Included here are:

(1) terms referring to the physical aspects of books and manuscripts (especially those specific to the preserved lecture notes),

(2) terms referring to lectures and university life in Kant’s day,

(3) place names and institutions in Königsberg,

(4) terms from the wider 18th century German culture (as might occur in the context of the brief biographies offered in these pages), and

(5) abbreviations that are often used in these pages.

If you are looking for an online glossary of Kant's philosophical terminology, try one prepared by Palmquist.

[top]  A   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Abitur: An examination (now: a set of examinations) taken near the end of studies at the Gymnasium, in preparation for matriculating for study at a university. Now universal in Germany, they were first introduced by von Zedlitz [bio] in 1788. [more]

Abschrift: Copy (see entry for: Nachschrift)

ADB: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie, 56 vols. (Berlin: Duncker and Humblot, 1971, ¹1912). [see: Biographical and Other Reference Works]

Academicum repetit: This was entered into the matriculation records whenever someone resumed membership in the academic community, with all its various rights and privileges. [more] Thus, when an individual is entered as academicum repetit, then we can assume two things: (1) he was once a member of the university (typically, as a student), and (2) he had left the community for some time (such as to study at another school, or for extended travel). It should be noted, however, that Kant was never re-matriculated at Königsberg, despite his absence of about six years when he was working as a Hofmeister in the surrounding region.

Akademie Ausgabe: “Academy edition” (often abbreviated as ‘Ak.’ or ‘AA’) – this is the edition of Kant’s Collected Writings (Kant’s Gesammelte Schriften) published by the Prussian Academy of Sciences (and then the German Academy of Sciences of Berlin, the Academy of Sciences of the DDR, the Göttingen Academy of Sciences, and now the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences). See the overview of the Academy Edition.

Albertina: The proper name of the university at Königsberg was Academia Albertina, after its founder Albrecht, the duke (Herzog) of Prussia. For a description of the buildings, see Collegium Albertinum.

Altstadt: See entry for: Königsberg.

Alumnat: Occasionally also called the “Collegium Albertinum,” this was actually a group of rooms within the Collegium Albertinum next to the cathedral where poorer students could live free of charge and eat at a subsidized rate in the Convictorium (see). (See the discussion of Student Finances.) We learn from Kant’s correspondence that the full professor of mathematics was traditionally also the inspector of the Alumnat, for which he received free lodging there and a salary of 88 rthl. per year (see Kant’s letter to Fürst Küpferberg of 16 March 1770, in which Kant suggests Christiani for Langhansen’s chair of mathematics). Presumably this position of inspector fell to the mathematics professor because the observatory and related instruments were at the college, and astronomy was treated within that discipline.

ALZ: The Allgemeine Literatur-Zeitung was founded by Christian Gottfried Schütz and Gottlieb Hufeland, a daily four-page journal devoted primarily to book reviews. It appeared from January 1785 until December 1803, after which Schütz moved it to Halle,⁠ Having published the Allgemeinen Literatur-Zeitung in Jena (1785-1803), this newspaper was moved to Halle, along with its ancillary Intelligenzblatt, publishing there from 1804-1849 and retaining the same name (and continuing to date the individual issues of the Intelligenzblatt). A similar newspaper was begun in Jena in 1804 with a confusingly similar name: Jenaische Allgemeinene Literatur-Zeitung, also with an Intelligenzblatt, only here the separate issues are numbered but not dated. where it continued until 1849. Kant published several reviews from its inception, and the journal quickly became an important organ for Kant’s new philosophy. They also published an extensive Allgemeines Repertorium der Literatur, organized by discipline, that was intended to be a universal bibliography of all publications of a certain period (volume one, published in 1793, covered publications appearing from 1785-1790).

Amanuensis: “Today it has the meaning of those copyists or writers who write down everything that is dictated to them” [Zedler’s Universal-Lexikon (1732)]. A commonly-used synonym of the day was famulus (although the latter has a wider meaning)[see]. Each member of the academic senate was given the use of one amanuensis (in the form of being given a free portion of food in the university cafeteria for the purpose of feeding the student, who was drawn from the population of Prussian students).⁠ Arnoldt [1746, 2: 69]:
“The senators receive nothing in addition to their normal salaries, except for a bit more grain, as noted in Pt. I, p. 90, and they have the free use of a student, as an amanuensis, who may eat in the Convictorium for no more than 2 Gröschen per week, the same as the scholarship-students, and when he brings the proper certificate, can do this indefinitely [viz., for as long as the student is serving as an amanuensis; the scholarship-students receive subsidized meals for no more than two years], as noted in Pt. I, p. 316.”
“Die Senatores genüßen über dem ordentlichen Gehalt sonsten nichts, als etwas mehr an Getreide, wie solches im I. Th., S. 90, angemerket worden, und haben die Freyheit einen Studiosum, als Amanuensem, in der Communität in der Art speisen zu laßen, daß derselbe nichts mehr als 2 Ggr. wöchtentlich an Kostgeld, gleich den Alumnis, erlegen darf, und wenn er die gehörige Zeugniße beybringet, ohne Einschränkung der Zeit darinn bleiben kan, wie im I. Th., S. 316 angezeiget ist.”
See also Goldbeck [1782, 125]. Kant appears to have made use of this privilege, and retained his amanuenses primarily for writing out clean copies of manuscripts for publication (but not oral dictation), as well as to run errands, keep his lecture room orderly, and to deal with disruptive students, etc.

