This volume investigates the structural evolution and daily realities of English universities during the medieval period. Hastings Rashdall, a noted historian and philosopher, utilizes extensive archival research and primary source documentation to reconstruct the academic and social frameworks of institutions like Oxford and Cambridge. The text argues that these universities were not merely centers of learning but complex, self-governing corporations that shaped the intellectual and social landscape of the Middle Ages.

Scholars and historians regard this work as a foundational text for understanding the origins of higher education in Europe. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which reflects the rigorous historiographical standards of the late nineteenth century.