“... quaestio disputata (synonyms quaestio ordinaria, disputatio ordinaria, quaestio solemnis) - a question for discussion - becomes the basis of another type of learning - a regular academic dispute.
The thesis was chosen by the master. The objection was raised either by himself or by his students, including those who accidentally wandered into the debate. The bachelor supported the thesis with the necessary arguments and answered questions (respondens). The master could at any moment of the dispute interrupt it, personally concluding this dispute with his own word. But he could also return to this thesis some other time, not supporting, but refuting his own thesis; be respondens to your thesis. And also a defender, and a debunker, and a director, and an actor, and the public of this learned performance. The lecture-thesis, written down by the master himself, became quaestio disputata, and if the listener wrote it down, then it became a reportatio (report) on the issue being spoken. The annual number of these disputes was always stipulated. One issue could be discussed from different sides. - All this testifies E. Gilson.
The calendar of debates must be strictly followed. Each master has his own day for disputation (dies disputabilis). Once, the Order of St. Dominic, for example, began to compete with Oxford University (where he began his studies Roger Bacon) due to the fact that the authorities of this university on the day of the Dominican master allowed other teachers to argue. Over time, this kind of prohibition is softened somewhat.
Inception - a dispute played out by a candidate for a doctorate degree, who is represented by a master, this dispute is the leader. This is the only dispute of this university day.
Resumptio - a dispute that a master must give when transferring to another university. This is like a test for the right to work in a new scientific corporation for this master. The right to teach is won by demonstrating learning in action, that is, in a duel of counterarguments.
Again: the degree of truth of this thesis or that seems to be unimportant; what is important is the technique of defending it or refuting erudition as a technique of its application in the didactic areas of acquiring this erudition.
Monolith of faith, on the one hand; on the other hand, there are endless disputes, as if someone wants to shake this faith. Such is the Middle Ages: self-confident, tacitly solid, but also infinitely cocky, sharp-tongued, every second ready to draw the sword of a dispute, the blade of a verbally-argued human gesture for the sake of and in the name of meaning, in which one must believe. Non-objective verbal dispute is the subject that owned all the thoughts of a medieval learned person. Pointless? But it is drawn in a transcendent sense, which should be embodied in the last word of the dispute. Disputes about the indisputable. Discussions of the undiscussable. And so about anything. About everything, elevated to the wordless Nothing.
That is how - disputes about anything - were called debatable apotheoses of university scholarship. Disputatio de quodlibeta, or disputatio quodlibetaria. Only once a year! - Like in Paris or, for example, in Heidelberg.
Two weeks of public celebration of the most sophisticated eloquences. Burnt-hungry disputants (these disputes fell exactly either on the second week of the Advent, or on the third and fourth - the Great) in front of the entire university community appeared as knights of the word - polished, uncompromising. And... pointless? No, for the thought was this whole feast of great rhetoric; a holiday started in the name of a thought that never found a place for itself in this feasting abundance of the smartest and most learned words. A dispute about anything - learned life in its triumph, which lived in these fourteen days of the learned class of the university.
"And the fight broke out..."
The heat of the verbal battle had to contrast with the impassive cold of academic turns, like: “I don’t find it true”, “this is unacceptable”, “unthinkable”, “incredible”. Labels of an ideological nature, such as: “heretic”, “suspicious faith”, “lost in faith”, swear words, kitchen vocabulary, topics of the bodily bottom were categorically forbidden by the strict instructions for conducting any self-respecting quad libetary.
Just think, even a donkey could not be called his opponent. True, even then they also knew how to circumvent the prohibitions. They called, of course, both a donkey and various other things. But what is important is that it was forbidden.”
Rabinovich V.L., Roger Bacon. Vision of a miracle worker who, while gaining experience, lived his fate, St. Petersburg, "Aletheia", 2014, p. 62-63.
The Middle Ages inherited from antiquity the basis on which education was built. These were the seven liberal arts. “One student asked the teacher and said: “Since there are seven arts, and seven tests, and seven studies, I would like you to list them for me: what are they? Teacher: “I will list. These are the arts: dialectics, arithmetic, geometry, physics, music, astronomy. As for what the seventh is, there are many different views ... Some, neglecting philosophy, say that this is grammar. Grammar was considered the "mother of all sciences", dialectics gave formal logical knowledge, the foundations of philosophy and logic, rhetoric taught to speak correctly and expressively. "Mathematical disciplines" - arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy were conceived as sciences of numerical relationships that underlay world harmony.
Therefore, it is not surprising that medieval universities had 4 faculties: artistic or arts, theological, legal and medical. Mandatory for all was the artistic (preparatory general education) faculty, which taught the "seven liberal arts", later called the philosophical. At first they taught the trivium ( trivium ) - grammar, rhetoric, dialectics, then quadrium ( quadrivium ) - arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music. The learning process consisted of lectures and debates. Teaching was conducted in the international Latin language in medieval Europe. After studying grammar, rhetoric and the basics of dialectics, the student received a bachelor of arts degree, and after studying the full course (philosophy, arithmetic, astronomy and theology of music), he was awarded a master of arts degree and was given the right to enter one of 3 faculties: theological, medical or legal, at the end of which the degree of bachelor, licentiate and master (doctor) was awarded. Both the term of study and the age of students at universities were not established (in practice, education at universities lasted 12-14 years).
Thus, at the heart of the medieval paradigm of education lay the ideas of the inheritance of knowledge, its "cleansing" of alien layers, achieving greater clarity, translation, accompanied by the necessary comments. However, this approach corresponded least of all to the content of the quadrivium disciplines. The teaching of arithmetic, music, geometry and astronomy, even at the level of the elementary arts course, was more relaxed. To some extent, the reason for this can be seen in the fact that the quadrivium was taught by more experienced teachers. And in general, one gets the impression that in the teaching of the disciplines of this cycle, to some extent, there were elements of "research" - teaching was often conducted "in the spirit" of the text being studied. The program of the quadrivium, however, like the trivium, was rooted in Greek philosophy. After architecture and medicine were excluded from the nine arts, the seven free arts of the Middle Ages were formed, the final canonization of which belongs to Martianus Capella (about 410-439) in the treatise "The Marriage of Mercury and Philology". The first three of the 20 books of Isidore of Seville's Etymology were devoted to the seven liberal arts.
