Collegium Sapientiae (Heidelberg) Faculty
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The Collegium Sapientiae (Sapience College; College of Wisdom; ''Sapienzkolleg''; ''Sapienz''; ''Sapienz-Collegium'') was a preparatory academy and later
theological seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...
in
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...
in the
early modern The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
period. The ''Collegium Sapientiae'' was founded by Elector Frederick II in 1555 on the location of the former Augustinian Cloister in Heidelberg. Frederick received papal permission to redirect ecclesiastical revenues to support this preparatory academy for up to 60 poor students under the oversight of the arts faculty of the
University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...
. Under Elector Otto Henry, the foundation became an explicitly
Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
institution. The
Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...
Elector Frederick III, the Pious, transformed the school from a preparatory arts academy into a Reformed
theological seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...
in 1561. With this transformation, administration of the Collegium passed from the university to the church council. Under the leadership of
Zacharias Ursinus Zacharias Ursinus (born Zacharias Baer; 18 July 1534 – 6 May 1583) was a German Reformed theologian and Protestant reformer. He became the leading theologian of the Reformed Protestant movement of the Palatinate, serving both at the University ...
, the Collegium became a leading center of Reformed theological education in the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
and enrollments increased. Under Elector Ludwig IV, the institution returned to Lutheranism in 1577, and Reformed students left the school ''en masse''. The institution took on a Reformed character again during and after the regency of
Count Palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...
Johann Casimir John Casimir, Count Palatine of Simmern (German: ''Johann Casimir von Pfalz-Simmern'') (7 March 1543 – Brockhaus Geschichte Second Edition) was a German prince and a younger son of Frederick III, Elector Palatine. A firm Calvinist, he was a lea ...
from 1584, and there was a concomitant exodus of Lutheran students. Outstanding faculty in this period included
David Pareus David Pareus (30 December 1548 – 15 June 1622) was a German Reformed Protestant theologian and reformer. Life He was born at Frankenstein in Schlesien on 30 December 1548. At some point, he hellenized his original surname, ''Wängler'' (mean ...
,
Heinrich Alting Johann Heinrich Alting (17 February 1583 – 25 August 1644), German divine, was born at Emden, where his father, Menso Alting (1541–1612), was minister. Heinrich studied with great success at the University of Groningen and the Herborn Academ ...
, and
Bartholomäus Keckermann Bartholomäus Keckermann (c. 1572 – 25 August (or July) 1609) was a German writer, Calvinist theologian and philosopher. He is known for his ''Analytic Method''. As a writer on rhetoric, he is compared to Gerhard Johann Vossius, and consider ...
. The school closed with the
Electorate of the Palatinate The Electoral Palatinate was a Imperial State, constituent state of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by the Electorate of Baden in 1803. From the end of the 13th century, its ruler was one of the Prince-electors who elected the Holy ...
military occupation in the
Thirty Years War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine, or disease, whil ...
in the 1620s. After the restoration of the Palatine Wittelbachs in the aftermath of the war, Elector Karl Ludwig empowered the leading Swiss Scholar
Johann Heinrich Hottinger Johann Heinrich Hottinger (10 March 1620 – 5 June 1667) was a Swiss philologist and theologian. Life and works Hottinger studied at Geneva, Groningen and Leiden. After visiting France and England he was appointed professor of church history ...
to reopen the Collegium in 1656. The institution again suffered hardship as its structures were destroyed with much of the rest of Heidelberg in the Palatine Succession War in 1693. The school reopened in 1707 and continued in a humbler fashion until its final dissolution in 1805.Eike Wolgast, "Das Collegium Sapientiae in Heidelberg im 16. Jahrhundert," in ''Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins'' 147 (1999): 315-18


Further reading

* Johann Friedrich Hautz
Geschichte der Universität Heidelberg.
Mannheim: J. Schneider, 1862, especially pp. 438–443. * Andrew L. Thomas. ''A House Divided: Wittelsbach Confessional Court Cultures in the Holy Roman Empire, C. 1550-1650.'' Leiden: Brill, 2010, pp. 123–4. * Dirk Visser. ''Zacharias Ursinus the Reluctant Reformer--His Life and Times.'' New York: United Church Press, 1983. * Eike Wolgast, "Das Collegium Sapientiae in Heidelberg im 16. Jahrhundert," in ''Zeitschrift für die Geschichte des Oberrheins'' 147 (1999): 303-318. * Eike Wolgast. ''Die Universität Heidelberg. 1386–1986.'' Berlin: Springer, 1986, .


References


External links



Link no longer functional {{DEFAULTSORT:Collegium Sapientiae Educational institutions established in the 1500s Defunct universities and colleges in Germany Electoral Palatinate 1555 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire