Foundation and charter of the University of Marburg
The establishment of the Landgrave-Hessian University of Marburg an der Lahn marked a turning point in the history of the university . It is the first general course in Germany that lacks a papal foundation privilege. Given their Protestant character, this is of course not surprising, but the imperial privilege, which was only obtained late, is surprising.
Foundation of the University of Marburg
Marburg University was founded in 1527 in the course of the Reformation by the then 23-year-old Landgrave Philipp the Magnanimous as the second Protestant university (the first Protestant university existed in Liegnitz , Silesia from 1526 to 1530 ). With eleven professors and 84 students, the “universale studium Marburgense” began on July 1, 1527 in the previous monastery buildings of the city to train preachers and officials. In addition to the leading theological faculty , there was a law, a medical and a philosophy faculty from the start. The university initially used the secularized monastery facilities of the Dominicans, Franciscans and spherical lords. Two years later, Landgraf Philipp also founded the Hessian Scholarship Institution , the oldest student residence in Germany.
Charter of incorporation 1527
On July 1, 1527, Landgrave Philip I founded the University of Marburg. The first rector at the university was Johannes Eisermann , known as Ferrarius Montanus, from Amöneburg . The university was the scene of the Marburg Religious Discussion between Martin Luther , Ulrich Zwingli and Philipp Melanchthon . In 1541 the Landgrave was granted university privilege by Emperor Charles V , which was issued at the Reichstag in Regensburg and is to be seen against the background of the Regensburg Treaty between the Emperor and the Landgrave.
University seal
The university's great seal was made four years after it was founded. Engraved in silver it shows the bust of Landgrave Philip with beret, framed by the year 1527. The two-line inscription reads: SIGILLUM SCHOLAE MARPURGENSIS / PHILIPPO HESS (ORUM) D (OMIN) O DE PIETAT (E) ET LITER (IS) OPT (IME ) MERITO AUSP (ICE), roughly translated: Seal of the University of Marburg / under the protection of Philip, Lord of Hesse, who is well deserved for faith and science. On the back there is a foldable handle, as it is attached to Landgrave Philip's seal from 1515.
The seal was the first of the national emblems that the university sought, according to information from the matriculation in 1530, and which was made after it was awarded by the landgrave in 1531. The request for a pair of sceptres was granted shortly afterwards, and the university had to wait ten years for the imperial privilege .
The large university seal was in use until the temporary end of Marburg University in 1650. In the run-up to the 400th anniversary celebrations, it was noticed in 1916 that Marburg cited Philipp as the university's founder, but Landgrave Wilhelm VI. led in the seal. As a result, the current seal was created, closely based on the model from 1531.
Foundation privilege of the emperor in 1541
Until the Marburg University was founded, every university in Germany had been given a papal foundation privilege, many with an imperial foundation. Because of the evangelical orientation of the new foundation from the beginning, the lack of the first was only logical, the landgrave and his advisors tried to get the second from the beginning. Because without at least the imperial privilege, the Marburg degrees were not recognized outside the Landgraviate. However, Philip was one of the political leaders of the Protestants in the camp of the imperial opponents.
In response to the first letter in this direction in the summer of 1531, Charles V declared that he did not know that a university should have started and been upheld at the place . During the phase of temporary relaxation after the Peace of Kaaden , the Landgrave tried in 1535 and 1536 to obtain the desired privilege from King Ferdinand. At the Diet of Regensburg in 1541, the emperor tried to find a balance on the religious question, but failed. He was only able to conclude a contract with Landgrave Philipp, which he entered into, among other things because of the discovery of his double marriage. Four weeks later, the Landgrave Chancellor Feige and other councilors announced the issue of the imperial privilege for the University of Marburg. This was the first time in the empire that a Protestant university had been recognized by the emperor.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The certificate made out in Marburg as a digital copy of the image in the photo archive of older original documents of the Philipps University of Marburg
- ↑ Katharina Schaal: Seal of the University of Marburg ( Memento from March 12, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ The certificate issued by the emperor Image in the photo archive of older original documents of the Philipps University of Marburg Digitized of the image in the photo archive of older original documents of the Philipps University of Marburg
- ↑ Katharina Schaal: Foundation privilege of the University of Marburg ( Memento from February 12, 2013 in the web archive archive.today )
literature
- Bruno Hildebrand: Collection of documents on the constitution and administration of the university under Philipp the Generous , Marburg 1848, p. 37 f.
- R. Schmidt: The imperial confirmation of the Marburg University founded in 1527 by Emperor Charles V . 1541, in: Journal of the Association for Hessian History and Regional Studies 108, 2003.
- Walter Heinemeyer: Study and scholarship. Studies on the history of the Hessian scholarship system , Marburg 1986.
- Hans-Enno Korn, The seal and the coat of arms of the Philipps University of Marburg , in: From history and its auxiliary sciences. Festschrift for Walter Heinemeyer on his 65th birthday , Marburg 1979, pp. 486–496.