The salient features in the history of schools and universities of medieval Christendom were progress and, on the whole, continuity until the crisis of the Great Schism. This chapter focuses on the consideration of the old and the new, of tradition and innovation. The new universities created in fifteenth-century France, be frequently linked with provincial parlements, were in towns that were asserting their authority as regional capitals. Universities formed the top tier of educational establishments in Europe during this period. There were the traditional ecclesiastical schools, to be found in large numbers in the vicinity of cathedrals, main collegiate churches and urban monasteries. The responsibility for primary education devolved upon municipalities and families, whose financial capacities were limited. During the fifteenth century some university colleges initiated grammar courses in annexes, so that future students could be better prepared. Because of the absenteeism endemic among teaching staff, curricula were often only partially covered, and the practice of disputation fell into disuse.