University of Evansville - LinC Yearbook (Evansville, IN)

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HERE are, in the Western World, educational tra- ditions which have been passed down to us from the Middle Ages — traditions which are evident every spring when graduates receive their diplo- mas. We are heirs not only of Athens and Alex- andria, but also of Paris and Bologna, for it was in the West that educational traditions were first initiated. Confined to the cloisters of the monasteries, the students, most of whom had taken Minor Orders, were strongly influenced by the clergy ' s way of life. They thus assumed the dress of the cleric. The gown of the scholar was similar to the alb of the clergyman, a kind of long coat with close-fitting sleeves. A shorter garment, the tunic, reached a little below the knees, was slit some way up the side, and had short, broad sleeves and a broad hem. The outer cloak-like garment of the ecclesiastics had a large hood-like piece called a cowl, which they used for protection against the weather. In fair weather the hood was thrown back, and the handy pocket thus created was used for the collection of alms. ETWEEN the years 1100 and 1200, the rising in- fluence of such ancient scholars as Aristotle, Eu- clid, and Ptolemy created a desire for a new kind of education. The learned professions thus arose, causing the establishment of universities outside the monastery walls. The youths came like Chau- cer ' s Oxford clerk who would gladly learn and gladly teach. Paris soon became the center of learning, and it later served as a model for Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford gives the deepest impression of continuity with an ancient past: Matthew Arnold des- cribed it thus: so venerable, so lovely . . . steeped in sentiment as she lies, spreading her gardens to the moonlight, and whispering from her towers the last enchantments of the Middle Ages. There are only a few monuments left of many of the old universities; but Oxford still stands, a monument in itself to something greater than itself. That something greater is represented in the heritage the modern world has received from the Middle Ages: the academic costume, the notion of a curriculum, the use of faculties and residential colleges, and the very name university. The greatest heritage is concerned with the g lory of the medieval university — the dedication to learning. It was that learning which sparked the modern spirit. T is obvious at any commencement ceremony that the hood is the most striking feature of the aca- demic costume. There has been only one signifi- cant change in the tradition since it was worn by the medieval student : When wigs were worn, the cape part of the hood was cut open and a neck- band inserted. Allowed to fall back, it produced the effect one sees today. Although the medieval student would proba- bly not recognize his old costume or the customs of his school, the fact remains that the Western World would be without many of its educa- tional traditions if it were not for the medieval scholar. 4