Glossaire
translatio imperii
This Latin phrase refers to the the transfer or translation (translatio) of culture or knowledge (what one studies: studium) and of political power or legitimacy (what creates an empire: imperium) from one civilization to another. In the Middle Ages, both political and cultural legitimacy were thought to have been passed down from classical antiquity (ancient Greece and Rome) to modern-day (i.e. medieval) Europe. Both England and its archrival France would seek to prove their superior claims to cultural and political legitimacy by asserting their direct descendance from the "glory that was Rome." (http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl513/courtly/translat.htm).
translatio studii