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The University of Salamanca , located in the town of Salamanca
Salamanca

Salamanca is a city in western Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca , which belongs to the autonomous community of Castile and Leon ....
, west of Madrid
Madrid

Madrid is the Capital and largest city of Spain. It is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its Madrid metropolitan area is the Largest urban areas of the European Union in the European Union after Paris aire urbaine, Greater London Urban Area, a...
, is the oldest university in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 (the older "Estudio general de Palencia", which soon later disappeared, never got the title of University), and one of the oldest
List of oldest universities in continuous operation

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever sin...
 in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
.






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Old Library 2, University of Salamanca
The University of Salamanca , located in the town of Salamanca
Salamanca

Salamanca is a city in western Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca , which belongs to the autonomous community of Castile and Leon ....
, west of Madrid
Madrid

Madrid is the Capital and largest city of Spain. It is the Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its Madrid metropolitan area is the Largest urban areas of the European Union in the European Union after Paris aire urbaine, Greater London Urban Area, a...
, is the oldest university in Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 (the older "Estudio general de Palencia", which soon later disappeared, never got the title of University), and one of the oldest
List of oldest universities in continuous operation

This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever sin...
 in Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
. It was founded by Alfonso IX of León
Kingdom of León

Kingdom of Le?n was an independent country situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 A.D. when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias along the Bay of Biscay shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of Le?n, Spain....
 in 1218 as a "General School". This foundation did not last and the university was refounded by Alfonso's son, King St. Ferdinand III
Ferdinand III of Castile

Saint Ferdinand III , was the King of Castile from 1217 and King of Le?n from 1230. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII of Castile and consolidated the Reconquista....
 in 1243.

History

The university was founded as a "General School of the kingdom" by the Leonese
Kingdom of León

Kingdom of Le?n was an independent country situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in 910 A.D. when the Christian princes of Kingdom of Asturias along the Bay of Biscay shifted their main seat from Oviedo to the city of Le?n, Spain....
 king Alfonso IX in 1218 to allow the Leonese people to study at home without having to leave for Castile
Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of Le?n....
.

In the reign of Ferdinand
Ferdinand II of Aragon

Ferdinand the Catholic was king of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia , Sardinia and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, de jure uxoris King of Crown of Castile and then Regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of his mentally unstable daughter Joanna the Mad....
, King of Aragon
Aragon

Aragon is an autonomous communities of Spain of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces of Spain from north to south: Huesca , Zaragoza , and Teruel ....
, and Isabella
Isabella I of Castile

Isabella I was Kings of Castile. She and her husband, Ferdinand II of Aragon, laid the foundation for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor....
, Queen of Castile
Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile, as a historic entity, is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and definitive union of the two kingdoms of Kingdom of Le?n and Kingdom of Castile, or more concretely, with the union of their parliaments a few decades later....
, the Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 government was revamped. Contemporary with the Spanish Inquisition
Spanish Inquisition

The Spanish Inquisition was an ecclesiastical tribunal established in 1478 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile....
, the expulsion of the Jews, and the conquest of Granada
Granada

Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada , in the autonomous communities of Spain of Andalusia, Spain....
, there was a certain professionalization of the apparatus of the state. This involved the massive employment of "letrados", i.e., bureaucrats and lawyers, who where "licenciados" (graduates) of the Universities, particularly, of Salamanca
Salamanca

Salamanca is a city in western Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca , which belongs to the autonomous community of Castile and Leon ....
, and the newly founded University of Alcalá
University of Alcalá

The University of Alcal? is a public university located in the city of Alcal? de Henares, to the east of Madrid in Spain. Founded in 1499, it was moved in 1836 to Madrid....
. These men staffed the various councils of state, including, eventually, the Consejo de Indias
Consejo de Indias

The Council of the Indies, officially, the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies , was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire, both in the Americas and in Asia, combining legislative, executive and judicial functions....
 and Casa de Contratacion
Casa de Contratación

