Alma mater Pragensis

The earliest history of Charles University forms a significant part of the medieval university education system and its importance throughout Europe still makes it an important research subject for domestic and foreign historians. The very foundation of the university in Prague by Emperor Charles IV in 1348 raises many questions. Was it really the first university north of the Alps and east of the Rhine, or is it Erfurt that holds the primacy? The frequently discussed topics include the oldest seal of the university community. Did it originally only belong to the group of lawyers, who in 1372 formed an autonomous university within the Prague university studies? These and other questions and mysteries are answered by Professor František Šmahel, who has devoted nearly sixty years to the history of Prague University. This collection of 23 essays and discourses covering the period spanning 1348–1620 explains the methods of instruction at the faculties of arts and medicine, recounts the events associated with the Kutná Hora Decree and seeks the first traces of humanism in the academic environment. His focus however has always been primarily on the students and professors in Prague.