Music
Of the four components of the quadrium, music, by virtue of its important role in worship, occupied a very respectable position in life, and even before the role of the university became noticeable. According to Brunetto Latini, music belonged to the second mathematical science, because it "is used for our delight and service to God." And the opinion of Pythagoras, that music is a means of perfecting the soul, was shared by Betius. Of course, music had technical aspects - vocal, instrumental, but at school it appeared in its theoretical form, based on the theory of the monocord, with which the exposition of almost all remarkable works began. More than a hundred texts are devoted to this topic, among which the most important is the synthesis of ancient traditions made by Betius in " Deinstitutional musica ". The Pythagorean theory of music, presented by Betius in a work that became a continuation of his Arithmetic, was based on the arithmetic, geometric and harmonic proportions of the numbers 6, 8, 9 and 12. Betius systematized the numerical ratios that seemed to him the most important, using terminology capable of rather to puzzle than to clarify anything. In the transition from numerical fractions to letters, musical notation (notation) receives a gradual development. It is improved by the works of such scientists as Philippe de Vitry and Guillaume de Machaux. The greatest achievements in music are noted where this subject was taught in conjunction with any major church or cathedral. The works of Betius formed the basis of the study of music in all universities where it was taught in the faculties of liberal arts.
Arithmetic
As for arithmetic, as can be seen from most of the statutes, the testimony of biographers and numerous surviving manuscripts, here too Betius's work largely determined the intellectual diet of the young student of the Faculty of Arts. Euclid acted as a complement, whose elements contain a lot of arithmetic. Among the most common works can be called the work Massa compati Alexander Villedier on the principles of calculating the calendar and Flgorismus Sacrobosco.
Geometry
In the study of any part of the software arts, practical considerations have never faded into the background. This, in particular, is evidenced by the words of Brunetto Latini about geometry, with the help of which we know the dimensions and proportions of objects in length, width and height; it is a science by which the ancients, using their knowledge of geometry, could determine the size of the earth and heaven, the distance between them, not counting other ratios that cause admiration. The same caveats apply to geometry as to astronomy: the focus was on the memorization of the rules rather than on the logic of the science itself that gave rise to these rules in the first place. Euclid's Elements served as a generally accepted introduction to the course. In many ways, the content of training depended on the duration of the art course, which fluctuated over a wide range. As for "practical" geometry, a variety of directions were represented in it. The difference between theoretical and practical geometries dates back to Plato and Aristotle.
Astronomy
Aristotle's highly simplified scheme—concentric spheres carrying the planets, and a set of spheres in the center of the earth—was at the heart of the medieval teaching of cosmology. And although Almagest Ptolemy was mentioned in the program, but more often it was replaced by short manuals. Among these works, the work of Sacrobosco stood out, which was used at least until the 17th century. much more voluminous work of the same Sacrobosco Computus in some universities (for example, Oxford) was included not in the course of arithmetic, but in the course of astronomy. Students and teachers lived in dormitories - collegiums (colleges, colleges), classes were also held here. Some students lived in a university dormitory (collegium), and sometimes in a student apartment (bursa), which was under the supervision of the university.
In the 15th century, university students acted out comedies by the Roman poet Terentius in some cities. It goes without saying that these comedies were remade and most of them were translated into German. The people were very fond of such theatrical performances: to look at them, the inhabitants of the surrounding places converged in the city.
With the development of schools and universities, the demand for books is expanding. In the early Middle Ages, a book was a luxury item. Books were written on parchment - specially dressed calfskin. Sheets of parchment were sewn together with thin strong ropes and placed in a binding made of boards covered with leather, sometimes decorated with precious stones and metals. The text was decorated with drawn capital letters - initials, headpieces, and later - magnificent miniatures from the 12th century. the book becomes cheaper, city workshops for copying books are opened, in which not monks work, but artisans. From the 14th century in the production of books, paper begins to be widely used. The process of book production is simplified and unified, which was especially important for the preparation of book printing, the appearance of which in the 40s of the 15th century. (its inventor was the German master Johannes Gutenberg) made the book truly mass in Europe and led to significant changes in cultural life. Until the twelfth century books were predominantly concentrated in church libraries. In the 12th-15th centuries. Numerous libraries appeared at universities, royal courts, large feudal lords, clerics and wealthy citizens.
What fate awaited the university graduate? In the cities of northern Italy, the desire for independence and secular literacy, due to early rationalism, the development of law, and “modern” constitutional forms, is primarily manifested and spread with surprising speed. It is here that such types of professional activity as a lawyer, a notary, a doctor are gradually taking shape. The positions that gradually became available to those trained in law schools were primarily occupied by those who knew common law well. In the second half of the 12th c. there is a transition from an aristocratic form of government to a constitutional one. More often, a native of old aristocratic families was appointed to the role of head of the city for a period of one year, and, as a rule, was a professional administrator who studied law in Bologna. The role of vocational training eventually became comparable with the origin: those who received education, over time, more and more positions become available. Clerics were trained in Bologna primarily in canon law. The number of canons, archdeacons and bishops trained in law schools is growing. Since 1153, an expert in canon law has headed the papal office. The Masters of Arts also frequently trained notaries, the most widespread semi-legal category of professional in medieval Italy.