List of Kant’s amanuenses: His first semester on the Academic Senate (in the capacity as dean of the philosophy faculty) was SS 1776, and it appears that he retained (1) Ehregott Andreas Wasianski [bio], who would later write one of the early Kant biographies. Kant may well have kept an amanuensis continuously after 1780 (when he became a permanent member of the senate), but we have closer information only on (2) Johann Benjamin Jachmann [bio], who likely served from spring 1784 to summer 1788,⁠ (Footnote: See Hamann’s letter (10 Aug 1784) to Hartknoch: “Kant’s Amanuensis, Jachmann, is working diligently on the Prodromo of the metaphysics of morals.” This would have been Kant’s manuscript for his Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785), of which Jachmann would have been preparing a clean copy. ) (3) Johann Kiesewetter [bio], who was in Königsberg from November 1788 until October 1789, and in whose hand is the draft of the first introduction to the Critique of Judgment, (4) Reinhold Bernhard Jachmann [bio], younger brother to Johann Benjamin, who may have served from 1789 until 1794, and (5) Johann Lehmann [bio], who may have served from 1790 to 1796 (reasoning behind these dates comes primarily from an unpublished essay by Werner Stark).⁠ There is also a claim that a “Justizrath Skerle aus Danzig” also served as Kant’s amanuensis from 1794 to 1796; see Metzel [1844, 98].

APB: Altpreußische Biographie, 4 volumes, edited by Christian Kröllmann, Kurt Forstreuter, Fritz Gause, Ernst Bahr, and Gerd Brausch (Königsberg, 1941; Marburg, 1969, 1975, 1995). [see: Biographical and Other Reference Works]

AR: academicum repetit, a term entered into the matriculation records (Matrikel) to indicate that someone has resumed membership in the academic community, with all its various rights and privileges. Thus, when academicum repetit appears in a person’s Matrikel entry, we can assume two things: (1) he was once a member of the university (typically, as a student), and (2) he had left the community for some time (such as to study at another school, or for extended travel). One oddity with Kant’s Matrikel entry is that he has only one (from 1740); there is no indication of his having ever left (probably 1748) and returned (probably summer of 1754).

[top] B   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

BBAW: The Berlin-Brandenburgische Academie der Wissenschaften [Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences] – previously the Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften, founded in 1700 through the efforts of Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz. [website] Among the relevant holdings in the archive are Nachlass for Kant and Erich Adickes.

Bible, Kant’s: Kant’s Bible was lost and probably destroyed near the end and aftermath of World War II. It was last kept in the Kantzimmer of the City Historical Museum in Königsberg,⁠ The museum’s first director, Eduard Anderson, wrote this entry in his 1936 inventory of the Kantzimmer holdings [1936 7]:
His Bible. Basel 1751 edition. Printed by Johann Rudolf im Hofe. In protective cardboard box. Used by Kant, also with his annotations. The Bible belonged to Paul Heydenreich (born 19.1.1848 in Tilsit, professor at the secondary school in Elberfeld, died 30.7.1929 in Wiesbaden). According to his information, he received the Bible from Auguste von Horn, née Neumann (1820-1878), daughter of the merchant Wilhelm Neumann in Rößel. Her grandfather is said to have been an amanuensis for Kant, and the Bible was then passed down in the family. Dr. phil. Reinhold, senior librarian in Marburg, gave it to the State and University Library.
Owner: State and University Library.
Seine Bibel. Ausgabe Basel 1751. Bey Johann Rudolf im Hofe gedruckt. Im Pappschutzkarton. Von Kant benutztes, auch mit seinen Anmerkungen versehenes Stück. Die Bibel gehorte Paul Heydenre!ch (geboren 19. 1. 1848 zu Tilsit, Realschulprofessor in Elberfeld, gestorben 30. 7. 1929 m Wiesbaden). Nach seinen Angaben empfing er sie von Auguste von Horn, geb. Neumann (1820-1878), Tochter des Kaufmanns Wilhelm Neumann in Rößel. Ihr Goßvater soll bei Kant „Amanuensis" gewesen sein. Von ihm hat diese Bibel sich in der Familie vererbt. Sie ist durch Dr. phil. Reinhold, Oberbibliothekar in Marburg, der Staats- und Univ.-Bibliothek zum Eigentume überwiesen.
Besitzer: Staats- und Univ.-Bibliothek. most of which was destroyed in the war. Fortunately Kant’s occasional entries and underlinings had already been transcribed by Adickes and printed in the Academy edition [AA 19: 651-54].

