COURTYARD OF THE MINOR SCHOOLS

At the Escuelas Menores (Lesser Schools), baccalaureate studies or minor teachings were provided. Once the baccalaureate degree was obtained, it was possible to access the Escuelas Mayores (Major Schools) to pursue higher studies.

The building of the Escuelas Menores was erected in the 16th century, attached to the old Hospital del Estudio. Its main facade is located in the southwest corner of the Patio de Escuelas. Previously, in the 15th century, other buildings existed on this same plot which, due to their deterioration, had to be repaired on several occasions. Of those late medieval constructions, only part of the dwelling facing Calle de la Plata remains, with a characteristic late 15th-century pommel cornice, raised above a pointed arch that allows access to the courtyard from that street.

In 1510, the construction of the Colegio de Cuenca was planned for this location, although the idea was ultimately discarded, and it was decided to build the current building. It is known that by 1527 one of the 'generales' or classrooms was already under construction, and that, according to Pedro Chacón, the works concluded in 1533. Most authors attribute its design, or at least a significant intervention, to the architect Juan de Álava, although there is no documentation to confirm it.

Like many historical buildings, the Escuelas Menores have had various uses, almost always linked to teaching, except during the Peninsular War, when they functioned as a prison. Here was the headquarters of the Fray Luis de León institute, the first secondary education center founded in Salamanca. One of its wings housed the Municipal Archive for years and, subsequently, the Provincial Historical Archive. Until the 1980s, the 'generales' of the northern wing housed the departments of Archaeology and Art History.

Currently, none of the old classrooms are used for academic purposes. In the south wing, the emblematic Cielo de Salamanca was installed in 1952. The eastern wing, which housed the Provincial Historical Archive between 1950 and 1997, has housed the Office of the University's VIII Centenary since 2008. The western wing is home to International Courses, while the northern one, with two magnificent 16th-century coffered ceilings, has functioned as a temporary exhibition hall since 1990.

Access to the Lesser Schools Courtyard is through a narrow but beautiful Plateresque doorway. Like that of the Greater Schools, it is a suspended facade, known to have been completed by 1533.

The facade rests on two semicircular arches supported by a granite column that creates a double entrance, now closed with grilles. The arches, molded with several voussoirs, have a frieze decorated with cherubs on the extrados. In the spandrels of the arches, medallions were carved with the bust of Jesus Christ flanked by two mythological figures wearing winged helmets, perhaps representing Hercules and Theseus. The ensemble is framed by a pilaster decorated with grotesques, which disappeared on the right side when the University houses were built in the 17th century.

The central body of the facade is articulated in three sections, separated by pilasters richly decorated with grotesques, framing three shields located under basket-handle arches. The central shield displays the arms of Charles V: the triple-crowned double-headed eagle, the Golden Fleece, and the Columns of Hercules. The side shields feature two double-headed eagles, also emblazoned with the triple crown. In the upper frieze, the papal tiara and the medallions of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, framed by Renaissance motifs, stand out. As in the facade of the Greater Schools, the dual patronage, papal and royal, of the University is evident here.

THE VESTIBULE OR SMALL COURTYARD Behind the main doorway is a vestibule, partly covered with a Gothic vault and partly open. The front wall provides access to the courtyard through two arches supported by a central column. Above them, the university seal is carved, featuring the professor in his chair, bearing the motto Omnium Scientiarum Princeps Salmantica Docet, located between semicolumns overloaded with grotesques. The entire ensemble features exquisite carving, in which figures of winged children, dragons, griffins, and birds can be distinguished.

The Courtyard The rectangular courtyard is surrounded by four single-story wings, with five-centered or mixtilinear arches resting on granite columns with still Gothic capitals and bases. The balustrade that tops it is Baroque, made in 1769 by Jerónimo García de Quiñones, who nevertheless preserved balusters from the previous 16th-century balustrade. In the center of the courtyard, simulating the curb of a well, several medallions from the disappeared King's College have been reused.

The four galleries are covered with simple 16th-century wooden ceilings. Beneath these galleries open the doors of the original classrooms, now occupied by exhibition halls and administrative offices. In a room in the south wing, the so-called Sky of Salamanca is preserved, part of what was the painted vault that covered the original university library, painted by Fernando Gallego in the late 15th century and moved here in 1952.

In the north gallery is the Exhibition Hall, which was the old General Hall of Theology. It is a spacious room of about 300m2 divided into two spaces by two segmental arches supported by paired columns. They are covered with two wooden coffered ceilings: one Mudejar, of tie-beam and king-post construction, and the other Renaissance, decorated with coffers.