In the Iberian Peninsula there are Spanish and Portuguese students in Italy and France, most of whom were and became Catholics. Studying did not act as an effective means of a career, a factor in the formation of "professional groups". Between 1002-1197 among the German bishops, most of whom in the 13th century. did not know how to write, aristocratic origin and the presence of influential patrons turned out to be more important than years of study. Career opportunities for representatives of the "young" Europe in the 12th century, who studied at the university, were limited only to holding positions in the church hierarchy. Along with the introduction of Christianity in the northern countries, a need arose for a well-educated higher clergy. In the second half of the 12th c. Paris becomes an educational center for the Norwegians and, to a lesser extent, for the Danish and Icelandic high clergy. Everywhere and at any level in the 13th and 14th centuries. The church paid great attention to legal issues. Both the synodal system, and fiscal practice, and relations between the local churches - all this contributed to the growth in demand for graduates with university education. Avignon is becoming the most important center of attraction for graduates who dream of success. In the urban communes of Italy in the 13th century. the minimum level of requirements for lawyers had already been determined, which did not so much imply graduation from the university, but the minimum duration of training. But only two centuries later, a similar situation developed in France. Education opened the way for graduates of the Faculty of Liberal Arts not only to a teaching career, but also to work as secretaries in princely or city chanceries. Physicians figured as practitioners, scholars, and members of the city's elite. For France 13-14 centuries. The processes that took place in the south are very indicative, especially if you pay attention to the historically very important role of lawyers, who were called upon to implement the royal policy of forming a strong and energetic monarchy. From the beginning of the 12th century Bologna has a significant impact on legal culture. Many French from the south also study here, most of whom later returned home, where they make a career. Service to individuals or the public in the cities of the region was seen as the norm. As for the royal service, it was considered the limit of what was desired: it was badly rewarded and built on a short-term basis. By catering to the needs of various clients, the lawyers thus contributed to the emergence of a legal climate that ensured constant control over the actions of the monarchy. As a result, the king's servants also had to "correspond" both in number and in level of training in order to avoid wasting time in parliament. Lawyers acted as representatives of opponents of the royal court. Cities were increasingly resorting to their services. A new legal culture is spreading, providing employment for lawyers. Even the offspring of aristocratic families become doctors, although most of them were from the bourgeoisie. in the royal service were lawyers - people from both the south and the north. After 1825, in Parliament, in the financial service, in the office, lawyers who had been trained in Orleans turned out to be predominantly. Data are more vague about the state of affairs in the less profitable professions compared to the professions of a doctor and a lawyer, for example, masters of arts or other graduates of this faculty. Until the 15th century in "young" Europe, studying at foreign faculties of law was highly valued. But by 1370, the practice of recruiting lawyers who graduated from local universities began to take shape: the role of the university in the life of the German city was growing. At the same time, university graduates are well represented among the clergy, especially in cathedrals: many lawyers who have specialized in canon law are in the service of both the state and the church. At the end of the century, university graduates most often became not only judges, but also lawyers and even simple attorneys. Shortly before 1500, a marked change took place in the fortunes of university graduates in Spain. In conditions of rapid economic growth, the "new" monarchies experienced an urgent need for qualified officials. As a result, the number of holders of higher positions with academic titles began to grow. And in the 15th century. studies and careers in "young" Europe are still predominantly church-related. In the second half of the 15th c. secular power begins to lead. A city career meant inclusion in administration and work at the level of decision-making bodies. From 1366, Nuremberg began to hire legal doctors on a permanent basis. Lawyers appear in Antwerp and Lowen in 1431 and 1451. At first they are content with the posts of officials on taxes, but soon the requirement for qualification in the field of law becomes general. The described situation is quite typical for the provincial environment of Central Europe. The university of this era was more of an educational than a social and professional institution.
The era of the Middle Ages is attributed to the beginning of the II century AD, and its completion to the XIV-XV centuries. The knowledge that was formed in the era of the Middle Ages in Europe is inscribed in the system of the medieval worldview, which is characterized by the desire for all-encompassing knowledge, which follows from the ideas borrowed from antiquity: true knowledge is universal, apological, demonstrative knowledge. But only the creator can possess it, only he can know, and this knowledge is universal. In this paradigm, there is no place for inaccurate, particular, relative, inexhaustible knowledge.
Since everything on earth was created, the existence of any thing is determined from above, therefore, it cannot be non-symbolic. Let's remember the New Testament: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." The word acts as an instrument of creation, and it is transmitted to man as a universal instrument for comprehending the world. Concepts are identified with their objective counterparts, which is a condition for the possibility of knowledge. If a person masters concepts, then he receives exhaustive knowledge about reality, which is derived from concepts. Cognitive activity is reduced to the study of concepts, and the most representative are the texts of the Holy Scriptures.
How, on the basis of such attitudes, can cognition be carried out? Only under the control of the church. Rigid censorship is being formed, everything that contradicts religion is subject to a ban. So, in 1131, a ban was imposed on the study of medical and legal literature. The Middle Ages abandoned many visionary ideas of antiquity that did not fit into religious ideas. Since cognitive activity is theological and textual in nature, not things, but concepts are investigated and analyzed. Therefore, deduction becomes a universal method (the deductive logic of Aristotle reigns). In the world created by God and according to his plans, there is no place for objective laws, without which natural science could not be formed.
But at that time there were already areas of knowledge that prepared the possibility of the birth of science. These include alchemy, astrology, natural magic, etc. Many researchers regard the existence of these disciplines as an intermediate link between natural philosophy and technical craft, since they represented an alloy of speculation and crude naive empiricism.
So, medieval scientists, as a rule, immigrants from Arab universities, called their knowledge natural magic, understanding by it a reliable and deep knowledge of the secrets of nature. Magic was understood as a deep knowledge of the hidden forces and laws of the Universe without violating them and, therefore, without violence against Nature. The magician is more of a practitioner-experimenter than a theoretician-conceptualist. The magician wants the experience to be a success and resorts to all sorts of tricks, formulas, prayers, spells, etc.
