Universities (Renaissance and Reformation)

Introduction

Princes and towns valued universities so highly that they founded more universities during the Renaissance than existed in the Middle Ages, resulting in more than twice as many European universities in 1600 as in 1400. This is because universities played vital roles. They educated the professional classes of lawyers, doctors, clergymen, and teachers. They taught the army of men who filled administrative positions in the expanding bureaucracies and chanceries of empires, kingdoms, smaller states, towns, the papacy, and dioceses. An extraordinary number of intellectual and religious leaders of the Renaissance period came from universities. And universities produced vast quantities of original learning. Scholars have been aware of the importance of universities since the Renaissance, as professors began writing histories of their own universities in the late 16th century. A steady stream of university histories has followed. Much earlier scholarship consisted of describing origins and compiling lists of professors and students, and this data is essential. Over time, and especially in the second half of the 20th century, scholars have become more skillful in analyzing universities as living institutions and fitting this knowledge into larger intellectual, political, religious, and social contexts. What follows is an introductory bibliography of Europe’s universities in the Renaissance and Reformation eras. The bibliography recognizes the importance of older studies, especially collections of documents, but emphasizes recent scholarship.

General Overviews

The only recent general history of European universities views universities over many centuries and does not see the Renaissance and Reformation era as a distinct period. But it does recognize what happened during these years. Volumes 1 and 2 of A History of the University in Europe (De Ridder-Symoens and Rüegg 1992, De Ridder-Symoens and Rüegg 1996) have much useful information on the structure of universities, the university as an institution, and its personnel. Frijhoff 1996 offers a valuable roadmap. Although focused on universities in the Middle Ages, Rashdall 1936 is still useful. Thorndike 1944 translates a selection of documents concerning universities. The two volumes of Julia, et al. 1986–1989 attempt to survey university students across Europe, while Stichweh 1991 argues that the state played a larger role in the lives of universities in the 16th century than they did in earlier times, a theme that appears in much scholarship.

De Ridder-Symoens, Hilde, and Rüegg, Walter, eds. A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 1, Universities in the Middle Ages. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1992.
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Fifteen chapters written by experts, all with select bibliographies. Rüegg’s “Epilogue: The Rise of Humanism” (pp. 442–68) on the impact of humanism on Renaissance universities is particularly important.
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De Ridder-Symoens, Hilde, and Rüegg, Walter, eds. A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 2, Universities in Early Modern Europe (1500–1800). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
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Fifteen chapters, all with select bibliographies, written by distinguished scholars. It is particularly good on northern European universities.
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Frijhoff, Willem. “Patterns.” In A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 2, Universities in Early Modern Europe (1500–1800). Edited by Hilde De Ridder-Symoens and Walter Rüegg, 43–110. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996.
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Frijhoff attempts the difficult task of defining the university and explaining the different kinds of universities. He offers a tentative list of universities and other institutions of higher learning, plus maps. Although the definitions and lists are sometimes questionable, the survey provides valuable orientation.
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Julia, Dominique, Roger Chartier, and Jacques Revel, eds. Les Universités européennes du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle: histoire sociale des populations étudiantes. 2 vols. Paris: Editions de l’Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales, 1986–1989.
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A collection of studies mostly in French, some in English. A rare attempt to survey student numbers, social rank, and mobility in universities across Europe from c. 1500 through the 18th century. Although the studies are uneven, most try to assess whether enrollments rose or declined, and they address other social history issues.
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Rashdall, Hastings. The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages. 3 vols. Edited by F. M. Powicke and A. B. Emden. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1936.
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First published in 1895, revised and updated by Powicke and Emden, and limited mostly to legal and institutional and legal history, this is still useful because it extends to 1500.
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Stichweh, Rudolf. Der frühmoderne Staat und die europäische Universität: zur Interaktion von Politik und Erziehungssystem im Prozess ihrer Ausdifferenzierung, 16–18. Jahrhundert. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Suhrkamp, 1991.
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A survey of the impact of the state on universities. Argues that civil authorities transformed medieval universities into territorial universities integrated into society.
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Thorndike, Lynn. University Records and Life in the Middle Ages. New York: Columbia University Press, 1944.
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Consists of translated documents, many of them fascinating, from all over Europe. The documents sometimes provide insight into the lives of students and professors.
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Reference Works

Two comprehensive scholarly reference works useful for students and advanced scholars seeking information in fields in which they are not expert are available for the Renaissance as a whole. Students and scholars seeking basic information and bibliography may start with Grendler, et al. 1999 and Hillerbrand, et al. 1996. Each has articles written by experts on universities as a whole and on individual universities.

Grendler, Paul F., et al., eds. Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. 6 vols. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1999.
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Has short articles on the universities of Alcalà de Henares, Bologna, Cambridge, Coimbra, Oxford, Padua, Paris, Pavia, and Salamanca, the Collège de France, and an overview of Renaissance universities.
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Hillerbrand, Hans Joachim, et al., eds. Oxford Encyclopedia of the Reformation. 4 vols. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996.
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Provides short articles on the universities of Cambridge, Heidelberg, Oxford, and Wittenberg, on the Geneva Academy and the Zurich Academy, plus articles on the Faculty of Theology of the University of Paris, and an overview of universities in the Reformation and Counter- Reformation.
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Journals

The best journal for universities as a whole is History of Universities, founded by the late Charles B. Schmitt.

