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Privileges of Universitas Magistrorum et Scolarium and
theirjustication in charters of foundation from the 13th to the
21stcenturies
OSMO KIVINEN & PETRI POIKUSResearch Unit for the Sociology
of Education (RUSE), Hameenkatu 1, FIN-20014
University of Turku, Finland (Phone: +358 2 333 5878; Fax: +358
2 333 6524;
E-mail: osmo.kivinen@utu.; petri.poikus@utu.)
Abstract. Analysing foundation charters, this article explores
the various purposesuniversities have been said to serve at dierent
periods of time, how the distinctionbetween universities and other
educational establishments has been made, and how the
actions of the academic community have been justied. The data
consist of 225 chartersof foundation from the year 1224 to 1999.
Granted by rulers, the charters depict uni-versities as being
suited to serve widely diering purposes, such as furthering the
material and spiritual prosperity of the nation and the local
community, strengtheningthe right faith and training public
servants. Charters granted universities privileges suchas the
status of studium generale and ius ubique docendi, a universal
teaching licence.These privileges created a foundation for all
later principles generally applicable to the
academic world. The universities originating in academic guilds
founded for the pro-tection of scholars have always been answerable
to societal demands. A certain degreeof loyalty by academic people
to those in power has, in turn, secured the universities and
the academic community their vital integrity and freedom of
opinion, publication andresearch.
Keywords: academic community, academic privileges and their
justication in charters
of foundation, establishment of universities, guilds, status and
functions of universities
Research framework, data and previous studies
The university has been a popular subject for writers throughout
his-tory, but there is a relatively small number of studies about
the aca-demic establishment attempting a comprehensive historical
compass.The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages by Rashdall
(1895/1936),published as early as the late 19th century, is
probably the best known.Other signicant studies from the same
period include Die Entstehungder Universitaten des Mittelalters bis
1400 by Denie (1885/1956), andDie Geschichte der Deutschen
Universitaten (in two volumes) byKaufmann (18881896/1958). Dealing
with universities in the Middle
Higher Education (2006) 52: 185213 Springer 2006DOI
10.1007/s10734-004-2534-1
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Ages, those works are still used for studies in the eld. A
History of theUniversity in Europe edited by Hilde de
Ridder-Symoens, is meant tocover the entire history of academia
since the Middle Ages. The two rstvolumes, Universities in the
Middle Ages (1992) and Universities in EarlyModern Europe (1996),
have already been published, and the twounpublished volumes will
deal with the history of the academic estab-lishment up to the
present. In the countries with the oldest academies,Italy, France,
Spain, Britain and Germany, the national and local his-tory of
universities has been researched very closely in places.
Fur-thermore, almost every university in the world has probably had
somekind of historical account written.
Our data contain 225 university charters of foundation, the rst
ofwhich dates back to 1224; the last was issued as recently as 1999
(seeAppendix). These charters have been the medium for the Popes,
rulersand other authorities to grant a locality the right to found
a universityby supplication. Yet, let us point out at the very
beginning that the dateof issue on the charter of foundation and
the actual start of universitywork do not nearly always coincide.
In some cases the work startedseveral years later, and sometimes a
new supplication for a charter offoundation was an absolute
prerequisite before the daily work couldbegin. Some establishments
only obtained their studium generale rightsafter decades of
academic achievement, while others never started inspite of a
charter having been issued. (Cobban 1975, p. 118; Ruegg 1992,pp.
67; Verger 1992, pp. 3536) One of the more problematic issues
forresearch into academic history is the academic status of some of
theestablishments. Even the most recent studies do not oer
completelyidentical lists of universities. Our denitions of
academic status arebased on A History of the University in Europe,
edited by de Ridder-Symoens, although it also contains some
contradictions. For instance,Verger (1992), included in the rst
volume, lists 85 universities foundedin Europe by the 16th century,
but Frijho (1996) only lists 72 in thesecond volume. Our own
material consists of 82 charters of foundationfrom this period of
time.
The charters of foundation for the establishment of a university
havenot been comprehensively surveyed before our project.
Individualanalyses have been published (such as Bulas,
Constituciones y Estatu-tos 1999; see Rexroth 1992), as well as a
specic study on the chartersof foundation of the universities
associated with what is known as theCoimbra group (Charters of
Foundation 1994). A study with the titleSapientie Immarcessibilis
by Erik Van Mingroot (1994) on the bull ofthe University of Louvain
merits a special mention.
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS186
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Our material covering the rst three centuries is fairly
complete.There are some diculties of interpretation concerning a
small numberof universities from the 13th century, because
researchers disagree ontheir actual functions and status. We have
included the obscure cases,the universities of Orleans (1306),
Valladolid (1346), Siena (1357) andPadua (1363), in our material
according to the year in their charter offoundation. As for the
14th and 15th centuries, we know that only a fewcharters are
missing from our material: Treviso from the 14th century,as well as
Parma, Venice and Frankfurt an der Oder from the 15thcentury.
According to a recent study by Grendler (2002), called
TheUniversities of the Italian Renaissance, Treviso, Parma and
Venice didnot merit the status of a university at that time either,
because they onlygranted degrees without actually teaching their
students.1
The Middle Ages, characterized by a homogenously Catholic
culture,constitute a distinct period in the research in the history
of academiceducation. The predominance of the Catholic Church
started to erode inthe 15th century, at the same time shattering
the uniformity of academicculture, which has rendered writing
comprehensive historical accountsof academic life somewhat dicult.
Even our own evidence from the16th and 17th centuries is not as
comprehensive as that from the pre-vious period. Some of the
universities founded in modern history havechanged location several
times, merged with other universities, or closeddown completely,
which means diculty in tracking down their chartersof foundation.
The universities founded in Spain, France and Italy inthe 16th and
17th centuries are particularly awkward in this respect.
Ever since the 19th century, the charters of foundation granted
by theauthorities of nation-states represent a much larger
proportion, whileothers decline correspondingly. The enormous
growth in the number ofuniversities in the 20th century would make
obtaining all the relevantdocuments a daunting job, but it is not
even necessary, due to theuniformity of the wordings in the
charters.2
According to calculations by Riddle (1989), 1,854 universities
hadbeen founded in the world by 1985, 202 of which had closed
down.There has been an explosive increase in the number of
universities in thelast few decades. The World List of Universities
(2002) published by theIAU gives as many as 7,200 universities for
the year 2002.
The charters of foundation follow a two-fold pattern: a
locallywritten document of supplication concerning the foundation,
and pas-sages from documents characteristic of the papal and
imperial oces.These oces composed the documents by extracting the
relevant detailsfrom any given supplication, then integrating them
into their standard
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 187
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documents. As a whole, the wordings in the university charters
haveremained relatively invariable. The papal bulls in particular
havemaintained their wording literally unchanged for centuries.
