Medieval University - Great Miracle Of The "Little Renaissance": Students Of Slovak Origin On European Universities
(author: Katarína Štulrajterová)
The rise of universities was closely tied to the climate, economic and social changes at the end of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th century. Their effect on culture and education was so massive that this periods is sometimes also refered to as little renaissance.
Favourable climatic conditions, along with more effective plowing methods, led to the rise of agricultural surplus, which stimulated specialization in the crafts and the transition from barter into monetary trade. At the end of the day, these factors secured the economic and cultural development of the cities.
Alongside highly specialized artisans appeared a new type of specialist - the intellectual. Cities were in need of doctors, lawyers, accountants, teachers. The nobility and the church likewise welcomed educated professionals into their service. Among other things, the church needed to formulate and communicate their doctrinal theses more persuasively, since the community of believers had been expanded by the more demanding urban population. The church was well aware that the inability to react to the new trends was becoming increasingly dangerous, which was also underscored by the many heretical movements that were arising, dissatisfied with the lax stance of the church towards traditional christian values.
Nothing could've been a better answer to the requirements of the era than the university. As the artisans gathered into guilds, the students and professors likewise gathered into their own organizations - universitas. Medieval universities usually arose in three ways. The first one was the so-called spontaneous path, as was the case with Paris, Bologna or Oxford, when the presence of a preeminent scholar attracted students and the city hall promptly, though not without an ulterior motive supported the development of a university. This path was typical for the 12th century. The second option was secession or migration. The students together with the professors left the city that hosted the university, often in protest against the overly authoritative policies of the city council, and found home in another city, which offered them better conditions. This mechanism has been attested in the case of many universities founded in the 13th century, one should only recall the case of the University of Cambridge, which was founded by students and professors from Oxford. The third option was trough a papal or imperial decree. Frederick II. of the Hohenstaufen dynasty founded the University of Naples in 1224. On the other hand, pope Gregory IX. founded the University of Toulouse and Innocent IV. founded one in Rome.
THE UNIVERSITY OF PADUA
It sprang up in 1222. It was founded by the students and professors who, in protest against the city government of Bologna, which was violating their priviledges, left Bologna and settled in Padua. These were, for the most part, lawyers, and they founded their "Universitas iuristarum", from which the current widely branching university evolved over time. Thanks to the magnanimity of Iordanes, the bishop of Padua, and its mayor Giovanni Rusca, the students from Bologna were granted asylum. And so the 29th of September 1222, the Michaelmas, became the date of origin for the "studium generale" in Padua, which veritably prospered in the liberal administrative organization and successful centre of trade of the city.
The new "studium" had to spring up in a short time and have a solid structure, since as early as 1227, pope Honorius III. adressed to it the fifth compilation of documents (Compilatio Quinta). In the same year, the students and professors ceremonially approved, in a cathedral in front of the papal college and the bishop of Padua, the codex of Florentine professor Buoncompagno [1] - "Rhetorica antiqua", also known under the name "Forma literarum Scholasticarum", as was formely happening in Bologna.
Besides legal sciences, the disciplines "artistarum" were also taught in Padua from the word go, as becomes apparent from the long-lasting squabbles and conflicts between the professors and students of these scientific disciplines and the university of lawyers. However, the "Universitas artistarum" only managed to obtain the approval of its sovereignty in 1399. In so doing, two different universities officially came to existence, by modern standards two faculties of one university - the "Universitas iuristarum" and the "Universitas artistarum", each one with their own rector, students and the prerogative to issue laws. The patron of the first - the legal one was Saint Catherine of Alexandria, while the other one had Saint Thomas Aquinas, however both of them used seals with the depiction of Christ the Redeemer, the patron of students. The lawyers depicted him in the act of blessing in glory, while the "artisti" in turn had him coming back from the dead above an open grave. For the law students, the subject of their studies was civil and canon law. The content of the studies of the medical-philosophic division included medicine, philosophy, grammar, rhetorics and astrology. In 1363, the study of theology was also approved by a decree of pope Urban V..
It has to be mentioned that the word "universitas" had at the time a different meaning than it does today. It was basically an occupational assembly of students, who made up the basis of the university structure and who had their own self-governance, electing rectors, who were presiding over the administrative organs of the university. Initially, the students themselves picked and also paid the professors. These then organized into separate colleges, presided over by the bishop. In his person, both universities met, together making up the "studium generale".
The pope delegated the right to award academic titles onto the bishop of Padua. The bishop was the archchancellor for all of the studies. This is similar to how it worked in Oxford, Paris or Bologna. Despite this dependence on the authority of the church (which was fully in keeping not only with the lawful order, but also the spirit of the era) the University of Padua has always been characterized by a principled liberal approach to scientific research and teaching in the spirit of its motto, included in the emblem of the university - "Universa Universis - Patavina Libertas".