History of Universities. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981–.
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Contains articles, a limited number of book reviews, and extensive bibliographies organized by country. Covers universities in all centuries and lands; most of the articles discuss European universities. Appears once or twice a year.
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Student Mobility

Many students attended more than one university and obtained degrees in foreign lands. Such travel is sometimes called the peregrinatio academica. Students from northern Europe often studied in Italian universities, returning with law degrees and an appreciation for Italian intellectual and cultural interests. Woolfson 1998 studies English students at Padua, and Tervoort 2004 tracks Dutch students in Italian universities.

Tervoort, Ad. The Iter italicum and the Northern Netherlands: Dutch Students at Italian Universities and Their Role in the Netherlands’ Society (1426–1575). Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2004.
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Study of the background, academic careers, and activities of 640 Dutchmen who studied in Italian universities then returned to the Netherlands. The Italian university experience was important for them and for Dutch humanism.
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Woolfson, Jonathan. Padua and the Tudors: English Students in Italy, 1485–1603. Toronto and Buffalo, NY: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
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Lists and studies English students at the University of Padua, the reasons why they studied there, and their careers, sometimes quite important, after returning to England.
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Italian Universities

Italian universities were the recognized leaders in fields such as law and medicine (although not in theology) partly because they taught advanced students and awarded only doctoral degrees. By contrast, many universities in the rest of Europe taught mostly younger students and awarded numerous bachelor’s degrees and few doctorates. Grendler 2002 offers an overview of Italian universities, while the journal Annali di Storia delle Università Italiane has become the leading journal on Italian universities.

Annali di Storia delle Università Italiane (1997–).
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Large folio-sized annual volume with numerous articles and reviews on Italian universities. Deals with universities in all eras but has a significant number of articles on the Renaissance period. Some issues devote much space, but never the entire volume, to a single university. Edited by Centro interuniversitario per la storia delle Università Italiane and published by CLUEB.
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Grendler, Paul F. The Universities of the Italian Renaissance. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
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The first overview of Italian universities since 1886. It provides brief institutional accounts of each university, a chapter on the university in action, and extensive summaries of the teaching and research in all disciplines. Emphasizes the influence of humanism and sees universities as making major new contributions to learning.
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The Universities of Bologna and Padua

Although Bologna and Padua were the two most important universities in Italy (having produced many famous scholars and students) there are no recent monographs on them. Fortunately, Sorbelli 1987 and Simeoni 1987 are reliable accounts of the University of Bologna, while Guerrini 2005 provides a list of doctorates awarded. Del Negro 2001–2003 offers the only survey of the University of Padua for its entire history and has good articles on the Renaissance period. Quaderni per la storia dell’Università di Padova is essential for the University of Padua.

Del Negro, Pietro, ed. The University of Padua: Eight Centuries of History. Translated by Hilary Siddons and Helen Deborah Wallberg. Padua, Italy: Signum, 2001–2003.
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Articles by experts on all aspects of the university and its teaching from the beginning to the present, with good bibliographies and many illustrations. Good introduction to the University of Padua.
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Guerrini, Maria Teresa. “Qui voluerit in iure promoveri…”: I dottori in diritto nello Studio di Bologna (1501–1796). Bologna, Italy: CLUEB, 2005.
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Lists summary information (in Latin) about 9,482 doctorates of law conferred by the University of Bologna from 1501 through 1796. The introduction comments on the places of origin of degree recipients, the ebb and flow of doctorates conferred, and other matters.
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Quaderni per la storia dell’Università di Padova (1968–).
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Contains articles, book reviews, news of conferences, and a bibliography pertaining to the University of Padua. Although it includes material on all centuries, the majority of the articles and other printed matter deal with the medieval and Renaissance eras.
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Simeoni, Luigi. Storia della Università di Bologna. Premessa di Mario Fanti. Vol. 2, L’età moderna (1500–1888). Sala Bolognese, Italy: Arnaldo Forni, 1987.
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Basic study with a great deal of information. Notes the decline of the university in the late 16th and 17th centuries. Originally published in 1940.
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Sorbelli, Albano. Storia della Università di Bologna. Premessa di Mario Fanti. Vol. 1, Il medioevo (Secoli XI–XV). Sala Bolognese, Italy: Arnaldo Forni, 1987.
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Still the basic study on the University of Bologna up to 1500. Focuses on institutional history but gives brief lists of famous professors. Originally published in 1940.
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University of Ferrara

While Bologna and Padua lack comprehensive recent studies, other Italian universities have been more fortunate. Castelli 1991 and Castelli 1995 provide much information, while Raspadori 1991 lists all the known professors of medicine and arts at the University of Ferrara to 1950.

