An Austrian Dominican priest, Heinrich Denifle (1844–1905) carried out painstaking research in the archives of the Vatican and in libraries throughout Europe, resulting in several major publications on medieval history and theology. In 1887 he was appointed to edit the medieval records of the University of Paris, with the assistance of the palaeographer Emile Chatelaine (1851–1933). Paris was the centre of theological learning in Europe in the Middle Ages, and the records here contain important information regarding the university's organisation, teachers, students, relations with popes and kings, religious orders, and intellectual controversies. The four volumes published between 1889 and 1897 contain the texts of some 2,700 records, with references to many more in the notes. The university came into being around 1160, and Volume 1 (1889) covers the period up to 1286, with some 55 documents dating from before 1200.