In Padua, there existed three colleges of doctors (medics and philosophers, theologians and lawyers), which, thanks to a priviledge bestowed by the pope, were allowed to award doctorates. Although the colleges were institutionally independent of the university, they were in contact with the university and with the faculty of professors. The main function of the colleges was issuing doctorate diplomas. The college of doctors was testing students who were already finishing their studies. The old statutes had determined that the lenght of the studies outght to be six years in the case of civil and canon law, five for the "artes liberates" and at least three for medicine.
The awarding of the doctorate was a process that occured over three phases. The first phase was called "gratia" (mercy) and involved introducing the candidate to the scientific college. According to the university statutes, each candidate was supposed to prove their eligibility by three disputations and a public lecture from a well-known work. Under certain circumstances, the candidate could've received an exemption (gratia) and skip over one step. Not uncommonly, the candidate was requesting a gratia of partial or complete forgiveness of the doctoral student fee. The second phase, the "tentamen" or provisional exam, was playing out in front of a scientific college and its purpose was to test the eligibility of the candidate. Following its successful passing, the third phase awaited the candidate, which consisted of the so-called "examen privatum" and the "doctoratus pubblicus". "Examen privatum" was an exceptionally rigorous exam, which, should the candidate pass it, habilitated him for the work in the profession which he specialized in. "Doctoratus pubblicus" took place on the same day as the "examen privatum", although sometimes, a one or two day delay could occur. During this ceremony, the newly minted doctor acquired the doctoral attributes - books "clausos, mox appertos", a doctor's barret and a gold ring.
STUDENTS OF SLOVAK DESCENT
To foreign students, a doctorate could've been granted even after a short visit, should they present a proof they've studied at a different university and demonstrate sufficient scientific capabilities at the exam. Many students from the area of today's Slovakia were keen on the so-called peregrinatio academica (traveling for the sake of education). Let's name just a few as a representative sample. John [2] Henckel of Levoča came to Padua in 1508, obtaining a doctorate from canon law. He arrived to Padua from the University of Vienna, and finished his academic journey at the University of Bologna. John Sambucus from Trnava, before he began his studies in Padua in 1553, studied at universities in Wittenberg, Strasbourg, Basel and Paris. George Purkirchner from Bratislava, before he came to study in Padua, had tried his luck on the University of Wittenberg. George Hoffman from Bratislava first studied in Strasbourg, however, in 1571, he joined the University of Padua. Gregory Amman from Spiš studied in Padua from January to mid-August 1578, departing from there to Bologna and Rome. Later, he was enjoying the pleasures of student life in Sienna, finishing with repeated studies on the University of Padua, which lasted two years. After a year and a half stint at the University of Padua, Christopher Birnstingl from Kežmarok continued at the University of Jena. John Melcer of Prešov studied at the University of Strasbourg before arriving in Padua. Michael Strednyansky from Streda nad Bodrogom, along with Stephen Tököly, came to Padua from the University of Heidelberg. In this fashion, we could continue naming more of these.
With the beginning of the supremacy of Venetian signoria over Padua in 1405, an era of unparalleled blossoming, which lasted until the 18th century, dawned on Padua. Trough their ambassadors, the Venetian Republic was informed about the best professors at Italian and foreign universities. The ambassadors were to at an appropriate time offer a possition to the professors, drawing them into Padua. Aiming to comply with the wishes of the students, the Venetian Republic not only maintained the renowned chairs, but also founded new ones, so in some years, the university curricula contained over 30 lecturers at each faculty. These happenings caused a new, powerful torrent of students. The reputation of the University of Padua was being passed down the generations. Several generations of the Thurzó family studied there, Daniel Geyger sent his sons there, and it's not out of the question that there was a familial connection between John Henckel of Levoča, who studied canon law there in 1508, and John Henkel, also from Levoča, who studied medicine in Padua in 1458. The students came from all parts of Italy and Europe, from the lands of the Mediterranean, of which the most prevalent was the Republic of Venice, and from countries with which Venice maintained active political and commercial ties.
The students were divided into so-called "university nations" according to ethnogeographic criteria. They were assembled into two main groups. Citramontani, which in practice were students from the area of today's Italy (Cisalpinia) and Ultramontani, basically foreigners from the lands beyond the Alps. Both groups were represented by one or two rectors, elected yearly by the student community. During the elections, each student had an equal right to vote. The division between the Ultramontani and Citramontani was the only distinction during the 13th and a large portion of the 14th century.