Castelli, Patrizia, ed. La rinascita del sapere: Libri e maestri dello studio ferrarese. Venice: Marsilio, 1991.
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Thirty-five studies of every aspect (founding, professors, their research, architecture, etc.) of the University of Ferrara. Emphasizes the Renaissance period.
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Castelli, Patrizia, ed. “In supreme dignitatis…”: Per la storia dell’Università di Ferrara 1391–1991. Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 1995.
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Thirty-three articles, all but one in Italian, on the University of Ferrara. Three-quarters of the articles deal with the 15th and 16th centuries.
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Raspadori, Francesco, ed. I maestri di medicine ed arti dell’Università di Ferrara 1391–1950. Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 1991.
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Lists all the professors of medicine and arts from the beginning of the university in 1391 to 1950 in two ways: yearly rolls (faculty lists) and alphabetically by professor. Useful volume.
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The Universities of Tuscany

The universities of Florence, Pisa, and Siena can be viewed as a group, because the University of Florence moved to Pisa in 1473, returned for a few years during the Italian Wars, then moved back to Pisa. The University of Siena came under Florentine control when Florence absorbed the Sienese state in the 16th century. Verde 1973–1994 is fundamental for the University of Pisa when it was located in Florence, while Davies 1998 looks at the University of Florence in the early 15th century. Storia dell’Università di Pisa is a superb, comprehensive study of all aspects of the University of Pisa, including its teaching, research, and personnel. L’Università di Siena does the same for Siena, although it is less comprehensive. Denley 2006 studies the relations between the city government and University of Siena before 1500. Cascio Pratilli 1975 delineates the expanding authority of the grand dukes of Tuscany over the universities of Pisa and Siena, while Davies 2009 adds details.

Cascio Pratilli, Giovanni. L’università e il principe: Gli Studi di Siena e di Pisa tra Rinascimento e Controriforma. Florence: Leo S. Olschki, 1975.
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Pioneering study analyzing how the grand dukes of Tuscany supported the University of Pisa strongly and the University of Siena less enthusiastically from 1543 to the end of the century.
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Commissione rettorale per la storia dell’Università di Pisa. Storia dell’Università di Pisa. Vol. 1 (in 2 parts): 1343–1737. Pisa, Italy: Pacini, 1993.
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Comprehensive history written by a team of scholars. It is particularly strong in its analysis of the teaching and research. Includes lists of all the professors who taught there.
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Davies, Jonathan. Florence and its University during the Early Renaissance. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1998.
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Institutional study, c. 1385 to 1472, emphasizing links between the government and university. Includes payments to teachers and lists of officials who oversaw the university.
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Davies, Jonathan. Culture and Power: Tuscany and its Universities, 1537–1609. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2009.
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Studies the relationship between the Florentine government and the universities of Pisa and Siena, although it offers little new material. Lists members of the colleges of doctors and payment records for professors at both universities.
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Denley, Peter. Commune and Studio in Late Medieval and Renaissance Siena. Bologna, Italy: CLUEB, 2006.
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Detailed institutional study of the University of Siena and its relations with the city government of Siena from its origins 1357 to 1500. Does not deal with professors and students. Has an extensive bibliography.
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L’Università di Siena. 750 anni di storia. Siena, Italy: Amilcare Pizzi, 1991.
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Articles on all aspects of the University of Siena from the beginning written by specialists. Beautifully illustrated volume.
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Verde, Armando F. Lo Studio Fiorentino 1473–1503: Ricerche e documenti. 5 vols in 8 parts. Florence: Istituto nazionale di studi sul Rinascimento, 1973–1994.
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Massive collection of documents and summaries of documents on professors, degrees awarded, students, and financial records of the University of Pisa when it was located in Florence. A storehouse of information.
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The University of Rome

Although Rome was the seat of the papacy, and Renaissance popes strongly supported learning, the University of Rome was not a major university. Nevertheless, its location, the number of scholars passing through, and relationship with the papacy made it interesting. Lee 1978 and Chambers 1976 reconstruct faculty lists for the late 15th century. Cherubini 1992 introduces much new scholarship, while Conte 1991 provides a comprehensive list of the professors from 1514.

Chambers David S. “Studium Urbis and gabella studii: The University of Rome in the Fifteenth Century.” In Cultural Aspects of the Italian Renaissance: Essays in Honour of Paul Oskar Kristeller. Edited by Cecil H. Clough, 68–110. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press, 1976.
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Reconstructs much of the faculty of the 1470s and 1480s on the basis of payment records.
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Cherubini, Paolo, ed. Roma e lo Studium Urbis: Spazio urbano e cultura dal Quattro al Seicento; Atti del convegno, Roma, 7–10 giugno 1989. Rome: Ministero per i beni culturali e ambientali, 1992.
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Twenty-four studies on the University of Rome, 1400 to 1650, including the building. Major contribution. The articles by Maria Muccillo on teaching Platonism and by Anna Esposito on two residential colleges are important.
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Conte, Emanuele, ed. I maestri della Sapienza di Roma dal 1514 al 1787: I rotuli e altre fonti. 2 vols. Rome: Istituto storico italiano per il Medio Evo, 1991.
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Reconstructs all the rolls (lists of professors and what they taught) from 1514 through 1787, with the exception of some years in the 16th century when rolls are missing. Invaluable source.
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Lee, Egmont. Sixtus IV and Men of Letters. Rome: Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, 1978.
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Has a chapter on the University of Rome under Sixtus IV, who ruled 1471–1484. Emphasizes the careers and works of the humanist professors at the university, in extensive detail.
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French Universities

The University of Paris was by far the most important French university. Tuiler 1994 and Farge 2006 are two new works with much useful information. In 1530 King Francis I, at the behest of humanists, created four royal lectureships, two in Greek and two in Hebrew, to which other positions were added later. This came to be called the Collège de France, a center of learning with a humanistic focus and important teachers and students. It was both separate from and part of the University of Paris. Lefranc 1893 is the standard older study, while Fumaroli and Lion-Violet 1988 and Tuiler 2006 add new material. Although the University of Paris has received much attention in recent years, Roy 2006 is an exemplary study of a provincial university.

