History Marsilius von Inghen

The patron saint of the Kolleg, Marsilius von Inghen, was not only the founding Rector of the University of Heidelberg (1386), but as a teacher of both the Liberal Arts and Theology, he vividly embodied the conception of the universitas at the time. 

Item citra medium rectorie recedente rectore propter epidemiam et guerras et una secum magistris Hertleuo de Marka et Theoderico de Monasterio et fere simul omnibus scolaribus paucis in comparacione demptis. Substitutus fuit magister Marsilius de Inghen. Et intitulati sunt sub eo in parte eiusdem rectorie sequentis …

[Furthermore, even before the middle point of this rectorate, when the rector left along with the Magister Hartlieb of Mark and Dietrich of Münster, not to mention all the students at the same time, with comparatively few exceptions due to the plague and the turmoil of war, Magister Marsilius of Inghen was appointed as replacement <rector>. The following students were enrolled under him in the further part of the same rectorate.]

[marginal note on the right] Attende hic recessum rectoris propter epydemiam et guerras et fere omnium scolarium et erectionem studii Coloniensis.

[Note here the departure of the rector due to the plague and the turmoil of war as well as almost all students and the reestablishment of the University of Cologne]

Paris Beginnings

Marsilius of Inghen, along with the princely benefactor Ruprecht I, succeeded in attracting an illustrious name from the European university landscape to the Neckar. Presumably born around 1330 in the province of Guelders in the Netherlands, Marsilius of Inghen is first documented in the sources in 1362 at the University of Paris, where he gave his inaugural lecture as “Magister Artium” on September 27. As a student of Johannes Buridanus, the influential founder of a logical-empirical natural philosophy, he enjoyed great success as a teacher in Paris. He was also awarded several important offices at the University of Paris-Seine and was its rector in 1367 and 1371. His league of universities, the Natio Anglicana, united teachers and students from Germany, Hungary, Bohemia, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Scotland, England, and Ireland, while also entrusting him with corporate functions on several occasions.

The Great Schism

In the years 1368 and 1376, Marsilius represented the University of Paris as a special representative to the papal curia in Avignon. In 1377/1378, Marsilius was one of Pope Gregory XI’s companions on his journey to Rome. He was also there in 1378 when the Great Schism began with the election of Urban IV. For half a century, Christendom was shaken by the turmoil surrounding the papal cathedra; at times there were even three fierce contenders for the office. Marsilius had warned of the consequences early on: he wrote from Rome to Paris that the Church of God had not been in such danger for 100 years. In the late 1370s, the documentation trail of Marsilius’ life disappears. There is no documentation regarding when he left Paris and to which location. The University of Paris was beginning to lose its international standing in the dispute over the legitimate pope.

The Founding of the University of Heidelberg

The deficit-ridden German education system benefited from Germans leaving French universities, which was initiated by Charles IV at a university in Prague and the Habsburg foundation competitor in Vienna. In the second half of the 14^th century, Central and Eastern Europe began to establish universities, which also included the Heidelberger Stiftung. The Palatine general studies program based on the Parisian model was ceremoniously opened on October 18 with a mass “de sancto spiritu” in the Chapel of the Holy Spirit in the presence of the only three Magisters in the service of the University. In addition to Marsilius, these were Heilmann Wunnenberg from Prague, also a teacher in the Faculty of Arts, and the theologian Reginald of Alna, a Cistercian from Aulne Abbey near Liège, who came to Heidelberg from Paris.

Literary Works of Marsilius

Marsilius’ literary work was closely tied to his many years of teaching. As a professor at the Facultas Artium, he made a name for himself in the field of logic and theoretical philosophy. His exhaustive body of work, including many commentaries on Aristotle’s writings, became standard textbooks at European universities. Parallel to his teaching activities at the Heidelberg Faculty of Arts, Marsilius also continued his theological studies, which he began in Paris around 1366. In the academic year 1395/96, he was the first to obtain a doctorate in theology in Heidelberg. He also left behind several theological works; his extensive commentary on the four books of Petrus Lombardus, for example, has survived both in its original and in print.