The term universitas, later identied as the university, still
meant abody corporate, or a group of people enjoying certain rights
in 12th-century Europe. The membership was further specied, for
instance, bythe term scolarium in connection with universitas,
meaning a communityof students, while universitas magistrorum et
scolarium meant a com-munity of teachers and students. The term
universitas in the sense of anacademic community only became
customary in the late 14th and early15th centuries. (Rashdall 1936,
pp. 45; Cobban 1975, p. 22; Hu 1993,pp. 134135)
Unlike the slightly pejorative characterization of the
university as anivory tower suggests, the university has never been
able to live in socialisolation. On the contrary, functional
relations of exchange with sur-rounding communities have always
been a vital necessity for the entireuniversity institution,
whether with spiritual or secular, as well as localand national
communities. All through their almost 900 years of his-tory,
universities and their academic people have known how to
makethemselves useful, if not indispensable, in the eyes of
religious andsecular potentates. As this article will demonstrate,
the exchange isultimately about the desire of the universitas
magistrorum et scolarium toobtain and maintain its privileges
simply by being loyal to those inpower at any given time. But
loyalty has, especially in more recenttimes, secured free space for
those activities of invaluable importancethat the Humboldtian dicta
calls the freedom of teaching and learning(Lehrfreiheit and
Lernfreiheit). (cf. Neave 2002.) The university chartersare the
most suitable material for studying this subject, because theyhave
always recorded the expectations imposed on and the promisesgiven
by the universities about to be established.
The questions that we hope to answer using the 225 charters from
theyear 1224 to 1999 are the following: What are the original
purposes theuniversitas magistrorum et scolarium, i.e. the
university and the academiccommunity, have been said to serve at
dierent periods? What privilegeshave the scholars been granted and
what arguments have universitypeople made use of to justify their
actions and existence? How thedistinction between universities and
other educational establishmentshas been made? How has the
university been able to respond to thesocietal demands of any given
time?
Subjects such as truth (veritas), knowledge/wisdom
(scientia/sapientia) and research (studium
litterarum/investigatio/tractatus),
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS188
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irrespective of their unquestionable signicance, have been
excludedfrom this article. They will constitute an article of their
own, to bepublished later. We would also like to mention that our
outlook onuniversity matters and academic life stems from the
pragmatist tra-dition as a general frame of reference, although
this article will notdiscuss pragmatism any further. (See Kivinen
2002; Kivinen and Ri-stela 2002 and 2003.)
The emergence of academic guilds
In the 11th century, towns strengthened their position, and
craftsmenstarted organizing their own interest groups, the guilds.
Similarly,scholars, the men of letters, organized themselves in
guilds of theirown. Learned men from other places would have been
deprived evenof their fundamental rights, had they not been oered
the opportunityto integrate themselves into town life through the
guilds. These learnedassociations that emerged on the model of the
craft guilds are thefoundation of later academic societies and the
whole academicestablishment. (Black 1984, pp. 618; Ruegg 1992, pp.
78; Hu 1993,p. 81, p. 161, pp. 219220, p. 261; Grant 1996, p.
34)
As distinct from later practice, the rst four learned
communities thatbecame universities Bologna, Paris, Oxford and
Montpellier emerged of their own accord, without founding licences
from theauthorities. The rst two, Bologna and Paris, diered from
each other inthat the organization in Bologna in the late 12th
century was initiatedby students, while teachers in Paris in the
early 13th century started acorporation for themselves and the
students, the rst of its kind.(Cobban 1975, p. 25; Verger 1992, p.
45) Neither of these two hadinitially set out to found a
university. The sole purpose was to protectthe men of letters
against external threats; the academic community hadonly one
purpose to start with, that of defence and protection.
The privileges concerning legal protection are undoubtedly the
mostprominent single element in our material for the whole 800-year
period.These privileges are the point of departure and the later
foundation forthe whole of the organized academic community. Ever
since the rstuniversity charter granted to Naples in 1224, the
rulers ocially in-cluded the academic community under their
patronage. This is apparentin the papal bull granted to Toulouse in
1233, as well as in the documentto Salamanca in 1243 with the
following promise by the founder of theuniversity, King Ferdinand
III:
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 189
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all those who wish to come there to read should come in
safety,and I receive in my charge and under my protection those
mastersand scholars who would come there and their men and as many
oftheir possessions as they would bring (Salamanca 1243).
In the charter of foundation of the University of Prague in
1348,Emperor Charles IV proclaims that all teachers, masters and
studentsenjoy his protection in any faculty, and wherever they come
from.Expressions concerning protection are also found in university
chartersfor places such as Coimbra (1290), Rome (1303), Cracow
(1364), Vienna(1365), Heidelberg (1386), Jena (1557) and Salzburg
(1620). The earlymodern rulers regarded the protection of the
academic community as amatter of course, an ocial duty. This is
evident in documents such asBamberg (1648) and Erlangen (1743). For
instance, the Gottingencharter contains the following statement by
King George II of England:furthering the arts and sciences is one
of the noblest concerns of aregent (Gottingen 1736).
Ius ubique docendi and studium generale
The Pope also granted learned men the most important of their
privi-leges, ius ubique docendi. This meant that all with a degree
from auniversity were entitled to teach at any university
throughout the wholeof the Christian world without taking any
further degrees. This inprinciple ensured free mobility for the
scholars from one university toanother. Our material provides the
rst evidence for this in the bull of1233 to the University of
Toulouse, which included the entitlement forevery master who has
been examined and approved in any faculty toinstruct everywhere
without any further examination (Toulouse 1233).
The universal teaching licence, ius ubique docendi, was not
necessarilyexercised in practice. Some of the universities regarded
themselves assuperior in repute, and would not always approve of
the degrees takenat the more recently founded universities without
the candidatesundergoing tests or taking further degrees.
Furthermore, this universallicence could be restricted in the
university charters as well. Bulls such asthat granted to Salamanca
in 1255 includes a statement that ius ubiquedocendi did not apply
to the universities of Bologna and Paris: afterany of the masters
and scholars in the university of Salamanca in anyfaculty shall
have been found qualied to teach by a legitimate pre-ceding
examination, he shall be able to teach in any university exceptonly
Paris and Bologna (Salamanca 1255).
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS190
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Ius ubique docendi is recorded in the papal bulls of foundation
untilthe early 16th century, after which time it disappears. The
simpleexplanation of this is that the Pope lost his position as the
ecclesiasticleader of the whole of Western Christianity in the
early modern period,so that he could only grant rights in the Roman
Catholic areas.
