Higher Education (2006) 52: 185213

DOI 10.1007/s10734-004-2534-1

Springer 2006

Privileges of Universitas Magistrorum et Scolarium and their

justication in charters of foundation from the 13th to the 21st
centuries
OSMO KIVINEN & PETRI POIKUS
Research 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 purposes
universities have been said to serve at dierent periods of time, how the distinction
between universities and other educational establishments has been made, and how the
actions of the academic community have been justied. The data consist of 225 charters
of foundation from the year 1224 to 1999. Granted by rulers, the charters depict universities as being suited to serve widely diering purposes, such as furthering the
material and spiritual prosperity of the nation and the local community, strengthening
the right faith and training public servants. Charters granted universities privileges such
as 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 protection of scholars have always been answerable to societal demands. A certain degree
of 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 and
research.
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 history, but there is a relatively small number of studies about the academic 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 Entstehung
der Universitaten des Mittelalters bis 1400 by Denie (1885/1956), and
Die Geschichte der Deutschen Universitaten (in two volumes) by
Kaufmann (18881896/1958). Dealing with universities in the Middle

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Ages, those works are still used for studies in the eld. A History of the
University in Europe edited by Hilde de Ridder-Symoens, is meant to
cover the entire history of academia since the Middle Ages. The two rst
volumes, Universities in the Middle Ages (1992) and Universities in Early
Modern Europe (1996), have already been published, and the two
unpublished volumes will deal with the history of the academic establishment up to the present. In the countries with the oldest academies,
Italy, France, Spain, Britain and Germany, the national and local history of universities has been researched very closely in places. Furthermore, almost every university in the world has probably had some
kind of historical account written.
Our data contain 225 university charters of foundation, the rst of
which dates back to 1224; the last was issued as recently as 1999 (see
Appendix). These charters have been the medium for the Popes, rulers
and other authorities to grant a locality the right to found a university
by supplication. Yet, let us point out at the very beginning that the date
of issue on the charter of foundation and the actual start of university
work do not nearly always coincide. In some cases the work started
several years later, and sometimes a new supplication for a charter of
foundation was an absolute prerequisite before the daily work could
begin. Some establishments only obtained their studium generale rights
after decades of academic achievement, while others never started in
spite of a charter having been issued. (Cobban 1975, p. 118; Ruegg 1992,
pp. 67; Verger 1992, pp. 3536) One of the more problematic issues for
research into academic history is the academic status of some of the
establishments. Even the most recent studies do not oer completely
identical lists of universities. Our denitions of academic status are
based on A History of the University in Europe, edited by de RidderSymoens, although it also contains some contradictions. For instance,
Verger (1992), included in the rst volume, lists 85 universities founded
in Europe by the 16th century, but Frijho (1996) only lists 72 in the
second volume. Our own material consists of 82 charters of foundation
from this period of time.
The charters of foundation for the establishment of a university have
not been comprehensively surveyed before our project. Individual
analyses have been published (such as Bulas, Constituciones y Estatutos 1999; see Rexroth 1992), as well as a specic study on the charters
of foundation of the universities associated with what is known as the
Coimbra group (Charters of Foundation 1994). A study with the title
Sapientie Immarcessibilis by Erik Van Mingroot (1994) on the bull of
the University of Louvain merits a special mention.

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Our material covering the rst three centuries is fairly complete.

There are some diculties of interpretation concerning a small number
of universities from the 13th century, because researchers disagree on
their actual functions and status. We have included the obscure cases,
the universities of Orleans (1306), Valladolid (1346), Siena (1357) and
Padua (1363), in our material according to the year in their charter of
foundation. As for the 14th and 15th centuries, we know that only a few
charters are missing from our material: Treviso from the 14th century,
as well as Parma, Venice and Frankfurt an der Oder from the 15th
century. According to a recent study by Grendler (2002), called The
Universities of the Italian Renaissance, Treviso, Parma and Venice did
not merit the status of a university at that time either, because they only
granted 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 academic
education. The predominance of the Catholic Church started to erode in
the 15th century, at the same time shattering the uniformity of academic
culture, which has rendered writing comprehensive historical accounts
of academic life somewhat dicult. Even our own evidence from the
16th and 17th centuries is not as comprehensive as that from the previous period. Some of the universities founded in modern history have
changed location several times, merged with other universities, or closed
down completely, which means diculty in tracking down their charters
of foundation. The universities founded in Spain, France and Italy in
the 16th and 17th centuries are particularly awkward in this respect.
Ever since the 19th century, the charters of foundation granted by the
authorities of nation-states represent a much larger proportion, while
others decline correspondingly. The enormous growth in the number of
universities in the 20th century would make obtaining all the relevant
documents a daunting job, but it is not even necessary, due to the
uniformity of the wordings in the charters.2
According to calculations by Riddle (1989), 1,854 universities had
been founded in the world by 1985, 202 of which had closed down.
There has been an explosive increase in the number of universities in the
last few decades. The World List of Universities (2002) published by the
IAU gives as many as 7,200 universities for the year 2002.
The charters of foundation follow a two-fold pattern: a locally
written document of supplication concerning the foundation, and passages from documents characteristic of the papal and imperial oces.
These oces composed the documents by extracting the relevant details
from any given supplication, then integrating them into their standard