The Bible had a simple leather binding with gilding on all three sides of the pages. On the title page:

Biblia das ist: die gantze Heil. Schrifft, alten u. neuen Testaments, nach einer Teutschen Übersetzung D. Martin Luthers, samt einer Vorrede von Hieronymo Burckhardt, der Heil. Schrift Doctor. Basel, bey Johann Rudolf Im Hof. 1751.

A handwritten and signed note by Heinrich Reinhold (head university librarian at Marburg, who donated the Bible to the Königsberg library in 1930) reads:

“Kant’s Bible of 1751 was inherited by Prof. Johann Friedrich Gensichen [†1807] in 1804 along with the rest of Kant’s library; he gave it not long after that to Samuel Neumann [born 1785, 1825 Superintendent in Angerburg], who reported this in the Preußische Provinzial-Blätter (1840, 23: 84-88). From him the Bible passed to his niece Auguste Neumann [1820-1878, daughter of the merchant Wilhelm Neumann in Rössel], who was married since 1838 to Adolf von Horn [1805-1858], Platzmajor in Pillau. She gave the book in 1869 to her husband’s nephew, Paul Heydenreich [who loaned the bible to the Academy for the transcription of Kant’s marginalia; Heydenreich was born in Tilsit 1848, then Realschulprofessor in Elberfeld, then Wiesbaden 1929]. He bequeathed this Bible to me with the wish I give it later to the Staats- und Universitäts-Bibliothek zu Königsberg. I carried out this wish in 1930.”⁠ German: "Kants Bibel von 1751 wurde 1804 (oder bald danach) nach dem Tode des Philosophen von Prof. Joh. Frdr. Gensichen, der Kants Bibliothek geerbt hatte, dem stud. theol. Samuel Neumann (geb 1785, 1825 Superintendent in Angerburg) geschenkt, worüber dieser im 23. Bande der Preußischen Provinzial-Blätter 1840, S. 84-88 berichtet hat. Von ihm kam die Bibel an seine Nichte (Bruderstochter) Auguste Neumann (1820-78, Tochter des Kaufmanns Wilhelm Neumann in Rössel), die seit 1838 mit Adolf von Horn (1805-58), Platzmajor in Pillau, verheiratet war. Sie schenkte das Buch 1869 dem Neffen ihres Gatten: Paul Heydenreich (geb. Tilsit 1848, nochmals Realschulprofessor in Elberfeld, Wiesbaden 1929). dieser vermachte mir diese Bibel mit dem Wunsche, sie später der Staats- und Universitäts-Bibliothek zu Königsberg zu übergeben. Diesen Wunsch habe ich schone 1930 ausführt.”

Blatt (pl. Blätter): Sheet(s) or leaf (leaves). A piece of paper which, by its very nature, has a front (recto) and back (verso) side; thus, two pages. Manuscripts are occasionally numbered by the sheet rather than the page, in which case the sides are distinguished by the words ‘recto’ and ‘verso’, or else the verso side is indicated with an apostophe following the sheet-number.

Bogen: “Printers’ sheet” (as opposed to a sheet or leaf [Blatt] as found in a bound book). A Bogen is the sheet of paper as it comes from the paper sieve on which the pulp is pressed. The size of these sieves varied somewhat, and so the sheet sizes will vary as well. Folio (2°) is where the Bogen is folded once (= 4 pages/sides)(ht: 35-45 cm / 13¾-17¾ in); Quarto (4°) has two folds (= 8 pages)(ht: up to 35 cm / 13¾ in); Octavo (8°) has three folds (= 16 pages)(kl. 8°:10-18.5 cm)(gr. 8°: 22.5-25 cm / 9-10 in); Duodecimo (12°) has 4 folds (into 1/3s, and then twice in half, resulting in 24 pages)(ht: up to 15 cm / 6 in); Sextodecimo or Sedez (16°) has four folds, resulting in a sheet one-sixteenth of the original printers’ sheet. Many libraries would shelve books according to their size (so as to economize on shelf space); consequently, the size of the book (folio, quarto, or octavo) was commonly given in the catalog-listing of the book so that the librarian could more easily find the book. Of course, given the lack of a standard size of Bogen, the sizes of the books varied considerably, and so it was often unclear whether a book should be listed as, e.g., quarto or octavo. The interested reader can find ample information on the web, such as the Roberts and Etherington reference work on Bookbinding and the Conservation of Books.

