Nation (university)
Encyclopedia
Student nations or simply nations (Latin: natio meaning being born) are regional corporations of student
s at a university. Once widespread across Europe in medieval times
, they are now largely restricted to the ancient universities of Sweden and Finland. The students, who were all born within the same region, usually spoke the same language, and expected to be ruled by their own familiar law. The most similar comparison in the Anglo-world to the nation system is in the collegiate system of older British universities or fraternities at American universities; however, both of these comparisons are imperfect.
there were the French
, Normans
, Picards
, and the English
, and later the Alemannian nation. Jean Gerson
was twice elected procurator for the French natio (i.e. the French-born students at the University) in 1383 and 1384, while studying theology
at Paris. Also at Paris, Germanic speakers were grouped into a single nation.
at the University of Leipzig
, established in 1409, where other nationes were those of the Saxonum
, Bavarorum
, and Polonorum
.http://books.google.ca/books?id=XtsAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA646&dq=%22natio+polonorum%22&lr=#PPA582,M1
, where from its opening in 1347 the studium generale
was divided among Bohemian, Bavarian, Saxon, and Polish nations. When there was not a "natio" of a given nationality, students were assigned to another nation.
, Nicolaus Copernicus
in 1496 enrolled into the natio germanorum (Natio of the Germans). a privileged university organization that included German-speaking students from many regions of Europe.
and Aalto University School of Science and Technology, there are legally-sanctioned nations established in the mid-1600s and 1800s, respectively. Organizations termed nations at other universities are legally considered associations.
, although their significance has largely been forgotten. Nations never existed at the University of Edinburgh
, and were abolished at St Andrews following discussions at the Royal Commission on the Universities of Scotland, which later led to the Universities (Scotland) Acts. Student nations continued into modern times at the University of Aberdeen
and the University of Glasgow
for the specific purpose of electing a Rector of the university.
and Lund
, a system of student nations
(nationer) remains, and until the summer of 2010 each student at the university were forced to enroll in a nation. It is now voluntarily but still most of the students choose to remain members. The nations are named on regional lines, where the nations in Lund take their names from provinces and areas in southern Sweden, and those in Uppsala take their names from all over Sweden, except for the Scanian lands, the traditional catchment area for Lund, which was founded in 1666 to provide higher education for the youth in the newly-conquered areas. (Until 2010, there was a "Skånelandens nation" in Uppsala, but it had no activity, and only existed as a legal fiction
for those students who did not wish to take part in the activities of the other nations.)
Traditionally, students were required to be members of the nations whose area one came from, but with one exception (Södermanland-Nerikes nation at Uppsala), this requirement is now voided. The nations are in charge of the kinds of social activities which are at other universities normally handled by the student unions, such as bars, clubs, theatre companies, orchestras, sports societies, and also some housing.
Student
A student is a learner, or someone who attends an educational institution. In some nations, the English term is reserved for those who attend university, while a schoolchild under the age of eighteen is called a pupil in English...
s at a university. Once widespread across Europe in medieval times
Medieval university
Medieval university is an institution of higher learning which was established during High Middle Ages period and is a corporation.The first institutions generally considered to be universities were established in Italy, France, and England in the late 11th and the 12th centuries for the study of...
, they are now largely restricted to the ancient universities of Sweden and Finland. The students, who were all born within the same region, usually spoke the same language, and expected to be ruled by their own familiar law. The most similar comparison in the Anglo-world to the nation system is in the collegiate system of older British universities or fraternities at American universities; however, both of these comparisons are imperfect.
University of Paris
In the University of ParisUniversity of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
there were the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, Normans
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
, Picards
Picardy
This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...
, and the English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, and later the Alemannian nation. Jean Gerson
Jean Gerson
Jean Charlier de Gerson , French scholar, educator, reformer, and poet, Chancellor of the University of Paris, a guiding light of the conciliar movement and one of the most prominent theologians at the Council of Constance, was born at the village of Gerson, in the bishopric of Reims in...
was twice elected procurator for the French natio (i.e. the French-born students at the University) in 1383 and 1384, while studying theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
at Paris. Also at Paris, Germanic speakers were grouped into a single nation.