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documents. As a whole, the wordings in the university charters have

remained relatively invariable. The papal bulls in particular have
maintained their wording literally unchanged for centuries.
The term universitas, later identied as the university, still meant a
body corporate, or a group of people enjoying certain rights in 12thcentury Europe. The membership was further specied, for instance, by
the term scolarium in connection with universitas, meaning a community
of students, while universitas magistrorum et scolarium meant a community of teachers and students. The term universitas in the sense of an
academic community only became customary in the late 14th and early
15th centuries. (Rashdall 1936, pp. 45; Cobban 1975, p. 22; Hu 1993,
pp. 134135)
Unlike the slightly pejorative characterization of the university as an
ivory tower suggests, the university has never been able to live in social
isolation. On the contrary, functional relations of exchange with surrounding communities have always been a vital necessity for the entire
university institution, whether with spiritual or secular, as well as local
and national communities. All through their almost 900 years of history, universities and their academic people have known how to make
themselves useful, if not indispensable, in the eyes of religious and
secular potentates. As this article will demonstrate, the exchange is
ultimately about the desire of the universitas magistrorum et scolarium to
obtain and maintain its privileges simply by being loyal to those in
power at any given time. But loyalty has, especially in more recent
times, secured free space for those activities of invaluable importance
that the Humboldtian dicta calls the freedom of teaching and learning
(Lehrfreiheit and Lernfreiheit). (cf. Neave 2002.) The university charters
are the most suitable material for studying this subject, because they
have always recorded the expectations imposed on and the promises
given by the universities about to be established.
The questions that we hope to answer using the 225 charters from the
year 1224 to 1999 are the following: What are the original purposes the
universitas magistrorum et scolarium, i.e. the university and the academic
community, have been said to serve at dierent periods? What privileges
have the scholars been granted and what arguments have university
people made use of to justify their actions and existence? How the
distinction between universities and other educational establishments
has been made? How has the university been able to respond to the
societal demands of any given time?
Subjects such as truth (veritas), knowledge/wisdom (scientia/
sapientia) and research (studium litterarum/investigatio/tractatus),

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189

irrespective of their unquestionable signicance, have been excluded

from this article. They will constitute an article of their own, to be
published later. We would also like to mention that our outlook on
university matters and academic life stems from the pragmatist tradition as a general frame of reference, although this article will not
discuss pragmatism any further. (See Kivinen 2002; Kivinen and Ristela 2002 and 2003.)

The emergence of academic guilds

In the 11th century, towns strengthened their position, and craftsmen
started organizing their own interest groups, the guilds. Similarly,
scholars, the men of letters, organized themselves in guilds of their
own. Learned men from other places would have been deprived even
of their fundamental rights, had they not been oered the opportunity
to integrate themselves into town life through the guilds. These learned
associations that emerged on the model of the craft guilds are the
foundation of later academic societies and the whole academic
establishment. (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 that
became universities Bologna, Paris, Oxford and Montpellier
emerged of their own accord, without founding licences from the
authorities. The rst two, Bologna and Paris, diered from each other in
that the organization in Bologna in the late 12th century was initiated
by students, while teachers in Paris in the early 13th century started a
corporation for themselves and the students, the rst of its kind.
(Cobban 1975, p. 25; Verger 1992, p. 45) Neither of these two had
initially set out to found a university. The sole purpose was to protect
the men of letters against external threats; the academic community had
only one purpose to start with, that of defence and protection.
The privileges concerning legal protection are undoubtedly the most
prominent single element in our material for the whole 800-year period.
These privileges are the point of departure and the later foundation for
the whole of the organized academic community. Ever since the rst
university charter granted to Naples in 1224, the rulers ocially included the academic community under their patronage. This is apparent
in the papal bull granted to Toulouse in 1233, as well as in the document
to Salamanca in 1243 with the following promise by the founder of the
university, King Ferdinand III:

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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 masters
and scholars who would come there and their men and as many of
their 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 students
enjoy his protection in any faculty, and wherever they come from.
Expressions concerning protection are also found in university charters
for places such as Coimbra (1290), Rome (1303), Cracow (1364), Vienna
(1365), Heidelberg (1386), Jena (1557) and Salzburg (1620). The early
modern rulers regarded the protection of the academic community as a
matter of course, an ocial duty. This is evident in documents such as
Bamberg (1648) and Erlangen (1743). For instance, the Gottingen
charter contains the following statement by King George II of England:
furthering the arts and sciences is one of the noblest concerns of a
regent (Gottingen 1736).
Ius ubique docendi and studium generale
The Pope also granted learned men the most important of their privileges, ius ubique docendi. This meant that all with a degree from a
university were entitled to teach at any university throughout the whole
of the Christian world without taking any further degrees. This in
principle ensured free mobility for the scholars from one university to
another. Our material provides the rst evidence for this in the bull of
1233 to the University of Toulouse, which included the entitlement for
every master who has been examined and approved in any faculty to
instruct everywhere without any further examination (Toulouse 1233).
The universal teaching licence, ius ubique docendi, was not necessarily
exercised in practice. Some of the universities regarded themselves as
superior in repute, and would not always approve of the degrees taken
at the more recently founded universities without the candidates
undergoing tests or taking further degrees. Furthermore, this universal
licence could be restricted in the university charters as well. Bulls such as
that granted to Salamanca in 1255 includes a statement that ius ubique
docendi did not apply to the universities of Bologna and Paris: after
any of the masters and scholars in the university of Salamanca in any
faculty shall have been found qualied to teach by a legitimate preceding examination, he shall be able to teach in any university except
only Paris and Bologna (Salamanca 1255).

