ABSTRACT
In Carolingian times Benedictine monasticism had been the main agent of learning and education in Western Europe. However, the reforming orders of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, such as the Cluniacs and the Cistercians, had the effect of turning the monasteries towards a more ascetic life in which learning figured less. The immediate successors to monasticism in providing education were the Cathedral schools, and in certain towns these became centres of learning great enough to become known and accepted as universities. No simple explanation can be offered for the growth of universities. The revival of trade, the growth of towns, a widespread intellectual restlessness and the appearance of a student population able and willing to wander in search of knowledge – all these factors need to be considered in attempting to explain the rise of the universities.
