Ever wonder what your undergraduate science education would have been like if you attended university during the Middle Ages?
We can understand this by exploring the science curriculum of students at Oxford University during the 14th century and how it was shaped by the societal and intellectual context of the time period. For a student studying towards a master of the arts (the equivalent of a science degree), they would need to enter with a strong foundation in the 7 liberal arts, including Boethius’ Arithmetic and Euclid’s geometry, and the 3 natural philosophies such as physics and meteorology.
In university, there were two main fields students of science covered: quadrivium and natural philosophy. Quadrivium consisted of the subjects of arithmetic where the students would study number theory and calculations, and geometry for learning shapes, measurements, and Euclidean geometry. They would also learn music, both the mathematical and theoretical aspects, as well as astronomy where they would study celestial objects, the principles behind this motion, and the works of Ptolemy. In natural philosophy, students learned about Aristotle’s works on the natural world, his theories of motion for physics, elements, and celestial bodies, as well as concepts on metaphysics, such as the nature of existence and the structure of reality.
These students, as well as others in universities in Paris and other cities, were required to attend lectures on quadrivium and Aristotle, as well as lectures on other scientific topics. Students could sometimes replace the required lectures with these electives – although they wouldn’t receive course credits for them – and there were even university regulations to allow these lectures to continue during holidays in cases of high demand.
There were various ways in which the subjects of quadrivium and natural philosophy were at the core of the curriculum for students. In regards to Aristotle’s works, professors would use commentaries from these to explain his complex ideas to students through the lens of their own contributions to the discoveries. Moreover, these commentaries served as both textbooks for students to learn from and research papers for scholarly purposes. Students could study the commentaries to build their understanding on the subject, as well as critique and offer their own ideas to existing ones.
Professors also used sophismata, which were logical puzzles or propositions, to allow students to actively engage. Students would participate in disputations, or formal debates and discussions, in order to graduate, where they would defend or refute various propositions. This focus on logical thinking enabled students to form arguments and check for weaknesses or fallacies in their scientific works.
Overall, medieval universities had an integrated approach to education where teaching and research were combined. The works that students studied for their science curriculum were also composed of scholarly research content that they could then use to build and refute arguments. While medieval scholars and students were not immune to incorrect scientific theories, they were also limited by the resources and beliefs of that time. By understanding the scientific progress made through the centuries and the way in which education has developed it, we can continue to shape the knowledge of students to come.
Sources:
Scott, John C. “The mission of the university: Medieval to postmodern transformations.” The Journal of Higher Education, vol. 77, no. 1, 2006, pp. 1–39, https://doi.org/10.1353/jhe.2006.0007.
Sylla, Edith Dudley. “Science for undergraduates in medieval universities.” Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. 441, no. 1, Apr. 1985, pp. 171–186, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.1985.tb14581.x.
