Monasteries and Universities in Europe over the long-run

This page lists the data on the number and foundations of monasteries and universities in Western Europe published in Buringh and Van Zanden (2009) – Charting the “Rise of the West”: Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries. In The Journal of Economic History, 69, 02, 409–445.

The visualization and the description of this research can be found in our entry on higher education here.

The table paints a detailed picture of the early rise of universities in Western Europe. By clicking on the top row, you can sort the cells and track the shift of higher learning from the mediterranean countries to the North. In the 15th century, there were 17 universities in Italy and 9 in the Iberian countries. Thereafter there were no new universities in these two regions, and only one new institution in France. But in the northern countries – especially in Germany and Central Europe – the rise of universities intensified and more universities were founded as time went on.

Estimated number of monasteries in Western Europe, 6th – 15th century – Van Zanden (2009)¹

Cumulative distribution of foundation dates of universities in Western Europe, 1200-1800 – Buringh & Van Zanden (2009)²