Bogenlagen: The signature (Lage) from folding a Bogen or printers’ sheet. In a bound book, the folds that are not part of the binding are cut open by the first person reading the book to allow the pages to be read. In the unbound student notes, such as those by Herder, these signatures usually appear as smaller sheets that have already been cut, folded once, and then nested together. The physical description of a printed book typically included two things: the final size (quarto, octavo, etc. – see the previous entry) and how many Bogen (printers’ sheets) were used. So, for instance, an “8°, 10 Bogen” book would have 160 pages total, although some of them might be blank. Kant would often read books unbound, borrowed from the publisher, one Bogen at a time.

Borussia: The Latin name for Prussia (see entry for: Prussia).

Brabeuta: A moderator or master of ceremonies, from the Greek βραβευτης, one who presides at the public games. J. B. Hahn [bio], for instance, was listed as the Brabeuta at Kant’s graduation ceremony [more].

Bridges of Königsberg: This was a math puzzle posed by Euler in 1736 which laid the foundations for the mathematical field of topology. But as for the actual bridges of Königsberg, several of which went by various names: on the south side of Kneiphof, crossing the Old Pregel to the Vordere Vorstadt were the (1) Green (Grüne) and (2) Offal (Küttel, Köttel, or Kittel) bridges, on the north side of Kneiphof crossing the New Pregel into Altstadt were the (3) Shopkeeper (Krämer) and (4) Blacksmith (Schmiede) bridges, on the east side of Kneiphoff crossing over to the Ochsenmarkt on the Lomse was the (5) Honey (Honig)⁠ Originally ‘Hohnbrükke, according to Hennig [1785, 104], built by Kneiphof in mockery (Hohn) of the citizens of Altstadt, who did not want to allow it. bridge, crossing from the Lomse north across the New Pregel into the Altstadt was the (6) Wood (Holz) bridge, and crossing on the south edge of the Lomse across the Old Pregel was the (7) High (Hohe) bridge.

Brot-Colleg/Brotstudium: Literally “bread-courses,” these are the vocationally-oriented courses of study in the three higher faculty (theology, law, and medicine).

Brouillon: A French loan word (from ‘brouiller’: to mix together) meaning ‘rough sketch’. By this is normally meant a “first sketch” to a letter or essay of one’s own, although Adickes, e.g., [1911a, 4] uses it to refer to lecture notes written directly in the classroom, i.e., Mitschriften (see entry for: Nachschrift).

Budget Ministry: (Etats-ministerium) The government office in Königsberg through which the Berlin government exercized its authority. [more]

[top] C   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Catalog (lecture): See entry for: Vorlesungsverzeichnis.

Catalogus Praelectionum: See entry for: Vorlesungsverzeichnis.

Chancellor: This was always the senior law professor, at Königsberg, and the position was normally held for life. This person was directly beneath the authority of the university rector, but was able to offer more continuity to administrative affairs, as the rector changed with each semester. The Chancellorship was created in 1744, as a means for the local government to stay informed of the university, and was first held by Prof. Sahme. [more]

Collegium (pl. Collegia): A course of lectures. See entry for: Vorlesung.

Collegium Albertinum: The university buildings in Königsberg were located on the northeastern corner of Kneiphof Island built up to the banks of the Pregel. There are two colleges here – the old and the new – with the old college built in 1544 as a set of two connected buildings to the east and north of the cathedral, while the new college (built a century later in 1569) is connected on the west side of the north part of the old college. These three buildings were the eastern and northern portions of this complex, and included two auditoriums, the largest one (auditorium maximum) was described by Vorländer as a “long, but low room, decorated with pictures of Prussian nobility” [1924, 1: 75], as well as a Senatsstube where the academic senate would meet each week, and the Alumnat that housed needy students (taking their meals in the Konviktorium). Money was set aside for twenty-four students (with seven places reserved for Polish students, and another seven for Lithuanian), so presumably the Alumnat housed that number.

