paris was divided into 13 universities. The ideal of the University of Paris continues to inspire.