''Matricula'', a Latin word meaning a register, has several meanings in Christian antiquity. The word is applied first to the catalogue or roll of the clergy of a particular church; thus ''clerici immatriculati'' denoted the clergy entitled to maintenance from the resources of the church to which they were attached. Allusions to matricula in this sense are found in the second and third canons of the
Council of Agde
The Council of Agde was a regional synod held in September 506 at Agatha or Agde, on the Mediterranean coast east of Narbonne, in the Septimania region of the Visigothic Kingdom, with the permission of the Visigothic King Alaric II.
The Council ...
and in canon 13 of the
Fourth Council of Orléans
Fourth or the fourth may refer to:
* the ordinal form of the number 4
* ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971
* Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision
* Fourth (music), a musical interval
* ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...
(both of the sixth century).
As a registry, a matricula can also be used to refer to a document students sign at the beginning of their collegiate careers as part of a
matriculation
Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination.
Australia
In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...
ceremony that some colleges and universities perform for incoming students to formally mark the beginning of their studies.
Ceremonies Unit: Matriculation - Durham University
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A second use of the term was to refer to the ecclesiastical list of poor pensioners who were assisted from the church revenues; hence the names ''matricularii'', ''matriculariae'', by which persons thus assisted, together with those who performed menial services about the church, were known.
The house in which such pensioners were lodged was also known as ''matricula'', which thus becomes synonymous with ''xenodochium
In the early Middle Ages, a xenodochium or (from Ancient Greek , or ''xenodocheion''; place for strangers, inn, guesthouse) was either a hostel or hospital, usually specifically for foreigners or pilgrims, although the term could refer to charita ...
''.
References
* {{Catholic, wstitle=Matricula
Latin words and phrases