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 education 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.

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 was reading or such and such a student was listening 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 to check all the sources related to a particular problem in various manuscripts and look at 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.

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.

In closing this chapter, 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:

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.

Medicine

Medicine included the doctrine of the four fluids that predominate in man - blood, mucus, bile and black bile. It was believed that diseases stemmed from a violation of the ratio of these fluids.

Bloodletting and enemas played an important role in the treatment. Various incense was widely used.

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, studies 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, biographers' testimonies 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, first of all, the desire for independence and secular literacy, due to early rationalism, the development of law, and “modern” constitutional forms, is 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. The synodal system, fiscal practice, and local church relations all contributed to the growing demand for university-educated graduates. 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. a 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 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 Louven in 1431 and 1451. At first they are satisfied 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.

Universities arose in the Middle Ages. It is a mistake to say that the university as a form of educational institution existed earlier. There were magnificent Confucian schools of the “semicircular pool school” back in the days of the Tang empire, the Pandidakterion high school in Constantinople operated from the 9th century, and the Al-Karaouin school in Morocco has been operating from the 9th century to the present day, but all this is by nature not universities. This does not detract from their glory and dignity at all, but the university is something very specific.

1. How Universities Arise

Universities arose in the 11th century, when the West entered a period of amazing growth, when the Middle Ages in its classical sense, with all the attributes of a feudal society, set in. The beginning of this period is marked by the Gregorian reform and the strengthening of the position of the papacy. Then there is the rise of cities, the assertion of senior relations. It is against the backdrop of these processes that university corporations emerge.

No one founded the first universities, they arise on their own. Therefore, the statements “Philip Augustus founded the University of Paris in 1200” or “Frederick Barbarossa founded the University of Bologna” are fundamentally wrong. These schools arose on their own, having acquired the only conceivable then and very convenient form of mutual oath ( conjuratio), which quickly became known as university- a community of equal people who brought each other a mutual oath, which possessed what would later be called a legal entity. Universitas- this is not only an association of masters and students, any city commune, any corporation of artisans was university. Subsequently, at the beginning of the XIII century, this term began to be used only in relation to educational organizations.

We cannot talk about the existence of universities in the 11th and 12th centuries, but rather about pre-university formations, studios, training centers. This is a very important, interesting, rich in traditions era. At this time, the reception of Roman law was made, canon law was created, and rational theology was born.

2. The life of a new type of intellectual

In previous periods, intellectuals lived either at the court of a prince, emperor, king, or, more often, in monasteries. Intellectuals of a new type lived in the city and taught to all comers, who were becoming more and more. It is no coincidence that the science that arose was called school science, or scholasticism. The thinkers of that era took the formal logic of Aristotle and applied it to new areas of knowledge. A system was created that sets the algorithm of actions in cases where the opinions of authorities on a particular issue differed. This was extremely important, since nothing was done in the Middle Ages without recourse to authorities.

The intellectual of the new formation was not a practitioner, but a specialist in the field of thinking. It was not necessary to know Roman law well in order to judge the peasants in the English Manor: society lived according to other laws. Wounds and fractures were better treated not by a connoisseur of Hippocrates and Galen, but by a poorly educated barber surgeon. A highly learned theologian could not captivate his flock with a passionate sermon, as did a simple Franciscan monk. But a person who took a university course was able to think logically - this gave him the opportunity to formulate a problem and cope with any task. Since this period, the transformation of the world has gone by leaps and bounds.

3. Formation of university corporations

Universities arose at the beginning of the 13th century. Paris, Bologna, Montpellier, Oxford are the places where they arose on their own. What is a corporation and affiliation? The German scientist Exle gave a very good definition: "a corporation is a community of the living and the dead." The first university charter of 1215 in Paris gives a very large place to the regulations for the funeral of masters and students, clearly prescribing what and how each member of the corporation should do.

This logic is very clear. What is the most important thing in the life of a medieval person? Death and how he will leave this life. The further existence of his soul depends on this. If he dies in a foreign land, who will take care of a righteous death? These are the people who took the mutual oath. They took a mutual oath to live in peace, not to conflict. And for this it was necessary to determine the order of lectures, exams, rules of conduct, uniforms (what is now called a dress code). And, most importantly, to guarantee mutual assistance. Thus, an organizational form was developed, which quickly began to be replicated. Secular or ecclesiastical authorities simply took the ready-made form of charter and opened new universities.

The status of university corporations was based on independence from the local secular authorities, representatives of the king and, most importantly, from the local spiritual authorities. Initially, the bishop controlled the teaching, issuing permission to teach ( licentia docendi). After the emergence of the university, the bishop's chancellor continued, with the permission of the Pope, to issue permits in a new form - licentia ubique docendi, that is, the right to teach everywhere in Christendom. This right was given only after an examination conducted by a corporation of equal people. It was she who decided whether the applicant was worthy to enter the corporation or not worthy, whether he was worthy of conferring the title of bachelor, master, doctor or not worthy. And the chancellor only agreed with this decision and issued permission. This can be called the basis of Western European intellectualism.

