Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval university

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss the medieval universities. Within the 11th and 12th centuries a brand new kind of institution began to seem within the main cities of Europe. The very first universities were these of Bologna and Paris; within a hundred years comparable educational organisations had been springing up all more than the continent. The first universities primarily based their research around the liberal arts curriculum, a mix of seven separate disciplines derived through the educational theories of Ancient Greece.


The universities provided coaching for all those intending to embark on careers in the Church, the law and education. They provided a new focus for intellectual life in Europe, and exerted a substantial affect on society around them. And also the university model proved so robust that many of those institutions and their medieval improvements nonetheless exist today.



On Radio 4 Now Latest Programme The Medieval University Available to listen.



With:
Miri Rubin
Professor of Medieval and Early Modern History at Queen Mary, University of London

Ian Wei
Senior Lecturer in Medieval European History at the University of Bristol

Peter Denley
Reader in History at Queen Mary, University of London.

Producer: Thomas Morris.

BBC Super People Power on the Internet

The BBC presents a special season of programmes looking at the internet
The world's first truly global revolution.







A season of programmes investigating how the internet affects lives and has become the catalyst for a fundamental change in societies around the world.

"Find your inner web animal with the BBC Web Behaviour Test"

You are a Web Fox

Fast-moving - Web Foxes like you are great at finding information quickly,

just as real-world foxes are always ready to pounce on an opportunity.

Sociable - Foxes are highly social animals, maintaining complex relationships with the other members of their social group. When you browse the web you are also a social creature, often using social networks, or other sites whose content is created by its users, as sources of information.

Adaptable - Web Foxes are highly adaptable multitaskers, able to do several things at the same time – just like real-world foxes who can rapidly change their behaviour to suit their environments.

How we worked out your web animal

Our web animals are just for fun, but the test is based on solid and rigorous science, so your results should tell you something interesting about your web behaviour.

Three aspects of your web behaviour were used to work out your web animal.

Adaptable or specialised?

We aren't always as good at multitasking as we think we are

The internet allows us to do lots of things at the same time. You might be listening to music and updating your blog while receiving news alerts and chatting online with friends. Then an email arrives. Can you switch seamlessly between different tasks? Or are you actually less efficient?

Indeed, a study from Stanford University in California suggests that people who spend their time multitasking might actually be less good at juggling tasks than non-multitaskers.

If you are an ‘adaptable’ web animal, then you scored highly on our tests that measured your ability to multitask. If your web animal is ‘specialised’, then you are probably better suited to taking on one task at a time.

Fast-moving or slow-moving?

BBC World Service - Special Reports - SuperPower: The Extraordinary Power Of The Internet

Blogging World Video Your Say

No-one sees the world the way you do. The BBC wants to see things from your perspective - and create a unique picture of our lives today across the planet.

About the competition

You can interpret the MyWorld theme any way you choose. Your film could be a compelling personal story, tell of a place that is changing, or document the joy or difficulty of your work life.
You can enter the competition by clicking Here.
(Closing date 1600 GMT March 5 2010)