A History of the University in Europe
A History of the University in Europe is a four-volume book series that sets out to answer a deceptively simple question: how did the university, as a distinct institution, come to exist, survive, and shape the modern world? Published by Cambridge University Press between 1992 and 2011 under the direction of the European University Association, the series runs from the medieval origins of universities all the way to the late twentieth century. No single work in English had attempted a survey this wide since Hastings Rashdall published The Universities in Europe in the Middle Ages, a standard reference that was itself revised as recently as 1936 by medievalists F. M. Powicke and A. B. Emden. The questions the series plants in the reader's mind are lasting ones: what makes a university distinctively European, and how has that character held or shifted across a thousand years of religious upheaval, revolution, and war?
Christoph Meiners, a German philosopher, published his Geschichte der Entstehung und Entwickelung der hohen Schulen unsres Erdtheils between 1802 and 1805. That title translates roughly as "History of the emergence and development of the higher schools of our continent", and it remained, for nearly two centuries, the only multi-volume rival to what the editors of A History of the University in Europe eventually produced. The gap between Meiners and the Cambridge series spans a period in which universities themselves changed beyond recognition, absorbing the upheavals of industrialization, nationalist politics, and two world wars. By returning to the project at this scale, the European University Association was acknowledging that the institution had accumulated enough history to require a fresh accounting.
Volume I, edited by Hilde de Ridder-Symoens and published in 1992, covers the emergence of the university from the Middle Ages through approximately 1500. De Ridder-Symoens also edited Volume II, released in 1996, which spans the Reformation through the French Revolution, covering the period 1500-1800. Walter Rüegg took over the editorial duties for the final two volumes: Volume III appeared in 2004 covering 1800-1945, and Volume IV arrived in 2011 addressing the period since 1945. Each volume follows a four-part structure that holds firm across the entire series. The first part introduces the university as an institution of its era. The second addresses its organizational structures. The third examines students, tracing their education, activities, and careers. The fourth surveys the individual academic disciplines taught within its walls. Each of those sections breaks further into chapters written by specialists. The controlling aim is holistic: the series is less interested in cataloguing individual institutions than in tracing the character and trajectory of the university as a shared European form.
Edward Grant, reviewing the first volume, called it "the best single volume on the history of medieval universities", singling out its comprehensiveness, readability, and the authority produced by competent editorship and what he described as "outstanding contributors". Susan Rosa reached a similar verdict, writing that the volume "sets a standard for competency in historical research", and credited the collaborative structure with producing little overlap between chapters. Christopher Ocker offered a more precise framing, calling the first volume "the first attempt at a comprehensive survey of this distinctive European institution, the first thorough survey to span every country from the time of the university's birth to humanism since Rashdall". His one reservation was that medieval science received somewhat less attention than it deserved. Matthew Kempshall introduced a conceptual concern: he admired the book as "a product of an array of distinguished European scholars" but questioned whether it went too far in portraying the university as a supranational institution standing above the particular politics of individual states.
As of 2011, the complete four-volume series existed in English and German. Spanish and Portuguese editions of the first volumes had appeared by that point, while translations into Russian and Chinese were in preparation. The range of target languages reflects the ambition behind the series: a work arguing that the European university is a coherent historical institution would carry greater force if it could be read across the linguistic borders that the institution itself supposedly transcended. Kempshall's reservation about idealization sits in productive tension with this translation project, since reaching Russian and Chinese readers means carrying a specifically European intellectual framework into entirely different academic traditions.
Common questions
What is A History of the University in Europe?
A History of the University in Europe is a four-volume book series tracing the development of the European university from its medieval origins to the late twentieth century. It was directed by the European University Association and published by Cambridge University Press between 1992 and 2011. The series is considered the most comprehensive and authoritative work on the subject.
Who edited the volumes of A History of the University in Europe?
Hilde de Ridder-Symoens edited the first two volumes, published in 1992 and 1996 respectively. Walter Rüegg edited Volumes III and IV, which appeared in 2004 and 2011.
What time periods does A History of the University in Europe cover?
Volume I covers the Middle Ages to approximately 1500, Volume II spans 1500-1800, Volume III covers 1800-1945, and Volume IV addresses the period since 1945. Together the four volumes trace over eight centuries of university history.
What languages has A History of the University in Europe been translated into?
As of 2011, the complete series had been published in English and German. Spanish and Portuguese editions of the first volumes had appeared, and translations into Russian and Chinese were in preparation.
How did reviewers assess A History of the University in Europe?
Edward Grant called the first volume "the best single volume on the history of medieval universities", while Susan Rosa said it "sets a standard for competency in historical research". Christopher Ocker described it as the first thorough survey spanning every country from the university's birth to humanism since Rashdall. Matthew Kempshall raised a conceptual concern that the series may have gone too far in idealizing the university as a supranational institution.
What earlier work did A History of the University in Europe replace as the standard reference?
In English-language scholarship the series updated Hastings Rashdall's The Universities in Europe in the Middle Ages, which had been revised in 1936 by F. M. Powicke and A. B. Emden. In multi-volume scope, the only prior comparable work was Christoph Meiners's Geschichte der Entstehung und Entwickelung der hohen Schulen unsres Erdtheils, published between 1802 and 1805.