We often think of college as a somewhat modern institution. Each student specializes in courses to help them achieve skills and intelligence for a plethora of different career paths. However, in Europe in the Middle Ages, students also followed this pattern. While the Middle Age universities didn’t offer coffee shop studying, Canvas, or the career center, students did choose areas of studies to pursue just like us today. Medieval students had a structured educational system, and some of their academic experiences might have more similarities than one might assume.
Medieval universities arose out of Europe in 11th and 12th centuries. They grew from the early religious schools and other learning institutions. As the system grew and universities began to arise, they became organized communities of teachers and students that were eventually legally recognized. Some important early universities include the University of Bologna (c.1088). This is considered one of the oldest universities in the Western world, and known well for the study of law. A very famous university, Oxford University (c.1096), is still a prestigious center for scholarship, and even is featured in many famous films such as Harry Potter. Students traveled from different regions to attend these universities. Unlike today, Latin was the main language of instruction across most of the European universities. However the structure in which classes and curriculum was set up was different from today, students progressed through foundational arts before touching more difficult subjects.
The seven liberal arts were the foundation of medieval education. These 7 arts were categorized into two categories; the trivium and quadrivium. The trivium consisted of grammar, rhetoric, and logic. The medieval students learned how to write in Latin with good grammar, and use rhetoric to write persuasively. Logic was the study of reasoning and constructing logical arguments. Logic is still an important subject today for many pre-law and law students. This trivium was the category for language, communication, and understanding/reasoning. The quadrivium consisted of arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. Arithmetic is the study of numbers and theoretical math principles rather than modern calculations that we might associate with math classes today. Geometry was the study of shapes, using Euclid’s Elements as their foundational text. Music might feel as if it is out of place, but they saw music as a mathematical discipline. They explored the ratios in song, the harmonies, and the relationships between notes- not just learning how to play an instrument. Lastly, astronomy studied planets, the stars, and structure of the heavens, connecting math with the natural phenomena of the universe.
Once the medieval students completed their “gen-ed” classes, there were three general advanced areas to disperse into, theology, law, and medicine. Law and medicine are still very disciplined and highly intellectual fields of study today. Theology however was much more common in the medieval times than it is today. Students studied Christianity, religious documents, and questions about faith. The scholars debated on God, morality, and relationships between faith and science/reasoning. It is likely that this was a major discipline in the Middle-Aged universities because of how important religion was to the society at the time.
Some of the biggest differences between college today and college then include the religious influence, language differences, curriculum, accessibility, and career paths. Today, most universities are separated from heavy religious influence, teach in the same language in which the attendees speak, offer a wide range of classes and topics, are accessible to many students including women, and have a larger pool of career paths to dive into. Both institutions however, give students loads of coursework, exams and finals, create an opportunity for a social life and community, and offer higher education as a pathway to professional careers. While today’s college students might be stressing over midterms, research papers, and registration, medieval students were navigating their own academic challenges centuries earlier. It turns out that the college experience is much older than you might think.