Clavis Scientiae. Symbolic Dimension of the Medieval University

Abstract

Historical research on medieval universities is not fully capable of revealing the specifics of this unique phenomenon. The multidimensionality of reality, as well as human reactions to it, cannot be exhausted by knowledge and explanation of the material causes of the emergence of a particular cultural institution, economic and social factors of its development. For people in Middle Ages, the main way of interacting with the world was imagination, and the main tool was metaphor, which creates a vast space for the interpretation of preserved cultural evidence and artifacts. This text provides examples of such metaphors of the university, attributed to the three conditional levels of the symbolic dimension of the European Studium Generale. For all their imagery, these metaphors are surprisingly specific and refer to the fundamental values of medieval education