The Middle Ages of Europe is usually regarded as a “dark period” by many historians, but it is this dark period that gave birth to the university. The European university in Middle Ages, in terms of educational conception and curricula, inherited from both oriental and western civilization, especially ancient Greece, ancient Rome and Arabian world and characterized the early form of university. Establishment of the University The first institutions generally considered to be universities were established in Italy, France, Spain and England in the late 11th and the 12th centuries for the study of arts, law, medicine, and theology. ①These universities evolved from much older Christian cathedral schools and monastic schools, and it is difficult to define the date at which they became true universities. Universities were formalized when they were granted charters. The University of Bologna can trace its origins back to the late 11th century and received its charter in the 12th century. Other early universities established in Europe include the University of Paris in France and Oxford in England. Before 1500 more than eighty universities were established in Western and Central Europe. During the subsequent Colonization of the Americas the university was introduced to the New World, marking the beginning of its worldwide spread as the center of higher learning everywhere. Characteristics ②The university of the Middle Ages was not entirely unlike the modern institution that we are familiar with today, in that its ostensible goal was to train the next generation of young minds for a career — in this case, the church. Initially the universities of the Middle Ages did not have physical facilities such as the campus of a modern university. Classes were taught wherever space was available, such as churches and homes. A university was not a physical space but a collection of individuals banded together as a universitas. Soon, however, some universities (such as Cambrid