WHI-Chap20-Obj4

During the early middle ages, European society was not stable or wealthy enough to produce many intellectual accomplishments. In addition, there were very few schools which offered a formal education beyond an elementary level.

However, during the high middle ages, economic growth in Europe made more resources available for educational centers and intellectual pursuits. As society became more complex, bishops and archbishops in areas such as France and northern Italy, began to organize schools in their cathedrals. These schools invited well known scholars to serve as teachers, and they attracted students from all parts of Europe. Over time, these schools established a curriculum based on Latin, and they began to offer advanced education in topics such as law, medicine, and theology. Around the mid-twelfth century, more and more students and teachers began to organize academic guild. The students in these guilds demanded for fairer treatment from townspeople, while the teachers wanted to have the authority to give out academic degrees, and control the curriculum in their institutions. These guilds ultimately transformed cathedral schools into the first universities in Bologna, Paris, and Salerno.

Along with the development of universites, another intellectual accomplishment of the high middle ages was the rediscovery of Aristotle. During the high middle ages, as commerce and communication increased within Europe, Europeans began to learn about Aristotle's thought from Byzantine and Muslim philosophers. All of Aristotle's works which had been translated to Arabic, were then translated to Arabic to make this thought more accessible to Europeans. One of the greatest Aristotle scholar of this time was St. Thomas Aquinas who promoted scholastic theology which was a synthesis of Christianity and Greek philosophy. St. Thomas Aquinas