The ''album amicorum'' ('album of friends', friendship book) was an early form of the

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

book, the

autograph book An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. '' Webster's Third New Inter ...

and the modern friendship book. It emerged during the Reformation period, during which it was popular to collect

autograph An autograph is a person's own handwriting or signature. The word ''autograph'' comes from Ancient Greek (, ''autós'', "self" and , ''gráphō'', "write"), and can mean more specifically: Gove, Philip B. (ed.), 1981. ''Webster's Third New Intern ...

s from noted reformers. In the 1700s, the trend of the friendship book was still mainly limited to the Protestant people, as opposed to the

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

. These books were particularly popular with university students into the early decades of the 19th century. Noteworthy are the pre-printed pages of a friendship book ( Stammbuchblatt) from 1770 onwards, published as a loose-leaf collection by the

bookbinder Bookbinding is the process of building a book, usually in codex format, from an ordered stack of paper sheets with one's hands and tools, or in modern publishing, by a series of automated processes. Firstly, one binds the sheets of papers alon ...

and pressman Johannes Carl Wiederhold (1743-1826) from

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

Application

In a friendship book, two or more people vowed each other their friendship through filling out a page in the other person's album. This usually took place during special occasions, like festivities or on the departure from one's place of study. The entry could then be renewed during reunions or on the occasion of another festivity. Therefore, the friendship book created the opportunity to have a lifelong memory of the book-owners childhood friends. Apart from that, the friendship books constituted a collection of autographs from professors (Cf. student scene in "Faust") and from other respected people like

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

aristocrats Aristocracy (; ) is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. Across Europe, the aristocracy exercised immense economic, political, and social influence. In Western Christian co ...

and prominent figures, since the books often served as

letters of recommendation Letter, letters, or literature may refer to: Characters typeface * Letter (alphabet), a character representing one or more of the sounds used in speech or none in the case of a silent letter; any of the symbols of an alphabet * Letterform, the g ...

for students switching universities. Through asking a person of a higher rank to sign one's friendship book, the opportunity to reel in potential patrons and protectors for the holder also opened up.

Content and meaning

In its full form an entry would have a personal note, such as a handwritten

greeting Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between individ ...

, a poem (of one's own composition) or other small literary texts. Poems that were titled To * (*replaces the name of the owner) were usually meant to be for a friendship book. Stammbuchblatt Rhenania Heidelberg

Ideally, the person writing the entry mentions the date and place next to their personal note or poem. The designed page usually contained a life

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

written as a symbolum (line or quote). Signing the page created is essential. Moreover, this signature did not only contain the authors name, but also the faculty where they studied and where they came from is written down. Additionally, right before the name of the person who wrote the entry, a Dedikationsformel (a set phrase to state that this page is a dedication to the owner of the book) was included. This Dedikationsformel was used to ask the owner to memorize the author (memoriae causa scripsi ... engl. "while reading those lines think of ... "). This style is still up to date in

s of (primarily) young girls. More artistic authors sketched colourful pen and ink

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

s. With not everyone being artistically skilled, a new market was created in the 18th century. Pre-designed friendship book sheets were sold, which could be filled in with individual information. Sheets displaying pictures of

Universities A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

or images related to the students everyday life were highly popular designs for friendship books. The entry topics emerged from the student's shared experience of university life. The various forms of

students' unions A students' union or student union, is a student organization present in many colleges, universities, and high schools. In higher education, the students' union is often accorded its own building on the campus, dedicated to social, organization ...

that were common in the respective centuries were reflected in those book sheets. The friendship book sheets are an important

historical source A historical source encompasses "every kind of evidence that human beings have left of their past activities — the written word and spoken word, the shape of the landscape and the material artefact, the fine arts as well as photography and film." ...

for the history of the university as the students' unions were oftentimes banned until 1848. There is only very little written records, especially about the student orders from the second half of the 18th century. In such cases, the mostly personal entries on the album sheets often represent the only source. For reasons of

confidentiality Confidentiality involves a set of rules or a promise sometimes executed through confidentiality agreements that limits the access to or places restrictions on the distribution of certain types of information. Legal confidentiality By law, la ...