The universal applicability of academic degrees was maintained
bythe academic establishment itself in modern times, which is clear
indocuments such as that granted to the University of Sydney in
1858:
the Degreesof the said University of Sydney shall berecognized
as Academic distinctions and rewards of Merit and beentitled to
rank, precedence, and consideration in our UnitedKingdom and in our
Colonies and possessions throughout the worldas fully as if the
said Degree had been granted by any University ofour said United
Kingdom. (Sydney 1858).
The universal applicability of the degrees is already an
establishedmatter of course in the 20th century, although some
universities stillregard their degrees as superior to others.
Literally, the history of university dates back to the 13th
century,when it was customary that only an establishment with its
rights securedby the Pope or Emperor could call itself studium
generale or university.The rst university to obtain a recognized
charter of foundation o-cially granted by a ruler was Naples in
1224. Soon after, the CatholicChurch also started granting
documents securing university rights; theUniversity of Toulouse
obtained such a bull in 1233, and the Universityof Rome in 1245.
The already existing establishments that met theuniversity
requirements were to receive their ocial documents offoundation in
time. The University of Montpellier received its papal bullin 1289,
Bologna in 1290, and Paris in 1292. The University of Oxfordturns
out to be the exception proving the rule, because it never
suc-ceeded in persuading the Pope to consent to a bull securing its
rights, inspite of several rulers having attempted it. This did not
disrupt theuniversity greatly, all the more since the learned men
at Oxford suc-ceeded in persuading the British rulers to grant them
rights insatisfactory recompense for the lack of rights conrmed
through apapal charter of foundation. (Cobban 1975, pp. 2529;
Verger 1992,pp. 3536)
Only the rst three universities granted with a charter in the
13thcentury, Naples, Toulouse and Rome, can be mentioned as a
direct top-down initiative from the Pope or an emperor. All the
other mediaevaluniversity ventures have obviously sprung from a
local initiative, which
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 191
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those in power recognized if they wished to do so. (See Van
Mingroot1994, p. 151) The supplication for a university was usually
rst preparedlocally, and a deputation was then commissioned to
visit the Holy Seeor the Imperial court. The appropriate authority
used to have a legateinquire into the presence of proper university
standards in the townconcerned before consenting to the
supplication. Issuing universitycharters was mostly entrusted to
the Popes in the Middle Ages. Of theuniversities founded in the
14th and 15th centuries, only Treviso 1318,Prague 1347, Orange 1365
and Pavia 1361 obtained their rights througha document conrmed by
an emperor; and at least Prague and Orangelater acquired a papal
bull conrming their rights (Cobban 1975, pp.2526, pp. 117118). To
be on the safe side, many universities had theirrights conrmed by
all potentates the Pope, the Emperor, and thelocal princes. When
the papal authority was weakened in the earlymodern period, issuing
university charters was increasingly entrusted tosecular
authorities. The universities about to be founded in areas thathad
seceded from the Catholic Church applied for their rights from
thelocal princes. Individual towns were also at times
enthusiasticallyinvolved in founding universities. A variety of
creeds contributed tosome confusion in the university eld.
Calvinist academies could notseek recognition from the Pope, but
they did not obtain it from theEmperor either, which often left
their university status unclear (Frijho1996, p. 50).
The academic community as dened in the charters of
foundation
The concept of academic community is often mentioned in the
univer-sity charters of foundation, and particularly in records of
privileges andin lists of privileged persons. As late as the 13th
century, the privilegesonly applied to masters and scholars, but
the number of beneciariesincreased and diversied in the 14th
century (Van Mingroot 1994, pp.167168). Charters such as the
University of Cahors Bull of 1332 recordteachers, masters,
licentiates, baccalaureates and students as acquirersof academic
privileges. The charter issued to Pavia in 1361 also
includesservants, assistants and families among the beneciaries.
The charter forthe University of Heidelberg denes the beneciaries
as follows:
And, as in the University of Paris, the various servants of
theinstitution have the benet of the various privileges which its
mastersand scholars enjoy, so in starting our institution in
Heidelberg, wegrant, with even greater liberality, through these
presents, that all the
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS192
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servants, i.e., its bedells, librarians, lower ocials, preparers
ofparchment, scribes, illuminators, and others who serve it, may
eachand all, without fraud, enjoy in it the same privileges,
franchises,immunities and liberties with which its masters or
scholars are nowor shall hereafter be endowed (Heidelberg
1386).
The beneciaries are listed similarly in the charters for
universities suchas Cahors (1332), Pavia (1361), Cracow (1364),
Vienna (1365), St.Andrews (1413), Caen (1432), Osnabruck (1629),
Bamberg (1648),Harvard (1650) and Yale (1701).
The charters for the new universities often recorded the rights
on themodel of the old ones. Long chains could be formed in this
way. Onestarts from the University of Paris, the rights of whom
were recorded inthe Toulouse charter of 1233. The Toulouse rights
were again found inthe Lerida charter of 1300, and the Lerida
rights in the Barcelonacharter of 1450. Similarly, the hometown of
the present authors, Turku,received a university in 1640 with the
rights recorded in the charter of1477 for the University of
Uppsala, which for its part had the rightsrecorded to the
University of Bologna. A formal transfer of the rights ofpreviously
founded universities was a rite of integration for the
newestablishments in the academic tradition, maintaining the
traditionalprivileges.
The Holy Roman Empire granted rights to universities founded
intheir territory and the academic community in association with
them,just as the Popes had done. Most universities obtained the
same rightsas the rest in the Imperial territory, such as Siena in
1357, Tubingen in1484 and Stuttgart in 1781. The charters often
list the old universitieswhose rights the new one has been granted,
such as EmperorMaximilian I granting the University of Wittenberg
(1502) the rights ofBologna, Siena, Padua, Pavia, Perugia, Paris
and Leipzig. The sameuniversities are also mentioned in the
charters for the universities ofJena (1557) and Helmstedt
(1576).
Our texts contain only a couple of charters in which the
rightsgranted to the university are specied in detail. The papal
bulls onlytend to mention ius ubique docendi, also stating that the
university willobtain the rights of previous universities, without
any detailed speci-cation. Among the mediaeval charters, the rights
are dened in detailfor the Naples charter (1224), the bull for Rome
(1303), the Cracow(1364), Vienna (1365) and Heidelberg charters
(1386) and the Louvainbull (1425). None of the modern charters
record any detailed speci-cations of the rights and privileges of
the academic community. The lack
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 193
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of further specication was probably practical, because the
details wereprovided in other legal instruments, such as the
statutes of the univer-sity. The charters only recorded the essence
of the rights.
Not by holy spirit alone
The charters of foundation granted the universities both
economic andlegal privileges. These rights show a distinct anity
with the academicprivileges of the learned men in the Roman Empire
conrmed inAuthentica Habita in the 12th century. The members of the
academiccommunity had certain exemptions from charges, taxes, and
customsduties, as well as participation in work usually obligatory
for all.Charters such as the papal bull for the University of Rome
states thatthe teachers and students at the Studium are not obliged
to contributeto collections imposed on the citizens, or any public
duties on the pre-text that they spend time in the town concerned,
or any road tolls fortheir belongings which they bring to the
Studium or take from there(Rome 1303). The learned men at St.
Andrews were similarly freed fromtaxes, duties, charges, missions
and burdens (St. Andrews 1413). Similaracademic liberties are
recorded in the charters for universities such asNaples (1224),
Siena (1357), Cracow (1364), Vienna (1365), Heidelberg(1386),
Leipzig (1409), Rostock (1419), Louvain (1425) and Dublin(1592).
Even provisions for housing, including rent control, were listedin
the charters of foundation. The Naples charter pointed out that
Thebest houses will be given to them, and their rent will be at
most twoounces of gold. All the houses will be rented for a sum up
to thatamount, based on an estimate by two citizens and two
students(Naples 1224). Housing issues are included also in charters
such asToulouse (1233), Rome (1303), Cracow (1364), Vienna (1365),
Leipzig(1409), (Heidelberg 1386), Rostock (1419) and Louvain
(1425).
The members of the academic community were given special
treat-ment in the courts of justice from the start. They could not
be tried in anordinary court, but had their legal matters dealt
with among theteaching sta through canon law. Charters as early as
that of theUniversity of Naples recorded that in civil trials all
will have to appearbefore their teachers (Naples 1224), and the
Toulouse bull states thatlaymen shall answer to the students before
a clerical judge in every legalcase (Toulouse 1233). The same thing
is mentioned in several charters,such as Rome (1303), Cracow
(1364), Vienna (1365), Heidelberg (1386),St. Andrews (1413),
Louvain (1425), Caen (1432) and Granada (1531).
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS194
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Jurisdiction over the members of the academic community
wasusually vested in a single ocial, such as the rector or the
chancellor,but it could also be given to the local bishop if he
occupied an oce atthe university (Van Mingroot 1994, pp. 189192).
The rectors consid-erable judicial power is evident in many
charters. The Louvain bullprescribes that
all sundry matters and aairs of the doctors, masters,
students,associates and employees, whether they be clerics or
laypeople, andalso the correction and punishment in connection with
all sorts ofmisdemeanors and excesses, and all judgment relevant
thereto,ought completely to belong to the rector of the
university(Louvain 1425).
The rectors inuence on legal matters in the academic community
hasbeen diminished in modern times, and the charters start
favouringcollective consideration in legal cases. The Dublin
charter stipulates agroup in charge of legal matters with members
such as the provost, thesocii and the scholars (Dublin 1592).
Similar details are found in thecharters for the colleges founded
in North America in the 18th century(Princeton 1746/48, Columbia
1754, Dartmouth 1769).
The many benets of universities: From regional politics to
furthering theright faith
The justication for the existence of universities has been
derived fromthe benets yielded by their work. Both the local
authorities promotingthe foundation of universities, and the higher
levels of administrationissuing the charter and the rights have
proclaimed this from the outset.The charters underline the general
national benets, and the localparticular benet without exception.
Strengthening and disseminatingthe right religious faith was a
prominent goal, particularly in the earlyhistory of the
universities. Training ocials for the needs of clerical andsecular
administration was always used as a justication when somelocal
community wished to have a university. The emphases have var-ied,
although the same reasons appear in every university charter
fromthe 13th century onwards. The importance of church and religion
hassteadily decreased, while regional interests and administrative
traininghave maintained their signicance throughout the history of
academicestablishments. Our research material demonstrates that the
points ofjustication for founding new universities in the 13th
century remain the
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 195
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raison detre for universities on the threshold of the 21st
century. Anextract from the Naples charter illustrates this:
We wish that in all parts of the Kingdom many will become
wiseand knowledgeable, by having access to a fountain of
knowledge,and a seminary of doctrine, so that they, made procient
by studyand observation, will serve divine justice, and will become
useful tous, for the administration of justice and of laws which we
urgeeveryone to obey (Naples 1224).
Aims such as the advancement of learning and dissemination
ofknowledge and education on one hand, and an adaptable
qualicationand competence among the graduates for service in the
public sector onthe other are repeated in the charters for 800
years. As late as 740 yearsafter Naples, the charter of the
University of Brock states that Theobjects and purposes of the
University are the advancement of learningand the dissemination of
knowledge; and the intellectual, social, moraland physical
development of its members and the betterment of society(Brock
1964).
The local rulers knew how to make use of the graduates in
theirattempts to strengthen their positions alongside the church
and thenational administration. In exchange for their support to
the universityand the scholars, the rulers expected that they could
recruit skilfulscholars in their courts in order to make the
administrative machineryrun more eciently. The supplication
wordings express a concern forthe educational needs of the local
population with the rm belief that alocal university would in time
make it unnecessary for talented citizensto move elsewhere to
study. The solicitude about a potential brain-drainis thus not new.
The political motives of the authorities in pursuit of
newuniversities are not manifest in the exchange of documents, but
it isknown that political activities of the most various kinds have
been themost inuential of those underlying nearly all university
ventures(Ruegg 1992, p. 18).
As the spiritual leader of mankind, the Pope had to take
everybodysinterest and wellbeing into account. Pope Boniface VIII
uses the benetsfor the region as a reason for the importance of the
University ofAvignon. He regards it as
benecial for individual regions with pure faith that they have
menwho are diligent in letters and apt for science and virtue.
Thusparticular matters will be directed through their provident
knowl-edge and procient foresight so that people dwelling in those
areas
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS196
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respect law and justice, living in honour and authority, and
enjoyingthe bliss of peace (Avignon 1303).
The expectations of the benets from the graduates for the
localfounders and the nation were recorded in the early charter for
Naples of1224. The papal bull for Rome is full of condence in the
arts andsciences, expressing the ardent wish that
the town be lled with the academic gifts, as they are
decoratedwith so many gifts of grace by the Divine benevolence.
Thus it wouldproduce men of outstanding knowledge, equipped with
virtues, andwell versed in various disciplines, and would be a
refreshing well ofacademic learning, from the fullness from which
all aspiring to beinitiated into literary monuments could draw
(Rome 1303).
Nearly identical wordings to that of Rome are found in several
chartersof the 14th and early 15th centuries, such as Cahors
(1332), Prague(1347), Cracow (1364), Vienna (1365), Heidelberg
(1385) and Leipzig(1409). Some of the charters also presented the
same in reverse,emphasizing the problems resulting from the lack of
public servants.Charters such as Caen regret both spiritual and
material disadvantagesand loss springing from the lack of scholars
and learned men (Caen1437).