Farge, James K., ed. Students and Teachers at the University of Paris: The Generation of 1500; A Critical Edition of Bibliothèque de l’Université de Paris (Sorbonne), Archives, Registres 89 and 90. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 2006.
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Critical edition of two registers (written in Latin) providing information about 1,022 graduates and about 2,300 students overall, of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Paris from c. 1490 through 1515. Enables scholars to trace the careers of many students.
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Fumaroli, Marc, and Marianne Lion-Violet, eds. Les origines du Collège de France (1500–1560). Actes du Colloque international (Paris, décembre 1995). Paris: Collège de France/Klincksieck, 1998.
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Group of studies, all in French, on the idea of a royal lecturer, the teaching of Greek and Hebrew at the Collège de France, and the influence of Erasmus, as well as other subjects.
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Lefranc, Abel. Histoire du Collège de France depuis ses origines jusqu’à la fin du premier empire. Paris: Hachette, 1893.
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The standard work with much information, although marred by the author’s hostility toward traditional French Scholasticism. Reprinted in 1970 (Geneva, Switzerland: Droz).
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Roy, Lyse. L’université de Caen aux xve et xvie siècles: Identité et représentation. Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2006.
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Detailed study of a provincial university founded in 1432 to 1609. Emphasizes the integration of the university into the cultural and political life of Normandy plus the turmoil produced by the French Wars of Religion.
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Tuilier, André. Histoire de l’Université de Paris et de la Sorbonne. Vol. 1, Des origines à Richelieu. Paris: G.-V. Labat Éditeur, 1994.
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Comprehensive study of the University of Paris and the Sorbonne. Institutional history, professors, and other material.
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Tuilier, André, ed. Histoire du Collège de France. Vol. 1, La Création (1530–1560). Paris: Fayard, 2006.
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Important new studies in French on the founding of the Collège, the role of the monarchy, its first teachers, and influence.
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Universities in German-Speaking Lands

German scholars published many collections of documents and comprehensive studies of individual German universities in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries. What follows is a selection of recent studies that build on the older studies, which are always listed in their bibliographies. Universities reaching chronological milestones, such as the University of Heidelberg, have received most attention in recent years. Hammerstein 1986–1987, Wolfgast 1986, and Drüll 2002, study the University of Heidelberg and how it reacted to religious changes. Bonjour 1971 surveys the University of Basel with its humanist orientation. Meuthen 1988 and Boehm and Spörl 1972 study two universities that remained Catholic.

Boehm, Laetitia, and Johannes Spörl, eds. Die Ludwig-Maximilans-Universität: Ingolstadt, Landshut, München, 1472–1972. Berlin: Duncker and Humblot, 1972.
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Survey of the University of Ingolstadt. The dukes of Bavaria and the Society of Jesus were two major influences on the university in the Reformation period, even though they were not always in agreement.
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Bonjour, Edgar. Die Universität Basel von den Anfängen bis zur Gegenwart, 1560–1960. 2d rev. ed. Basel, Switzerland: Helbing and Lichtenhahn, 1971.
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Fundamental study of the University of Basel, which was profoundly influenced by humanism in the Renaissance.
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Drüll, Dagmar. Heidelberger Gelehrtenlexikon 1386–1651. Berlin: Springer, 2002.
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Focuses on the professors, some of them famous. Because the rulers of the Palatinate changed their allegiance from Catholic, to Lutheran, and to Calvinist several times, the university was forced to do the same. Professors frequently came or were forced out for religious reasons. Hence, this study offers insight into the university personnel in a complicated era.
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Hammerstein, Notker. “The University of Heidelberg in the Early Modern Period: Aspects of Its History as a Contribution to Its Sexcentenary.” History of Universities 6 (1986–1987): 105–133.
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Good brief summary of the university in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Meuthen, Erich. Kölner Universitätsgeschichte. Vol. 1, Die alte Universität. Cologne, Germany, and Vienna: Böhlau Verlag, 1988.
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Good study of the University of Cologne, a major Catholic institution, from the Middle Ages through the 17th century. Institutional history plus teaching.
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Wolfgast, Eike. Die Universität Heidelberg, 1386–1986. Berlin: Springer Verlag, 1986.
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Good one-volume survey of the entire history of the university. It chronicles how the university changed as the rulers of the state switched religious and political allegiances, or lost wars, during the 16th and early 17th centuries.
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The University of Wittenberg

Martin Luther initiated the Lutheran Reformation while a professor at the University of Wittenberg and remained there until his death. His fellow professors were his earliest supporters, and his students spread the Lutheran Reformation. Hence, Luther’s home university has attracted considerable attention. Stern 1953 is a detailed survey of the university, while Grossmann 1975 describes the coming of humanism to Wittenberg. Schwiebert 1996 concentrates on the links between the University of Wittenberg and the Lutheran Reformation, while Lück 1998 locates Luther within the broader university.

