A description of the structure and operation of the medieval universities is essential because of the importance of these institutions for the development of Western science. The universities had emerged as a result of the transformation of society and intellectual life that had occurred in Western Europe by the twelfth century.

The highly feudalized Europe of the seventh and eighth centuries was drastically altered by the eleventh century. During the late eleventh and twelfth centuries, political conditions improved dramatically, due in no small measure to French-speaking feudal lords who brought reasonably stable governments to Normandy, England, Italy, Sicily, Spain, and Portugal. The vigor of a revitalized Europe is also evidenced by the reconquest of Spain, which was well underway by the end of the eleventh century.

With the establishment of greater security, Europe's economy revived, and the standard of living rose for all segments of society. This was occasioned by significant agricultural improvements, most notably the advent of the heavy plough, to which the horse was now harnessed instead of the ox. This substitution was made possible by the introduction of the nailed horseshoe and the collar harness, which together made horses far more effective agricultural engines than oxen. No less significant was the replacement of the two-field system of crop rotation with the three-field system, which also allowed for a major increase in food production.