Church history is still a neglected specialism, like military and naval history; the universities are ignored until the era of reform; studies of the aristocracy and gentry are still mainly studies of land-ownership.
Social history is predominantly situated in terms of the political or economical history of the era. Like Clark stated, universities were around and available for centuries before they were truly shown light. They only began to become apart of social history during the era of reformation because that is when it became relevant in every day society.