Scholasticism (from Latin - school), which took shape in the 9th - 12th centuries, sought to substantiate religious dogmas, adapting them to the convenience of teaching at universities and schools. Great importance was attached to the logic of reasoning, in which the scholastics saw the way to comprehend God. With the flourishing of scholastic scholarship, the honing of the logical apparatus, rational methods of justifying knowledge, in which thesis and antithesis, arguments and counterarguments collide, is associated. Everyone who is engaged in teaching activities called himself a scholastic: John Scot Eriugena, Albert the Great, Thomas Aquinas, Pierre Abelard, Anselm D, Acosta. Important for them were questions about the relationship between reason and faith, science and religion, philosophy and theology, which were interpreted ambiguously. Anselm believed that truths obtained by reason, but contrary to the authority of Holy Scripture, should be forgotten or rejected.
P. Abelard strove for a clear distinction between faith and knowledge, he suggested first using reason to investigate religious truths, and then judge whether they deserve faith or not. He owns the famous principle: "to understand in order to believe." Unlike faith, philosophy, like knowledge, relies on the evidence of reason. Abelard's work "Yes and No" collected 159 tricky questions of Christian dogma. They were offered answers from authoritative church writings and it was shown that for each of the questions the theologian has both an affirmative and a negative answer.
Albert the Great had such extensive knowledge of natural science that he was awarded the title "Doctor Universalis" ("comprehensive doctor"). The philosopher taught at the University of Paris and sought to reconcile theology (as an experience of the supernatural) and science (as an experience of the natural). He considered observation to be the main method of scientific research and was sure that in the study of nature one must constantly turn to observation and experience. In his secret workshop, he conducted numerous experiments. Since he traveled a lot, there are geographical works in his heritage that testify to his powers of observation. His experiments in physics report that a glass ball filled with water collects the sun's rays at one point, where a large amount of heat is concentrated. He also pointed out the method of studying water: if two pieces of linen, lowered into different sources, after drying, will have different weights, then the piece that turns out to be lighter indicates cleaner water. The learned "magician" held the belief that everything happens on the basis of the hidden laws of nature.
The education system at first in the Middle Ages was represented by monastic schools that trained clergy. A higher class of schools that also trained clergy were the so-called episcopal schools. The bishop and clergy close to him took part in their activities, and specially trained teachers (magistri) carried out daily teaching.
As for the content of education in all these schools, its first stage was secular knowledge, and the second - theology. Secular knowledge was the name given to the seven "free arts" that developed in late antiquity. But in comparison with the Roman era, the content of these arts was curtailed, as it adapted to the performance of religious, ecclesiastical and theological functions. Grammar, for example, was reduced to the study of the rules of the Latin language as the language of Scripture. Rhetoric was reduced by the church to the ability to compose sermons, and then to the ability to compose various documents. Arithmetic, necessary for elementary counting, also received the function of a mystical interpretation of numbers found in Holy Scripture. Geometry included some, sometimes very fantastic, information about various countries and lands, as well as the peoples who inhabited them. Music was wholly reduced to the art of organizing church hymns. Astronomy has become a subject, with the help of which it was necessary, first of all, to determine the timing of the onset of Christian holidays.
In the future, along with church schools, secular ones began to emerge. Among these schools stood out legal (legal). Bologna at the end of the 11th century. one of the first European universities arose, which throughout the Middle Ages played the role of the first scientific and teaching center for the study of jurisprudence.
Revealing the features of medieval science, scientists note that, first of all, it acts as a set of rules, in the form of comments. The second feature is the tendency to systematize and classify knowledge. Compilation, so alien and unacceptable to the science of modern times, is a characteristic feature of medieval science, associated with the general ideological and cultural atmosphere of this era.
In parallel with the West, important changes in the spiritual and political spheres of life took place in the countries of the Near and Middle East starting from the 7th century. The Arabs, under the banner of Islam, in a short time captured vast territories, which included the lands of Iran, North Africa, the Asian provinces of Byzantium, a significant part of the former Roman Empire, Armenia, northwestern India, on which the Arab Caliphate was created.
Observatories were built in the cities of the caliphate, libraries were created at palaces, mosques, and madrasahs. Domestic and foreign trade also contributed to the dissemination and transfer of knowledge. The first scientific center of the caliphate - Baghdad (end of the 8th - beginning of the 9th century), where scientists, translators and scribes from different countries were concentrated, had an extensive constantly replenished library and functioned as a kind of academy "House of Wisdom".
The works of scientists from different countries, who, due to the prevailing circumstances, ended up on the territory of the caliphate, were translated into Arabic. So in the 9th century, the book "The Great Mathematical System of Astronomy" by Ptolemy was translated under the title "Al-magiste" (great), which then returned to Europe as "Almagest".
Arabic-speaking scientists made new advances in algebra (for example, they considered problems requiring the solution of equations of the third, fourth, and fifth powers, as well as the extraction of roots of the same powers). Interest in this regard is Mohammed ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, the author of several works on mathematics, which in the XII century. were translated into Latin and served as teaching aids in Europe for four centuries. The foundations of trigonometry were laid, which was associated with the achievements of Arabic astronomy. Thus, the astronomer al-Battani, the author of the commentary on the Ptolemaic Almagest, with the help of the trigonometric functions introduced by him, made more accurate astronomical observations compared to Ptolemy.
Al-Farabi was the first among the Arabic-speaking philosophers to comprehend and, to a certain extent, finalized the logical heritage of Aristotle. He collected and ordered the entire complex of the Aristotelian Organon (adding to it the Rhetoric, hitherto unknown among Arabic-speaking philosophers), wrote commentaries on all his books and several of his own works on questions of logic. For merits in the development of logical knowledge, he received the honorary title of "Second Teacher" ("Aristotle himself was considered the First").