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Ius ubique docendi is recorded in the papal bulls of foundation until

the early 16th century, after which time it disappears. The simple
explanation of this is that the Pope lost his position as the ecclesiastic
leader 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 by
the academic establishment itself in modern times, which is clear in
documents such as that granted to the University of Sydney in 1858:
the Degrees of the said University of Sydney shall be
recognized as Academic distinctions and rewards of Merit and be
entitled to rank, precedence, and consideration in our United
Kingdom and in our Colonies and possessions throughout the world
as fully as if the said Degree had been granted by any University of
our said United Kingdom. (Sydney 1858).
The universal applicability of the degrees is already an established
matter of course in the 20th century, although some universities still
regard 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 secured
by the Pope or Emperor could call itself studium generale or university.
The rst university to obtain a recognized charter of foundation ocially granted by a ruler was Naples in 1224. Soon after, the Catholic
Church also started granting documents securing university rights; the
University of Toulouse obtained such a bull in 1233, and the University
of Rome in 1245. The already existing establishments that met the
university requirements were to receive their ocial documents of
foundation in time. The University of Montpellier received its papal bull
in 1289, Bologna in 1290, and Paris in 1292. The University of Oxford
turns out to be the exception proving the rule, because it never succeeded in persuading the Pope to consent to a bull securing its rights, in
spite of several rulers having attempted it. This did not disrupt the
university greatly, all the more since the learned men at Oxford succeeded in persuading the British rulers to grant them rights in
satisfactory recompense for the lack of rights conrmed through a
papal charter of foundation. (Cobban 1975, pp. 2529; Verger 1992,
pp. 3536)
Only the rst three universities granted with a charter in the 13th
century, Naples, Toulouse and Rome, can be mentioned as a direct topdown initiative from the Pope or an emperor. All the other mediaeval
university ventures have obviously sprung from a local initiative, which

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those in power recognized if they wished to do so. (See Van Mingroot

1994, p. 151) The supplication for a university was usually rst prepared
locally, and a deputation was then commissioned to visit the Holy See
or the Imperial court. The appropriate authority used to have a legate
inquire into the presence of proper university standards in the town
concerned before consenting to the supplication. Issuing university
charters was mostly entrusted to the Popes in the Middle Ages. Of the
universities founded in the 14th and 15th centuries, only Treviso 1318,
Prague 1347, Orange 1365 and Pavia 1361 obtained their rights through
a document conrmed by an emperor; and at least Prague and Orange
later acquired a papal bull conrming their rights (Cobban 1975, pp.
2526, pp. 117118). To be on the safe side, many universities had their
rights conrmed by all potentates the Pope, the Emperor, and the
local princes. When the papal authority was weakened in the early
modern period, issuing university charters was increasingly entrusted to
secular authorities. The universities about to be founded in areas that
had seceded from the Catholic Church applied for their rights from the
local princes. Individual towns were also at times enthusiastically
involved in founding universities. A variety of creeds contributed to
some confusion in the university eld. Calvinist academies could not
seek recognition from the Pope, but they did not obtain it from the
Emperor either, which often left their university status unclear (Frijho
1996, p. 50).
The academic community as dened in the charters of foundation
The concept of academic community is often mentioned in the university charters of foundation, and particularly in records of privileges and
in lists of privileged persons. As late as the 13th century, the privileges
only applied to masters and scholars, but the number of beneciaries
increased and diversied in the 14th century (Van Mingroot 1994, pp.
167168). Charters such as the University of Cahors Bull of 1332 record
teachers, masters, licentiates, baccalaureates and students as acquirers
of academic privileges. The charter issued to Pavia in 1361 also includes
servants, assistants and families among the beneciaries. The charter for
the University of Heidelberg denes the beneciaries as follows:
And, as in the University of Paris, the various servants of the
institution have the benet of the various privileges which its masters
and scholars enjoy, so in starting our institution in Heidelberg, we
grant, with even greater liberality, through these presents, that all the

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servants, i.e., its bedells, librarians, lower ocials, preparers of

parchment, scribes, illuminators, and others who serve it, may each
and all, without fraud, enjoy in it the same privileges, franchises,
immunities and liberties with which its masters or scholars are now
or shall hereafter be endowed (Heidelberg 1386).
The beneciaries are listed similarly in the charters for universities such
as 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 the
model of the old ones. Long chains could be formed in this way. One
starts from the University of Paris, the rights of whom were recorded in
the Toulouse charter of 1233. The Toulouse rights were again found in
the Lerida charter of 1300, and the Lerida rights in the Barcelona
charter of 1450. Similarly, the hometown of the present authors, Turku,
received a university in 1640 with the rights recorded in the charter of
1477 for the University of Uppsala, which for its part had the rights
recorded to the University of Bologna. A formal transfer of the rights of
previously founded universities was a rite of integration for the new
establishments in the academic tradition, maintaining the traditional
privileges.
The Holy Roman Empire granted rights to universities founded in
their territory and the academic community in association with them,
just as the Popes had done. Most universities obtained the same rights
as the rest in the Imperial territory, such as Siena in 1357, Tubingen in
1484 and Stuttgart in 1781. The charters often list the old universities
whose rights the new one has been granted, such as Emperor
Maximilian I granting the University of Wittenberg (1502) the rights of
Bologna, Siena, Padua, Pavia, Perugia, Paris and Leipzig. The same
universities are also mentioned in the charters for the universities of
Jena (1557) and Helmstedt (1576).
Our texts contain only a couple of charters in which the rights
granted to the university are specied in detail. The papal bulls only
tend to mention ius ubique docendi, also stating that the university will
obtain the rights of previous universities, without any detailed specication. Among the mediaeval charters, the rights are dened in detail
for the Naples charter (1224), the bull for Rome (1303), the Cracow
(1364), Vienna (1365) and Heidelberg charters (1386) and the Louvain
bull (1425). None of the modern charters record any detailed specications of the rights and privileges of the academic community. The lack

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of further specication was probably practical, because the details were

provided in other legal instruments, such as the statutes of the university. The charters only recorded the essence of the rights.