La Casa de Contrataci?n was a government agency under the Spanish Empire from the 16th to the 18th centuries, which attempted to control all Spanish exploration and colonization....
, the two highest bodies in metropolitan Spain for the government of the Spanish Empire in the New World
Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire was one of the largest empires in world history, and one of the first global empires. It included territories and colonies ruled by Spain in Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania between the 15th and late 19th centuries....
. While Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
 was lobbying the King and Queen for a contract to seek out a western route to the Indies, he made his case to a council of geographers at the University of Salamanca. In the next century, the morality of colonization in the Indies was debated by the School of Salamanca
School of Salamanca

The School of Salamanca is the renaissance of thought in diverse intellectual areas by Spain theology, rooted in the intellectual and pedagogical work of Francisco de Vitoria....
, along with questions of economics
Economics

File:Ballard Farmers' Market - vegetables.jpgEconomics is the Social sciences that studies the Production theory basics, Distribution , and Consumption of Good and Service ....
, philosophy
Philosophy

Philosophy is the study of general problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, truth, beauty, justice, validity, mind, and language....
 and theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
.

By the end of the Spanish Golden Age
Spanish Golden Age

The Spanish Golden Age was a period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain, coinciding with the political rise and decline of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty....
 (c. 1550-1650), the quality of academics in Spanish universities declined. The frequency of the awarding of degrees dropped, the range of studies shrank, and there was a sharp decline in the number of its students. The centuries old European wide prestige of Salamanca evaporated.

Like Oxford
University of Oxford

The University of Oxford , located in the city of Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation in the English-speaking world....
 and Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
, Salamanca had a number of colleges (Colegios Mayores). These were founded as charitable institutions to enable poor scholars to attend the University. By the eighteenth century they had become closed corporations controlled by the families of their founders, and dominated the university between them. Most were destroyed by Napoleon's troops. Today some have been turned into faculty buildings while others survive as halls of residence.

In the 19th century, the Spanish government dissolved the university's faculties of canon law
Canon law

Canon law is internal ecclesiastical law governing the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church churches, and the Anglicanism of churches....
 and theology
Theology

Theology is the study of the existence or attributes of a deity or gods, or more generally the study of religion or spirituality. It is sometimes contrasted with religious studies: theology is understood as the study of religion from an internal perspective , and religious studies as the study of religion from an external perspective....
. They were later reestablished in the 1940s as part of the Pontifical University of Salamanca
Pontifical University of Salamanca

The Pontifical University of Salamanca is an offshoot of the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain, resulting from the Spanish government's dissolution of the University of Salamanca's faculties of Theology and Canon Law in 1854....
.

Today the University of Salamanca is an important centre for the study of humanities and is particularly noted for its language studies.

In conjunction with the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge

The University of Cambridge , located in Cambridge, England, is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation university in the Anglosphere....
, the University of Salamanca co-founded the Association of Language Testers in Europe
Association of Language Testers in Europe

The Association of Language Testers in Europe is an association of language exam providers.ALTE now establishes a six-level framework of language examination standards....
 (ALTE) in 1989.

Notable people


Notable students and academic teachers include:

  • Abraham Zacuto
    Abraham Zacuto

    Abraham Zacuto was a Sephardi Jews astronomer, astrologer, mathematician and historian who served as Royal Astronomer in the 15th century to King John II of Portugal....
  • Fray Luis de León
  • Francisco de Vitoria
    Francisco de Vitoria

    Francisco de Vitoria was a Spanish Renaissance Roman Catholic philosophy and theology, founder of the tradition in philosophy known as the School of Salamanca, noted especially for his contributions to the theory of just war and international law....
  • John of the Cross
    John of the Cross

    Saint John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Alvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystics, and Carmelites friar and Priesthood , born at Fontiveros, a small village near ?vila....
  • Antonio de Nebrija
    Antonio de Nebrija

    Antonio de Lebrija, also known as Antonio de Nebrija, Elio Antonio de Lebrija, Antonius Nebrissensis, and Antonio of Lebrixa, was a Spain scholar birth at Lebrija in the Provinces of Spain of Seville ....
  • Luis de Góngora
    Luis de Góngora

