Deposition (university) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The deposition was a semi-official initiation

Initiation

Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...

ritual which was common at universities

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

throughout Europe from the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

until the 18th century. The ritual was introduced at German universities in the late 15th century, probably from the influential University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

. Models may have included the Freisprechung ritual in artisan guild

Guild

A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...

s, where apprentices were admitted to the status of journeymen.

Purpose

A basis for the deposition was the idea that the arriving student was still wild and unpolished before his immatriculation – like an animal – and had to be relieved of the signs of his uncivilised state before he could be accepted as part of the University. The student only had to go through the deposition once in his life; he would receive a deposition certificate ("Depositionsschein" in German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

) which he could show in case of transferring to another university.

The deposition consisted of scolding, in which the unworthiness of the new student would be clarified to him, in ritual removal of animal-like artificial body parts with the help of over-dimensioned tools, as well as beating and other abuse, which would have the function of a purification ritual.

In the speeches at the ritual, models from classical antiquity for the deposition process would be cited. Reference would be made to the examination of the Sparta

Sparta

Sparta or Lacedaemon, was a prominent city-state in ancient Greece, situated on the banks of the River Eurotas in Laconia, in south-eastern Peloponnese. It emerged as a political entity around the 10th century BC, when the invading Dorians subjugated the local, non-Dorian population. From c...

n youth, to the customs of the Academy of Plato

Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

, and the water consecration among the Athenian Sophists

Sophism

Sophism in the modern definition is a specious argument used for deceiving someone. In ancient Greece, sophists were a category of teachers who specialized in using the tools of philosophy and rhetoric for the purpose of teaching aretê — excellence, or virtue — predominantly to young statesmen and...

of Late Antiquity

Classical antiquity

Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...

Process

The arriving student would in the Middle Ages be known by the term beanus, derived from the French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

bec jaune, "yellow beak" (cf. English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

"green horn"). The beanus would be treated by his new fellow students as a pecus campi ("animal of the field") and outfitted correspondingly. He would have to don a hood with horns and put the teeth of a boar

Boar

Wild boar, also wild pig, is a species of the pig genus Sus, part of the biological family Suidae. The species includes many subspecies. It is the wild ancestor of the domestic pig, an animal with which it freely hybridises...

sticking out of his mouth. He would then have to listen to a speech about his own unworthiness. The animal-like traits would then be knocked off with the help of over-sized tools. The body of the student would be additionally abused, symbolizing the cleansing and beautification. During the process wood-working tools would be used, as the student still was an "uncouth man" (German ungehobelt, unplaned).

At the University of Leipzig

University of Leipzig

The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...

, the tools used in the deposition ritual are still preserved and kept in the art collection. The tools include those used for knocking off or polishing away the animal-like parts (axe

Axe

The axe, or ax, is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split and cut wood; to harvest timber; as a weapon; and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol...

, pliers

Pliers

Pliers are a hand tool used to hold objects firmly, for bending, or physical compression. Generally, pliers consist of a pair of metal first-class levers joined at a fulcrum positioned closer to one end of the levers, creating short jaws on one side of the fulcrum, and longer handles on the other...

, grindstone

Grindstone (tool)

A grindstone is a round sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools. They are usually made from sandstone.Grindstone machines usually have pedals in which to speed and slow the stone to sharpen metal to the point of perfection....

), tools for woodworking (plane

Plane (tool)

A hand plane is a tool for shaping wood. When powered by electricity, the tool may be called a planer. Planes are used to flatten, reduce the thickness of, and impart a smooth surface to a rough piece of lumber or timber. Planing is used to produce horizontal, vertical, or inclined flat surfaces on...

), and for personal hygiene (shaving

Shaving

Shaving is the removal of hair, by using a razor or any other kind of bladed implement, to slice it down to the level of the skin. Shaving is most commonly practiced by men to remove their facial hair and by women to remove their leg and underarm hair...

brush, shaving cream, shaving knife, ear spoon). Injuries to new students were common with the use of these tools.

After this, examinations would be carried out, and additional speeches of admonition would be held. Finally, the leader of the ritual would put salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

in the mouth of the beanus (sal sapientiae, "salt of wisdom"), pour wine

Wine

Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...

over his head (vinum laetitiae, "wine of joy") and declare him free of his "beanism".

After the payment of the relevant fee, an entrance examination would follow, carried out by a professor

Professor

A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...

, and the matriculation by the rector

Rector

The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...

of the university.

Normally a party would be held at the expense of the newly matriculated student or students, which would obviously be a significant burden for them. This custom was maintained even after the deposition had been abolished and would often be used excessively, leading to the prohibition of forcing the new students to participate in these parties.

Duties and responsibilities

In the Middle Ages, the deposition was led by the Rector, as the students in question would live and study under monastery

Monasticism

Monasticism is a religious way of life characterized by the practice of renouncing worldly pursuits to fully devote one's self to spiritual work...

-like circumstances.

In the Early Modern period

Early modern period

In history, the early modern period of modern history follows the late Middle Ages. Although the chronological limits of the period are open to debate, the timeframe spans the period after the late portion of the Middle Ages through the beginning of the Age of Revolutions...

, as the schools lost their ecclesiastical character and their finances were reduced, the Dean

Dean (education)

In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...

of the Faculty of Arts (later called the Faculty of Philosophy) would take over the task. In this faculty, the basic scholarly concepts (septem artes liberales) were taught. The teachers and the Dean were, as a rule, students in the "higher" faculties of medicine

Medicine

Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

, theology

Theology

Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...

or law

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

. It was during the Early Modern period that the custom of deposition slowly deteriorated into a farce. The position of depositor was taken over by the "pedell"; at the end of the 17th century, he would still demonstrate the tools and make out the deposition certificate for a fee.

In the 18th century, the responsibilities and duties of the depositor were still included in the statutes of a university determined by the ruler of the country. There were also detailed prescriptions on how to keep the tools.

The last known depositor at the University of Marburg was the pedell Johannes Georg Schimmelpfeng (1697–1785). In Jena, the deposition was abolished after the death of the last depositor in 1785. At the University of Leipzig, the deposition was prohibited by 1719, because of the excesses of the students.

Book printers

In the late Middle Ages, the new craft of book printing would be established in the vicinity of universities, and the printers – who, at the time, had no old traditions of their own – would borrow the custom of deposition. The deposition of book printers was abolished in 1803 because of the excesses. A reminder of it still exists in the custom of Gautschen.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.