Goldbeck [1782, 139-41] gives us the following description (see also Arnoldt [1746, 2: 39-50 (pdf)] and Faber [1840, 79-81]):

“The Collegium Albertinum, named after the founder, is the University’s only academic building. It consists of a double-building, which will be called the old college and the new college, and is on the Pregel river between the Kneiphof cathedral and the Bishop’s Court, on a large, spacious, and beautiful square, separated from the street by a large walled gate over which the portrait of Albert is placed. The old college consists of two connected buildings of which the one lies toward the east and the other to the north, but both are right next to the river. In the former is the theology lecture hall, which is also the Auditorium maximum, and in which all the academic festivities take place and all the inaugural disputations are held. It is a very large, beautiful, and bright hall, decorated with life-size paintings of all the Prussian rulers. On the other side is the law lecture hall, and across from the Auditorium maximum is the Vorsaal des Zimmers in which the academic senate as well as the four faculties hold their meetings, and which leads into the academic Registraturgewölbe.”

Above the Auditorium maximum are several rooms [Stuben] for students. On the outer wall of this building, under the Auditorium maximum, is the message board [schwarzes Brett] on which everything that needs to be made public to the students is hung (by the pedellen [glossary]), and above this is the picture of the Markgraf Albrecht painted on the wall. In the part lying to the north are three floors: On the lowest live the kitchen staff [Oekonom]; on the middle is the Kommunität or dining hall, which is also the philosophy lecture hall in which the magisters dispute; on the upper floor lives the subinspector along with some students. The new college, at whose entrance the head inspector lives, also consists of three floors. On the lowest are the apartments of the pedellen and the medical lecture hall. On the middle is the university library, and on the highest live students. On the side of the Kneiphof Cathedral, a vault was built on the square for the full professors, their wives, widows, and unmarried children [for burial]….”

The foundation stone of “New University” (sometimes referred to as the “Stüler University” after its designer, Friedrich August Stüler) was laid on the north side of the Paradeplatz (31 August 1844) by Friedrich Wilhelm IV during the 300 year anniversary of the university, but construction began only in 1856 with the dedication on 20 July 1862 [Mühlpfordt 1970, 254; Albinus 1985, 323], after which the old Collegium Albertinum was given to the city. In 1875 it housed the City Library and the City Archive.

Collegium Fridericianum: “Friedrich’s College” – the Pietist preparatory school in Königsberg that Kant attended. It is discussed more fully in the page on Königsberg Schools.

Concilium academicium: Academic senate. See the discription under University Governance.

Conseß, der: a meeting, e.g., of the faculty senate (which normally occurred on Wednesday); cf. Kant’s letter to Vigilantius of February 27, 1798 [AA 12: 235].

Consistorium: (also: Konsistorium) This is the governing administrative body that oversaw church matters, such as the hiring of pastors and the supervision of the church schools. See also: Oberkonsistorium.

Consistorialrat: Consistory advisor, an ecclesiastical position (the Consistorium is the administrative board for the church). See also: Oberkonsistorium.

Convictorium: Also known as the Kommunität, this was the student dining hall for noon and evening meals, found on the second floor of the Albertinum. This room doubled as the philosophy lecture hall for public lectures and disputations. Students on stipends (called alumni) were allowed to eat here at a reduced rate for up to two years. Goldbeck [1782, 123] reported that 84 students ate at the Convictorium: the 28 Alumnen (or scholarship-students), paying 2 gröschen/week, the 10 amanuenses [glossary] (also paying 2 gröschen), and 46 normal students, who could eat for 4 gröschen/week with funds to support 28 of these students, as well as the ten student amanuenses working for the faculty senators. See Arnoldt [1746, 1: 313-19] and Goldbeck [1782, 121, 140]; on the allowances for the amanuenses, see Arnoldt [1746, 2: 69].

Currency: The currency used in Königsberg in the 18th century appears to have the following conversion rates (see table).

Currency Conversion

1 Reichsthaler (rthl.)	= 3 Gulden/Florin (fl.)	= 90 Gröschen (gr./gl.)	= 1620 Pfennig (pf.)
	1 Gulden/Florin (fl.)	= 30 Gröschen (gr./gl.)	= 540 Pfennig (pf.)
	1 Mark	= 20 Gröschen (gr./gl.)	= 360 Pfennig (pf.)
		= 1 Gröschen (gr./gl.)	= 18 Pfennig (pf.)

These rates are based on figures found in Arnoldt [1746, 1: 338], Warda [1901], Kraus [in Reicke 1860, 52], Kant (20 April 1783 letter to the philosophy faculty [Schöndörffer 1986, 213-15], Wasianski [1804, 84]), and various other items in the literature of the period. The abbreviations ‘gl’ and ‘gr’ both refer to a Gröschen, ‘Thl.’ and ‘rthl.’ (Thaler and Reichsthaler) refer to the same thing, and Guilder (or Gulden) and Florin (abbreviated ‘fl’) refer to the same thing. The above were silver coins; the golden ducat was worth about three Reichsthaler and the golden Friedrichs d’or (Frd’or) was worth five Reichsthaler [Engel 1965, 16-17].

