The University of Paris and Scholasticism

The University of Paris was the greatest center of theological and philosophical study in the High Middle Ages, and it played a central role in the development of scholasticism, the dominant intellectual movement of the period. The University emerged from the cathedral school of Notre-Dame de Paris in the late twelfth century, and it developed into the major institution of higher learning in northern Europe. The University of Paris was the model for the master-run universities of northern Europe, and it set the standard for the organization of higher learning in the Western world. The masters and students of the University of Paris produced some of the greatest works of medieval thought, including the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas and the Commentary on the Sentences of Bonaventure, and the University was a major center of intellectual life for several centuries.

The standard English-language treatment is Hastings Rashdall (revised by F. M. Powicke and A. B. Emden), “The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages” (Oxford, 1936). The Chartularium Universitatis Parisiensis (ed. H. Denifle and E. Chatelain, 1889–97) is the primary source. The page below treats the rise of the theology faculty under Abelard and the mendicants.

The Origins of the University

The origins of the University of Paris are rooted in the cathedral school of Notre-Dame de Paris, which was one of the major schools of the early Middle Ages. The cathedral school was a major center of learning in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, and it attracted students from all over Europe. The school was directed by a series of distinguished masters, including William of Champeaux (c. 1070–1121) and Peter Abelard (1079–1142), who were among the most famous teachers of the period.

The cathedral school was reorganized in the late twelfth century as a university, and it was formally recognized as a studium generale (a university with students from all over Christendom) by a papal bull in 1200. The university was organized as a corporation of masters (the universitas magistrorum), and the masters were the dominant force in the institution. The masters elected the chancellor (the head of the university, typically the chancellor of the cathedral of Notre-Dame), and the chancellor presided over the university assembly, represented the university in its dealings with external authorities, and enforced the rules of the institution.

The University of Paris developed rapidly in the early thirteenth century, and it became the major institution of higher learning in northern Europe. The university attracted students from all over Europe, and the masters included some of the greatest minds of the period. The Faculty of Arts was the largest faculty, and it offered courses in the seven liberal arts and in philosophy. The Faculty of Theology was the most prestigious faculty, and it offered courses in theology, biblical studies, and canon law. The Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Medicine were the smaller faculties, and they offered courses in their respective fields.

The Organization of the University

The organization of the University of Paris was distinctive and influential. The university was organized as a corporation of masters (the universitas magistrorum), and the masters were the dominant force in the institution. The masters organized themselves into a faculties — Arts, Theology, Law, and Medicine — and each faculty had its own dean, its own rules, and its own students. The faculties competed for power in the university, and the Faculty of Arts was typically the largest and most powerful, while the Faculty of Theology was typically the most prestigious.

The chancellor was the chief officer of the university, and he was typically the chancellor of the cathedral of Notre-Dame. The chancellor presided over the university assembly, represented the university in its dealings with external authorities, and enforced the rules of the institution. The chancellor was assisted by a council of masters and by the deans of the various faculties. The masters could be fined, suspended, or dismissed by the chancellor for violations of the rules, and the chancellor had the power to grant or withhold the license to teach (licentia docendi) from the masters.

The students of the University of Paris came from all over Europe, and they were organized into nations (the nationes) based on their region of origin. The students were originally divided into four nations — the French, the Norman, the Picard, and the English — and they were later divided into more nations as the university grew. The nations competed for power in the university, and the Procurators of the nations served on the university council. The nations also maintained their own chaplaincies, hospitals, and burial grounds, and they served as social and support networks for the students from their regions.

The Curriculum of the University

The curriculum of the University of Paris was organized around the seven liberal arts and the higher faculties. The seven liberal arts were divided into the trivium (grammar, rhetoric, dialectic) and the quadrivium (arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music). The trivium was the foundation of the curriculum, and it was the subject of the initial years of study in the Faculty of Arts. The quadrivium was the subject of the later years of study in the Faculty of Arts, and it was the basis for the more advanced study of the higher faculties.

The higher faculties of the University of Paris were the Faculty of Theology, the Faculty of Law, and the Faculty of Medicine. The Faculty of Theology was the most prestigious of the higher faculties, and it was the culmination of the medieval educational system. The study of theology was based on the Bible, the Sentences of Peter Lombard, and the works of the Church Fathers, and it required a long period of study — typically seven to ten years — before the student could qualify for the doctorate. The Faculty of Law was the second most prestigious of the higher faculties, and it was the most practically useful for the students who would serve as lawyers and judges. The Faculty of Medicine was the third of the higher faculties, and it was the least prestigious but most practically useful for the students who would serve as physicians.

The method of teaching in the University of Paris was based on the lecture and the disputation. The lecture (from the Latin legere, to read) was the principal form of teaching, and it involved the master reading and commenting on a standard text. The student listened to the lecture, took notes, and memorized the content for the examination. The disputation was a formal debate in which a thesis was proposed by a student and then attacked by an opponent and defended by the respondent, with the master presiding and ruling on the arguments. The disputation was the model for the great scholastic summae, which attempted to resolve the major questions of theology and philosophy in a systematic way.

The Great Masters of the University

The University of Paris was the home of some of the greatest minds of the medieval world, and its masters produced some of the most influential works of medieval thought. The great masters of the University of Paris in the High Middle Ages included:

Peter Abelard (1079–1142), a major philosopher and theologian, known for his method of dialectic and his doctrine of the intention of moral actions. Abelard’s Sic et Non (c. 1122) was a major work of scholastic method, and his theological works were widely read and debated. The condemnation of Abelard’s teachings at the Council of Sens in 1140 and at the Council of Reims in 1148 was a major event in the history of the university.

