OF ST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ST ANDREWS UNIVERSITY
However, in 1410 these students (most of whom were in Paris) found themselves in a precarious position when two rival popes divided the Catholic church. While one of these popes was supported by the French cardinals, Scotland remained faithful to the other. It was time to found a seat of learning, that would be of international standing, in Scotland.
Founding and Establishment
As the location of a monastery and the seat of Scotland’s greatest bishopric, St Andrews was chosen as the home of the soon-to-be-established university. A group of masters (largely graduates of Paris) founded a school of higher studies in the city in May 1410.
By early 1411 the school had sufficiently established itself to be awarded a charter of privileges and incorporation from Henry Wardlaw, the Bishop of St Andrews. This charter granted the student and masters recognition as a corporation that had been properly constituted and was therefore safeguarded and duly privileged in respect of the pursuit of learning.
In the Middle Ages, with no national university, Scottish students had to pursue their learning abroad.
2 Dr Adam Alexander
As the location of a monastery and the seat of Scotland’s greatest bishopric, St Andrews was chosen as the home of the soon-to-beestablished university.
3
Dr Adam Alexander
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