Like a craft guild a university consisted of masters (the
professors), who had the right to teach, and students, both elementary and
advanced, who corresponded to apprentices and journeymen. After several years
of study a student who had passed part of his examination became a
"bachelor of arts" and might teach certain elementary subjects to
those beneath him. Upon the completion of the full course—usually six years in
length—the bachelor took his final examinations and, if he passed them,
received the coveted degree of "master of arts." But as is the case
to-day, many who attended the universities never took a degree at all.
THE TEACHERS
A university of the Middle Ages did not need an expensive
collection of libraries, laboratories, and museums. Its only necessary
equipment consisted in lecture rooms for the professors. Not even benches or
chairs were required. Students often sat on the straw-strewn floors. The high
price of manuscripts compelled professors to give all instruction by lectures.
This method of teaching has been retained in modern universities, since even
the printed book is a poor substitute for a scholar's inspiring words.