Stern, Leo. 450 Jahre Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg Festrede, gehalten beim Festakt anläßlich der 450-Jahrfeier. Vol. 1, Wittenberg 1502–1817. Halle, Germany: Halle-Wittenberg Selbstverl. der Martin-Luther-Universität, 1953.
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Standard history of the University of Wittenberg (later renamed for Luther) until 1817. Has substantial articles on its foundation in 1502. Focuses on the entire university and its faculty without ignoring Luther.
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Grossmann, Maria. Humanism in Wittenberg 1485–1517. Nieuwkoop, The Netherlands: B. De Graaf, 1975.
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Study of how the humanist movement came to Wittenberg before Luther and changed the intellectual atmosphere.
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Lück, Heiner, ed. Martin Luther und seine Universität: Vorträge anlässlich des 450; Todestages des Reformators.Cologne: Böhlau Verlag, 1998.
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Interesting group of studies about the university (its faculties of medicine and law, etc.) when Luther was there. Some of the studies note Luther’s interactions with other parts of the university, and some focus on parts of the university that had little contact with Luther.
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Schwiebert, Ernest George. The Reformation. 2 vols. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1996.
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Volume 2, The Reformation as a University Movement, offers a detailed picture of how the Lutheran Reformation developed at the University of Wittenberg and how its professors and students contributed to the Protestant movement. The two volumes are paged continuously.
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Universities in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Denmark

The University of Louvain was the only university in the Benelux area at the beginning of the Renaissance. Its scholars were sometimes distinguished, and it remained Catholic throughout, as The University of Louvain summarizes. When the northern Netherlands became Protestant and rebelled against Spain, Dutch Calvinist civic leaders founded the University of Leiden in Holland, the most important province of the Dutch confederation. It quickly became important for its research and teaching, as Scheurleer, et al. 1975 make clear. Leiden’s relations with civil authorities and especially the Reformed Church did not always go smoothly, as Clotz 1998 documents. The final university of the Netherlands was Groningen, founded in 1614, and studied by Vanderjagt 2004. Studium is a useful journal. Stybe 1979 introduces the University of Copenhagen.

Clotz, Henrike I. Hochschule für Holland: Die Universität Leiden im Spannungsfeld zwischen Provinz, Stadt und Kirche 1575–1619. Stuttgart, Germany: Franz Steiner, 1998.
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Study of the foundation of the University of Leiden (1575) and its early development. It pays special attention to its relations with civil authorities and the Reformed Church.
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Scheurleer, Theodoor H. Lunsingh, G. H. M. Posthumus Meyjes, and A. G. H. Bachrach, eds. Leiden University in the Seventeenth Century: An Exchange of Learning. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1975.
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Seventeen studies, the majority in English, about the teaching and research of the university in all areas. Despite the title, the articles deal with both the late 16th and 17th centuries.
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Studium (2008–).
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Annual volume with studies, reviews, and a bibliography on Benelux universities with material on all centuries. Studium is the result of a merger of three journals including Nieuwsbrief Universiteitgeschiedenis/Lettre d’Information sur l’Histoire des Universités, which began publishing in 2000.
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Stybe, Svend Erik. Copenhagen University: 500 Years of Science and Scholarship. Translated by Reginald Spink. Copenhagen, Denmark: Royal Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1979.
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Introduction to the University of Copenhagen which was founded in 1475 and came under the influence of German humanist scholars. King Christian III reestablished it as a Lutheran university in 1537.
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The University of Louvain 1425–1975. Louvain, Belgium: Leuven University Press, 1976.
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Good survey of all aspects of the university in its first two centuries. Well illustrated.
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Vanderjagt, Arjo. “Practising Continuity: The Academy at Groningen, 1595–1625.” In Scholarly Environments: Centres of Learning and Institutional Contexts 1560–1960. Edited by A. A. MacDonald and A. H. Hussen Jr., 33–47. Louvain, Belgium: Peeters, 2004.
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Explains how the Calvinist academy at Groningen developed into a university. Has an extensive bibliography.
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Universities and the Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation affected universities in many ways. Grane 1981 and Spitz 1997 offer overviews of the impact of the Reformation, including changes in religious allegiances to which universities and professors had to adapt and the founding of new universities by Protestant rulers. Of course, the impact of the Reformation varied from university to university and must be studied in detail at each university.

Grane, Leif, ed. University and Reformation: Lectures from The University of Copenhagen Symposium. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1981.
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Features articles by Lewis W. Spitz on the impact of the Reformation on universities, by Richard Stauffer on Calvinism and universities, by Martin Schwarz Lausten on the Reformation’s impact on the University of Copenhagen, and other studies.
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Spitz, Lewis W. The Reformation: Education and History. Aldershot, UK, and Brookfield VT: Variorum, 1997.
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Includes three perceptive articles about how the Protestant Reformation influenced universities, and how Protestant rulers founded new universities. Spitz rejects an older view that the Reformation caused a decline in the number of students in German universities.
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Spanish Universities

The University of Salamanca, with the largest enrollment in the Hispanic peninsula, has been well served by recent scholarship, as Fernández Alvarez, et al. 1992 and Fernández Alvarez, et al. 1989–1990 indicate. Pellistrandi 1990 analyzes students at the University of Alcalá de Henares.