Because there were different kinds of Thaler, Gulden, Gröschen, and Pfennig, and many other currencies as well, none of these equivalencies are obvious, although they seem to have been in their day, since so much of this goes unmentioned in the contemporary literature. In general, see Engel [1965], and also Erler’s helpful discussion of monetary equivalents in the context of matriculation fees at Königsberg [1910, xcvii-cxi].

[top] D   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Deutsche Gesellschaft: Officially, the Königliche Deutsche Gesellschaft or “Royal German Society.” Founded by Professors Quandt [bio] and Flötwell [bio] in 1741. Wald [1793a] offers a history of its first fifty years and Krause [1893] the first hundred and fifty. Wald writes that:

“Magister Cölestin Christian Flottwell joined forces with some students to improve German writing and promote German eloquence and poetry.” [1793a, 9]

Kant was in his second year at the university at this time, but he was not among these students and never became a member of the society (nor Hamann) [Krause 1893, 117]. At least initially, Kant's poverty would have kept him away (membership cost three ducats and a German-language book for the library [Krause 1893, 100]). A brief history is available in Gause [1996, 2: 136-38].

Diktaten: One might advertise a course of lectures that would be read “nach Diktaten”; this meant to conduct the lecture from one’s own notes, rather than following a common textbook.

Dimittiren: To leave, be dismissed (from school), exmatriculate. In the context of the Gymnasia, it is most equivalent to having graduated, implying that one has successfully completed the course of studies. Adickes [AA 18: 269] reproduces a certificate of graduation written by Christoph Samuel Domsien, the inspector of the Collegium Fridericianum, in March 1780:

“Patre tandem consentiente e Collegio Fridericiano dimittitur Ioannes Ephraim Lietzau, Borussus. Hic, etsi cereus in vitium flecti, monitoribus tamen non semper fuit asper. Ceterum, quae ei, ex praescripto regio illo typis expresso, sunt praestanda, sine dubio praestabit. / Regiom.: di XXII Martii / (L. S.) / C. S. Domsien / Inspect: prim: Col: Frid:” [more]

Disputatio: Disputation. A disputation was a printed [more] and publicly held lecture, often in the large lecture room of the main university building, followed by various respondents (students, chosen by the lecturer, as well as any faculty who chose to respond). There were three basic kinds of disputations: (1) the pro receptione was part of one’s habilitation (after which one received the right to teach at the university; Kant’s 1755 New Elucidation [writings] served this purpose [more]), (2) the pro loco was the inaugural address expected whenever someone entered a professorship (see Kant’s 1770 Inaugural Dissertation [writings] [more]), and (3) disputations required on a regular basis of professors (Kant gave just one of these: his 1756 Physical Monadology [writings]). This third class of disputation shrank considerably in number over the course of the 18th century. See the discussion at Professors.

Disputatorium: See entry for: Practicals.

Doktor: See entry for: Magister.

Ddt.: Abbreviation for the Latin detit [literally: ‘gave’]; it is found, for instance, on lists of students (see Subscription List) enrolled in a course of private lectures, to indicate that they have paid for the course.

durchschossen: Interleaved. Kant had several of his textbooks bound with blank sheets of paper between the printed sheets. This allowed more room for annotations, and was easily done, since one typically bought books as folded but unbound printed sheets, and had them bound oneself.

d.W.G.B.: “Der Weltweisheit und Gottesgelahrtheit Beflissener” – literally, “one dedicated to philosophy and theology” – a common epithet students gave to themselves (such as in closing a letter, or putting their name to a book of lecture notes). Sometimes written, sometimes in abbreviation. This appears on several sets of the lecture notes. Dobbek [1961, 84] claims that Herder signed a letter with this phrase when he wrote to the Mohrungen Magistrat on April 20, 1763 (presumably to be considered for the Dohna stipend). In the Hechsel logic and Wolter physical geography notes, the abbreviation “d:G:G:B:” likely expands to “der Gottes Gelehrtheit Beflissener” – one dedicated to theology – likewise the “d. G. G. Be.” found on the Volckmann metaphysics. In the Hintz logic we find: “von / G. W. Hintz / B.d.R.B.” In the Hoffmann logic, Lehmann [1966b, AA 24: 984n] reads “D R-G B” as: “Der Rechts Gelehrsamkeit Beflissener” (thus, a law student).

[top] E   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Endpaper: See entry for: Vorsatzblatt.

Erzpriester: A superintendant of the schools in a church district.

Etats-ministerium: See entry for: Budget Ministry.

Examinatorium: See entry for: Practicals.