Undoubtedly, European intellectualism as an autonomous corporation exists with the permission of the authorities. If there is no charter issued by the Pope (less often by the emperor, sometimes by the king who tried to make himself independent of the emperor), then there is no university.

4. Social magic

I like to ask: “Tell me, please, who was Thomas Aquinas by social origin?”. And, as a rule, people cannot answer this question, although his father was an earl. Who was the origin of Jean Gerson? His parents were peasants, and of rather low status. Who was Erasmus of Rotterdam? He was illegitimate, his father is a priest. This is important: entering the world of people of knowledge, a person, as it were, broke with his former environment (although origin was always extremely important for medieval society), acquiring a new social status. The French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu called this moment social magic: there was one person, but there was another. From my point of view, the ability to award degrees is the most important thing that constitutes the essence of the university corporation. This ability was perfectly conveyed by Soviet folklore: "You may not be a scientist, but you must be a candidate."

5. University logic

Over the years, the situation changed: the independence of the university weakened, the role of secular authorities became stronger, but the universities still had great authority, which allowed them to act as advisers to monarchs. What we call university culture is forming very quickly: a special type of thinking, folklore, habits, discursive practices that are characteristic of university people. This type of culture survived the Middle Ages and set a certain type of communication for the universities of modern times. Thus, the indispensable medieval rampage of students is inherited by the German universities of the Enlightenment. Students- burshi they were simply obliged to behave defiantly towards the philistine townsfolk. As you know, M. V. Lomonosov mastered the manners of the Bursh so well that only a miracle saved him from serious troubles in Germany, and the quietest person Pierre Bezukhov ties the bear to the quarter, demonstrating his involvement in the German traditions of university culture. A similar code of behavior is miraculously reproduced in other eras and in other regions.

The logic of the corporation, which asserted that “our degrees are our inalienable right, no one can take them away from us,” was also characteristic of Soviet scientists. It was this that became an important argument for the refusal of the Academy of Sciences to deprive Academician Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov of his scientific title.

This logic is inherent in both modern universities and academies. To undertake their reform without understanding their medieval nature is rather strange. This does not mean the preservation of the archaic principle. But successive university reformers such as Wilhelm von Humboldt and John Newman looked to the origins of university autonomy and corporatism.

6. The spread of the university form to the world

Universities have spread all over the world - this can be seen as European expansion. If we compare with this other social and political institutions exported by Europe (European parliamentarism, freedom of speech, the doctrine of human rights) and taking root far from everywhere, then the triumphal procession of universities around the world looks more than convincing. Today there is no such country where there is no university, and the best are often located outside Europe. That is, the university turned out to be a surprisingly tenacious form, invented in the great era of the XII-XIII centuries, from my point of view, in the golden age for European civilization.

7. History of the study of university culture

There is a lot of current research on the history of the university, but the most interesting things were said by the French medievalist Jacques Le Goff, his critics, his supporters in the 50s-60s of the 20th century. Interesting is the attempt to include Russian universities in the context of European history - these are the works of A. Yu. Andreev on the transfer of the university idea to Russia, the works of E. A. Vishlenkova and her co-authors, which show from the inside how university traditions took root and formed in Russia.

Promising will be research on the history of universities, which, unfortunately, we do not have. But the last generalizing work in Russian on the history of European universities was published in 1896 (albeit republished in 2012). It remains to be hoped that the situation will change soon: the history of medieval universities is in demand in our country today more than ever.

Andreev A. Yu. Russian universities of the XVIII - first half of the XIX century in the context of the university history of Europe M., 2009.

Vishlenkova E.A., Galiullina R.Kh., Ilyina K.A. Russian professors: university corporatism or professional solidarity. M., 2012.

De Libera A. Medieval thinking. M., 2004.

Le Goff J. Intellectuals in the Middle Ages. SPB, 2003.

Suvorov N. S. Medieval universities, M., 1896, 2nd ed. M., 2012.

“... quaestio disputata (synonyms quaestio ordinaria, disputatio ordinaria, quaestio solemnis) - a question for discussion - becomes the basis of another type of learning - a regular educational debate.

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 the 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 an argument, the blade of a verbally-reasoned human gesture for the sake of and in the name of meaning, in which one must believe. Non-objective verbiage 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 debaters (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 - a 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 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. The flourishing of scholastic scholarship is associated with the sharpening of the logical apparatus, rational methods of justifying knowledge, in which thesis and antithesis, arguments and counterarguments collide. 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 indicated a method for studying water: if two pieces of linen, lowered into different sources, after drying, 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 (late VIII - early IX 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 scholars 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 a 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, which 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.