As in antiquity, in the medieval Arab East there were many encyclopedic scientists who made a significant contribution to various sciences. Among them, al-Biruni, in whose works questions of mathematics, astronomy, physics, geography, general geology, mineralogy, botany, ethnography, history and chronology found their solutions. So, Biruni established a method for determining geographic longitudes, close to the modern one, and also determined the circumference of the Earth. For the first time in the medieval East, this scientist put forward an assumption about the possibility of the Earth revolving around the Sun.
Omar Khayyam, a scientist and philosopher, a great poet, the author of the world-famous quatrains (rubay), can be attributed to the brightest representatives of the Middle East. As a scientist, Khayyam showed himself most of all in mathematics. He systematically presented the solution of equations up to the third degree inclusive, wrote "Comments" to the "Principles" of Euclid. Khayyam's achievements in the field of astronomy are significant: instead of the lunar calendar brought by the Arabs, he returned to the solar calendar, which was adopted in Iran and Central Asia before the Arab conquest, and improved it.
Abu Ali ibn Sina (Avicenna) is a philosopher, mathematician, astronomer, doctor, whose "Canon of Medicine" has gained worldwide fame and is of some cognitive interest today. Based on the ideas of Aristotle, he created a kind of classification of sciences. Ibn-Rushd (Averroes) - philosopher, naturalist, who achieved great success in the field of alchemy, author of medical works, commentator on Aristotle, was a supporter of a unified intellect and cosmic determinism. These and many other prominent scientists of the Arab Middle Ages made a great contribution to the development of medicine, in particular eye surgery, which prompted the idea of making lenses from crystal to enlarge the image. In the future, this led to the creation of optics.
In the medieval period, the system of higher education began to take shape in Europe, the first higher schools - universities - appeared. Some universities, for example, in Seville, Paris, Toulouse, Naples, Cambridge, Oxford, Valencia, Bologna were founded in the XII - XIII centuries. The rest, for example, in Uppsala, Copenhagen, Rostock, Orleans were founded later - in the XIV - XV centuries. Thousands of people flocked to the cities, in which universities and famous scientists appeared. For example, at the end of the 11th century in the city of Bologna, where Irnerius, an expert on Roman law, appeared, a school of legal knowledge arose. Gradually, this school became the University of Bologna. It was the same with Salerno, which became famous as the main university center of medical science. Opened in the 12th century, the University of Paris won recognition as the main center of theology.
Over time, faculties appeared in medieval universities: legal, medical, theological. But the training began with the "preparatory" faculty, where the so-called "seven liberal arts" were taught. And since in Latin art is “artes”, the faculty was also called artistic. Students - "artists" first studied grammar, then rhetoric, dialectics (by which logic was meant); only then did they move on to arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy. The "artists" were young people, and according to the university regulations, they could be flogged, like schoolchildren, while older students were not subjected to such punishments.
Medieval science was called scholastic, the essence of this science and its main flaw was expressed by the maxim: "Philosophy is the servant of theology." And not only philosophy, but also all the sciences of that time had to strengthen the truths of religion, blind trust in the teachings of the church with each of their conclusions, with each of their words.
Disputes occupied an important place in the academic life of the medieval university. At the so-called master's disputes, the master who taught the students skillfully drew them into the dispute. Offering to confirm or dispute the theses put forward by him, he forced students to mentally compare these theses with the opinions of the "fathers of the church", with the decisions of church councils and papal messages. During the debate, each thesis was opposed by a counterthesis. The tactic of the offensive was to lead the enemy with a series of interrelated questions to such a forced confession, which either contradicted his own statement, or diverged from the unshakable church truths, which was tantamount to accusation of heresy.
But even in the Middle Ages there were people of bold thought who did not want to repeat the same church dogmas day after day. They sought to break free from the shackles of scholasticism, to open up a wider scope for science. So in the XII century, the young scientist Pierre Abelard spoke out against the professor of the University of Paris, Guillaume Champeau. In the heated disputes that ensued, the professor could not manage to get the better of his young rival. Champaud demanded that Abelard be expelled from Paris. But this did not stop Abelard. He settled in the suburbs of Paris and continued to follow the professor's every word. After each lecture in the cold and rain, in winter and autumn, tireless students covered at least 30 km in a day, made their way from Paris to the suburbs and back to tell Abelard everything that Champeau had said and put the latter in a dead end in front of Abelard's new objections. This dispute, which lasted for months, ended in a brilliant victory for Abelard. The gray-haired professor not only recognized the correctness of the young opponent, but also considered it necessary to transfer his department to him.
Abelard was not satisfied with the opinion of the scholastics, who believed that "faith precedes understanding." He argued that "one can believe only in such a truth that becomes understandable to the mind." Thus, faith in incomprehensible, meaningless and fantastic things was rejected. In the bold teaching of Abelard, the church saw a dangerous threat, since the unshakable truths of the church, the so-called dogmas, would not stand the test of doubt and criticism. Therefore, Abelard went through a difficult life path. Physically crippled by his enemies, expelled from Paris, he ended up in a remote monastery. At the end of his life, he, moreover, was condemned by the church council as a heretic, the threat of execution constantly hung over him.
But since the time of Abelard, the audiences of medieval universities have increasingly become the arena of the struggle for reason and science. In the general mass of medieval universities, the so-called "mother" ones stand out. These are the universities of Bologna, Paris, Oxford and Salamanca. According to some researchers, they were a kind of torchbearers and other universities only imitated them. They especially imitated the University of Paris, which was even nicknamed the "Sinai of learning" in the Middle Ages. Thus, the expression "parent universities" has two meanings: a) they were the first universities in time; b) after the proclamation of them as universities, new educational institutions automatically transferred the rights and privileges won by mothers.
The development of medieval cities, as well as other changes that took place in the life of society, was always accompanied by changes in education. If during the early Middle Ages it was received mainly in monasteries, then later schools began to open in which law, philosophy, medicine were studied, students read the works of many Arabic, Greek authors, etc.
