Medieval Universities Of Western Europe: A Historical Description And Analysis

Medieval universities in the dissertation refer to those western Europe universities which cover a time span from the time when universities were in gestation, their naissance, till the 16th and 17th centuries when national countries were building. The so-called medieval times generally refers to a time span roughly like that of feudalism society of western Europe, including Renaissance, but does not refer to the very medieval times before European Renaissance. Medieval universities count as one of the most valuable innovations of the human society since medieval times, and one of the most valuable cultural inheritances the medieval Europe leaves to the world. The concepts of academic freedom and autonomy originated in European medieval universities, so did such core models as subject differentiation, management of college and specialized cultivation. In an era when universities are undergoing great changes, it is necessary to study the origins and earlier developments of universities and draw on the wisdom, which shall help the current reform of universities. This dissertation studies medieval universities in a historical framework and tries to reveal the historical process of their origin, development and evolution, hence forming a holistic view of medieval universities. Considering that, as a special organization, universities have both extremely complex elements and the relationships among elements, this dissertation only chooses several special subjects as the key objects of studies, with the hope of revealing the holistic visage of European medieval universities in a limited space, hence avoiding missing the thorough insights of them while studying the medieval universities as a whole. At the same time, this dissertation, based on historical consciousness and senses, through the study and analysis of literature, and through the objective elaboration of objects and facts-related analysis, integrates the historical approach and logic approach, as well as the historical "flesh and blood" and "bones", and tries to answer the fundamental question: what is medieval universities and what it leaves to us? This dissertation is composed of six parts. Part one, based on the background of medieval times, studies the naissance of medieval universities, and analyzes the first three universities (which are also called the mother of Western universities) in terms of their naissance background and causes, thus extinguishing the problem of overgeneralness in the study of medieval universities, to further present clearly the original state of medieval universities and their influences. Part two, from a holistic view, studies the history of medieval universities, examining universities in terms of the evolution of concepts and conditions of establishment, analyzing the types and sites of medieval universities to present their evolution, and expounding their naissance and reforms. Part three, through examining the development of medieval universities, the external relationship among universities and Papal court, king and municipality, and papacy power, expounds the influence of interaction between magisterium and kingship upon universities, universities' fight against king and municipality, and papacy power, and the establishment and significance of university autonomy. Part four studies the internal organization and management of medieval universities, through the examining of the structure of universities and their evolution, faculty, students and the system on which internal management was based and its elements, and the source of routine management funds. Part five, through examining such principal activities as curriculum and text-books, teaching and examination modes, degree granting and graduate ceremony, studies the passing down of advanced learning and the significance born by academic ceremonies of medieval universities. Part six, through examining the decline, evolution and growth of the sixteenth-and seventeenth-century universities, studies the knowledge transfer-related university evolution, and the historical cultural significance and localization of medieval universities. The unique value of this dissertation is as follows: on one hand, this dissertation studies the development history of western medieval universities in the Chinese language, synthesizes and analyzes medieval universities, and enriches further the history, repository, materials, and thoughts of higher education studies, thus preparing for further studies; on the other hand, this dissertation, through studies, synthesis and analysis of history literature, makes greater breakthroughs in the following aspects: (1) it analyzes the roots of appearance and historical & cultural background of European medieval universities; (2)it studies the migration and sites of medieval universities, thus revealing the changes of universities; (3) it analyzes the interactions between universities and church and secular power, and the establishment conditions and significance; (4) it studies the evolution of academic gowns, and the significance and values born by academic gowns and other ceremonies related; (5) it makes conclusions on and analysis of historical cultural values and localization.