Fernández Alvarez, Manuel Laureano, Robles Carcedo, and Luis Enrique Rodrígues-San Pedro, eds. La Universidad de Salamanca. 3 vols. Salamanca, Spain: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1989–1990.
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Massive detailed history. Volume 1 deals with the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, volume 2 offers chapters on the faculties and intellectual movements, and volume 3 deals with university architecture and art.
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Fernández Alvarez, Manuel, Luis Enrique Rodríguez-San Pedro, and Julián Alvarez Villar. The University of Salamanca: Eight Centuries of Scholarship. Salamanca, Spain: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, 1992.
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Brief general history with excellent illustrations. Summarizes material on the structure and teaching of the university discussed in detail in Fernández Alvarez, et al. 1989–1990.
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Pellistrandi, Benoît. “The University of Alcalá de Henares from 1568 to 1618: Students and Graduates.” History of Universities 9 (1990): 119–165.
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Valuable study of the students and their provenance and increase in numbers, at a primarily undergraduate university.
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Universities in England and Scotland

Oxford and Cambridge, the only universities in England during the Renaissance, have received much scholarly attention. Cobban 1988 offers a good survey, McConica 1986 is fundamental for Oxford, and Leader 1988 and Morgan and Brooke 2004 are equally important on Cambridge. Bendall, et al. 1999 emphasizes one influential college at Cambridge. Cant 1992 studies St. Andrews, the most important university in Scotland. Stone 1964 argues that the Renaissance saw a great increase in the number of university students.

Bendall, Sarah, Christopher Brooke, and Patrick Collinson. A History of Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Woodbridge, UK, and Rochester, NY: Boydell, 1999.
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Fascinating study of all aspects of a major Cambridge college founded in 1584. The members and graduates of Emmanuel College played major roles in Puritanism and English history in general.
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Cant, Ronald Gordon. The University of St. Andrews: A Short History. 3d ed. St. Andrews, UK: St. Andrews University Library, 1992.
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Founded in 1410, St. Andrews embraced humanistic reforms in the early 16th century and the Scottish Reformation after 1560, and became Scotland’s leading university. Several major figures in Scottish history studied there and shaped its curriculum. Study first published in 1946.
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Cobban, Alan B. The Medieval English Universities: Oxford and Cambridge to c.1500. Aldershot, UK: Scolar, 1988.
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Institutional history of the development of Oxford and Cambridge to 1500. Good at showing the structure of teaching, the living arrangements of students, and the social status and conditions of life of students and masters.
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Leader, Damian Riehl. A History of the University of Cambridge. Vol. 1, The University to 1546. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
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Covers every aspect of the university, paying particularly attention to teaching. The assessment of the impact of Henry VIII’s break with Rome is particularly relevant.
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McConica, James K., ed. The History of the University of Oxford. Vol. 3, The Collegiate University. Oxford: Clarendon, 1986.
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Articles on all aspects of the university from the late 15th century to 1603, especially the development of the colleges and the impact of the English Reformation and the policies of Elizabeth I on the university.
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Morgan, Victor, with Christopher Brooke. A History of the University of Cambridge. Vol. 2, 1546–1750. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2004.
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Covers all aspects of the university, but pays particular attention to the impact of the policies of the crown on the university and the students, who came from different ranks of society, especially the gentry.
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Stone, Lawrence. “The Educational Revolution in England 1560–1640.” Past and Present 28 (July 1964): 41–80.
DOI: 10.1093/past/28.1.41Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
Argues that the number of university students doubled in these years, marking a vast expansion in higher education in England and, by extension, in the rest of Europe. Stone’s argument has stimulated much research on universities.
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Universities in Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe had a number of universities in the Renaissance and Reformation era, some of them well known and influential in their own regions. Stopka, et al. 2000 and Pešek 1991 introduce some of them and include much additional bibliography, almost all of which is written in eastern European languages.

Pešek, Jiřík. “The University of Prague, Czech Latin Schools, and Social Mobility, 1570–1620.” History of Universities 10 (1991): 117–136.
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Explains how bachelor of arts graduates of the University of Prague became teachers in the Latin schools of the Kingdom of Bohemia. A study that tracks the careers of graduates. It also has additional bibliography on the University of Prague.
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Stopka, Krzysztof, Andrzej Kazimierz Banach, and Julian Dybiec. The History of the Jagiellonian University. Translated by Teresa Bałuk-Ulewiczowa. Krakow, Poland: The Jagiellonian University, 2000.
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General history of the University of Krakow, which was founded in 1364, ceased teaching c. 1370, was reestablished in 1400, and became important in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Comparative History of Universities

There is little scholarship comparing universities, especially universities in different lands, because of the difficulty in mastering the bibliographies of multiple institutions in several languages. Nevertheless, Grendler 2004 compares Italian and German universities, Fletcher 1981 compares English and German universities, and Negruzzo 2005 compares Protestant and Catholic institutions of higher learning in one small area.