Not by holy spirit alone

The charters of foundation granted the universities both economic and
legal privileges. These rights show a distinct anity with the academic
privileges of the learned men in the Roman Empire conrmed in
Authentica Habita in the 12th century. The members of the academic
community had certain exemptions from charges, taxes, and customs
duties, as well as participation in work usually obligatory for all.
Charters such as the papal bull for the University of Rome states that
the teachers and students at the Studium are not obliged to contribute
to collections imposed on the citizens, or any public duties on the pretext that they spend time in the town concerned, or any road tolls for
their belongings which they bring to the Studium or take from there
(Rome 1303). The learned men at St. Andrews were similarly freed from
taxes, duties, charges, missions and burdens (St. Andrews 1413). Similar
academic liberties are recorded in the charters for universities such as
Naples (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 listed
in the charters of foundation. The Naples charter pointed out that The
best houses will be given to them, and their rent will be at most two
ounces of gold. All the houses will be rented for a sum up to that
amount, based on an estimate by two citizens and two students
(Naples 1224). Housing issues are included also in charters such as
Toulouse (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 treatment in the courts of justice from the start. They could not be tried in an
ordinary court, but had their legal matters dealt with among the
teaching sta through canon law. Charters as early as that of the
University of Naples recorded that in civil trials all will have to appear
before their teachers (Naples 1224), and the Toulouse bull states that
laymen shall answer to the students before a clerical judge in every legal
case (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).

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195

Jurisdiction over the members of the academic community was

usually 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 at
the university (Van Mingroot 1994, pp. 189192). The rectors considerable judicial power is evident in many charters. The Louvain bull
prescribes that
all sundry matters and aairs of the doctors, masters, students,
associates and employees, whether they be clerics or laypeople, and
also the correction and punishment in connection with all sorts of
misdemeanors 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 has
been diminished in modern times, and the charters start favouring
collective consideration in legal cases. The Dublin charter stipulates a
group in charge of legal matters with members such as the provost, the
socii and the scholars (Dublin 1592). Similar details are found in the
charters 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 the

right faith
The justication for the existence of universities has been derived from
the benets yielded by their work. Both the local authorities promoting
the foundation of universities, and the higher levels of administration
issuing the charter and the rights have proclaimed this from the outset.
The charters underline the general national benets, and the local
particular benet without exception. Strengthening and disseminating
the right religious faith was a prominent goal, particularly in the early
history of the universities. Training ocials for the needs of clerical and
secular administration was always used as a justication when some
local community wished to have a university. The emphases have varied, although the same reasons appear in every university charter from
the 13th century onwards. The importance of church and religion has
steadily decreased, while regional interests and administrative training
have maintained their signicance throughout the history of academic
establishments. Our research material demonstrates that the points of
justication for founding new universities in the 13th century remain the

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raison detre for universities on the threshold of the 21st century. An

extract from the Naples charter illustrates this:
We wish that in all parts of the Kingdom many will become wise
and knowledgeable, by having access to a fountain of knowledge,
and a seminary of doctrine, so that they, made procient by study
and observation, will serve divine justice, and will become useful to
us, for the administration of justice and of laws which we urge
everyone to obey (Naples 1224).
Aims such as the advancement of learning and dissemination of
knowledge and education on one hand, and an adaptable qualication
and competence among the graduates for service in the public sector on
the other are repeated in the charters for 800 years. As late as 740 years
after Naples, the charter of the University of Brock states that The
objects and purposes of the University are the advancement of learning
and the dissemination of knowledge; and the intellectual, social, moral
and physical development of its members and the betterment of society
(Brock 1964).
The local rulers knew how to make use of the graduates in their
attempts to strengthen their positions alongside the church and the
national administration. In exchange for their support to the university
and the scholars, the rulers expected that they could recruit skilful
scholars in their courts in order to make the administrative machinery
run more eciently. The supplication wordings express a concern for
the educational needs of the local population with the rm belief that a
local university would in time make it unnecessary for talented citizens
to move elsewhere to study. The solicitude about a potential brain-drain
is thus not new. The political motives of the authorities in pursuit of new
universities are not manifest in the exchange of documents, but it is
known that political activities of the most various kinds have been the
most inuential of those underlying nearly all university ventures
(Ruegg 1992, p. 18).
As the spiritual leader of mankind, the Pope had to take everybodys
interest and wellbeing into account. Pope Boniface VIII uses the benets
for the region as a reason for the importance of the University of
Avignon. He regards it as
benecial for individual regions with pure faith that they have men
who are diligent in letters and apt for science and virtue. Thus
particular matters will be directed through their provident knowledge and procient foresight so that people dwelling in those areas