History of occurrence
The word "university" in translation from Latin means "set", or "association". I must say that today, as in the old days, it has not lost its significance. Medieval universities and schools were communities of teachers and students. They were organized for one purpose: to give and receive education. Medieval universities lived by certain rules. Only they could award academic degrees, gave graduates the right to teach. This was the case throughout Christian Europe. Medieval universities received a similar right from those who founded them - popes, emperors or kings, that is, those who at that time had the highest power. The foundation of such educational institutions is attributed to the most famous monarchs. It is believed, for example, that Alfred the Great founded, and Paris - Charlemagne.
The head was usually the rector. His position was elective. Just as in our time, medieval universities were divided into faculties. Each was headed by a dean. After listening to a certain number of courses, students became bachelors, and then masters and received the right to teach. At the same time, they could continue their education, but already at one of the faculties considered “highest” in the specialties of medicine, law or theology.
The way the medieval university was organized is practically no different from the modern way of getting an education. They were open to everyone. And although children from rich families predominated among the students, there were also many people from the poor class. True, many years passed from the moment of admission to medieval universities to the receipt of the highest degree of doctor, and therefore very few went this way to the end, but the academic degree provided the lucky ones with both honor and opportunities for a quick career.
students
Many young people in search of the best teachers moved from one city to another and even left for a neighboring European country. I must say that ignorance of languages did not bother them at all. European medieval universities taught in Latin, which was considered the language of science and the church. Many students sometimes led the life of a wanderer, and therefore received the nickname "vaganta" - "wandering". Among them were excellent poets, whose works still arouse great interest among contemporaries.
The students' daily routine was simple: lectures in the mornings, and repetition of the studied material in the evenings. Along with the constant training of memory in the universities of the Middle Ages, great attention was paid to the ability to argue. This skill was practiced during daily debates.
student life
However, the life of those who had the good fortune to enroll in medieval universities was formed not only from classes. There was time for both solemn ceremonies and noisy feasts. The then students were very fond of their educational institutions, here they spent the best years of their lives, gaining knowledge and finding protection from outsiders. They called them "alma mater".
Students usually gathered in small groups according to nations or communities, bringing together students from a wide variety of regions. Together they could rent an apartment, although many lived in colleges - colleges. The latter, too, as a rule, were formed according to nationalities: representatives from one community gathered in each.
University Science in Europe
Scholasticism began its formation in the eleventh century. Its most important feature was considered to be boundless belief in the power of reason in the knowledge of the world. However, over time in the Middle Ages, university science became a dogma, the provisions of which were considered final and infallible. In the 14-15 centuries. scholasticism, which used only logic and completely denied any experiment, began to turn into an obvious brake on the development of natural scientific thought in Western Europe. Almost completely the formation of medieval universities was then in the hands of the Dominican orders. The educational system of that time had a rather strong influence on the evolution of the formation of Western European civilization.
Only centuries later, the medieval universities of Western Europe began to contribute to the growth of public self-awareness, the progress of scientific thought and the freedom of the individual.
legality
To qualify as an educational institution, an institution had to have a papal bull approving its establishment. By such a decree, the pontiff removed the institution from the control of secular or local church authorities, legitimizing the existence of this university. The rights of the educational institution were also confirmed by the privileges received. These were special documents signed either by popes or by royalty. Privileges secured the autonomy of this educational institution - a form of government, permission to have its own court, as well as the right to grant academic degrees and exempt students from military service. Thus, medieval universities became a completely independent organization. Professors, students and employees of the educational institution, in a word, all, were no longer subordinate to the city authorities, but exclusively to the elected rector and deans. And if the students committed some misconduct, then the leadership of this locality could only ask them to condemn or punish the guilty.
Graduates
Medieval universities made it possible to get a good education. Many well-known figures studied there. The graduates of these educational institutions were Duns Scott, Peter Lombard and William of Ockham, Thomas Aquinas and many others.
As a rule, a great career awaited those who graduated from such an institution. After all, on the one hand, medieval schools and universities were in active contact with the church, and on the other hand, along with the expansion of the administrative apparatus of various cities, the need for educated and literate people also increased. Many yesterday's students worked as notaries, prosecutors, scribes, judges or lawyers.
Structural subdivision
There was no separation of higher and secondary education, so the structure of the medieval university included both senior and junior faculties. After 15-16-year-old young people were deeply taught Latin in elementary school, they were transferred to the preparatory level. Here they studied the "seven liberal arts" in two cycles. These were the "trivium" (grammar, as well as rhetoric and dialectics) and the "quadrium" (arithmetic, music, astronomy and geometry). But only after studying the course of philosophy, the student had the right to enter the senior faculty in law, medicine or theology.
Learning principle
Even today, modern universities use the traditions of medieval universities. The curricula that have survived to this day were drawn up for a year, which in those days was divided not into two semesters, but into two unequal parts. The large ordinary period lasted from October to Easter, and the small one - until the end of June. The division of the academic year into semesters appeared only towards the end of the Middle Ages in some German universities.
There were three main forms of teaching. The lectio, or lectures, were the complete and systematic exposition, at fixed hours, of a particular academic subject according to a predetermined statute or charter of a given university. They were divided into ordinary, or compulsory, courses and extraordinary, or additional. Teachers were classified according to the same principle.
For example, obligatory lectures were usually scheduled for the morning hours - from dawn until nine in the morning. This time was considered more convenient and designed for the fresh forces of students. In turn, extraordinary lectures were read to the audience in the afternoon hours. They started at 6pm and ended at 10pm. The lesson lasted one or two hours.
Traditions of medieval universities
The main task of teachers of medieval universities was to compare different versions of texts and give the necessary explanations along the way. The statutes forbade students from demanding repetition of material or even slow reading. They had to come to lectures with books, which were very expensive in those days, so the students rented them.