Fletcher, John. “Change and Resistance to Change: A Consideration of the Development of English and German Universities during the Sixteenth Century.” History of Universities 1 (1981): 1–36.
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Studies the similarities and differences between English universities and German universities in Protestant lands. Although both had strong links to rulers, German universities were more willing to accept curricular and structural change.
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Grendler, Paul F. “The Universities of the Renaissance and Reformation.” Renaissance Quarterly 57 (2004): 1–42.
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Compares Italian universities and German universities, noting their differences. Italian universities taught doctoral students and made significant contributions to learning in law and medicine, while German universities taught undergraduates and created and led the Protestant Reformation.
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Negruzzo, Simona. L’armonia contesa: Identità ed educazione nell’Alsazia moderna. Bologna, Italy: Il Mulino, 2005.
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Study comparing the Lutheran academy and university in Strasbourg with the Jesuit university at Molsheim, both in Alsace, showing how they coexisted. Covers the period of 1538–1793.
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Faculties of Theology

The faculty of theology was one of the most important divisions of universities and certainly the most controversial in the 16th century, because its teaching, scholarship, decisions, and members had great impact during a period of religious revolution. The Faculty of Theology of the University of Paris sought to censure opinions it viewed as heretical or leading to heresy, as Farge 1985 and Farge 1992 make clear. Italian faculties of theology did not play such public roles but taught and awarded many degrees, as Negruzzo 1995 demonstrates.

Farge, James K. Orthodoxy and Reform in Early Reformation France: The Faculty of Theology of Paris, 1500–1543. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1985.
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Fundamental study of the personnel and activity of the faculty. Farge pays particular attention to the faculty’s actions as consultants on faith and morals to rulers and their condemnations of the humanistic approach to theology.
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Farge, James K. Le parti conservateur au XVIe siècle: Université et Parlement de Paris à l’époque de la Renaissance et de la Réforme. Paris: Collège de France, Diffusion les Belles Lettres, 1992.
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Discusses the actions of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Paris as it guarded its jurisdiction and prerogatives during the advent of humanism and the early years of the Reformation. Includes documents.
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Negruzzo, Simona. Theologiam discere et docere: La facoltà teologica di Pavia nel XVI secolo. Presentazione di Xenio Toscani. Bologna and Milan, Italy: Cisalpino, 1995.
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Detailed study of the faculty of theology of the University of Pavia, including its professors. It explains in detail the complicated relationship between the faculty, the university, and the regular clergy of local monasteries.
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Protestant Academies

In Protestant countries, new institutions of higher education rose to compete with universities. Called academies, Gymnasia, or Hochschulen, they were small schools offering university-level instruction in a limited number of disciplines, especially arts and theology. They did not confer degrees because they lacked papal or imperial charters authorizing them to grant degrees recognized throughout Christendom. Nevertheless, some of them had distinguished scholars and were quite influential in the Protestant world, especially Calvinist lands. Menk 1993 and Stauffer 1981 provide surveys of Calvinist academies, the most important of which was the Geneva Academy, begun in 1559, studied by Maag 1995. Geisendorf 1959 follows its progression to university status. The Strasbourg academy was the most important academy in the Lutheran world, as Schindling 1977 and Spitz and Tinsley 1995 make clear.

Geisendorf, Paul F. L’Université de Genève 1559–1959: Quatre siècles d’histoire. Geneva, Switzerland: A. Jullien, 1959.
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A general history of the Geneva Academy, which eventually became a university.
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Maag, Karin. Seminary or University? The Genevan Academy and Reformed Higher Education, 1560–1620. Aldershot, UK, and Brookfield, VT: Scolar, 1995.
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Analysis of the structure and personnel of the Geneva Academy, which began teaching in 1559, and its influence on other Protestant institutions of higher education, notably the Zurich Academy and the universities of Heidelberg and Leiden.
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Menk, Gerhard. “Die kalvinistischen Hochschulen und ihre Städte im konfessionellen Zeitalter.” In Stadt und Universität. Edited by Heinz Duchhardt, 83–106. Cologne, Germany: Böhlau, 1993.
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Surveys Calvinist academies. Gives foundation dates for academies mostly in Germany the tensions between academies and full universities, and the role of civil authorities.
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Schindling, Anton. Humanistische Hochschule und freie Reichstadt: Gymnasium und Akademie in Strassburg 1538–1621. Wiesbaden, Germany: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1977.
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Basic study of the school founded by Johann Sturm (1507–1589) which taught at both the pre-university and university level.
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Spitz, Lewis W., and Barbara Sher Tinsley. Johann Sturm on Education: The Reformation and Humanist Learning. St. Louis, MO: Concordia, 1995.
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Provides a biography, English translations of many of Sturm’s educational writings, an account of the school, and an excellent bibliographical survey.
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Stauffer, Richard. “Calvinism and the Universities.” In University and Reformation: Lectures from The University of Copenhagen Symposium. Edited by Leif Grane, 76–98. Leiden, The Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1981.
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Begins with Calvin and his views as they were reflected in the Geneva Academy, followed by other Calvinist institutions of higher learning. Concludes that theology instruction became less humanistic over time.
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Jesuit Universities

Jesuit universities, which taught humanities, philosophy, logic, mathematics, and theology, but not law and medicine, competed with traditional universities for students and influence. Moreover, the Jesuits sometimes became the dominant presence in faculties of arts and theology in existing universities, although never without opposition. Hengst 1981, an institutional study, surveys the Jesuit university presence in Germany. Mobley 2004 offers an account of the bitter conflict that ensued when the civil ruler introduced the Jesuits into the University of Ingolstadt. Villoslada 1954 describes the all-Jesuit Roman College, the society’s most important institution of higher education. Grendler 2009 describes a half Jesuit, half lay university in Italy, and Brizzi and Greci 2002 presents studies on Jesuit scholarship and universities across Europe, a good introduction to a large field.

