Purpose
A basis for the deposition was the idea that the arriving student was still wild and unpolished before his immatriculation – like an animal – and had to be relieved of the signs of his uncivilised state before he could be accepted as part of the University. The student only had to go through the deposition once in his life; he would receive a deposition certificate ("Depositionsschein" in German) which he could show in case of transferring to another university.
The deposition consisted of scolding, in which the unworthiness of the new student would be clarified to him, in ritual removal of animal-like artificial body parts with the help of over-dimensioned tools, as well as beating and other abuse, which would have the function of a purification ritual.
In the speeches at the ritual, models from classical antiquity for the deposition process would be cited. Reference would be made to the examination of the Spartan youth, to the customs of the Academy of Plato, and the water consecration among the Athenian Sophists of Late Antiquity.
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