Please provide a short (approximately 100 word) summary of the following web Content, written in the voice of the original author. If there is anything controversial please highlight the controversy. If there is something surprising, unique, or clever, please highlight that as well. Content: Title: The Prospective Student’s Guide to Medieval Universities Site: www.laphamsquarterly.org Schola Medica Salernitana est. c. 850 Best for aspiring doctors and surgeons Worst for bookish types Work alongside renowned physicians at the only accredited medical program in southern Italy, but don’t expect any formal classroom instruction or a robust arts curriculum. Notable Scholars Gilles de Corbeil , French royal physician and poet Constantine the African , prolific translator of Arabic medical texts University of Bologna est. 1088 Best for aspiring lawyers and politicians Worst for the squeamish Practice politics by joining one of the many powerful student organizations. Fair warning: you may overhear anatomy students talking about human dissection over lunch. Notable Scholars Saint Thomas Becket , archbishop of Canterbury and high-profile martyr Several popes, including Constantine the African and Innocent IX University of Paris est. 1150 Best for aesthetes and xenophiles Worst for aspiring doctors and civil attorneys Receive a premier education in logic, theology, or the arts as part of a vibrant international student body. The school lags behind its peers in medicine and the law—especially civil law, the study of which Pope Honorius III prohibited in 1219. Notable Scholars Saint Thomas Aquinas , philosopher and father of Thomism Peter Abelard , philosopher, poet, and inventor of the concept of limbo University of al-Qarawiyin est. 859 Best for connoisseurs of architecture Worst for women The ornately decorated al-Qarawiyin madrassa in Fès was founded by a woman, Fatima al-Fihri of Kairouan, but women won’t have any luck gaining entry there—or to any other medieval university. Notable Scholars Pope Sylvester II , first French pope; might have introduced Arabic numerals to Europe Ibn Khaldun , author of the definitive history of Muslim North Africa University of Oxford est. 1096 Best for aspiring power brokers Worst for the faint of heart Located midway between Northampton and Southampton, the university is a seat of cultural, ecclesiastical, and political influence. One drawback: hostile locals, who lynched two students in 1209 and killed sixty-three scholars in the Saint Scholastica Day riot of 1355. Notable Scholars Roger Bacon , or Doctor Mirabilis, who proposed a flying machine before Leonardo da Vinci William of Ockham , or Doctor Invincibilis, creator of Occam’s razor University of Sankore est. c. 1100 Best for perpetual students Worst for self-directed students Stay insulated from the hardships of medieval life for as long as possible—on average, scholars at Timbuktu’s Sankore madrassa take a decade to complete their studies. Expect mandatory coursework in philosophy, Islamic law, and Arabic grammar; students also need to memorize the Quran. Notable Scholars Ahmed Baba , legal scholar and author of sixty books Mohammed Bagayogo , renowned lecturer and professor