UNIVERSITIES, lay corporations to which, since the 12th century, the charge of educating the members of what are called the learned professions has in a great measure been confided throughout Europe and the colonies founded by European states. [liervessire.) The three oldest learned institutions to which the name University can with propriety be applied are those of Paris, Bologna and Salerno.
It is impossible to fix a precise date at which the educational institutions of Paris can be said to have assumed the form and niune of a university. As for the name (unirerailas), it was not confined in the middle ages to scientific bodies ; it was used in a sense equivalent to our word corporation. There were "universities of tailors " in those days. It was long before the name settled down into its present acceptation. The school of Bologna was a " universitas scholarinni," that of Paris a " uoiversitas magistrorum," because the former was a corporation of students, the latter of teachers. The oldest printed statutes of the university of Bologna are called " Statuta et privilegia almae Universitatis Juristarum Oymnasii Bononiensis ; " and in nut a few universities we find an " univcrsitas juristarum " and an " uni versitas artistarum " side by side : from this it appears that " uni versitas " at one time approached nearly to the meaning of our word " faculty." What we now term a university was long designated indifferently " &chola," " studium generale," or " gymnasium." The occasion of this vacillating nomenclature is explained by the history of universities.
The oldest document in which the designation " universitae" is applied to the university of Paris, is a decretal of Innocent III., about the beginning of the 13th century. But as early as 1180 two decretale had been issued by Alexander III., the first of which ordained that in France no person should receive money for permission to teach. The glossa of Vicentinue says expressly, that this prohibition was directed against the chancellor of the university of Paris; and the second decretal alluded to exempts the then rector, Petrwi Con:water, from the operation of the first; and much earlier than any legislative provisions of popes or kings we find the foundations of the university laid.
To almost every cathedral and monastery of Europe there had been, from a very early period, attached a school, in which all aspirants to priestly ordination, and such laymen as wished and could afford it, were instructed in the Tririsies and Quadririsine It appears from the letters of Abelard (died 1142), and from other contemporary sources, that the poorer establiehmente intrusted the conduct of this school to one of their number called the Scholasticus; and that the wealthier bodies maintained a &hole/time to instruct the junior pupils in grammar and philosophy, and a Theologua to instruct the more advanced in theology. About the time of Abelard the great concourse of student,' who flocked to the episcopal school of l'aris appears to have rendered it necessary to ...oral° the two classes of pupils in different localities ; the juniors were sent to the church of St. Julian, while the theologians remained in that of Notre Dame. All who had studied a certain time, and undergone certain trials were entitled to be raised by the rector of the schools to the grade of teachers. This was done by three successive steps. The candidate was first raised to the rank of master, in which he acted for a year as assistant to *doctor (or teacher) ; then to the rank of baccalaureus, in which he taught for a year, under the superintendence of his doctor, pupils of his own; lastly, to the grade of Independent doctor. The number of students rendered the profession of a teacher at Paris lucrative, and many from all nations embraced it. According to the custom of those unsettled times, they gradually formed themselves into a corporation for mutual support. The corporation consisted of the teachers of all the three grades, and stood under a rector elected by themselves. According to an agree tnent entered into in 1206, the rector was elected by the residents of the four nations—French, English or German, Picard*, and Normans. Before this time, in 1200, Philip Augustus had confirmed the exclusive control of the rector over all students and teachers. The local separa tion of the artists from the theologians would have been of little con sequence, but for the rapid progress which the Aristotelian philosophy made during and immediately after the life of Abelard. The specula tions into which studious men were led by the writings of Aristotle necessarily brought them to deal with topics which had hitherto been con ceived to lie within the exclusive domain of theology. The consequences were frequent and bold attempts by individuals to modify the received doctrines of the church, clamours about heresy, persecutions, and counter-persecutions. All these contributed to bring about a tacit
compromise between the professional theologians and the admirers of speculative philosophy: the former were left in pees:mien of the pulpit and chairs of theology ; the latter confined themselves ostensibly to literature end philosophy, and sought to avoid occasioning scandal by rarely overstepping the bounds of abstract inquiry. The progress of this tacit agreement may be traced in the writings of the learned from the time of Abelard down to that of Erasnius ; under it grew up a class of literati, who may be called, although many of them took orders, secular scholars. It was the same incompatibility of the free spirit of speculative inquiry with the stability of a dogmatic theology which led to this compromise, that embittered tbo dispute about the claim of the mendicant orders to establish chairs of theology in the University of Paris about the middle of the 13th century. This con• troversy ended in the secession of the doctors of theology from the university, as it bad for some time been called, and their incorporating themselves into a separate college or faculty. Their example was followed not long after by the doctors of canon law and medicine, who formed themselves into separate faculties. Those faculties consisted exclusively of the actually teaching doctors (doctores regeutes) of these three branches of knowledge. The master* and bachelors remained members of the university proper, which, from the secession of the theologians, canonises, and doctors of medicine, came in time to be called the Faculty of the Artiste. From this period the university consisted of seven bodies or sub-incorporations--the four nations under their procurators, and the three faculties under their deans. The rector was the head of the university; he was elected by the procu rators of the old university ; no doctor of theology, canon law, or medicine could be elected or take part in the election. At first the rector was chosen by the procurators, but latterly by fonr electors, specially elected by each nation for that purpose. The Preveit of Paris (so long as that otficer retained any authority) was the conservator of the royal privileges in the university ; the bishops of 3Ieaux, Beauvais, and Senlis, of the papal privileges. In respect of criminal jurisdiction, the university stood immediately under the king, till A.D. 1200, when its members were transferred to the episcopal court of Paris : about the middle of the 15th century they were transferred to the Parlia ment of Paris. In regard to civil jurisdiction the University was originally under the bishop ; in 1340 it was transferred to the court of the Prevet of Paris; when the Chatelet succeedisl to the judicial functions of the prevet, the university was transferred to that court. The rector, with the procurators and deans, formed a court, which had jurisdiction in all complaints against teachers for incompetency or neglect of duty ; and against students for disobedience to their teachers, the rector, or the discipline of the university, and in all cases between students, lodgingkeepers, booksellers, stationers, &c. From the decisions of the rectorial court there was an appeal to the university, and from it to the Parliament of Paris. Each faculty (that of the artiste included), had its own common school. In the faculty of canonista, there were six professors (or doctores regeutea); the number in the other faculties varied. At an early period colleges were established within the University of Paris by private families or religious orders. Originally they were intended exclusively for poor scholars, who were to live in them subject to certain rules of discipline. By degrees, however, as more numerous and able teachers were employed in these colleges, they assumed the character of boarding houses for all chtmee of students. In the 15th century the students who did not reside in any college hod come to be regarded as excep tions from the general custom, and were nicknamed "martinets." The college of the Surbonne (founded in 1250) was commonly regarded as identical with the theological faculty, because the members of the one were most frequently members of the other also. The promotions however continued to be made by the officers of the university, although the charge of education had been in a great measure engrossed by the colleges. Degrees were conferred iu the faculties of theology, canon law, and medicine, by the deans, with the concurrence of the chancellor of the Cathedral of Notre Dame; in the faculty of artiste, by the rector, with the concurrence either of the chancellor of Notre Dame or the chancellor of St. Genevive.