An understandable reason to found a university in a local
communityhas been the lack of a university in the vicinity. The
charter for theUniversity of Copenhagen reasons like this: there is
no universitywhich the inhabitants of these cities, lands, towns
and such places, andthose nearby regions who wish to advance in
learning through studiescan attend (Copenhagen 1475). The lack of a
local university left someof the potential talents without
teaching, and even the most eager tolearn had to spend a long time
elsewhere to nish their university de-grees. These journeys were
known to be dangerous, and there was al-ready some experience of
losses, because most of the hopeful studentsand graduates were lost
forever, never to return home. Thus the concernabout the brain
drain was not premature. The bull for Louvain ex-presses
concern:
in those regions there yet seems to be no single city where
evenone general study center of Letters operates, wherefore most
fromthose regions, while lacking the opportunity and practise
ofstudying, either they submit to ignorance in Letters or are
obligedto sojourn in distant parts in their craving for the basis
of suchknowledge (Louvain 1425).
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To use the current education policy jargon: searches for
reserves oftalent have always been conducted. The charter for the
University ofPrague considered it pressing to found the university
so that the loyalcitizens incessantly craving for the fruits of the
arts and sciences could see that the meal is served in their own
domain without themhaving to beg for other peoples benevolence, and
so that their naturalintelligence was cultivated into considerable
prociency to make themwell-versed in the arts and sciences (Prague
1348). The bull for theUniversity of Caen even introduces an equal
opportunity argument not between the sexes though reasoning for
better conditions forscholarly activities by employing the reserves
of talent: it would seemneither decent nor fair if bright minds,
most apt for arts and sciences aswell faith and teaching, were
dimmed through the lack of a university,remaining barren and
uncultivated like a eld devoid of nutrients(Caen 1437).
Equal opportunity between the sexes arrived in the academic
worldmuch later. Equal access to higher education for both men and
womenhas only been mentioned in our material since the late 19th
century. Thecharter for the University of Adelaide prescribes that
the degrees con-ferred by this university be recognized in the same
way as those fromany British university, emphasising that such
recognition may extendto Degrees conferred on Women (Adelaide
1874/81). The University ofStanford for its part was originally
founded for both sexes (Stanford1885). The most recent university
charters take every form of preventionof discrimination
scrupulously into account, such as the revised Bir-mingham charter
of 1998:
No discrimination on the grounds of political opinion, age,
colour,disability, ethnic or national origin, gender, marital
status, race,religion, or sexual orientation shall be exercised by
the University inthe admission of students, or the appointment or
promotion of staor the awarding of any Degree Diploma or Certicate,
or generally,in the execution of any of its Objects as laid down by
the Charter(Birmingham 1900/1998).
Positive features of university towns have always been
emphasized inthe charters of foundation. For instance, the charter
for the Universityof Groningen declares that the town could be
regarded as a true homeof the Muses. The emphasis on the local
natural resources and theoverall adequacy of the conditions is the
way of pointing out that even alarge number of scholars and others
with a thirst for knowledge wouldmanage in the town concerned.
Furthermore, the charters emphasize
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS198
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good communications, the good name and sucient wealth of the
area:Pamiers (1295), Avignon (1303), Cahors (1332), Prague (1347),
Cracow(1364), Vienna (1365), Heidelberg (1385), Leipzig (1409),
Louvain(1425), Caen (1432/1437), Uppsala (1477), Valencia (1500),
Granada(1531), Jena (1557) and Osnabruck (1629).
The primary argument in every papal bull was the advancement
ofthe right faith. The advancement of the Catholic faith and
teachingpronounced to be the only right one was systematically
recorded in theuniversity charters. The scholars were subject to
the canon law, and theacademic rights ultimately secured by the
Pope. The benevolence of thePopes to the scholars was not entirely
altruistic, however, since theywanted to make Catholic Church
doctrine superior to other creeds,prevent heresy from spreading,
and strengthen their own power over theauthority of secular rulers
as Ruegg (1992, pp. 1516) and Cobban(1999, p. 3) state too.
(Pamiers 1295, Cahors 1332, Cracow 1364, Vienna1365, Heidelberg
1385 and Leipzig 1409).
Thus, the charters of foundation provide the universities, as
well astheir graduates, with the mission of supervising the right,
Catholic,faith. Even the 13th-century Toulouse charter was meant to
encouragethe strengthening and spreading of the right faith. Pope
Gregory IXfounded the University of Toulouse in the Cathar area,
where a bloodycrusade had just ended. The reason for founding the
university was theattempt to make the Catholic faith ourish again
after it had nearlydisappeared in those parts(Toulouse 1233). When
Granada, freed fromIslam in the 16th century, wished to have a
university, it was natural toconsider religion (Granada 1531).
Similarly, the supplication for the rstuniversity on the new
continent mentioned Santo Domingo in what isnow called the
Dominican Republic as a location, because the localpeople were
faithless worshippers of idols. Such faithlessness was to
beeradicated, and fertile trees be sown instead, and the faithless
townilluminated by sermons and the practice of genuine virtue
(SantoDomingo 1538).
The Catholic Church repeatedly fought various forms of
heresy.Particularly in the early modern period, religious frontiers
such asTurkey, Spain and America, recently discovered by Europeans,
saw allkinds of clashes. During the Reformation and
Counter-Reformation thestruggle between religions is particularly
apparent in the bulls for thenew Catholic universities. The
Valencian bull represents the new uni-versity as the guardian of
the faith, as if it were the best safeguardagainst the godlessness
of dishonest misbelievers and the persistence ofheretics (Valencia
1500). The position and signicance of the
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universities as the defence of the correct faith is made very
clear in thebull for Osnabruck as well. They would seem essential
as bulwarksagainst heresy, and in supporting and managing parishes.
Paraphrasingthe language of the times, the godless supporters of
Luther and Calvinin the neighbouring kingdoms and principalities
have heretical schoolsand academies of their own in accordance with
the teachings of theirsect in Helmstadt, Bremen, Rintelens,
Marburg, Giessen and probablyothers as well. The large local
population in that diocese conducts theirstudies in them, scooping
up the poison of heresy, and pouring it on thetown, the diocese and
its people, as is known by experience (Osnabruck1629).
The need to instruct the local heathen population in the
Christianfaith was stressed in the charters of foundation of the
rst colleges in theBritish provinces on the new continent. The
charter for Harvard Collegeof 1650 points out the signicance of the
establishment for educatingnot only the local British, but Indian
youth as well. This is also spe-cically recorded in the charter for
Dartmouth College:
that there be a College erected in our said Province of
NewHampshire by the name of Dartmouth College for the education
&instruction of Youth of the Indian Tribes in this Land in
reading,writing & all parts of Learning which shall appear
necessary andexpedient for civilizing & christianizing Children
of Pagans as well asin all liberal Arts and Sciences (Dartmouth
1769).
