University Records and Life in the Middle Ages

Epilogue: At my ripe age, I still brag about late antiquity Alexandria, its scientists, mathematicians and great theologians, even to establishing a Confraternity for John Philoponus the Great seventh Century scientist philosopher. Attending a graduate elective in the philosophy of science by the eminent professor De Venezio, kept the flame of my interest burning. My visit in 1964 to the ancient university of Padua, capital of the organic tradition in science, in response to the invitation of my Thermodynamics professor I. Sorgato, left me impressed. He kindly showed us around, and I still remember the anatomy theatre attended by John Evelyn in 1646, where he saw three corpses dissected (you could examine a photo of the anatomy theatre in Hugh Kearney's 'Sience and Change'. Rise & Role of University: Natural philosophy, mathematics and medicine during the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern period took place in the setting of the Medieval universities. The earliest University foundations were in Bologna, Paris and Oxford but these were followed by dozens more in the next few centuries. What almost all universities had in common was their independent self governance, supported by both church and state. Their major purpose was to train men to be lawyers, physicians, and theologians, but they were also increasingly sought by the gentry to educate their sons in the cultural skills necessary for courtly life. Although historiography has usually tended to downplay universities' influence during the scientific revolution, scholars consented that the universities had a valuable role in providing an enclave for science in the Middle Ages. They have been portrayed as reactionary bastions of Aristotelianism against the onslaught of the new philosophy, after Thomas Aquinas, a view which is now under attack. As more work is done on what was actually being taught and studied at the universities in the sixteen and seventeenth centuries, universities have been revealed as more educationaly effective institutions than previously thought. The large majority of early modern men of science had university educations and many continued to work in them after graduation. University Life and Records: Plenty of primary sources are in print for nearly all the medieval universities. Major collections exist for Paris (Paris, 1891-9), Bologna (Bologna, 1909-39), and Padua (Venice, 1884-8), etc. "A useful collection of sources in translation for those without Latin is Lynn Thorndike University Life and Records (this book). Sources for the early modern period become harder to come by as the sheer volume of material has probably precluded publication programs. Padua has an ongoing project. There is a large collection of registers and statutes for many colleges, schools and universities in the University Library Reading room just to the right of the door into the West Room and much, much more in the education section." James Hannam * An Invective Against the New Learning: