Amongst the oldest universities that of the Roman curia is the Great Unkown; little is known of the university of Rome (and of Avignon till 1378). To compensate the loss of sources materials mainly from the Vatican were intensively analysed and a prosopography of the dons and students (694 biograms in annex) drawn up. Some results: all three were legal universities of the southern type. The curial university was itinerant, it was continued at the general councils. Only when the curia resided there untroubled, the local schools of Rome (and Avignon) became great, international universities and different forms of association with the curial university were tried on. Rome was sought after by students from all over Europe for study of legal theory whereas praxis was learned at the papal court. Another attraction of Rome were the possibilities of attaining higher academic grades without much ceremony (first in theology, later also in law).