By far some of the most prestigious centers of European learning today stand where they were founded eight hundred years ago: Oxford and Cambridge in England; the University of Paris in France; the University of Bologna in Italy. European universities developed in the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries ＿＿（41）＿＿ the emergence of city life. Earlier medieval schools were most often ＿＿（42）＿＿ the monasteries, which were perforce situated in rural areas. As cities grew in importance, schools also developed at urban monasteries or under the ＿＿（43）＿＿ of bishops whose cathedrals were in the towns. The cathedral school was a direct ＿＿（44）＿＿ of the increasing importance of towns and the increasing power of bishops, the spiritual leaders of town life. In Italy, town life had been relatively strong throughout the early Middle Ages, so there was a tradition of schools which were controlled by the common people. The center of medical studies in Salerno and the law faculty of Bologna had been in ＿＿（45）＿＿ hands since the tenth century.