, the students invented a variety of cryptographic elements through which they confirmed their belonging to the order without anyone being able to prove it. The union's identity symbols emerged from those cryptographic elements that are still partially used by the students' unions today. The circle or the federal symbol for example, occur in every student

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. File:Bound collection of Albums Amicorum belonging to Michael van Meer.jpg File:Page one of the register of autographs collected by Michael Van Meer.jpg File:One of the earliest depictions of land wind-surfing. From the album amicorum of Michael van Meer.jpg File:Coat of arms. From the album amicorum of Michael Van Meer.jpg File:Coat of arms, and associated illustration. From the album amicorum of Michael Van Meer.jpg File:Illustration of Windsor Castle, England. From the album amicorum of Michael Van Meer.jpg File:Coat of arms of Johan Skytte. From the album amicorum of Michael Van Meer.jpg File:Illustration of the Lord Mayor of London in procession. Part of the Album amicorum of Michael Van Meer.jpg

Literature

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Digitalisat
. * Walter Blankenburg, Fritz Lometsch: ''Denkmal der Freundschaft. Studenten-Stammbücher 1790–1840'' (= ''Druck der Arche.'') 60, . Lometsch, Kassel 1969. * Lotte Kurras: ''Zu gutem Gedenken. Kulturhistorische Miniaturen aus Stammbüchern des Germanischen Nationalmuseums. 1550–1770.'' Prestel, München 1987, . * Hans Günther Bickert, Norbert Nail: ''Liebenswertes Lahn-Athen. Das 300jährige Jubelfest der Philipps-Universität. Die erste Ehrenpromotion einer Frau. Ein Blick in Marburger Stammbücher'' (= ''Schriften der Universitätsbibliothek Marburg.'' 65). Universitätsbibliothek Marburg, Marburg 1992, . * Christine Göhmann-Lehmann: ''"Freundschaft – ein Leben lang …" Schriftliche Erinnerungskultur für Frauen.'' Museumsdorf Cloppenburg, Cloppenburg 1994, (Ausstellungskatalog). * Norbert Nail: ''"Semper lustig. Nunquam traurig." Marburger Studenten im Stammbuch des Conrad Westermayr.'' In: ''Alma mater philippina.'' Sommersemester 1994, , S. 22–25, (Illustriert). * Horst Steinhilber: ''Von der Tugend zur Freiheit. Studentische Mentalitäten an deutschen Universitäten 1740–1800'' (= ''Historische Texte und Studien.'' 14). Olms, Hildesheim u. a. 1995, (Zugleich: Stuttgart, Universität, Dissertation, 1994). * Werner Taegert: ''Edler Schatz holden Erinnerns. Bilder in Stammbüchern der Staatsbibliothek Bamberg aus vier Jahrhunderten.'' Staatsbibliothek Bamberg, Bamberg 1995, . *

Rolf Wilhelm Brednich Rolf Wilhelm Brednich (8 February 1935 – 30 November 2023) was a German Europeanist ethnologist and ethnographer (''Volkskundler'') and folklorist. Biography Rolf Wilhelm Brednich was born on 8 February 1935. He studied ''Volkskunde'', Germ ...

