The State Archives jointly with Opole University published the oldest known version of the Laws of the Bar University of Padua from 1331. The publishing house is part of the Polish Science contribution to the celebration of the University’s 800th anniversary in Padua, in 2022.

The publication, prepared and published by the State Archives in cooperation with Opole University, contains photocopies of the oldest copy of the statutes of the University of Padua known to historians, the original of which is preserved in the Library of the Cathedral Classroom in Gennesno.

Laws from 1331, written in Latin, include principles of university work, supplemented by the beginning of the fifteenth century, including the award of doctoral degrees, the organization of lectures, the duties of booksellers, but also the settlement of disputes between students and writers, and student loans in cash from communes and university treasurers, To a student dormitory lease agreement or student wills. Most likely the copy was commissioned by Mikwaj Kiki (Kitcheki) – a relative of Andrzej Sackrzyk, Bishop of Poznan. According to scholars, Mikoaj Kiki ordered a copy of the decrees at that time when he was president of the University of Padua at the beginning of the fifteenth century, and then the document was transferred to the Gnizno class with the rest of the scholars. A wide range of books.

According to the professor. Miroswave Lennart, Team Leader for Initiatives Implemented on the Anniversary of the University of Padua, Appointed by the Minister of Science, the publishing house is exceptional.

“This is the first pictorial version of the law, and it is the oldest known version of this document in the world. Poles have been associated with it since the beginning of the University of Padua, and the Polish nation was one of the most numerous. Today we can find many Polish studies and evidence on the tremendous impact this has had. The university is based on Polish culture, and this time, thanks to many coincidences, it became clear that the Poles have become the keepers of the memory of one of the oldest universities in the world “- said Prof. Lennart.

The book “Statua Academiae Panudnae. Anno Domini MCCCXXXI” is available at State Archives in Opole. (PAP)

Author: Marek Shepanek

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