Until the middle of the 14th century, there were no universities in the German Empire, although there were more than a dozen

Until the middle of the 14th century, there were no universities in the German Empire, although there were more than a dozen of them in Europe. Why? Where and when did the first imperial universities appear? Where did their professors come from?

Until the middle of the 14th century, all imperial officials (sometimes the emperors themselves) were graduates of Italian or French universities. Only Frederick II Staufen, at enmity with the popes, wanted to have his own university – and founded it in Naples in 1224. In the middle of the XIV century, Emperor Charles IV (the capital of the empire was in Prague) needed educated officials from local residents.In 1348 he founded the University of Prague, inviting professors from Paris, where he studied in his youth.