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197

respect law and justice, living in honour and authority, and enjoying
the bliss of peace (Avignon 1303).
The expectations of the benets from the graduates for the local
founders and the nation were recorded in the early charter for Naples of
1224. The papal bull for Rome is full of condence in the arts and
sciences, expressing the ardent wish that
the town be lled with the academic gifts, as they are decorated
with so many gifts of grace by the Divine benevolence. Thus it would
produce men of outstanding knowledge, equipped with virtues, and
well versed in various disciplines, and would be a refreshing well of
academic learning, from the fullness from which all aspiring to be
initiated into literary monuments could draw (Rome 1303).
Nearly identical wordings to that of Rome are found in several charters
of 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 disadvantages
and loss springing from the lack of scholars and learned men (Caen
1437).
An understandable reason to found a university in a local community
has been the lack of a university in the vicinity. The charter for the
University of Copenhagen reasons like this: there is no university
which the inhabitants of these cities, lands, towns and such places, and
those nearby regions who wish to advance in learning through studies
can attend (Copenhagen 1475). The lack of a local university left some
of the potential talents without teaching, and even the most eager to
learn had to spend a long time elsewhere to nish their university degrees. These journeys were known to be dangerous, and there was already some experience of losses, because most of the hopeful students
and graduates were lost forever, never to return home. Thus the concern
about the brain drain was not premature. The bull for Louvain expresses concern:
in those regions there yet seems to be no single city where even
one general study center of Letters operates, wherefore most from
those regions, while lacking the opportunity and practise of
studying, either they submit to ignorance in Letters or are obliged
to sojourn in distant parts in their craving for the basis of such
knowledge (Louvain 1425).

198

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

To use the current education policy jargon: searches for reserves of

talent have always been conducted. The charter for the University of
Prague considered it pressing to found the university so that the loyal
citizens incessantly craving for the fruits of the arts and sciences
could see that the meal is served in their own domain without them
having to beg for other peoples benevolence, and so that their natural
intelligence was cultivated into considerable prociency to make them
well-versed in the arts and sciences (Prague 1348). The bull for the
University of Caen even introduces an equal opportunity argument
not between the sexes though reasoning for better conditions for
scholarly activities by employing the reserves of talent: it would seem
neither decent nor fair if bright minds, most apt for arts and sciences as
well 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 world
much later. Equal access to higher education for both men and women
has only been mentioned in our material since the late 19th century. The
charter for the University of Adelaide prescribes that the degrees conferred by this university be recognized in the same way as those from
any British university, emphasising that such recognition may extend
to Degrees conferred on Women (Adelaide 1874/81). The University of
Stanford for its part was originally founded for both sexes (Stanford
1885). The most recent university charters take every form of prevention
of discrimination scrupulously into account, such as the revised Birmingham 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 in
the admission of students, or the appointment or promotion of sta
or 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 in
the charters of foundation. For instance, the charter for the University
of Groningen declares that the town could be regarded as a true home
of the Muses. The emphasis on the local natural resources and the
overall adequacy of the conditions is the way of pointing out that even a
large number of scholars and others with a thirst for knowledge would
manage in the town concerned. Furthermore, the charters emphasize

PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM

199

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 of
the right faith. The advancement of the Catholic faith and teaching
pronounced to be the only right one was systematically recorded in the
university charters. The scholars were subject to the canon law, and the
academic rights ultimately secured by the Pope. The benevolence of the
Popes to the scholars was not entirely altruistic, however, since they
wanted to make Catholic Church doctrine superior to other creeds,
prevent heresy from spreading, and strengthen their own power over the
authority of secular rulers as Ruegg (1992, pp. 1516) and Cobban
(1999, p. 3) state too. (Pamiers 1295, Cahors 1332, Cracow 1364, Vienna
1365, Heidelberg 1385 and Leipzig 1409).
Thus, the charters of foundation provide the universities, as well as
their graduates, with the mission of supervising the right, Catholic,
faith. Even the 13th-century Toulouse charter was meant to encourage
the strengthening and spreading of the right faith. Pope Gregory IX
founded the University of Toulouse in the Cathar area, where a bloody
crusade had just ended. The reason for founding the university was the
attempt to make the Catholic faith ourish again after it had nearly
disappeared in those parts(Toulouse 1233). When Granada, freed from
Islam in the 16th century, wished to have a university, it was natural to
consider religion (Granada 1531). Similarly, the supplication for the rst
university on the new continent mentioned Santo Domingo in what is
now called the Dominican Republic as a location, because the local
people were faithless worshippers of idols. Such faithlessness was to be
eradicated, and fertile trees be sown instead, and the faithless town
illuminated by sermons and the practice of genuine virtue (Santo
Domingo 1538).
The Catholic Church repeatedly fought various forms of heresy.
Particularly in the early modern period, religious frontiers such as
Turkey, Spain and America, recently discovered by Europeans, saw all
kinds of clashes. During the Reformation and Counter-Reformation the
struggle between religions is particularly apparent in the bulls for the
new Catholic universities. The Valencian bull represents the new university as the guardian of the faith, as if it were the best safeguard
against the godlessness of dishonest misbelievers and the persistence of
heretics (Valencia 1500). The position and signicance of the

