The university of Paris at the time of Jean Buridan and Nicole Oresme

The purpose of the following remarks is to explore more deeply the institutional context in which Buridan and Oresme pursued their academic careers, namely the thirty-five year period between the beginning of Buridan’s teaching career at Paris (c. 1325) and the date of his death (c. 1360), which preceded by only a few years Oresme’s move from Paris to Rouen to assume his duties as dean of the cathedral (1364). Much has been written about both men as well as the University of Paris at this time, but a more precise (and updated) understanding of the structure, operation, and resources of the university at that time has not been brought to bear on the relationship of their careers and of others associated with them.