At least until the crisis of the Great Schism, the salient features in the history of schools and universities of medieval Christendom were progress and, on the whole, continuity. By contrast, the advent of the fifteenth century ushered in an era of change. There was still progress, certainly: new foundations, a continually expanding body of teaching masters and students, a social demand that was increasingly vigorous. At the same time, however, institutions were being transformed and becoming secularised; traditional autonomy was in rapid retreat before new state pressures; the curriculum itself became the focus of unprecedented criticism, both implied and outspoken. This chapter, then, will be devoted essentially to a consideration of the old and the new, of tradition and innovation.