In the second half of the 14th century, a division according to particullar university nations, so-called nationes, had taken shape. At the faculty of law [3], there were 22 of them: German, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Provençal, Burgundian, English, Catalonian with the Spanish, Oltremarinian (Greece, Cyprus), Scottish, Roman, Sicilian, Anconan, Lombardian, Milanese, Tuscan, Venetian, Trieran, Friulian, Dalmatian, Piedmontan and Paduan. The faculty of philosophy had seven "nationes": Cisalpine (ultramontana), Ultramarine or Cypriot, Tuscan, Lombardian with the Piedmontese and the Genovese, Trieran including the Ilyrians from Friuli, Dalmatians and the denizens of Istria, Roman with the southern Italians and Anconan. At the faculty of philosophy, a student from Hungary could've joined the community of the natio ultramontana, which was equal to the other six and itself was divided into nine smaller national communities. Meanwhile a law student arriving from Hungary could've joined the community of the Hungarian, but also the German nation. According to a 1600 statute, the German community of the university was also open to the Danes, Swedes, Prussians, Livonians, Czechs, Hungarians, Transsylvanians, the Swiss and the Rhets.
All nations played an important role in academic life. From their ranks were picked the advisors - consiliares, who assisted the rector in leading the faculty in question organizationally. Among the lawyers, each nationality nominated one, among the philosophers two conciliares. They were elected initially once per semester, later each year. Their coats of arms were chiseled into stone or painted. They were placed, along with those that belonged to the rectors or the syndic of the year, to the walls of the school, in the halls and the atrium or the "Bo" Palace. This custom was kept up until 1688. Altogether, more than 3000 coats of arms have been preserved, making up a marvelous heraldic treasure, which conserves the memory of many of the Paduan students. Of our students, depicted there are the frescoes of the coats of arms of John Melcer from Prešov, John Haan and John de Paar from Bratislava.
SLOVAKS, HUNGARIANS OR GERMANS?
Although the Hungarian community at the university had its own sovereign status and hierarchy, 98% of students from the territory of today's Slovakia joined the German university nation. This came about as a result of the fact that Germans had the most well-organized community at the university and were enjoying many privileges. Not that the Hungarians would deny their roots. They fastidiously named the location they came from, as well as their allegiance to the Hungarian state. They had their names put down like thus: Ladislaus Kubinsky de felső Kubin Hungarus, Christopher Thurzó Betlemfalwa Ungarus, Andrew Waywodich Velichahensis Hungarus, Ladislaus Caplioni Zyladinus Ungarus, George Hoffman Hungarus Posoniensis, Daniel Therianus Rosenbergius Ungarus or Kaspar Szeghedy Tirnaviensis Ungarus.
The latinized forms of names, as well as the incompleteness of the data, prevent us from finding out how many students from Slovakia were of Slovak ethnicity. Since Slovakia was a part of the multinational Hungary, these could equally have been Slovaks, Croatians, Germans or Hungarians (the Slovaks also lived in regions outside today's Slovakia and the same was true of other Hungarian nationalities, which lived on the territory of today's Slovakia). The fact that many names sound German and that the vast majority of students from the territory of today's Slovakia inclined towards the German university nation could've been an indication of a certain predominance of Germans. However, this equally could've been simply a result of the fact that they were striving to reap the benefits afforded to the German nation at the University of Padua. Many students also betray their nationality by noting their name or the settlement - town they come from.
However complicated the question of the national identity of a student coming from the multinational Hungary might seem, our imagination might be aided by two analogies. The first one would be with the today's United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. There, everyone proudly aligns themselves with a British citizenship despite the fact that their national roots vary. This trend could also be observed in the case of the denizens of the Kingdom of Hungary, who proudly aligned themselves with the Hungarian "citizenship" or state allegiance, which however wouldn't prevent them from being a Slovak, German, Hungarian or Croat. The second analogy comes from medieval Italy, which was divided into city states. A Florentine or Roman identity was just as strong as that of a person from for example Trnava, Bratislava or Levoča. Nonetheless, it's as if there was some slight national nuance. Even at the University of Padua, there were students that had labeled themselves "Pannonii", and this term, "Pannonius", shouldn't be understood as synonymous with the term "Hungarus". "Pannonius" was frequently used as the opposite of "Hungarus" and an emphasis of slavicness/slovakness even at the University of Padua. A similar practice has also been confirmed at other universities, particularly in Vienna and Trnava. Not uncommon are following forms in vital records: Stephen Abraham Pannonius de Naghlucze, John Sambucus Pannonius Tyrnaviensis, George Dobos Tirnaviensis Pannonius, John Haan Posoniensis Pannonius, Daniel Burkhardt Schemnicensis Pannonius, George Khamper Posoniensis Panonius, Stephen Partinger Posoniensis Pannonius. Still others only named the town, village or region they came from: John de Scepus, Stephen de Lechnicia, Stephen de Zuynna, Kaspar Dali Szombathelyi, John de Paar Posoniensis, George Amman Scepusiensis. An interesting, though rare case is one where the student named themselves as Pavol Glasur Superiores Pannoniae Ungarus Bartphensis.
