Britannica
Sources used in this answer
What could happen when students or teachers were dissatisfied with a medieval university?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
University
Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge, England.
When students and teachers in a medieval university were dissatisfied with their circumstances or faced interference with their established rights, they had several avenues for protest and action:
- The cessatio: This was a formal right to strike. Members could discontinue lectures and suspend academic activities to protest grievances.1
- Secession and Migration: Because early universities lacked permanent buildings and significant corporate property, they were highly mobile. Dissatisfied students and masters could simply leave their current city and migrate to another to establish a new place of study.2
- Historical Examples: This mobility significantly shaped the academic landscape. For instance, the University of Cambridge was founded in 1209 by students who left Oxford due to dissatisfaction, and Oxford later grew following a migration of students from the University of Paris.2
These actions were supported by privileges granted by authorities, such as Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, which included protections against unjust arrest and the right to dwell in security.1