Historical Overview
Since its founding more than 800 years ago, the Faculty of Medicine of Montpellier has remained a leading scientific center for research, discovery, teaching, and the preservation of medical knowledge.
Montpellier: University City
Compared to many other cities in southern France whose origins date back to Greek or Roman antiquity, Montpellier seems to have come into being only in the Middle Ages, in the middle of the 10th century.
The city emerged from its infancy in the arms of the Guilhem family, Lords of Montpellier, who watched over it until 1204. Its passage under the authority of the kings of Aragon and then Majorca saw the granting of a charter, allowing the bourgeoisie to administer their commune.
The marriage of Marie de Montpellier to Peter II, King of Aragon, placed the city's destiny in new hands. The ruler of the moment suffered from a constant need for money. The city's bourgeoisie saw this as an opportunity to buy their freedom, and the payment of large sums of money was the natural counterpart to the granting of a charter, intended to ensure a form of autonomy for the city.
Although the King of Aragon retained supreme authority in judicial matters, he relinquished control of the city's administration. The definitive cession of Montpellier to France in 1350—despite being marred by unrest that temporarily stripped the city of many of its privileges—left its ancient concessions intact. Montpellier remained a free commune.
The Consuls, elected from various guilds and true representatives of the city's deepest interests, quickly understood that the city's future lay outside its walls, in opening up to the world. Close to the sea, separated only by a couple of kilometers from the outer harbor of Lattes, Montpellier quickly acquired a suitable fleet, which would soon sail the entire Mediterranean.
The wisdom of its consuls led it to conclude peace treaties and reciprocal alliances with the major port cities of Italy, such as Genoa and Pisa. In addition to this ambitious strategy, the city enjoyed excellent relations with the Holy See, as popes had sometimes visited or even taken refuge in Montpellier over the centuries. The accession to the papacy of one of its former students, Urban V, made the city one of the few cities with the privilege of trading with infidels for almost all the products that the West was increasingly fond of. Montpellier's diplomacy made the city a thriving commercial center, which soon became the driving force behind its development.
However, Marseille's entry into the French crown in 1481 brought Montpellier's prosperity to an abrupt halt. It could not reasonably claim to rival the Phocaean city, as neither Lattes, now silted up, nor the port of Aigues-Mortes offered it the necessary opening to continue its activity...
Despite this competition, the city continued to grow. Over the centuries, it had indisputably established its position as a capital, both administratively and religiously, as well as judicially and, even more so, academically. Montpellier was able to capitalize on its major assets and maintain and develop them almost uninterruptedly until modern times.
A city whose growth and international influence were achieved with and through its university, it is a breeding ground whose youth and vitality are intrinsically linked to its centers of science. One, and in reality—a very rare occurrence—two universities in this city make it the heir to a great tradition of knowledge transmission.
The beginnings of the Faculty
Medical education in Montpellier began in the early 12th century, outside of any institutional framework. The forefather of doctors, a certain André, appeared in Montpellier in 1122. Practicing medicine made him a powerful figure and a considerable landowner. It was not until 1170 that a first group of practicing physicians and teachers formed the embryo of the future medical university. Thirty years later, Alexander Neckam placed Montpellier and Salerno on an equal footing. In 1181, an edict by Guilhem VIII proclaimed the freedom to teach medicine in Montpellier.
In 1220, medical education in Montpellier emerged from its prehistory, and Cardinal Legate Conrad of Urach granted the Universitas medicorum its first statutes. An institutional framework developed around medical education in less than a century.
On October 26, 1289, Pope Nicholas IV sent the apostolic constitution "Quia Sapientia" from Rome to all doctors and students in the city of Montpellier.
This text includes a preamble in which Wisdom is understood in its medieval sense, close to that of philosophers: knowledge ordered for spiritual purposes, in the service of beauty and truth. A necessary step on the path to human perfection, it constitutes, on a personal level and for the common good, an end to which a multitude must aspire, "illuminating the hearts of men and shaping them to virtue."
The presence of these practitioners, at the heart of an international system of relations, influence, and exchange with almost the entire known world, was a vehicle for the dissemination of medicine and all the disciplines taught in the city. Fruitful exchanges between Montpellier teachers and other researchers throughout Christendom were a source of considerable enrichment for the University of Montpellier. The heyday of medicine, particularly in the 14th century, both in terms of the quality of the teachers and the teaching methods, owes much to Montpellier's proximity to the Papal Court, just as the University of Paris owes much to its proximity to the French Court.
With its specific quality, its teaching combining theory and practice, and the "secular and international" nature of its recruitment, the University of Montpellier is undoubtedly comparable to the leading Italian medical universities of Bologna and Padua.
The departure of the Avignon papacy led to years of decline for Montpellier and its universities.
From the Renaissance to the end of the Ancien Régime
This period was marked by the gradual loss of clerical authority in favor of the state, with the faculty acquiring its own premises, the Royal College of Medicine, around 1450, and new rules being enacted by royal decree of Louis XII on August 29, 1498.