Brizzi, Gian Paolo, and Roberto Greci, eds. Gesuiti e università in Europa (secoli XVI–XVIII): Atti del Convegno di studi, Parma, 13–15 dicembre 2001. Bologna, Italy: CLUEB, 2002.
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Twenty-seven studies in Italian, English, French, and Spanish about Jesuit universities, part-Jesuit universities, and Jesuit scholarship from Spain to Hungary, in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
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Grendler, Paul F. The University of Mantua, the Gonzaga, and the Jesuits, 1584–1630. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.
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Study of the short-lived University of Mantua, founded by Duke Ferdinando Gonzaga, in which Jesuits taught arts, philosophy, and theology, and lay professors taught law and medicine in innovative ways. It came to a sad end in the sack of Mantua in 1630.
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Hengst, Karl. Jesuiten an Universitäten und Jesuitenuniversitäten: Zur Geschichte der Universitäten in der Oberdeutschen und Reinischen Provinz der Gesellschaft Jesu im Zeitalter der konfessionellen Auseinandersetzung. Paderborn, Germany: Ferdinand Schönich, 1981.
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Emphasizes the variety of Jesuit university experiences in Germany. Sometimes the Jesuits with the support of princes founded their own universities, other times they dominated philosophy and theology, or had only a minimum presence, in established universities. Relations with princes were important.
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Mobley, Susan Spruell. “The Jesuits at the University of Ingolstadt.” In The Mercurian Project: Forming Jesuit Culture, 1573–1580. Edited by Thomas M. McCoog, 213–248. Rome: Institutum Historicum Societatis Iesu, 2004.
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Good article on the Jesuit struggle to gain control of the faculties of arts and theology and the fierce opposition to them.
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Villoslada, Riccardo G. Storia del Collegio Romano dal suo inizio (1551) alla soppressione della Compagnia di Gesù (1773). Rome: Apud Aedes Universitatis Gregorianae, 1954.
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A narrative from its founding with much interesting detail plus lists of all the Jesuits who taught there. The only comprehensive study of the Roman College.
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Scholarship and Teaching

University professors produced a great deal of scholarship in the disciplines of theology, law, medicine, philosophy, logic, the humanities, mathematics, and astronomy. Most of this scholarship has been assessed by historians of the above disciplines who study individual scholars, rather than by historians of universities, and is best approached that way. However, it may be helpful to list a handful of studies, always with full bibliographies, that survey Renaissance university scholarship in a few disciplines. Schmitt, et al. 1988 is fundamental for the study of university philosophy, and Freedman 1999 provides a detailed analysis of the philosophy curriculum in German universities. Wear, et al. 1985 surveys new medical research in Italian universities, and Brockliss 1987 summarizes research and teaching in French universities. Campi, et al. 2008 offers valuable case studies of how university and academy professors used textbooks.

Brockliss, L. W. B. French Higher Education in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries: A Cultural History. Oxford: Clarendon, 1987.
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A comprehensive discussion of teaching and research in French universities and collèges de plein exercise (secondary schools that taught humanities and philosophy ssat an advanced level). Although the book concentrates on a later period, much of the discussion is valid for the 16th century. The book also offers a useful description of the foundations of French universities. Full bibliography.
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Campi, Emidio, Simone De Angelis, Anja-Silvia Goeing, and Anthony T. Grafton, eds. Scholarly Knowledge: Textbooks in Early Modern Europe. Geneva, Switzerland: Librairie Droz, 2008.
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Since the vast majority of the textbooks discussed in this volume were used to teach university subjects, this is a partial introduction to university teaching on subjects ranging from biblical students to science. The focus is northern European institutions of higher learning, especially the Zurich Academy. The article on student note-taking by Ann Blair (pp. 39–73) is particularly interesting.
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Freedman, Joseph S. Philosophy and the Arts in Central Europe, 1500–1700: Teaching and Texts at Schools and Universities. Aldershot, UK, and Brookfield, VT: Ashgate/Variorum, 1999.
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Excellent articles on the structure of the curriculum in German universities, the teaching of philosophy based on Aristotle, rhetoric based on Cicero, and method based on Peter Ramus.
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Schmitt, Charles B., Quentin Skinner, Eckhard Kessler, and Jill Kraye, eds. The Cambridge History of Renaissance Philosophy. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
DOI: 10.1017/CHOL9780521251044Save Citation »Export Citation »E-mail Citation »
A comprehensive history of philosophy, broadly defined, across Europe, written by distinguished scholars. Since the vast majority of the individuals mentioned taught in universities, and because universities taught the philosophical subjects and themes discussed, this is an overview of much Renaissance university philosophy.
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Wear, Andrew, Roger K. French, and Iain M. Lonie, eds. The Medical Renaissance of the Sixteenth Century. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
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An introduction to the innovative medical research of the period, primarily in Italian universities. Discusses anatomy, medical botany, medical humanism, and other topics.