Register for a CSMC lecture

Thursday, 19 January 2023, 6:15 pm – 8:00 pm CET

Warburgstraße 26, 20354 Hamburg, Room 0001 (Pavilion), and online

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University Matricula as Material Testimonies of the Initiation Culture at Universities

Dr Ingo Runde (Universität Heidelberg) and Dr Heike Hawicks (Universität Heidelberg)

At many medieval and early modern universities in Europe, members of individual colleges, (student) nations, or faculties were registered in university registers (matriculation books, matriculation rolls). With a certain emphasis on the universities of the Old Empire, the entry forms evolved from rather rudimentary details (name, diocese of origin, property status for the payment of a fee) to pre-printed double-sided tables with information on the date of enrollment, date of birth, place of birth, status and residence of parents, religion, field of study, university previously attended, and amount of the tax. Often they also served as an oath book for incoming university members, and thus were integral to formal acceptance into the community of teachers and students. Calendars of non-teaching days and commemorative entries for particularly meritorious members may also be included, as well as marginal notes on particularly important events in a given semester. The university registers are thus not only an important cultural heritage and one of the most important sources for research into university history, but also the material testimony to the initiation culture at European universities.  

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