The university’s leadership from the 14th to the 19th century

Rector – Consistory – academic senate

Magnifice Domine Rector et Venerabile Consistorium: This title, to be found on many documents from the early Modern Age, names the university’s highest authorities: the rector as elected head of the university, who oversaw the official duties together with the Consistory, which was formed by the heads of the individual corporations.

In the Middle Ages and the early Modern Age, the university consisted of different sub-corporations like faculties and nations, which each represented separate legal bodies. These separate entities took care of their own official business, but were also integrated into the university’s general administration through deans and procurators. At the head of the overall corporation stood the head of the “community of teachers and students”, called the rector, who was elected for a certain period.