Process
The arriving student would in the Middle Ages be known by the term beanus, derived from the French bec jaune, "yellow beak" (cf. English "greenhorn"). The beanus would be treated by his new fellow students as a pecus campi ("animal of the field") and outfitted correspondingly. He would have to don a hood with horns and put the teeth of a boar sticking out of his mouth. He would then have to listen to a speech about his own unworthiness. The animal-like traits would then be knocked off with the help of over-sized tools. The body of the student would be additionally abused, symbolizing the cleansing and beautification. During the process wood-working tools would be used, as the student still was an "uncouth man" (German ungehobelt, unplaned).
At the University of Leipzig, the tools used in the deposition ritual are still preserved and kept in the art collection. The tools include those used for knocking off or polishing away the animal-like parts (axe, pliers, grindstone), tools for woodworking (plane), and for personal hygiene (shaving brush, shaving cream, shaving knife, ear spoon). Injuries to new students were common with the use of these tools.
After this, examinations would be carried out, and additional speeches of admonition would be held. Finally, the leader of the ritual would put salt in the mouth of the beanus (sal sapientiae, "salt of wisdom"), pour wine over his head (vinum laetitiae, "wine of joy") and declare him free of his "beanism".
After the payment of the relevant fee, an entrance examination would follow, carried out by a professor, and the matriculation by the rector of the university.
Normally a party would be held at the expense of the newly matriculated student or students, which would obviously be a significant burden for them. This custom was maintained even after the deposition had been abolished and would often be used excessively, leading to the prohibition of forcing the new students to participate in these parties.
Read more about this topic: Deposition (university)
Famous quotes containing the word process:
“At the heart of the educational process lies the child. No advances in policy, no acquisition of new equipment have their desired effect unless they are in harmony with the child, unless they are fundamentally acceptable to him.”
—Central Advisory Council for Education. Children and Their Primary Schools (Plowden Report)
“In contrast to revenge, which is the natural, automatic reaction to transgression and which, because of the irreversibility of the action process can be expected and even calculated, the act of forgiving can never be predicted; it is the only reaction that acts in an unexpected way and thus retains, though being a reaction, something of the original character of action.”
—Hannah Arendt (1906–1975)
“Like a prophet, you are possibly teaching us about the workings of the divine mind, but in the process you are ruining the human mind, dear friend.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)