HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The University of Altdorf () was a
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
in
Altdorf bei Nürnberg Altdorf bei Nürnberg (, ) is a town in south-eastern Germany. It is situated 25 km east of Nuremberg, in the district Nürnberger Land. Its name literally means “Altdorf near Nuremberg”, to distinguish it from Altdorf (disambiguation), o ...
, a small town outside the
Free Imperial City of Nuremberg The Imperial City of Nuremberg (german: Reichsstadt Nürnberg) was a free imperial city — independent city-state — within the Holy Roman Empire. After Nuremberg gained piecemeal independence from the Burgraviate of Nuremberg in the High Mid ...
. It was founded in 1578 and received university privileges in 1622 and was closed in 1809 by
Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria Maximilian I Joseph (german: Maximilian I. Joseph; 27 May 1756 – 13 October 1825) was Duke of Zweibrücken from 1795 to 1799, prince-elector of Bavaria (as Maximilian IV Joseph) from 1799 to 1806, then King of Bavaria (as Maximilian I Joseph) ...
.


History

In the period 1614–1617 Altdorf was briefly the centre of
Socinianism Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...
in Germany. Encouraged by the connections of German
Antitrinitarians Nontrinitarianism is a form of Christianity that rejects the mainstream Christian doctrine of the Trinity—the belief that God is three distinct hypostases or persons who are coeternal, coequal, and indivisibly united in one being, or essence ...
to the
Racovian Academy The Racovian Academy ('' la, Gymnasium Bonarum Artium'') was a Socinian school operated from 1602 to 1638 by the Polish Brethren in Raków, Sandomierz Voivodeship of Lesser Poland. The communitarian Arian settlement of Raków was founded in 1569 b ...
in Poland, German and Polish
Socinians Socinianism () is a nontrinitarian belief system deemed heretical by the Catholic Church and other Christian traditions. Named after the Italian theologians Lelio Sozzini (Latin: Laelius Socinus) and Fausto Sozzini (Latin: Faustus Socinus), uncle ...
attempted to establish in Altdorf a similar Academy. Among the notable Socinian students was the 26-year-old
Samuel Przypkowski Samuel Przypkowski (Przipcovius, Pripcovius) (1592–19 April 1670, Königsberg) was a Polish Socinian theologian, a leading figure in the Polish Brethren and an advocate of religious toleration. In ''Dissertatio de pace et concordia ecclesiae'', p ...
. He was admitted as student on March 22, 1614, three weeks after
Thomas Seget Thomas Seget ( Seton?, 1569 – Amsterdam, 1627) was a Scottish poet who wrote in Latin. Seget is first recorded as a convert from Calvinism to Catholicism, attending the Scots College at Louvain in 1596, but did not stay long. Carrying a letter of ...
, but was expelled from Altdorf in 1616''The Polish Review'', Volume 11, 1966, p. 33. "Crypto-Socinianism" was widely suspected among the student body. In January 1617 the syndicus Jacob Weigel brought two students Joachim Peuschel and Johann Vogel back to Altdorf and the college made them give a public recantation. This recantation was answered by Valentin Schmalz, one the German professors of the Academy in Poland. Notable instructors include
Hugues Doneau Hugues Doneau, commonly referred also by the Latin form Hugo Donellus (23 December 1527, in Chalon-sur-Saône – 4 May 1591, in Altdorf bei Nürnberg), was a French law professor and one of the leading representatives of French legal humanism ( ...
,
Scipione Gentili Scipione Gentili ( la, Scipio Gentilis; 1563 – August 7, 1616) was an Italian law professor and a legal writer. One of his six brothers was Alberico Gentili, one of the fathers of international law. Born at San Ginesio, Scipione Gentili left I ...
, and
Daniel Schwenter Daniel Schwenter (Schwender) (31 January 1585 – 19 January 1636) was a German Orientalist, mathematician, inventor, poet, and librarian. Biography Schwenter was born in Nuremberg. He was professor of oriental languages and mathematics at ...
. Notable students include later imperial field marshals
Albrecht von Wallenstein Albrecht Wenzel Eusebius von Wallenstein () (24 September 1583 – 25 February 1634), also von Waldstein ( cs, Albrecht Václav Eusebius z Valdštejna), was a Bohemian military leader and statesman who fought on the Catholic side during the Th ...
(1583–1634) and
Gottfried Heinrich zu Pappenheim Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim (29 May 1594 – 17 November 1632) was a field marshal of the Holy Roman Empire in the Thirty Years' War. A supporter of the Catholic League, he was mortally wounded during the Battle of Lützen fight ...
(1594–1632);
Generalfeldwachtmeister ''Generalfeldwachtmeister'' is a historical military rank of general officer level in the armies of the German and Scandinavian countries, corresponding to the rank of ''maréchal de camp'' in France. A Generalfeldwachtmeister ranked above a brig ...
Hans Ulrich von Schaffgotsch Hans Ulrich von Schaffgotsch (28 August 1595 – 24 July 1635) was a Silesian nobleman and Generalfeldwachtmeister who fought in the Silesian front of the Thirty Years' War. He was falsely convicted of treason and executed following a purge with ...
(1595–1635); the polymath
Johann Schreck Johann(es) Schreck, also Terrenz or Terrentius Constantiensis, Deng Yuhan Hanpo 鄧玉函, Deng Zhen Lohan, (1576, Bingen, Baden-Württemberg or Constance – 11 May 1630, Beijing) was a German Jesuit, missionary to China and polymath. He is c ...
(1576–1630); the composers
Wolfgang Carl Briegel Wolfgang Carl Briegel (21 May 1626, Königsberg, Bavaria – 19 November 1712, Darmstadt, Germany) was a German organist, teacher, and composer.Noack and Schröder, ''Grove online'' Biography As a boy he was a student in Nuremberg and sang in th ...
(1626–1712) and
Johann Pachelbel Johann Pachelbel (baptised – buried 9 March 1706; also Bachelbel) was a German composer, organist, and teacher who brought the south German organ schools to their peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secularity, secular music, and h ...
(1653–1706); and the theologian
David Caspari David Caspari (5 March 1648 – 28 February 1702) was a German Lutheran theologian. He was the father of Georg Caspari. Born in Königsberg, Duchy of Prussia, Caspari studied at the Albertina and the universities of Jena, Wittenberg, Leipzig, ...
(1648–1702). The
polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Gottfried Wilhelm (von) Leibniz . ( – 14 November 1716) was a German polymath active as a mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat. He is one of the most prominent figures in both the history of philosophy and the history of mathema ...
(1646–1716), perhaps most famous for co-discovering
calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...
, received his
Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...
from the University of Altdorf for his
habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
thesis in philosophy, '' On the Art of Combinations''. However, he only submitted this thesis to Altdorf after the
University of Leipzig Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 Decemb ...
did not guarantee him a position teaching law upon graduation.


See also

*
List of early modern universities in Europe The list of early modern universities in Europe comprises all universities that existed in the early modern age (1501–1800) in Europe. It also includes short-lived foundations and educational institutions whose university status is a matter o ...


Notes


References

* * Moran, Bruce T., The Universe of Philip Melanchthon: Criticism and Use of the Copernican Theory, Comitatus: A Journal of Medieval and Renaissance Studies, 4(1), 1973., pp. 1–23. Altdorf A Altdorf Altdorf 1809 disestablishments in Bavaria 1578 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 16th-century establishments in Bavaria {{Bavaria-struct-stub