This is the second volume of a four-part History of the University in Europe, written by an international team of authors under the general editorship of Professor Walter Ruegg. It covers the development of the university in Europe (east and west) from its origins to the present day, focusing not on the history of individual institutions, nor on the universities in any individual country, but on a number of major themes viewed from a European perspective.

The originality of this work lies in its comparative, interdisciplinary, collaborative and transnational nature. It is not a history of ideas - even though each volume has a 'Learning' section dealing with the content of what was taught at universities at the time - but rather an appreciation of the role and structures of the universities seen against a backdrop of changing conditions, ideas and values.

Volume II, Universities in Early Modern Europe, attempts to situate the universities in their social and political context throughout the three centuries spanning the period 1500 to 1800.