[top] F   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Facultas: Faculty, although better understood as a division, college, or school, as in the sense of “college of arts and sciences” or “school of engineering”.

Famulus: An assistant, often a student, generally used to take down dictation, to copy, and to run errands. An amanuensis [see] is a famulus whose job description is primarily literary. A dictionary of 1781 offers this definition:

“Famulus, a poor student who receives free lodging and other benefits from a professor, and whose job is to care for the tables and chairs in the lecture room and to collect student payments for the course.” (Famulus, ein armer Student, der bey einem Professor freye Wohnung und andere Vortheile hat, in den Hörsälen die Plätze beschlägt, und das Honorarium für die Kollegia eintreibt”) [Kindleben 1781, 78].

Folio (2°): From the Latin folium (leaf), this term refers to either a single sheet or leaf of a book or manuscript, or a certain size of a book, roughly 8 x 11 inches. See entry for: Bogen.

French and Indian Wars: These wars (1754-63) were the North American component of the Seven Years War playing out in Europe. See entry for: Russian Occupation. It was during a debate of these wars that Kant and Joseph Green first met (as described in Jachmann [1804, 77-79].

[top] G   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Geheimrat: Privy councillor.

geripptes Papier:

GStA, GStAPK: Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin-Dahlem. [library list]

Gymnasiums, in Königsberg: Students hoping to attend a university would attend a Gymnasium, of which there were five in Königsberg: Collegium Fridericianum, one in each of the three city districts (Kneiphof, Altstadt, Löbenicht), and one at the castle (the Burgschule, also called the German Reformed School. See the page on Königsberg Schools.

[top] H   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Habilitationschrift: A dissertation was necessary in order to become a Magister (what would be equivalent to a Ph.D today); a second dissertation was then required before one had the right to lecture: this second work was what is now called the Habilitationsschift, and conferred upon one the venia legendi [see], making one a magister legens [see]. This was necessary before one became a lecturer (Privatdozent). For Kant, these two dissertations were his De Igne [text] and his New Elucidation [text].

Hofmeister: These were private tutors, generally living in the home of the family that hired them unless they were accompanying students at the university. In this latter case, the Hofmeister would occasionally accompany the student to lectures and take notes or copy out the student’s notes into a neater hand (perhaps also filling them out in doing so). Some of these Hofmeistern had already studied with Kant, and so were now hearing the lectures a second time through.

When Kant served as a Hofmeister, his students were all younger, and so he tutored them in their home.[more]

Hofrat: Court advisor. (Not sure what the office involves; sitting on some committee or other, or merely honorific.)

[top] I   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Inspicient: In his description of the Collegium Fridericianum in Königsberg, Goldbeck [1782, 225-30] describes this as a university student,⁠ J. G. Herder [bio], for example, served as an Inspicient when he began his university studies, and eventually he began teaching classes at the school (see also Haym [1880, 1: 23]). generally one in the theology faculty, who supervises boarding students at the school, receiving in exchange free room and board at the school (sleeping in the same room as his two charges) and a small salary. He leads them in, or oversees, their daily devotions, helps with their studies, and is responsible for keeping the general order. For a full account of these duties, see Wald [1793b, 38-46].

[top] J   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Journals: See entries for: ALZ …

Jubilatemesse: Also called the Ostermesse, or Easter (book) fair, as opposed to the Fall book fair at Michaelmas (the Michaelismesse). These were the two principal times when books appeared for sale to merchants and then to the general reading public, and the largest fairs were in Leipzig and Frankfurt.

Junkerhof: A Junker in the sense used here might be described today as a member of the upper-middle class (a Großbürger) and a Junkerhof was where these people gathered for their weddings, balls, concerts, and the like. Each city district had its own: Löbenicht (on Krönchenstraße), Altstadt (on Wassergasse), and Kneiphof (in the west wing of the town hall) [Albinus 1985, 144]. The memorial service for Mendelssohn that Kant attended took place in the Kneiphof Junkerhof, a room roughly 14 by 12 meters and 7 meters high [Boetticher 1897, 355].

[top] K   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Kant-Zimmer: See Museums.

KGPZ: The Königsbergsche Gelehrte und Politische Zeitungen (Kanter, 1764-1801). See Periodicals.

Kneiphof: Kneiphof was founded in 1327 on an island in the Pregel. It was a wealthy merchants’ town and one of the three original settlements (along with Altstadt and Löbenicht) that were merged to form Königsberg in 1724; it was also the wealthiest of the three, with the finest streets and houses. The island itself is about 450 meters long, east to west, and about 275 meters wide at the west end, and 175 meters wide upriver at the east end, where the university was located. This east end of the island is dominated by the Cathedral and its square (the whole configuration about 125 x 160 meters), with the Cathedral extending east-west midway between the two branches of the river, butting up against the eastern shore, then with buildings wrapping north and then again west along the shore, so as to make a U-shaped configuration opened towards the west and the rest of the island (see Collegium Albertinum).