The repercussions of the religious wars went on for a long time,
andsome universities changed denomination several times. The
Universityof Heidelberg converted from the Catholic to the Lutheran
faith in1558, to Calvinism in 1559, and back to Catholicism in
1629. A coupleof years later the university was Lutheran for a
change, and Calvinist in1652, until it settled down in the Catholic
faith in 1700, with someCalvinist chairs maintained to start with
(Frijho 1996, pp. 8189). Itwas not unheard of, either, that a
university had two faculties of the-ology, one Protestant and the
other Catholic. Of the two charters for theUniversity of Bonn at
dierent times, the rst, from 1784, expresses thewish that all
heresies be excluded from this university, and that nothingcontrary
to the Holy Faith, good manners and the statutes of the HolyRoman
Empire should appear (Bonn 1784), while the more recentcharter of
1818 establishes both a Catholic and an Evangelical Lutheranfaculty
of theology (Bonn 1818).
Church and religion undergo a steady loss of signicance in
thecharters of foundation for the European universities as we
approach our
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS200
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own time. The more liberal or pluralistic North American
conditionsshow in the emphasis on freedom of religion as early as
the universitycharters of the 18th century. The charter for
Princeton records that every Religious Denomination may have free
and Equal Libertyand Advantage of Education in the Said College
(Princeton 1746/8).The charter for George Washington university of
1821 states.
That persons of every religious denomination shall be capable
ofbeing elected trustees; nor shall any person, either as
president,professor, tutor or pupil, be refused admittance into
said college, ordenied any of the privileges, immunities, or
advantages, thereof, foror on account of his sentiments in matter
of religion (GeorgeWashington 1821).
Freedom of religion has been mentioned nearly systematically in
alluniversity charters ever since the 19th century. (Bualo 1846,
California1868, Adelaide 1874, Sheeld 1905, Leicester 1957 and Aga
Khan1983).
Training of public servants as the prima facie function
All authorities agreed on the universitys function of training
publicservants from the outset. In the 13th century, the university
townsunderstood the benet of higher education and scholarly
activities forthe town and the development of its administrative
organization(Ruegg 1992, p. 19; Grendler 2002, p. 100, p. 142, p.
159). Thetraining of public servants as the prima facie, the
principal function ofthe university, can be deduced from the fact
that the curriculum hasalways been formed to meet public needs to a
great extent. Ever sincethe 11th century, both ecclesiastical and
secular machineries ofadministration needed increasingly adaptable
ocials to ll posts inlocal and central administration in the church
and the public sector.The monastery and cathedral schools could by
no means meet theincreasing demand, which oered the universities a
great opportunityto be in charge of training the most signicant
public servants(Cobban 1975, pp. 819). The scholars of Bologna,
Paris, Padua andOxford were employed in various functions within
the central and thelocal administration as ambassadors, negotiators
and consultants. Thescholars at the medical faculties found a place
with the localmedical care (Kibre 1962, p. 30, pp. 4951, pp.
182183, pp. 215218,pp. 320321).
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 201
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In the late Middle Ages and the early modern period the
centraladministration extended in many countries, which eventually
resulted inincreased demands for various kinds of public servant.
The universitieswere regarded as producers of the public servants
required in civil andecclesiastic administration. The emerging
modern states constantlyneeded more training for their public
servants, which made governmentseager to interfere in internal
academic aairs as well (Di Simone 1996, p.298; Frijho 1996, p. 391;
Muller 1996, p. 326; Vandermeersch 1996, p.218). The public servant
training demands have been more distinctlydierentiated into two
functions since the 15th century. The Bull for theUniversity of
Copenhagen states that From the knowledge andtraining of these same
students there would in the course of time comeforth many fruits
which could contribute to the administration of thecities, lands
and places and the propagation of the Catholic faith(Copenhagen
1475). Similarly, the bull for the University of Valenciaemphasizes
how their graduates would both benet the civil adminis-tration, and
aid the salvation of souls (Valencia 1500), and the Uni-versity of
Jena charter expresses the wish that the university would makethe
citizens suitable for government of the state, and other forms
ofcare for mortal men and their necessities (Jena 1557).
The importance of public servant training is also evidenced in
the twocharters for Salzburg of 1620 and 1625, the two Osnabruck
charters of1629 and 1630, and the charter for Bamberg of 1648.
Budapest was alsogranted a university so that its graduates would
be qualied for gov-erning the Church as well as for state
administration (Budapest 1635).Queen Christina values academic
teaching and education greatly in thecharter for the Academy in
Turku, because they produce good gov-ernment and order, the country
and its people are directed and governedin corporal matters as well
as instructed in everything that can lead themto the right
knowledge of God, honour and virtue, as well as Christianlife
(Turku/Abo 1640). This apparently innocent wording served
theSwedish Crown in expressing the view that universities were
suited forthe central administration as its outposts in the remote
parts of thecountry, in this case the Finnish town called
Turku/Abo.
The charter for the University of Yale emphasizes the
absolutenecessity of such an establishment, wherein Youth may be
instructed inthe Arts & Sciences who through the blessing of
Almighty God may betted for Public employment both in Church &
Civil State (Yale 1701).The charter for the University of Bonn of
the late 18th century containsthe wish that the students develop
into men suited for both church andstate, able to assist both with
their learned advice and knowledge of the
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS202
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management of things (Bonn 1784). The demands of the
governmentand the church for well-trained public servants were
maintained in thecharters of foundation throughout the centuries,
from the 13th centuryuntil today.
Academic studies as a panacea
Education and knowledge are represented in the university
charters offoundation as means of achieving widely diering goals,
and are oeredas a panacea, a cure for the most various complaints.
Academic studiesquench the thirst for knowledge, propagate wisdom,
contribute to dis-covering the truth and disseminating both justice
and faith, and promotethe idea of peace. The erudition produced by
academic studies meantbookish learning to start with, and better
deciphering of old texts.
The bull for the University of Pamiers of 1295 has the wording
oftenrecorded in the charters, with the wish that studies oering
the laud-able pearl of scholarship could nd a cultural medium
everywhere,particularly multiplying in places known to be
appropriate for growingthe seeds of learning and for producing
useful ospring. The bull forValencia emphasizes that the ideal
government is directed by knowledgegained through study, which is
also represented as the instrument ofsocial advancement, not simply
the education of youth. The bull statesthat while other things
reduce when they are shared, sharing ofknowledge increases the
insight, the more people are favoured with it.(Valencia 1500.) The
authority issuing the Jena charter emphasizes theimportance of
progress in study and scholarship, so that the subjectswould be
appropriate for governing the country and providing for anyother
necessity that the mortal men might need (Jena 1557).