Peter Lombard (c. 1100–1160), a major theologian, known for his Sentences (c. 1150), a systematic theological textbook that became the standard of the medieval theology faculty for centuries. The Sentences was a collection of the opinions of the Church Fathers on various theological questions, organized in a systematic way, and it became the basic text for the study of theology in the medieval university.

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the greatest of the scholastic philosophers, known for his Summa Theologica, an encyclopedic work that attempted to synthesize the whole of Christian theology with the philosophy of Aristotle. Aquinas was a master at the University of Paris, and his work was a major contribution to the development of scholasticism.

Bonaventure (1221–1274), a major Franciscan theologian, known for his synthesis of Augustinian and Aristotelian thought. Bonaventure was a master at the University of Paris, and his Commentary on the Sentences was a major contribution to the development of Franciscan theology.

John Duns Scotus (c. 1266–1308), a major Franciscan philosopher, known for his doctrine of the will and his theory of universals. Duns Scotus was a master at the University of Paris, and his work was a major contribution to the development of late scholasticism.

William of Ockham (c. 1287–1347), a major philosopher, known for his principle of parsimony (known as “Ockham’s razor”) and his doctrine of the limits of human reason. Ockham was a master at the University of Paris, and his work was a major contribution to the development of late scholasticism and the eventual breakdown of the scholastic synthesis.

The Scholastic Method

The scholastic method was the dominant intellectual method of the medieval period, and the University of Paris was the major center of its development. The scholastic method was a systematic procedure for analyzing and resolving questions, and it was based on the use of authorities — the Bible, the Church Fathers, the philosophers — and on the systematic analysis of the arguments for and against a particular position.

The scholastic method was developed in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, in the schools of Paris and Bologna, in response to the encounter with the philosophy of Aristotle and the development of the canon law of the Church. The method was codified by Peter Abelard in his Sic et Non (c. 1122), a collection of contradictory statements from the Church Fathers that was intended to stimulate systematic discussion of the apparent contradictions. The method was refined by Peter Lombard in his Sentences (c. 1150), a systematic theological textbook that became the standard of the medieval theology faculty for centuries.

The scholastic method was based on the use of authorities and on the systematic analysis of arguments. The method assumed that the truth is one and that the apparent contradictions between the authorities can be resolved by careful analysis. The method also assumed that reason and faith are compatible, and that human reason can discover truths that are consistent with the truths of faith. The method produced a large literature of systematic treatises, including the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas, the Summa of Alexander of Hales, the Commentary on the Sentences of Bonaventure, and many others.

The Conflicts of the University

The University of Paris was the site of several major intellectual and political conflicts in the period. The conflict between the secular masters and the mendicant masters (the Dominicans and the Franciscans) in the thirteenth century was a major intellectual and political conflict. The mendicants were admitted to the University of Paris in the early thirteenth century, and they competed with the secular masters for chairs in the theology faculty. The secular masters resisted the admission of the mendicants, and the conflict was partially resolved by papal decrees in the thirteenth century that granted the mendicants the right to occupy chairs in the theology faculty.

The conflict between Aristotelianism and Christian orthodoxy in the thirteenth century was another major intellectual conflict. The introduction of Aristotelian philosophy through Arabic translations in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries produced a series of intellectual crises at the University of Paris, and the condemnations of 1277 by the bishop of Paris, Stephen Tempier, condemned 219 propositions that were held to be dangerous to the faith. The condemnations were a major blow to the more radical Aristotelians, but they did not stop the integration of Aristotle into Christian thought. The condemnations were a major event in the history of the University of Paris and in the history of medieval thought.

The conflict between the University of Paris and the pope in the early fourteenth century was another major political conflict. The pope intervened in the affairs of the university in the early fourteenth century, and the university resisted the papal interventions. The conflict was part of the broader conflict between the papacy and the secular authorities of the period, and it was a major expression of the tensions between the Church and the universities in the late Middle Ages.

The Decline of the University

The decline of the University of Paris began in the late Middle Ages, with the Hundred Years’ War, the Black Death, the Great Schism, and the rise of the nation-states all contributing to the decline. The English and French kings asserted control over the university, and the university’s independence was gradually eroded. The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century further weakened the University of Paris, and the university declined in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The French Revolution abolished the university in 1793, and the University of Paris was reorganized as a series of specialized institutions in the nineteenth century.

The legacy of the University of Paris is immense. The University was the greatest center of theological and philosophical study in the medieval period, and it played a central role in the development of scholasticism. The University was the model for the master-run universities of northern Europe, and it set the standard for the organization of higher learning in the Western world. The University of Paris is a major subject of modern historical and educational study, and it is a subject of ongoing research in the modern era. The University of Paris was a major symbol of European higher education, and it continues to inspire and influence the development of universities in the modern world.

Sources

Principal sources used in this article:

Jacques Verger, Les Universités au Moyen Âge (PUF, 1973).

Further reading:

Hastings Rashdall, The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, new ed. by F. M. Powicke and A. B. Emden (Oxford, 1936).

For a recent single-volume synthesis with full scholarly apparatus, see the relevant chapter of Barbara H. Rosenwein, A Short History of the Middle Ages (University of Toronto Press, 2014).