Examining How Medieval Universities Have Impacted Modern Universities

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One major contribution from the Middle Ages that has made a profound impact which still affects us today is the rise of universities and higher education. This new form of community teaching led to a rapid increase in the percentage of people who were literate in the Middle Ages and continued to flourish into a world-wide phenomenon which has changed the world of today and allows millions of people to delve deeper into their preferred area of interest and allow them to obtain a degree.

Around 800-1050 A.D., prior to the formation of universities, getting an education was extremely difficult. Only about one percent of the population was considered literate. The only place that someone could go to receive a decent education would be a monastery. Before the 12th century, the responsibility for higher education largely lay within the realm of the monastic communities whose primary focus was, obviously, on liturgy, prayer, and the spiritual dimension. These early monastic schools mainly concentrated on preserving books and literacy by making handwritten copies of them. So the clergy we...

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