Universal peace has also been represented among the benets
ofacademic studies. The bull for Louvain records how through
academicwork peace and tranquillity is installed everywhere and the
standard ofthe whole human existence is raised (Louvain 1425). The
bull forCopenhagen proclaims:
We are aware that the study of letters furthers the salvation
ofsouls, decides insurgent controversies, procures peace and
harmonyamong men, distinguishes the lawful from the unlawful,
rewards thegood and punishes the evil, and brings to the world
other spiritualand temporal advantages, both public and private
(Copenhagen1475).
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Throughout all our texts, studies are said to foster wisdom and
truth.Bulls such as Montpellier emphasize the importance of
studying,because studies in wisdom dispel the dusk of ignorance
and, oncethe darkness of uncertainty is repelled, people expose
their actions tothe light of truth (Montpellier 1289). To our
knowledge the pursuitof wisdom, truth-seeking and the thirst for
knowledge besidesacquiring professional competence still make young
people inter-ested in universities. The fundamental questions
involved in the pur-suit of wisdom, truth and knowledge will be our
subject in anotherarticle.
The academic community has always managed to secure its
vitalautonomy by trading its loyalty to those in power for its
privileges. Thisin turn ensures the indispensable freedom of
thought, expression andpublishing on any subject regarded as
relevant in the academic dis-course.
Conclusion
Universities emerged from scholarly guilds based initially on
the modelof craft guilds in order to safeguard the well-being and
integrity ofscholars. Ecclesiastical and secular authorities soon
realized the ben-ets of higher education. They began to issue
charters to found uni-versities, that, as legal instruments, also
determined the privileges ofthe academic community. Since the 13th
century the charters offoundation issued by the Emperor, Pope or
other rulers have distin-guished the universities from other
establishments granting them thestatus of studium generale.
The Pope granted scholars the right to enjoy prebends in the
studentyears, the privilege of preferment in the church, and ius
ubique docendi,the teaching licence comprising the whole of the
Western Christianworld. Scholars could teach at any university
without having to nishany more degrees. Because ius ubique docendi
facilitated free movementamong scholars from one university to the
other, it laid the foundationof the universally applicable,
fundamental principles of the academicworld still cherished
today.
Both economic and legal privileges for the scholars were
included inthe charters of foundation. The members of the academic
communitywere exempted from taxes, duties and other charges, as
well as fromparticipation in work that was normally obligatory for
citizens. Theuniversity charters also made provisions for the
scholars housing,
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS204
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sustenance, and legal matters in particular. Academic citizens
weregiven special treatment in courts of justice.
The existence of the universities is justied by relatively
similar sets ofarguments in the charters throughout the whole of
the history of theacademic establishment. The local and national
interest, strengtheningthe proper faith, and training public
servants have remained the reasonsfor founding universities from
the 13th century until now. Highereducation has throughout history
been regarded as the solution to themost diverse problems.
Quenching the thirst for knowledge and pro-moting wisdom, truth,
and justice have always been familiar reasons foracademic
establishments. It has been known from the beginning thatstudies
pave the way to happiness for all mankind, both economic
andspiritual. Even achieving peace has been regarded as one of the
reasonsfor higher education.
Scholars have managed to maintain their privileged
positionthroughout the history of their existence, which stretches
over almost900 years. In exchange for the autonomy and privileges
secured by theauthorities, scholars have known how to show a
certain degree of loy-alty to the public power. Scholars have been
indispensable, both in thechurch and civil administration, and in
training public servants. Acertain degree of loyalty by academic
people to those in power has, inturn, secured the universities and
the academic community their vitalintegrity and freedom of opinion,
publication and research.
The academic community has always leaned on certain
unifyingelements, one of the most important being a common
language, ashared academic vocabulary converging the culturally and
linguisticallyheterogeneous members of the academic community (cf.
Neave 2002).For most of the history of the university, Latin was
the lingua franca ofacademics. When Latin was superseded by peoples
own languages suchas Italian, French, or German, academics did not
immediately adoptthese new languages within academia, but Latin
remained the tool ofcommunication in the scholarly world until the
18th or 19th centuries.In the 20th century English has gained more
ground becoming a newlingua franca in the academic world. In our
material the last Latindocuments date from the 19th century.
In this article we have been able to identify a multitude of
commonfeatures shared by the universities throughout their history,
but we canend by stating that at least one thing has changed
radically in the past800900 years of the university: the rst
universities were schools for theospring of the elite, but now they
have become almost literally insti-tutions of higher education for
the masses.
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 205
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Appendix
Data
(A) legal act or charter to establish a university, (B)
foundation bull from the Pope, (D)
foundation document from emperor, king or other local ruler
13th Century
University of Naples (D) 1224
University of Toulouse (B) 1233
University of Salamanca (B) 1243
University of Rome (B) 1245
University of Valencia (B) 1245
University of Piacenza (B) 1248
University of Salamanca (B) 1255
University of Montpellier (B) 1289
University of Coimbra/Lisbon (D) 1290
University of Coimbra/Lisbon (B) 1290
University of Gray (B) 1291
University of Pamiers (B) 1295
14th Century
University of Lleida (B) 1300
University of Fermo (B) 1303
University of Rome (B) 1303
University of Avignon (B) 1303
University of Orleans (B) 1306
University of Perugia (B) 1307
University of Dublin (B) 1312
University of Cambridge (B) 1318
University of Cahors (B) 1332
University of Grenoble (B) 1339
University of Verona (B) 1339
University of Pisa (B) 1343
University of Valladolid (B) 1346
University of Prague (B) 1347
University of Prague (D) 1348
University of Perpignan (D) 1349
University of Florence (B) 1349
University of Huesca (D) 1354
University of Siena (D) 1357
University of Pavia (D) 1361
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS206
-
Appendix. Continued
University of Padua (B) 1363
University of Cracow (D) 1364
University of Cracow (B) 1364
University of Vienna (D) 1365
University of Vienna (B) 1365
Univesity of Orange (D) 1365
University of Pecs (B) 1367
University of Lucca (D) 1369
University of Orvieto (B) 1378
University of Orange (B) 1379
University of Erfurt (B) 1379
