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Medieval University Wiki Page

Needs a better lead section: Combine these two into a lead paragraph.

A medieval university is a corporation organized during the Middle Ages for the purposes of higher learning. The first Western European institutions, generally considered universities, were established in the Kingdom of Italy (then part of the Holy Roman Empire), the Kingdom of England, the Kingdom of France, the Kingdom of Spain, and the Kingdom of Portugal between the 11th and 15th centuries for the study of the Arts and the higher disciplines of Theology, Law, and Medicine. During the 14th century there was an increase of growth of universities and colleges around Europe. These universities evolved from much older Christian cathedral schools and monastic schools, and it is difficult to define the exact date when they became true universities, though the lists of studia generalia for higher education in Europe held by the Vatican are a useful guide.

 Add Section about Early Influences of University: 

During the Year 540, Pagan influences like, shrines and temples weren't being used so they were taken over as Christian Churches (or Basilicas). This started the wave of Christian churches across Europe, and then lead to the increase of monks. During this time many monks started to read and write in these monasteries. The monks read the bible, and that was their textbook of how to live and to grow spiritually.

The Monks use the Basilicas as a place to worship the lord and to study the Bible. Basilicas were used as modern day universities, because monks had a place where they could spend their time to do their studies. Monks believed that words are God, and that they are important for humans to educate themselves with. In order to understand God's values and beliefs. The Gospel of John describes with this idea of God being the literal word in the very first sentence. There was also a sense of community in the church that is also involved in a university setting. There was a lot of teachings, prayer, and reflection involved in the church, and that also in prevalent in the way that universities were going to be structured.

Students:

Students attended the medieval university at different ages—from 14 if they were attending Oxford or Paris to study the Arts, to their 30s if they were studying Law in Bologna. During this period of study, students often lived far from home and unsupervised, and as such developed a reputation, both among contemporary commentators and modern historians, for drunken debauchery. Students are frequently criticized in the Middle Ages for neglecting their studies for drinking, gambling and sleeping with prostitutes. In Bologna, some of their laws permitted students to be citizens of the city if they were enrolled at a University.

Legal status
Students were afforded the legal protection of the clergy. In this way no one was allowed to physically harm them; they could only be tried for crimes in an ecclesiastical court, and were thus immune from any corporal punishment. This gave students free rein in urban environments to break secular laws with impunity, which led to many abuses: theft, rape and murder. Students did not face serious consequences from the law. Students were also known to engage in drunkenness. Sometimes citizens were forbidden to interact with students because they made accusations against the University.

This led to uneasy tensions with secular authorities—the demarcation between town and gown. Masters and students would sometimes "strike" by leaving a city and not returning for years. This happened at the University of Paris strike of 1229 after a riot left a number of students dead. The University went on strike and they did not return for two years. As students had the legal status of clerics, which Canon Law prohibited women from being admitted into universities.

Most universities in Europe were recognized by the Holy See as a Studium Generale, testified by a papal bull. Members of these institutions were encouraged to disseminate their knowledge across Europe, often lecturing at a different Studia Generalia. Indeed, one of the privileges the papal bull confirmed was the right to confer the Ius ubique docendi, the right to teach everywhere.