University of Leipzig
There were also smaller subdivisions, even cities, like Natio Misnensium for students from MeissenMeissen
Meissen is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, the Albrechtsburg castle, the Gothic Meissen Cathedral and the Meissen Frauenkirche...
at the University of Leipzig
University of Leipzig
The University of Leipzig , located in Leipzig in the Free State of Saxony, Germany, is one of the oldest universities in the world and the second-oldest university in Germany...
, established in 1409, where other nationes were those of the Saxonum
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, Bavarorum
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, and Polonorum
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.http://books.google.ca/books?id=XtsAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA646&dq=%22natio+polonorum%22&lr=#PPA582,M1
Charles University
A similar division of students had been adopted at the Charles University in PragueCharles University in Prague
Charles University in Prague is the oldest and largest university in the Czech Republic. Founded in 1348, it was the first university in Central Europe and is also considered the earliest German university...
, where from its opening in 1347 the studium generale
Studium Generale
Studium generale is the old customary name for a Medieval university.- Definition :There is no clear official definition of what constituted a Studium generale...
was divided among Bohemian, Bavarian, Saxon, and Polish nations. When there was not a "natio" of a given nationality, students were assigned to another nation.
University of Bologna
At the University of BolognaUniversity of Bologna
The Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna is the oldest continually operating university in the world, the word 'universitas' being first used by this institution at its foundation. The true date of its founding is uncertain, but believed by most accounts to have been 1088...
, Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus
Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance astronomer and the first person to formulate a comprehensive heliocentric cosmology which displaced the Earth from the center of the universe....
in 1496 enrolled into the natio germanorum (Natio of the Germans). a privileged university organization that included German-speaking students from many regions of Europe.
Finland
At the University of HelsinkiUniversity of Helsinki
The University of Helsinki is a university located in Helsinki, Finland since 1829, but was founded in the city of Turku in 1640 as The Royal Academy of Turku, at that time part of the Swedish Empire. It is the oldest and largest university in Finland with the widest range of disciplines available...
and Aalto University School of Science and Technology, there are legally-sanctioned nations established in the mid-1600s and 1800s, respectively. Organizations termed nations at other universities are legally considered associations.
Scotland
Nations exist in some of the ancient universities in ScotlandScotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, although their significance has largely been forgotten. Nations never existed at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
, and were abolished at St Andrews following discussions at the Royal Commission on the Universities of Scotland, which later led to the Universities (Scotland) Acts. Student nations continued into modern times at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
and the University of Glasgow
University of Glasgow
The University of Glasgow is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ancient universities. Located in Glasgow, the university was founded in 1451 and is presently one of seventeen British higher education institutions ranked amongst the top 100 of the...
for the specific purpose of electing a Rector of the university.
Sweden
At the Swedish universities of UppsalaUppsala University
Uppsala University is a research university in Uppsala, Sweden, and is the oldest university in Scandinavia, founded in 1477. It consistently ranks among the best universities in Northern Europe in international rankings and is generally considered one of the most prestigious institutions of...
and Lund
Lund University
Lund University , located in the city of Lund in the province of Scania, Sweden, is one of northern Europe's most prestigious universities and one of Scandinavia's largest institutions for education and research, frequently ranked among the world's top 100 universities...
, a system of student nations
Nations at Swedish universities
The student nations or nationer at the two ancient universities in Uppsala and Lund, of which there are now thirteen at each university, are the oldest student societies in Sweden...
(nationer) remains, and until the summer of 2010 each student at the university were forced to enroll in a nation. It is now voluntarily but still most of the students choose to remain members. The nations are named on regional lines, where the nations in Lund take their names from provinces and areas in southern Sweden, and those in Uppsala take their names from all over Sweden, except for the Scanian lands, the traditional catchment area for Lund, which was founded in 1666 to provide higher education for the youth in the newly-conquered areas. (Until 2010, there was a "Skånelandens nation" in Uppsala, but it had no activity, and only existed as a legal fiction
Legal fiction
A legal fiction is a fact assumed or created by courts which is then used in order to apply a legal rule which was not necessarily designed to be used in that way...
for those students who did not wish to take part in the activities of the other nations.)
Traditionally, students were required to be members of the nations whose area one came from, but with one exception (Södermanland-Nerikes nation at Uppsala), this requirement is now voided. The nations are in charge of the kinds of social activities which are at other universities normally handled by the student unions, such as bars, clubs, theatre companies, orchestras, sports societies, and also some housing.