Already since the eighteenth century, universities began to accumulate manuscripts, copying them and creating their own sample texts. Audiences did not exist for a long time. The first medieval university, in which professors began to arrange school premises - Bologna - already from the fourteenth century began to create rooms for lectures to accommodate it.
And before that, students were grouped in one place. For example, in Paris it was the Avenue Foir, or Straw Street, called by this name because the listeners sat on the floor, on the straw at the feet of their teacher. Later, semblances of desks began to appear - long tables at which up to twenty people could fit. Chairs began to arrange on a hill.
Grading
After completing their studies at a medieval university, students passed the examination, which was taken by several masters from each nation. The dean supervised the examiners. The student had to prove that he had read all the recommended books and managed to participate in the amount of disputes required by the statutes. The commission was also interested in the behavior of the graduate. After the successful passage of these stages, the student was admitted to a public debate, in which he had to answer all the questions. As a result, he was awarded the first bachelor's degree. He had to assist a master for two academic years in order to qualify to teach. And six months later, he was also awarded a master's degree. The graduate was supposed to give a lecture, take an oath and arrange a feast.
The history of the oldest universities dates back to the twelfth century. It was then that such educational institutions as Bologna in Italy and Paris in France were born. In the thirteenth century there are in England, Montpellier in Toulouse, and already in the fourteenth the first universities appeared in the Czech Republic and Germany, Austria and Poland. Each educational institution had its own traditions and privileges. By the end of the fifteenth century, there were about a hundred universities in Europe, which were structured into three types, depending on where the teachers received their salaries from. The first was in Bologna. Here, students themselves hired and paid for teachers. The second type of university was in Paris, where teachers were funded by the church. Oxford and Cambridge were supported by both the crown and the state. It must be said that it was this fact that helped them survive the dissolution of the monasteries in 1538 and the subsequent removal of the main English Catholic institutions.
All three types of structures had their own characteristics. For example, in Bologna, for example, students controlled almost everything, and this fact often gave teachers great inconvenience. In Paris it was the opposite. Precisely because the teachers were paid by the church, the main subject at this university was theology. But in Bologna, students chose more secular studies. Here the main subject was the law.
In the Middle Ages, there was no separation of higher education from secondary education, which is why junior and senior faculties existed at universities. After studying Latin in elementary school, the schoolboy (scolarius) at 15-16, and sometimes even at 12-13, entered the university at the preparatory faculty. Here he studied the "seven liberal arts" (septem artes liberales), which consisted of two cycles - "trivium" (trivium - "crossroads of three paths of knowledge": grammar, rhetoric, dialectics) and "quadrivium" (quadrivium - "crossroads of four paths of knowledge ": music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy). Only after studying "philosophy" was the right to enter the senior faculties: legal, medical, theological.
Rhetoric is the science of how to speak correctly and, to a lesser extent, write and compose not only speeches but also documents. The highest authority was the work of Cicero.
dialectic or logic. The ability to think logically and understand issues, trying to make out the pros and cons as much as possible. Aristotle was the supreme authority here. Abelard played a major role in its formation.
It took an average of five to seven years to study at the Faculty of Liberal Arts. This period could be shorter or longer, depending on the individual student and local traditions. Those who studied for the first 2 years received a bachelor's degree, who completed the full course of the master of liberal arts. Now they had the right to teach at their own faculty or continue their studies at other Faculty of Liberal Arts, about a third of the students graduated. Education in medicine and law took about another six years. They studied theology for at least 8 years. And more often training was delayed for 15-16 years.
People of different ages could study together with one teacher, and the level of training could vary greatly. There was also no firm concept of how much this or that student should study. The term of study could change in any direction. The reasons could be both the ability of a particular student and his position.
Let's look at the example of the preparatory faculty, what was the learning process.
Classes at the university were designed for the entire academic year. The division into semesters or semesters appears only towards the end of the Middle Ages in German universities. True, the academic year was divided into two unequal parts: a large ordinary study period (magnus ordinarius) from October, and sometimes from mid-September until Easter, as well as a "small ordinary study period (ordinarius parvus) from Easter until the end of June. Curriculum , however, was compiled for the entire academic year.
There were three main forms of teaching.
A complete, systematic presentation of the subject, according to the program set out in the statutes, at certain hours was called lectio. These lectures were divided into ordinary (obligatory) and extraordinary (additional). The fact is that in the Middle Ages, schoolchildren did not attend a course in a particular science, say, a course in philosophy or Roman law, etc. Then they said that such and such a teacher reads or such and such a student listens to such and such a book. Roger Bacon put it this way in the 13th century: "If anyone knows a text, he knows everything that pertains to the science that the text talks about." Some books were considered more important and obligatory (ordinary) for the student, others less important and optional (extraordinary). The difference in lectures also led to the division of teachers into ordinary and extraordinary. For ordinary lectures, as a rule, morning hours (from dawn to 9 o'clock in the morning) were appointed, as more convenient and designed for more fresh forces of listeners, and extraordinary lectures were read in the afternoon hours (from 6 to 10 o'clock in the evening). The lecture lasted 1 - 2 hours. Before the start of the lecture, the teacher made a brief introduction, in which he determined the nature of the work on the book and did not shy away from self-promotion. The main task of the teacher was to compare different versions of the texts and give the necessary explanations. The statutes forbade students from requiring repetition or slow reading. Schoolchildren had to come to lectures with books. This was done in order to force each listener to directly get acquainted with the text. Books at that time were very expensive, so schoolchildren rented texts. Already in the 13th century, universities began to accumulate manuscripts, copy them and create their own exemplary texts. Audiences in the modern sense of the word did not exist for a long time. Each teacher read to a certain circle of his students in any rented room or at home. Bologna professors were among the first to arrange school premises, and from the 14th century, cities began to create public buildings for classrooms. One way or another, schoolchildren, as a rule, were grouped in one place. In Paris, it was the street of Straw (Foire), so named because the students sat on the floor, on the straw, at the feet of the teacher. Later, a semblance of desks appeared - long tables, at which up to 20 people could fit. The department began to settle down on a dais, under a canopy.