Montpellier and Paris shared a kind of monopoly on medical studies despite the emergence of provincial faculties with a largely regional influence, such as Caen, and the addition in 1681 of Strasbourg, whose audience was mainly Germanic. As the only faculties in the kingdom to provide regular medical education, Montpellier and Paris were the only two medical faculties whose teaching was recognized and which recognized each other. Foundation bull of the University of Montpellier by Pope Nicholas IV
The richness of this text and its contribution to the future lies in the recognition of Montpellier and its various schools as "a place that is wonderfully suited to study, where centers of learning should be promoted." The consequence of this statement, born of the observation of a century of pre-university adventure, could only be the perpetual establishment of a "Studium generale," that is, a university, in which in the future "teachers will have the right to teach and students the right to learn, by attending the courses of the regularly established faculties." ." Nicholas IV formalized and regulated existing methods, born of a century-old practice. Without innovating in any way, he did not create artificial structures in abstracto or ex nihilo but, on the contrary, revived ancient and good practices. He pacified and thereby strengthened the foundations of the fledgling university by determining the examination system and the respective powers of each authority in this matter. From then on, candidates were examined by their teachers after presenting themselves to the bishop of Maguelone or his delegate, who was responsible for summoning them in order to inquire into their opinions. He alone has the power to approve and admit candidates whom he deems worthy. "A 12th-century license" painting by A. Privat
The most fundamental contribution of this apostolic constitution is that the licenses issued in Montpellier, like those issued in Bologna or Paris, grant the right to teach and direct "ubique terrarum," that is, in all places.
The various scattered schools, which Pope Nicholas IV called upon to join forces, did not all respond in the same way to this invitation. The School of Medicine, citing its ancient statutes and boasting membership in the very select group of the four or five oldest European universities, alongside Bologna, Salerno, Paris, and Oxford, attached much less importance to a text which, apart from universal recognition of its programs, merely confirmed the status quo.
The medical university simply continues to exist, with no real desire to merge into a "Studium generale" with the lawyers who are moving towards a second university.
Montpellier belongs to the first generation of medieval universities. Today, the university tree has roots that are strong enough to face any future challenges.
The Papacy in Avignon
The arrival of Clement V in Avignon in March 1309, establishing the Apostolic Curia on the banks of the Rhône for nearly a century, came twenty years after the apostolic constitution had granted the University of Montpellier specific statutes.
The School of Medicine already boasted a number of renowned masters. Close ties quickly developed between the capital of Christendom and this university, already one of the most prestigious centers of medical science. The popes of Avignon, often elderly and sometimes even worn down by the ravages of time, found their usual entourage in a pool of doctors and lawyers, most of whom came from Montpellier.
The arrival of the Protestants at the head of the city in 1562 was accompanied by the complete destruction of the Sainte-Eulalie tower, seat of the University of Law, which disappeared temporarily. The reign of the Good King left Montpellier with a sense of academic rebirth. The School of Medicine was endowed with a botanical garden. Created at the behest of the king, it was the work of Professor Pierre Richer de Belleval. The first royal garden in France, predating the one in Paris, it remains one of the greatest treasures of the University of Montpellier to this day.
The siege of the city dealt another blow to the University, which was abandoned as civil war raged. The University never really recovered during the turmoil that weakened it considerably. However, this crisis did not prevent the emergence of several illustrious figures, renowned doctors and lawyers whose lives marked the history of their time...
A few attempts at unification are worth noting, notably that of King Louis XIV, whose Court of Auditors in Montpellier recorded letters patent establishing the union of the University of Medicine with the other faculties. However, the "Council and letters patent" of January 20, 1687, broke this union so that the various universities "remained separate as they had always been."
The Revolution and the Empire
The consequences of the Revolution greatly damaged the prosperity of Montpellier, which had been a thriving commercial city. Administrative changes stripped it of its status as regional capital, reducing it to the less prestigious position of mere departmental capital. The legal profession, attached to tradition and whose school was dormant, was wary of the changes. But students and staff were not counter-revolutionary. Far from being resistant, the medical profession was enthusiastic.
In 1790, medical students led the assault on the military garrison, the city's citadel being considered a Bastille to be taken. All the professors at the University of Law courageously refused to take the constitutional oath, with one exception. The medical profession, university professors, and members of the Academy of Surgery took the oath in 1791. Boisset, although the instigator of relentless terror in the provinces, especially towards refractory priests, carried out effective inspections of hospitals and coordination of health services. During Year II, hospitals had three times as many beds as before the Revolution, to the point that it was difficult to stay there for more than a quarter of an hour without feeling ill.
By decree of September 15, 1793, the Convention put an end to six centuries of education, dissolved universities, and closed schools. Despite their international prestige, the University of Medicine and the Academy of Surgery, founded in 1741, were swept away.
However, just one year after this disastrous decree, on December 4, 1794 (14 Frimaire, Year III), the Convention decreed the establishment of three Schools of Health.
Saint Peter's Cathedral and the south facade of the School of Medicine in 1804, providing medical and surgical training. The prestigious School of Montpellier rose from the ashes alongside Paris and Strasbourg. In 1795, the Faculty left its old, dilapidated premises for its current location, the Saint Benoît monastery. Chaptal had an anatomy theater built there. Medicine and surgery were brought together.
The period from 1794 to 1803 was a fruitful phase of reform and teaching of new scientific ideas. However, the failure to award diplomas linked to the free practice of medicine put medical schools in difficulty.
The decree of March 11, 1803 (19 Ventôse, Year XI) made it mandatory to obtain a doctorate in order to practice medicine. The Faculty of Medicine of the modern era thus found a stable institutional framework and was able to develop without major crises. The reciprocal contribution between teaching and hospital practice would only continue from then on.
