Issue date: 04 Jul, 2018
8TH CENTENARY OF THE STUDIUM GENERALE. UNIVERSITY OF PALENCIA.
A school was founded near Palencia Cathedral in the 11th century. As time went by it acquired great renown among the reconquered territories, and by the late 12th century it was a splendid institution. The foundations had been laid for the first University in the history of Spain.
The city’s Bishop, Tello Téllez, would take the decisive step to establish this educational institution. In 1221 it obtained the approval of Pope Honorius III and became one of the earliest universities in Europe.
The first centre of higher education recognised as such was the Studium Generale of Palencia.
This year it celebrates its 800th anniversary, and to commemorate this important date, Correos has issued a stamp with two images where the past meets the present.
As well as the monument that now stands in the University of Palencia, it depicts Alfonso VIII of Castile. At that time the King decided that, following the model of Bologna, Oxford, and Paris, an official recognition should be granted to the Studium Generale, as it was then known, accompanied by financial grants.
Well-known masters passed through its classrooms, and one of its most distinguished students was Gonzalo de Berceo.
Students obtained the title of Bachelor of Theology and Arts, after taking the only two courses available: the Trivium (Grammar, Rhetoric and Logic) and the Quadrivium (Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music).
The Studium Generale of Palencia was also known for its additional legal studies, with lessons given by some of the leading figures of the period. However, the death of Alfonso VIII in 1214 was soon followed by the decline of the centre, especially when his successor, Alfonso IX, decided to move the university to Salamanca in 1218.
These days, the University of Palencia still follows the calling that led to its creation: the spreading of knowledge.
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