Book editions of student registers from the 17th and 18th centuries are published

The Olomouc university registers are an invaluable source on the beginnings of higher education in Olomouc. They reveal valuable information about the students and the meaning and importance of the academy in the early modern period, when the Jesuits were active in Olomouc. Therefore, the Faculty of Arts of UP in cooperation with Palacký University Publishing House (VUP) on occasion 450th anniversary establishment of the University in Olomouc publishes a new book edition of the registers of the University of Olomouc from the years 1636–1729. He will present the publication together with the editors Libuší and Vladimír Spáčilová at a talk at the Museum of History in Olomouc on Monday, November 13, from 5 p.m. A special website matricula.upol.cz is also available to readers and historians.

A two-volume publication Matricula of the University of Olomouc (1636–1637) 1652–1729 represents the edition of the second oldest register of the University of Olomouc. It follows on from the previous book The oldest register of the University of Olomouc (1576) 1590–1651 from 2016 and continues to map the significant Jesuit period of Olomouc higher education. Olomouc University remained under the administration of the Jesuits until 1773.

“The Olomouc university registers are a golden grail not only for us historians. In them we can find information about the place of birth and the country of origin of graduated students, they often reveal blank spots in the lives of important historical figures. They allow us to look into the intricate network of contemporary social ties or the functioning of contemporary power structures and relationships, which were often formed precisely during the period of university studies. I am extremely glad that the Spáčils, with their precise editing work, were able to process the Olomouc university registers, an important part of the collective memory of the Palacký University, in just this comprehensive form,” says Jan Stejskal, Dean of the UP Faculty of Arts.

The presentation of both publications mapping the Olomouc university registers from the Jesuit period will take place as part of a discussion at the Olomouc National History Museum on Monday, November 13 from 5:00 p.m. The meeting will symbolically take place directly in the premises of the exhibition on the Jesuit history of Olomouc University called the Temple of Wisdom. Participation in the event is only possible for invited guests, however, a video recording will be made of the conversation, which will then be available on the website matricula.upol.cz.

“We are always happy when, in cooperation with active authors and an action institution, we manage to prepare a professional publication that has an overlap and works conceptually. Olomouc university registers are exactly this case. The result is not only a printed edition, but also an inspiring meeting on a symbolically important anniversary and a website that will make an important historical source available to inquisitive historians free of charge,” adds Aleš Prstek, director of VUP.

The edition of the oldest matrics of the University of Olomouc prepared by Libuší and Vladimír Spáčilová maps the period from the very foundation of the university in Olomouc in 1573 to the year 1729. Both publications are free to download in electronic format on the website matricula.upol.cz. Those interested in the printed book can visit the UP Publishing House e-shop.