: ''Denkmale der Freundschaft. Die Göttinger Stammbuchkupfer – Quellen der Kulturgeschichte.'' Bremer, Friedland 1997, . * Walter M. Brod: ''Aus einem fränkischen Stammbuch – Bütthard und Umgebung. Stammbuchblätter aus der Studienzeit des Michael Joseph Weber, Würzburg. 1817–1822.'' Institut für Hochschulkunde, Würzburg 1997. * ''Der Freundschaft Denkmal. Stammbücher und Poesiealben aus fünf Jahrhunderten.'' An exhibition in the Buchmuseum der SLUB, February 25 to June 27, 1998. Saxon State Library – Staats - und Universitätsbibliothek Dresden, Dresden 1998. * Gilbert Heß: ''Literatur im Lebenszusammenhang. Text- und Bedeutungskonstituierung im Stammbuch Herzog Augusts des Jüngeren von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (1579–1666)'' (= ''Mikrokosmos. Beiträge zur Literaturwissenschaft und Bedeutungsforschung.'' 67). Lang, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 2002, (Zugleich: München, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Dissertation, 2001). * Rosemarie Schillemeit (Hrsg.): ''Das Stammbuch des Benedict Christian Avenarius. Zeugnisse eines Studenten- und Hofmeisterlebens in Göttingen, Braunschweig und im Leipzig des jungen Goethe. Mit Erläuterungen und einer Lebensbeschreibung'' (= ''Braunschweiger Beiträge zur deutschen Sprache und Literatur.'' 4). Verlag für Regionalgeschichte, Bielefeld u. a. 2002, . * Werner Wilhelm Schnabel: ''"Kurtz=Sinn=reiche Sprüche". Barocke Mustersammlungen für Albuminskriptionen.'' In: ''Morgen-Glantz. Zeitschrift der Christian-Knorr-von-Rosenroth-Gesellschaft.'' 12, 2002, , S. 101–133. * Werner Wilhelm Schnabel: ''Das Stammbuch. Konstitution und Geschichte einer textsortenbezogenen Sammelform bis ins erste Drittel des 18. Jahrhunderts'' (= ''Frühe Neuzeit.'' 78). Niemeyer, Tübingen 2003, (Zugleich: Erlangen-Nürnberg, Universität, Habilitations-Schrift, 2000). * ''Stammbuch des Johann Bernhard Wilhelm Sternberger aus Meiningen, seit 1773 Student der Rechte in Jena. Jena, Thüringer Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek, Stb. 90.'' Faksimile. 2 Bände (Faksimile-Bd. Kommentar-Bd. von Joachim Ott). Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena u. a., Jena 2004, . * Ulrich Rasche: ''Cornelius relegatus in Stichen und Stammbuchbildern des frühen 17. Jahrhunderts. Zur Memoria studentischer Standeskultur in deren Formationsphase.'' In: ''450 Jahre Universität Jena'' (= ''Einst und Jetzt.'' 53). Schmidt, Neustadt an der Aisch 2008, , S. 15–47. * Volker Schäfer: ''Das Stammbuch des Tübinger Stiftlers August Faber mit seinem Hölderlin-Eintrag von 1789.'' In: Sönke Lorenz, Volker Schäfer (Hrsg.): ''Tubingensia. Impulse zur Stadt- und Universitätsgeschichte. Festschrift für Wilfried Setzler zum 65. Geburtstag'' (= ''Tübinger Bausteine zur Landesgeschichte.'' 10). 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Studies presented to Ulrich Kopp in his retirement'' (= ''Studies in reading and book culture.'' 1). University of Tartu Press, Tartu 2014, , S. 261–278. * Werner Wilhelm Schnabel: ''Das Album Amicorum. Ein gemischtmediales Sammelmedium und einige seiner Variationsformen.'' In: Anke Kramer, Annegret Pelz (Hrsg.): ''Album. Organisationsform narrativer Kohärenz.'' Wallstein, Göttingen 2013, , S. 213–239, (''open access'': FWF-E-Book-Library: https://e-book.fwf.ac.at/o:340). * Margarete Zimmermann, Stephanie Bung: ''Salonalben. Kollektive Gedächtniswerke der Frühen Neuzeit'' mit einem ''Exkurs zu 'La Guirlande de Julie.'' In: Anke Kramer, Annegret Pelz (Hrsg.): ''Album. Organisationsform narrativer Kohärenz.'' Wallstein, Göttingen 2013, , S. 254–270, (''open access'': FWF-E-Book-Library: https://e-book.fwf.ac.at/o:340). * Georg Objartel: ''Memorabilien in Studenten-Stammbüchern.'' In: Georg Objartel: ''Sprache und Lebensform deutscher Studenten im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert. Aufsätze und Dokumente'' (= ''Studia Linguistica Germanica.'' 123). De Gruyter, Berlin u a. 2016, , S. 105–126. * Peter Hartwig Graepel: ''Pharmaziehistorisch relevante Stammbücher. Autographen deutscher Apotheker. Miniaturen mit Apothekenansichten und pharmazeutischen Tätigkeiten'' (= ''Gladenbacher Beiträge zur Geschichte des deutschen Apothekenwesens.'' 3). Peter Hartwig Graepel, Gladenbach 2016, .

References

{{Authority control History of books Student culture Literary genres Poetry books

Application

Content and meaning

See also

Literature

References