The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, Part 2, English Universities, Student Life

Hastings Rashdall (1858–1924) first published The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages in 1895. It has remained one of the best-known studies of the great medieval universities for over a century. Volume 2 Part 2 is a study of the medieval universities of England with special focus on the universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Rashdall provides an in-depth analysis of their origins and constitutions, institutional development, curriculum and college systems. There are additional sections on English student life; student numbers and intake; universities’ relationships with local towns; relationships with local ecclesiastical structures; and a chapter on the importance of the university of Oxford in medieval thought. Rashdall’s study was one of the first comparative works on the subject. Its scope and breadth has ensured its place as a key work of intellectual history, and an indispensable tool for the study of the educational organisation of the Middle Ages.