University of Perpignan (B) 1379
University of Lisbon (B) 1380
University of Vienna (B) 1385
University of Heidelberg (B) 1385
University of Heidelberg (D) 1386
University of Kulm (B) 1386
University of Lucca (B) 1387
University of Cologne (B) 1388
University of Ferrara (B) 1391
15th Century
University of Wurzburg (B) 1402
University of Turin (B) 1404
University of Leipzig (B) 1409
University of Aix (B) 1409
University of St.Andrews (B) 1413
University of Calatayud (B) 1415
University of Copenhagen (B) 1418
University of Geneva (B) 1418
University of Rostock (B) 1419
University of Dole (B) 1422
University of Louvain (B) 1425
University of Poitiers (B) 1431
University of Caen (D) 1432
University of Caen (B) 1437
University of Bordeaux (B) 1441
University of Catania (B) 1444
University of Gerona (D) 1446
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 207
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Appendix. Continued
University of Nantes (B) 1449
University of Besancon (B) 1450
University of Barcelona (D) 1450
University of Barcelona (B) 1450
University of Glasgow (B) 1451
University of Valence (D) 1452
University of Trier (B) 1454
University of Freiburg (B) 1455
University of Greifswald (B) 1455
University of Ingolstadt (B) 1459
University of Valence (B) 1459
University of Basel (B) 1459
University of Huesca (B) 1464
University of Bourges (B) 1464
University of Pozsony (B) 1465
University of Genoa (B) 1471
University of Saragoza (B) 1474
University of Copenhagen (B) 1475
University of Mainz (B) 1476
University of Uppsala (B) 1477
University of Uppsala (D) 1477
University of Copenhagen (D) 1478
University of Palma (D) 1483
University of Tubingen (D) 1484
University of Siguenza (B) 1489
University of Aberdeen (B) 1495
University of Alcala (B) 1499
16th Century
University of Valencia (B) 1501
University of Valencia (D) 1502
University of Wittenberg (D) 1502
University of Seville (B) 1505
University of Wittenberg (B) 1507
University of Toledo (B) 1521
University of Marburg (D) 1527
University of Granada (B) 1531
University of Santo Domingo (B) 1538
University of Onate (B) 1540
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS208
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Appendix. Continued
University of Macerata (B) 1540
University of Marburg (D) 1541
University of Almagro (B) 1550
University of Lima (D) 1551
University of Mexico (D) 1551
University of Burgo de Osma (B) 1555
University of Dillingen (D) 1556
University of Jena (D) 1557
University of Santiago de la Paz (D) 1558
University of Dillingen (D) 1559
University of Lima (B) 1571
University of Olomouc (B) 1573
University of Oviedo (B) 1574
University of Tarragona (B) 1574
University of Leiden (D) 1575
University of Wurzburg (B) 1576
University of Helmstedt (D) 1576
University of Avila (B) 1576
University of Vilnius (D) 1578
University of Vilnius (B) 1579
University of Olomouc (D) 1581
University of Edinburgh (D) 1582
University of Orthez (D) 1583
University of Dublin (D) 1592
University of Mexico (B) 1595
17th Century
University of Giessen (D) 1607
University of Groningen (D) 1614
University of Paderborn (B) 1615
University of Paderborn (D) 1615
University of Salzburg (D) 1620
University of Altdorf (D) 1622
University of Salzburg (B) 1625
University of Osnabruck (B) 1629
University of Osnabruck (D) 1630
University of Tartu (D) 1632
University of Budapest (D) 1635
University of Turku/Abo (D) 1640
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 209
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Appendix. Continued
University of Bamberg (D) 1648
University of Bamberg (B) 1648
Harvard University (A) 1650
University of Kiel (D) 1652
University of Duisburg (D) 1654
University of Laval (D) 1663
University of Kiel (D) 1665
Lund University (D) 1666
University of Linz (D) 1674
University of San Cristobal de Huamanga (D) 1680
University of San Cristobal de Huamanga (B) 1682
College of William&Mary (D) 1693
University of Halle (D) 1693
18th Century
Yale University (A) 1701
University of Breslau (D) 1702
University of Havanna (B) 1721
University of Caracas (D) 1721
University of Camerino (B) 1727
University of Havanna (D) 1728
University of San Felipe (D) 1728
University of Goettingen (D) 1737
University of Erlangen (D) 1743
Princeton University (D) 1746/8
Columbia University (D) 1754
Dartmouth College (D) 1769
University of Malta (B) 1769
University of Munster (B) 1773
University of Munster (D) 1773
University of Buenos Aires (A) 1779
University of Stuttgart (D) 1781
University of Bonn (D) 1784
19th Century
University of Michigan (A) 1817
University of Bonn (D) 1818
University of Virginia (A) 1819
George Washington University (A) 1821
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS210
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Appendix. Continued
University of St. Louis (A) 1833
Queens University (D) 1841
University of Notre Dame (A) 1844
Bishops University (D) 1843
Galway University (D) 1845
University of Bualo (A) 1846
University of Minnesota (A) 1851
McGill University (D) 1852
University of Sydney (D) 1858
University of Melbourne (D) 1859
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (A) 1861
University of California (A) 1868
Vanderbilt University (A) 1872/3
University of Adelaide (A) 1874
Stanford University (A) 1885
University of New Mexico (A) 1889
University of Chicago (A) 1890
Acadia University (A) 1891
20th Century
University of Birmingham (D) 1900
University of Leeds (D) 1904
University of Sheeld (D) 1905
University of Bristol (D) 1909
University of Ljubljana (A) 1919
University of Costa Rica (A) 1940
Concordia University (A) 1948
University of Southampton (D) 1952
University of Leicester (D) 1957
York University (A) 1959
Trent University (A) 1962-63
Brock University (A) 1964
University of Warwick (D) 1965
University of Ottawa (A) 1965
Jawaharlal Nehru University (A) 1966
University of Bath (D) 1966
University of Dundee (D) 1967
University of Bayreuth (A) 1975
University of Alicante (A) 1979
PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM 211
-
Notes
1. The problem with pseudo-universities discussed in the early
21st century (Altbach2001 etc.) is not particularly new,
either.
2. The 225 charters of foundation are distributed by centuries
as follows: 1200/12, 1300/40, 1400/45, 1500/35, 1600/25, 1700/18,
1800/22, 1900/28. Up to the 16th century, ourtexts cover 90% of the
charters issued. From then on, the sample continually becomes
relatively smaller, being only about one per cent in the 20th
century. More than half(124) of the charters are in Latin. Other
languages in the charters are English (63),German (17), Spanish
(15), Swedish (3), French (2) and Slovenian (1). Latin textshave
been rendered intelligible for us by Veli-Matti Rissanen, MA. As
concerns old
English, we have leaned on the expertise of Aili Kamarainen,
MA.
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Appendix. Continued
University of Kaiserslautern (A) 1982
Aga Khan University (D) 1983
Emory University (A) 1987
University of Waikato (A) 1991
University of Passau (A) 1992
University of Jaen (A) 1993
Al Akhawayn University (D) 1993
James Cook University (A) 1997
University of Konstanz (A) 1999
OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS212
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Grendler, P.F. (2002). The Universities of the Italian
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