222 History of Universities
(Inceptio), the oldest, most dignified, and widespread uni-
versity institution, began simply as initiation to this guild of
Masters of Arts. The candidate, having received his license
to teach from the Chancellor, was ceremonially admitted to
the masters’ or teachers’ guild, and confirmed in his new
fellowship and title of Master of Arts by performing an
appropriate “Act.” If, eventually, he proceeded Doctor of
Divinity, he was admitted to the guild of theologians with
a different ceremonial, at a doctors’ Commencement.
Most American universities, fearing to waste their pre-
sumably precious time, have telescoped all their commence-
ments into one ceremony, at which the President admits
candidates to sundry degrees that he does not himself
possess. Yet even St. Thomas Aquinas might recognize in
an American Commencement of the twentieth century a
lineal descent from the masters’ Inceptiones which he had
often witnessed. Our caps, gowns, and hoods have not
greatly changed from academic robes of the middle ages;
our “Commencement parts” are representative perform-
ances of the “Act” formerly required of each candidate in
order to prove himself worthy of his new status.
From granting degrees and prescribing curricula, it was
an easy step to gaining corporate autonomy. As early as
1210 the Universitas or society of Masters of Arts of Paris
was recognized as a corporation by the Pope. In order to
protect scholars from the municipal authorities, they were
given the privilege of being tried by their own courts. So
many foreigners came to Paris that the Bolognese organiza-
tion of students and masters by “nations” was adopted.
In the middle ages the two Arts degrees were prerequisites
for the professional study of Theology, Law, or Medicine.
But young men of the middle ages were just as impatient as
young Americans of our own day to obtain degrees with