School of Chartres

It developed and reached its apex during the transitional period of the 11th and 12th centuries, at the start of the Latin translation movement.

[1] In the early 11th century (c. 1020), Bishop Fulbert established Chartres as one of the leading schools in Europe.

Although the role of Fulbert himself as a scholar and teacher has been questioned, his administrative ability established the conditions in which the school could flourish.

These men were at the forefront of the intense intellectual rethinking that culminated in what is now known as the twelfth-century Renaissance, pioneering the Scholastic philosophy that came to dominate medieval thinking throughout Europe.

It was gradually eclipsed by the newly emerging University of Paris, particularly by the School of the Abbey of St. Victor (attended by the 'Victorines').