    Luis de G?ngora y Argote was a Spanish Baroque literature lyric poet. G?ngora and his lifelong rival, Francisco de Quevedo, were the most prominent Spanish poets of their age....
  • Hernán Cortés
    Hernán Cortés

    Hern?n Cort?s de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqu?s del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spain conquistador who led an expedition that caused the conquest of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the Crown of Castile, in the early 16th century....
  • Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares
    Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel, Count-Duke of Olivares

    Don Gaspar de Guzm?n y Pimentel, Count of Olivares and Duke of Sanl?car , was a Spain royal favourite and minister....
  • Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador
    Pedro Gómez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador

    Don Pedro G?mez Labrador, Marquis of Labrador was a Spain diplomat and nobleman who served as Spain's representative at the Congress of Vienna ....
  • Jules Cardinal Mazarin
    Jules Cardinal Mazarin

    Jules Mazarin, born Giulio Raimondo Mazzarino was an Italy cardinal, diplomat and politician, who served as the prime minister of France from 1642 until his death....
  • Mateo Alemán
    Mateo Alemán

    Mateo Alem?n y de Enero was a Spain novelist and writer.He graduated at university of Seville in 1564, studied later at Salamanca and Alcal?, and from 1571 to 1588 held a post in the treasury; in 1594 he was arrested on suspicion of Converso , but was speedily released....
  • Pedro Calderón de la Barca
    Pedro Calderón de la Barca

    Pedro Calder?n de la Barca y Henao , was a dramatist of the Spain Spanish Golden Age....
  • Miguel de Cervantes
    Miguel de Cervantes

    Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel by many, is a classic of Western literature and is regularly regarded among the best novels ever written....
  • Diego de Torres Villarroel
    Diego de Torres Villarroel

    Diego de Torres Villarroel was a Spain writer, poet, dramatist, doctor, mathematician, priest and professor of the University of Salamanca. His most famous work is his autobiography, Vida, ascendencia, nacimiento, crianza y aventuras del Doctor Don Diego de Torres Villarroel ....
  • Miguel de Unamuno
    Miguel de Unamuno

    Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was an essayist, novelist, poetry, theatre and philosopher from Bilbao, Biscay, Spain....
  • Pedro Salinas
    Pedro Salinas

    Pedro Salinas y Serrano was a Spain poet and member of the Generation of '27. He was also a scholar and Literary criticism of Spanish literature, teaching at universities in Spain, England, and the United States....
  • Adolfo Suárez
    Adolfo Suárez

    Don Adolfo Su?rez y Gonz?lez, 1st Duke of Su?rez, Grandee of Spain, Order of the Golden Fleece was Spain's first democratically elected President of the Government of Spain after the Spain under Franco of Francisco Franco, and a key figure in the country's transition to democracy....
  • Juan Zarate
    Juan Zarate

    Juan Zarate is a Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. In his current role, Mr. Zarate is responsible for developing and overseeing the effective implementation of the U.S....
  • Manuel Belgrano
    Manuel Belgrano

    Manuel Jos? Joaqu?n del Coraz?n de Jes?s Belgrano, usually referred to as Manuel Belgrano was an Argentina economist, lawyer, politician, and military leader, born in Buenos Aires....
  • Beatriz Galindo
    Beatriz Galindo

    Beatriz Galindo, sometimes spelt Beatrix, was an Spanish physician, and educator. She was a writer and humanist, preceptor of Isabella I of Castile and her children....
  • Luis de Onís
    Luís de Onís

    Luis de On?s Gonzalez Vara was a Spain diplomat. Born in Cantalapiedra, Salamanca and educated at the University of Salamanca, he served as the Spain foreign minister to the United States from 1809 to 1819....


See also

  • School of Salamanca
    School of Salamanca

    The School of Salamanca is the renaissance of thought in diverse intellectual areas by Spain theology, rooted in the intellectual and pedagogical work of Francisco de Vitoria....
  • Pontifical University of Salamanca
    Pontifical University of Salamanca

    The Pontifical University of Salamanca is an offshoot of the University of Salamanca in Salamanca, Spain, resulting from the Spanish government's dissolution of the University of Salamanca's faculties of Theology and Canon Law in 1854....


External links