take form at the end of the twelfth century in those cities. Irnerius
marks a new epoch in the study of the body of Roman Law; following the
traditions of teaching which he established, the University of Bologna
became the most prominent school of law in Europe. In a similar way
Abelard marks at Paris the introduction of a new method of teaching and
investigation, an attitude of intellectual independence on theological
questions, and a permanently influential position in scholastic
philosophy; following his initiative the University of Paris became the
leading school of Philosophy and Theology. These two
institutions,--Bologna and Paris,--were in turn the models for all other
mediaeval universities, not only in organization, but also so far as the
study of Law, Theology, and Philosophy was concerned. Hence, indirectly,
the influence of Abelard and Irnerius was widely diffused and long
continued.

The documents relating to Irnerius are scanty. For a discussion of his
influence on the teaching of Roman Law, see Rashdall, I, ch. iv, and
especially pages 121-127. Concerning Abelard the records are abundant.

Abelard, the eldest son of a noble family of Pallet (Palais), Brittany,
was in his day the most renowned teacher in France. Instead of becoming
the head of his family and adopting the career of a soldier, he
abandoned his birthright and the profession of arms for the life of the
scholar and the battlefields of debate. His early life as a student
wandering from school to school is thus described by himself:

The more fully and easily I advanced in the study of letters the
more ardently I clung to them, and I became so enamored of them
that, abandoning to my brothers the pomp of glory, together with
my inheritance and the rights of the eldest son, I resigned from