200

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

universities as the defence of the correct faith is made very clear in the
bull for Osnabruck as well. They would seem essential as bulwarks
against heresy, and in supporting and managing parishes. Paraphrasing
the language of the times, the godless supporters of Luther and Calvin
in the neighbouring kingdoms and principalities have heretical schools
and academies of their own in accordance with the teachings of their
sect in Helmstadt, Bremen, Rintelens, Marburg, Giessen and probably
others as well. The large local population in that diocese conducts their
studies in them, scooping up the poison of heresy, and pouring it on the
town, the diocese and its people, as is known by experience (Osnabruck
1629).
The need to instruct the local heathen population in the Christian
faith was stressed in the charters of foundation of the rst colleges in the
British provinces on the new continent. The charter for Harvard College
of 1650 points out the signicance of the establishment for educating
not only the local British, but Indian youth as well. This is also specically recorded in the charter for Dartmouth College:
that there be a College erected in our said Province of New
Hampshire 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 and
expedient for civilizing & christianizing Children of Pagans as well as
in all liberal Arts and Sciences (Dartmouth 1769).
The repercussions of the religious wars went on for a long time, and
some universities changed denomination several times. The University
of Heidelberg converted from the Catholic to the Lutheran faith in
1558, to Calvinism in 1559, and back to Catholicism in 1629. A couple
of years later the university was Lutheran for a change, and Calvinist in
1652, until it settled down in the Catholic faith in 1700, with some
Calvinist chairs maintained to start with (Frijho 1996, pp. 8189). It
was not unheard of, either, that a university had two faculties of theology, one Protestant and the other Catholic. Of the two charters for the
University of Bonn at dierent times, the rst, from 1784, expresses the
wish that all heresies be excluded from this university, and that nothing
contrary to the Holy Faith, good manners and the statutes of the Holy
Roman Empire should appear (Bonn 1784), while the more recent
charter of 1818 establishes both a Catholic and an Evangelical Lutheran
faculty of theology (Bonn 1818).
Church and religion undergo a steady loss of signicance in the
charters of foundation for the European universities as we approach our

PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM

201

own time. The more liberal or pluralistic North American conditions

show in the emphasis on freedom of religion as early as the university
charters of the 18th century. The charter for Princeton records that
every Religious Denomination may have free and Equal Liberty
and 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 of
being elected trustees; nor shall any person, either as president,
professor, tutor or pupil, be refused admittance into said college, or
denied any of the privileges, immunities, or advantages, thereof, for
or on account of his sentiments in matter of religion (George
Washington 1821).
Freedom of religion has been mentioned nearly systematically in all
university charters ever since the 19th century. (Bualo 1846, California
1868, Adelaide 1874, Sheeld 1905, Leicester 1957 and Aga Khan
1983).

Training of public servants as the prima facie function

All authorities agreed on the universitys function of training public
servants from the outset. In the 13th century, the university towns
understood the benet of higher education and scholarly activities for
the town and the development of its administrative organization
(Ruegg 1992, p. 19; Grendler 2002, p. 100, p. 142, p. 159). The
training of public servants as the prima facie, the principal function of
the university, can be deduced from the fact that the curriculum has
always been formed to meet public needs to a great extent. Ever since
the 11th century, both ecclesiastical and secular machineries of
administration needed increasingly adaptable ocials to ll posts in
local and central administration in the church and the public sector.
The monastery and cathedral schools could by no means meet the
increasing demand, which oered the universities a great opportunity
to be in charge of training the most signicant public servants
(Cobban 1975, pp. 819). The scholars of Bologna, Paris, Padua and
Oxford were employed in various functions within the central and the
local administration as ambassadors, negotiators and consultants. The
scholars at the medical faculties found a place with the local
medical care (Kibre 1962, p. 30, pp. 4951, pp. 182183, pp. 215218,
pp. 320321).

202

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

In the late Middle Ages and the early modern period the central
administration extended in many countries, which eventually resulted in
increased demands for various kinds of public servant. The universities
were regarded as producers of the public servants required in civil and
ecclesiastic administration. The emerging modern states constantly
needed more training for their public servants, which made governments
eager 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 distinctly
dierentiated into two functions since the 15th century. The Bull for the
University of Copenhagen states that From the knowledge and
training of these same students there would in the course of time come
forth many fruits which could contribute to the administration of the
cities, lands and places and the propagation of the Catholic faith
(Copenhagen 1475). Similarly, the bull for the University of Valencia
emphasizes how their graduates would both benet the civil administration, and aid the salvation of souls (Valencia 1500), and the University of Jena charter expresses the wish that the university would make
the citizens suitable for government of the state, and other forms of
care for mortal men and their necessities (Jena 1557).
The importance of public servant training is also evidenced in the two
charters for Salzburg of 1620 and 1625, the two Osnabruck charters of
1629 and 1630, and the charter for Bamberg of 1648. Budapest was also
granted a university so that its graduates would be qualied for governing the Church as well as for state administration (Budapest 1635).
Queen Christina values academic teaching and education greatly in the
charter for the Academy in Turku, because they produce good government and order, the country and its people are directed and governed
in corporal matters as well as instructed in everything that can lead them
to the right knowledge of God, honour and virtue, as well as Christian
life (Turku/Abo 1640). This apparently innocent wording served the
Swedish Crown in expressing the view that universities were suited for
the central administration as its outposts in the remote parts of the
country, in this case the Finnish town called Turku/Abo.
The charter for the University of Yale emphasizes the absolute
necessity of such an establishment, wherein Youth may be instructed in
the Arts & Sciences who through the blessing of Almighty God may be
tted for Public employment both in Church & Civil State (Yale 1701).
The charter for the University of Bonn of the late 18th century contains
the wish that the students develop into men suited for both church and
state, able to assist both with their learned advice and knowledge of the

PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM

203

management of things (Bonn 1784). The demands of the government

and the church for well-trained public servants were maintained in the
charters of foundation throughout the centuries, from the 13th century
until today.