Repetitio is a detailed explanation of a single text from different angles, taking into account all possible doubts and objections. At the University of Paris, it was more often a check of all the sources related to a particular problem in various manuscripts and a review of the relevant comments in various essays. In German universities, they took place in the form of a dialogue between a teacher and a student. The teacher asked questions and judged the student's progress by the answers. There was another form - the repetition of part of what was read. At the same time, they were preparing for disputes.
Disputatio was one of the most widespread forms of teaching. The leadership of the universities attached great importance to them. It was disputes that were supposed to teach schoolchildren the art of dispute, the protection of acquired knowledge. Dialectics came to the fore in them.
The most common method of conducting disputes was the method proposed by Pierre Abelard pro et contra, sic et non (for and against, yes and no). Every two weeks, one of the masters gave a speech on as wide a topic as possible and, in conclusion, named theses or questions that were to be the subject of a dispute, then for several days he collected all the pros and cons from the schoolchildren. The most curious and most solemn was the disputation "about anything" (disputatio de quodlibet) that took place at the preparatory faculty. The topics were varied, for example:
The debate held by Matteo Acquasparta in the 13th century on the topic "is the necessary existence made through the knowledge of this thing, or can something that is not an object of the intellect?" reflected the struggle between two philosophical directions - nominalism and realism.
It was necessary to prove or disprove the Aristotelian syllogism "All people are animals. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is an animal."
The whole day there could be a dispute about whether the preaching of the word of God could be abandoned due to the prohibition of secular power. Is it possible to bind demons and the forces of darkness with a spell? Is a duel and tournament allowed according to canonical laws? Joking questions were also allowed, but not of a reprehensible nature, although from the point of view of our morality they may seem like this: About the loyalty of concubines to priests. The attitude to such a plot was discussed quite seriously: the priest visited the daughter of a baker, but was forced to flee from a competitor, he ran into a pig shed. The baker came in and asked, "Who's there?" Pop replied: "No one but us." Can there be more than one angel in the same place?
The university authorities strove for academicism in disputes. Harsh language, shouting and insults were forbidden. But, nevertheless, disputes really often turned into battles between masters and scholars. The oak barrier did not save either. At the end of the course, the student passed the exam. It was hosted by a group of masters from each nation headed by a dean. The student must prove that he has read the recommended books and participated in the required number of disputes (6 from his master's and 3 university-wide). They were also interested in the behavior of the student. Then he was allowed to a public debate, which was supposed to answer all the questions. The award was a first bachelor's degree. For two years the bachelor assisted the master and received the "right to teach" (licentio docendi), becoming a "licentiate". Six months later, he became a master and had to give a solemn lecture to bachelors and masters, take an oath, arrange a feast.
It makes sense to recall a little about the higher sciences. There were three of them Theology, Jurisprudence and Medicine. Theology (Theology). The main teaching was conducted on the "Sentences" of Peter Lombard, which included the opinions of the most authoritative theologians on various controversial points in the Bible.
Jurisprudence. Undoubtedly, the largest number of students who moved to higher courses specialized in this discipline. It should be noted that there were several sources of laws. This is:
- - Canon law, based on the decisions of church councils, popes and other hierarchs of the church.
- - Roman law. The main one here was the code of the Byzantine emperor Justinian. In this code, great attention was paid to various types of property. But in practice, lawyers also needed to know local laws.
Various feudal rulers, such as the king of France, issued their own laws. In general, each more or less independent sovereign, whether a feudal lord or a city, could establish his own rules and laws. Relations between them were also regulated by laws, whether it was the norms of service, the number and size of various requisitions, the division of various powers, etc.
As a result, each province had its own local laws that could copy or conflict with common law.
The era of the Middle Ages cannot be considered as a period of failure in the development of Western European culture. It was in the Middle Ages that the most important features of the Western European Christian type of culture developed on the basis of the widespread spread of Christianity. The institution of the church, the Christian doctrine, occupied a dominant position in almost all spheres of the cultural life of medieval society in the period under review. At the same time, already in the 14th century, new trends appeared in the cultural life of European countries, manifested in increased interest in the human person, a realistic reflection of reality. Especially these trends became noticeable in the culture of medieval Italy. A new period in the cultural development of Western Europe was approaching - the Renaissance. Medieval traditional society, where rumors were the form of transmission of information, gradually begins to use the written word. The number of written laws is increasing, feudal law, like Roman law, is formalized in contracts. There is a process of desacralization of the book, accompanied by a rationalization of the methods of intellectual work. Mental mechanisms are rationalized, the scholastic method is being formed. Its formation is a long historical process. It all started with universities, then with lectures, with the transition from lectures to questions, and from questions to debates. These procedures themselves were not entirely new: the practice of question and answer had previously been used to interpret the Bible. The scholastics expanded the boundaries of this practice. At first, the problematic was developed, it assumed a dispute, and the novelty consisted in the fact that, in contrast to arguing with references to authority, the practice of logical substantiation of the argument became increasingly important. Such disputes were the practice of teaching at universities. The discussion was followed by the conclusion of the teacher. This conclusion depended on who spoke it.
Despite all its shortcomings, the medieval university still provided an opportunity to get a good education. Such well-known cultural figures as Pierre Abelard, Peter of Lombard, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scott, William of Ockham and others studied at universities. Medieval universities were a complex organism that stood at the center of the scientific and cultural life of Europe. They concentrated the development of science of that time. The role of medieval universities in the development of culture is great. They contributed to international cultural communication. The university environment, built on freethinking and elective power, contributed to the formation of a new mentality based on respect for the individual and the ability to put forward and defend new ideas in disputes.