In the vast majority of cases, the students from Slovakia had their names put down in the vital records of the German nation, especially those that came to study law. In the following lines, we are going to demonstrate, trough a couple of cases, interest of students, who came from Slovakia and joined the German vital records, in the life of the Hungarian university nation. They were involved in it with the same intensity and actively contributed to it. Many had their names put down in the vital records of both university nations, German and Hungarian. It was more or less an individual choice of each individual, since the fees were high. Those that could afford it in terms of finance joined both of them. For those that couldn't afford it, pragmatic thinking prevailed and they preferred to reap the benefits of the German university nation. Let's name three representative examples, which wouldn't at all be the exception. The first, John de Paar from Bratislava, joined the German university nation at the faculty of law on the 12th of April 1576. We have documentation from 1582 saying that John de Paar was elected an advisor (consiliary) for the Hungarian nation. Second, let's look at John Melcer of Prešov, who might've joined the vital records of German lawyers on the 28th of January 1600, paying 10 liras as an entrance fee, but as early as the 8th of August 1600, he is mentioned as the advisor of the Hungarian nationality. As the third and last example, we'll mention the academic career of George Komarnyanski from Komárno. He joined the vital records of the German university nation on the 27th of February 1713 as a student of medicine. He then, as early as the 17th of September 1713, wrote his name down into the vital records of the German nation at the faculty of law, and in 1715, he is mentioned as the advisor (consiliary) of lawyers from the Hungarian nation.
WEALTHY AND WELL-SUPPORTED
When it comes to the social status of the students from Slovakia at the University of Padua, it needs to be said that they were predominantly from the uppermost strata of society. Studying there were the Thurzós, Révays, the Forgács, all important magnate families, Peter Bakics, the free baron of Holíč and Šaštín, Michael Czobor, the free baron of Šaštín and Ostrý Kameň, Thököly, Kubinsky or Strednyansky and many others from nobility higher and lower. In a similar vein, sons of wealthy patrician burghers, especially from Bratislava and the Spiš region, also studied there.
In many cases, even a nobleman or patrician, let alone a clever, gifted student from the countryside, wouldn't get to study without the support of a wealthy magnate, for example as a tutor to the son of his beneficiary. Another alternative was the favor of a high ecclesiastical official, in the best case scenario an archbishop or at least a bishop. Janus Pannonius was sent to university by János of Sredna, also known as Vitéz, the archbishop of Esztergom. Vitéz also sent George Polycarpus. Sigismund Thurzó let many a talented youth finish their studies. Let's mention at least John Henckel and Nicolaus Olahus. Studying in Padua at the behest of Nicolaus Olahus, the archbishop of Esztergom, was Ferenc Forgács of Jelenec. Meanwhile, George Hoffman was a protegee of the bishop of Vác. John Sambucus got to Padua at the behest of Nicolaus Olahus, archbishop of Esztergom, as a tutor to his nephew George Bonna. Michael Strednyansky came to his studies as a tutor to Stephen Thököly.
After getting enrolled, a student had to find accomodations for himself, reasonably priced and not too far from the university, so that they could comfortably attend lectures. A student from Central Europe might've been taken aback by the weather in Padua. The dry winters he would've been used to in Hungary were and are extremely damp in Padua. We have had passed down to us the correspondence from the Révay brothers, wherein they claim that in Padua, it's not common to use heating in winter (a commendable custom, which has been kept up to this day) and are asking their father to send them fox furs.
Studying at the faculty of law was the most popular, and that lasted until as late as the 19th century, when the study of medicine gained the upper hand, which was related to the presence of two college professors, both originating from Slovakia - Martin Steer, professor of pathology from Trnava, who was active there in 1826-1848, and Wiliam Lippich, denizen of Spišská Nová Ves, who was giving lectures on clinical medicine in 1834-1841. The largest number of students were from the Poszony and Szepes Counties. The students were usually wealthy members of noble families, but it wasn't out of the ordinary to see the sons of merchant families. The money obtained trough selling iron goods or in the hatmaking trade could fund studies abroad perfectly well. Higher education was a good investment of capital, since the young graduate had a chance to climb the societal ladder.
The research into Slovak and Hungarian students at foreign universities is far from being a closed chapter. A still fresh topic is for instance tracking the fates of the particular Universitas Patavina alumni following their return home.
[1] - probably Boncompagno da Signa
[2] - their names were originally Slovak, but at this point I just gave up and translated them into English
[3] - Slovak uses "faculty" where "college" is more common in anglophone countries.
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