Academic studies as a panacea

Education and knowledge are represented in the university charters of
foundation as means of achieving widely diering goals, and are oered
as a panacea, a cure for the most various complaints. Academic studies
quench the thirst for knowledge, propagate wisdom, contribute to discovering the truth and disseminating both justice and faith, and promote
the idea of peace. The erudition produced by academic studies meant
bookish learning to start with, and better deciphering of old texts.
The bull for the University of Pamiers of 1295 has the wording often
recorded in the charters, with the wish that studies oering the laudable pearl of scholarship could nd a cultural medium everywhere,
particularly multiplying in places known to be appropriate for growing
the seeds of learning and for producing useful ospring. The bull for
Valencia emphasizes that the ideal government is directed by knowledge
gained through study, which is also represented as the instrument of
social advancement, not simply the education of youth. The bull states
that while other things reduce when they are shared, sharing of
knowledge increases the insight, the more people are favoured with it.
(Valencia 1500.) The authority issuing the Jena charter emphasizes the
importance of progress in study and scholarship, so that the subjects
would be appropriate for governing the country and providing for any
other necessity that the mortal men might need (Jena 1557).
Universal peace has also been represented among the benets of
academic studies. The bull for Louvain records how through academic
work peace and tranquillity is installed everywhere and the standard of
the whole human existence is raised (Louvain 1425). The bull for
Copenhagen proclaims:
We are aware that the study of letters furthers the salvation of
souls, decides insurgent controversies, procures peace and harmony
among men, distinguishes the lawful from the unlawful, rewards the
good and punishes the evil, and brings to the world other spiritual
and temporal advantages, both public and private (Copenhagen
1475).

204

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

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, once
the darkness of uncertainty is repelled, people expose their actions to
the light of truth (Montpellier 1289). To our knowledge the pursuit
of wisdom, truth-seeking and the thirst for knowledge besides
acquiring professional competence still make young people interested in universities. The fundamental questions involved in the pursuit of wisdom, truth and knowledge will be our subject in another
article.
The academic community has always managed to secure its vital
autonomy by trading its loyalty to those in power for its privileges. This
in turn ensures the indispensable freedom of thought, expression and
publishing on any subject regarded as relevant in the academic discourse.

Conclusion
Universities emerged from scholarly guilds based initially on the model
of craft guilds in order to safeguard the well-being and integrity of
scholars. Ecclesiastical and secular authorities soon realized the benets of higher education. They began to issue charters to found universities, that, as legal instruments, also determined the privileges of
the academic community. Since the 13th century the charters of
foundation issued by the Emperor, Pope or other rulers have distinguished the universities from other establishments granting them the
status of studium generale.
The Pope granted scholars the right to enjoy prebends in the student
years, the privilege of preferment in the church, and ius ubique docendi,
the teaching licence comprising the whole of the Western Christian
world. Scholars could teach at any university without having to nish
any more degrees. Because ius ubique docendi facilitated free movement
among scholars from one university to the other, it laid the foundation
of the universally applicable, fundamental principles of the academic
world still cherished today.
Both economic and legal privileges for the scholars were included in
the charters of foundation. The members of the academic community
were exempted from taxes, duties and other charges, as well as from
participation in work that was normally obligatory for citizens. The
university charters also made provisions for the scholars housing,

PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM

205

sustenance, and legal matters in particular. Academic citizens were

given special treatment in courts of justice.
The existence of the universities is justied by relatively similar sets of
arguments in the charters throughout the whole of the history of the
academic establishment. The local and national interest, strengthening
the proper faith, and training public servants have remained the reasons
for founding universities from the 13th century until now. Higher
education has throughout history been regarded as the solution to the
most diverse problems. Quenching the thirst for knowledge and promoting wisdom, truth, and justice have always been familiar reasons for
academic establishments. It has been known from the beginning that
studies pave the way to happiness for all mankind, both economic and
spiritual. Even achieving peace has been regarded as one of the reasons
for higher education.
Scholars have managed to maintain their privileged position
throughout the history of their existence, which stretches over almost
900 years. In exchange for the autonomy and privileges secured by the
authorities, scholars have known how to show a certain degree of loyalty to the public power. Scholars have been indispensable, both in the
church and civil administration, and in training public servants. A
certain degree of 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 and research.
The academic community has always leaned on certain unifying
elements, one of the most important being a common language, a
shared academic vocabulary converging the culturally and linguistically
heterogeneous members of the academic community (cf. Neave 2002).
For most of the history of the university, Latin was the lingua franca of
academics. When Latin was superseded by peoples own languages such
as Italian, French, or German, academics did not immediately adopt
these new languages within academia, but Latin remained the tool of
communication in the scholarly world until the 18th or 19th centuries.
In the 20th century English has gained more ground becoming a new
lingua franca in the academic world. In our material the last Latin
documents date from the 19th century.
In this article we have been able to identify a multitude of common
features shared by the universities throughout their history, but we can
end by stating that at least one thing has changed radically in the past
800900 years of the university: the rst universities were schools for the
ospring of the elite, but now they have become almost literally institutions of higher education for the masses.

206

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

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
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of

Naples
Toulouse
Salamanca
Rome
Valencia
Piacenza
Salamanca
Montpellier
Coimbra/Lisbon
Coimbra/Lisbon
Gray
Pamiers

(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)

1224
1233
1243
1245
1245
1248
1255
1289
1290
1290
1291
1295

14th Century
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of

Lleida
Fermo
Rome
Avignon
Orleans
Perugia
Dublin
Cambridge
Cahors
Grenoble
Verona
Pisa
Valladolid
Prague
Prague
Perpignan
Florence
Huesca
Siena
Pavia

(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(D)

1300
1303
1303
1303
1306
1307
1312
1318
1332
1339
1339
1343
1346
1347
1348
1349
1349
1354
1357
1361

PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM

207

Appendix. Continued
University of Padua
University of Cracow
University of Cracow
University of Vienna
University of Vienna
Univesity of Orange
University of Pecs
University of Lucca
University of Orvieto
University of Orange
University of Erfurt
University of Perpignan
University of Lisbon
University of Vienna
University of Heidelberg
University of Heidelberg
University of Kulm
University of Lucca
University of Cologne
University of Ferrara

(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)

1363
1364
1364
1365
1365
1365
1367
1369
1378
1379
1379
1379
1380
1385
1385
1386
1386
1387
1388
1391

15th Century
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of

(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)

1402
1404
1409
1409
1413
1415
1418
1418
1419
1422
1425
1431
1432
1437
1441
1444
1446

Wurzburg
Turin
Leipzig
Aix
St.Andrews
Calatayud
Copenhagen
Geneva
Rostock
Dole
Louvain
Poitiers
Caen
Caen
Bordeaux
Catania
Gerona

208

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

Appendix. Continued
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University

of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of

16th Century
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of

Nantes
Besancon
Barcelona
Barcelona
Glasgow
Valence
Trier
Freiburg
Greifswald
Ingolstadt
Valence
Basel
Huesca
Bourges
Pozsony
Genoa
Saragoza
Copenhagen
Mainz
Uppsala
Uppsala
Copenhagen
Palma
Tubingen
Siguenza
Aberdeen
Alcala

(B)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)

1449
1450
1450
1450
1451
1452
1454
1455
1455
1459
1459
1459
1464
1464
1465
1471
1474
1475
1476
1477
1477
1478
1483
1484
1489
1495
1499

Valencia
Valencia
Wittenberg
Seville
Wittenberg
Toledo
Marburg
Granada
Santo Domingo
Onate

(B)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)

1501
1502
1502
1505
1507
1521
1527
1531
1538
1540

PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM

209

Appendix. Continued
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University
University

of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of
of

17th Century
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of
University of

Macerata
Marburg
Almagro
Lima
Mexico
Burgo de Osma
Dillingen
Jena
Santiago de la Paz
Dillingen
Lima
Olomouc
Oviedo
Tarragona
Leiden
Wurzburg
Helmstedt
Avila
Vilnius
Vilnius
Olomouc
Edinburgh
Orthez
Dublin
Mexico

(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(B)

1540
1541
1550
1551
1551
1555
1556
1557
1558
1559
1571
1573
1574
1574
1575
1576
1576
1576
1578
1579
1581
1582
1583
1592
1595

Giessen
Groningen
Paderborn
Paderborn
Salzburg
Altdorf
Salzburg
Osnabruck
Osnabruck
Tartu
Budapest
Turku/Abo

(D)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)

1607
1614
1615
1615
1620
1622
1625
1629
1630
1632
1635
1640

210

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

Appendix. Continued
University of Bamberg
University of Bamberg
Harvard University
University of Kiel
University of Duisburg
University of Laval
University of Kiel
Lund University
University of Linz
University of San Cristobal de Huamanga
University of San Cristobal de Huamanga
College of William & Mary
University of Halle

(D)
(B)
(A)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(D)

1648
1648
1650
1652
1654
1663
1665
1666
1674
1680
1682
1693
1693

18th Century
Yale University
University of Breslau
University of Havanna
University of Caracas
University of Camerino
University of Havanna
University of San Felipe
University of Goettingen
University of Erlangen
Princeton University
Columbia University
Dartmouth College
University of Malta
University of Munster
University of Munster
University of Buenos Aires
University of Stuttgart
University of Bonn

(A)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(B)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(B)
(B)
(D)
(A)
(D)
(D)

1701
1702
1721
1721
1727
1728
1728
1737
1743
1746/8
1754
1769
1769
1773
1773
1779
1781
1784

19th Century
University of Michigan
University of Bonn
University of Virginia
George Washington University

(A)
(D)
(A)
(A)

1817
1818
1819
1821

PRIVILEGES OF UNIVERSITAS MAGISTRORUM ET SCOLARIUM

211

Appendix. Continued
University of St. Louis
Queens University
University of Notre Dame
Bishops University
Galway University
University of Bualo
University of Minnesota
McGill University
University of Sydney
University of Melbourne
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
University of California
Vanderbilt University
University of Adelaide
Stanford University
University of New Mexico
University of Chicago
Acadia University

(A)
(D)
(A)
(D)
(D)
(A)
(A)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)

1833
1841
1844
1843
1845
1846
1851
1852
1858
1859
1861
1868
1872/3
1874
1885
1889
1890
1891

20th Century
University of Birmingham
University of Leeds
University of Sheeld
University of Bristol
University of Ljubljana
University of Costa Rica
Concordia University
University of Southampton
University of Leicester
York University
Trent University
Brock University
University of Warwick
University of Ottawa
Jawaharlal Nehru University
University of Bath
University of Dundee
University of Bayreuth
University of Alicante

(D)
(D)
(D)
(D)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(D)
(D)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(D)
(A)
(A)
(D)
(D)
(A)
(A)

1900
1904
1905
1909
1919
1940
1948
1952
1957
1959
1962-63
1964
1965
1965
1966
1966
1967
1975
1979

212

OSMO KIVINEN AND PETRI POIKUS

Appendix. Continued
University of Kaiserslautern
Aga Khan University
Emory University
University of Waikato
University of Passau
University of Jaen
Al Akhawayn University
James Cook University
University of Konstanz

(A)
(D)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(A)
(D)
(A)
(A)

1982
1983
1987
1991
1992
1993
1993
1997
1999

Notes
1. The problem with pseudo-universities discussed in the early 21st century (Altbach
2001 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, our
texts 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 texts
have 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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