Königsberg: (Latin: Regiomontanus; now: Kaliningrad, Russia) (See also the entry on Prussia.) Königsberg lies about 30 kilometers inland on the Pregel River. A settlement began there in 1255 by the Teutonic Knights; at 9:00 A.M. on 13 June 1724 – less than two months after Kant’s birth – the three towns of Kneiphof (the island in the river), Altstadt (north of the island), and Löbenicht (north-east of the island) were joined into the city of Königsberg [Albinus 1985, 326; Rhode 1908, 40]. The university buildings and the cathedral were situated at the east end of the Kneiphof island (see Collegium Albertinum). [1890 street map (232 kb)]. A Russian/German website offers side-by-side photographs of pre-WWII and current views of the city, along with a map-detail indicating the location and direction that was photographed.

Of considerable relevance here is the destruction of the old center of Königsberg during the British bombing raids during two nights near the end of August 1945 – the 26th and 29th – when 200 and then 600 British planes dropped 480 tons of explosives on the city center. Further destruction occurred in the early days of April 1945 when the Red Army captured the city.

Kant offered a description of his hometown in the Preface to his Anthropologie (1798):

A large city such as Königsberg on the river Pregel, which, is the center of a kingdom, in which the provincial councils of the government are located, which has a university (for cultivation of the sciences) and which has also the right location for maritime commerce – a city which, by way of rivers, has the advantages of commerce both with the interior of the country and with neighboring and distant lands of different languages and customs, can well be taken as an appropriate place for broadening one’s knowledge of human beings as well as of the world, where this knowledge can be acquired without even traveling. [AA 7: 120-21n; Louden tr.]

Kommunität: See entry for: Convictorium.

Konsistorium: See entry for: Consistorium.

Krumme Grube: “Crooked Ditch,” the unofficial, but wide-spread, name for Münchenhof-gasse (or -strasse), a street in Löbenicht so named becaused it is “crooked, narrow, and dark” [Hoffheinz 1879, 600]. The street ran from Münchenhof-Platz to the Löbenichtsche Langgasse.

Kumst: ‘Kumst’ is the Prussian word for (white) cabbage and was a regional staple, thus its frequent appearance in Kant’s various notes regarding his dinners, and it is usually accompanied with the adjective ‘balgsche’, which appears to be a regional method for preparing the cabbage; Balga gave its name to the medieval castle of the teutonic knights, located near Königsberg on the Vistula Lagoon).

Kuratorium: See entry for: Oberkuratorium.

Kursus: Course-work. This refers to the sequence of courses necessary to complete an academic program, such as Law, Medicine, Theology, or Philosophy.

Kustos (pl. Kustoden): Catch-word; A word at the very bottom of a page which is identical to the first word of the next page; used to insure the correct ordering of text and pages. These are used in various of the handwritten manuscripts, and occasionally show up in machine-reproduced books.

[top] L   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Lage (pl. Lagen): Signature(s). A set of printed sheets, folded in half and sewn together at the fold; these are then collected together an bound into a book. Because a folded sheet results in 4 pages of text, the page-counts of signatures are always in multiples of four. See Bogen.

Lecture, public and private (See entry for: Vorlesung)

Leibarzt: Personal physican. At least in the context of the court, this was a higher position than that of Hofmedicus, in terms of both social prestige and income.

Libraries (SBPK, Berlin): The Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Preußischer Kulturbesitz (State Library of Berlin, Prussian Cultural Heritage) [website] consists of two buildings. Haus I (Unter den Linden 8) was built in 1914 to house the Königliche Bibliothek (founded in 1701) and re-named the Preußische Staatsbibliothek in 1918. It was partially destroyed during WW II, although most of the rarities had been warehoused in depots throughout Germany. After the war, those holdings stored in what became “East Germany” (the Deutsche Demokratische Republik/DDR or German Democratic Republic) were returned to the repaired library (now part of East Berlin), and beginning in 1954 it was called the Deutsche Staatsbibliothek (or Stabi, or “Stabi-Ost,” once its western counterpart was constructed on the other side of the Berlin Wall). Along with the Deutsche Bücherei in Leipzig, it served as the national library for the DDR. In 1990 the holdings were joined with its counterpart in former West Berlin (the SBPK).

Haus II (Potsdamer Straße 33) was built in 1978 to serve as the “Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz.” The rarities housed during World War II in what became “West Germany” (the Bundesrepublik Deutschland/BRD or Federal Republic of Germany) were collected at Tübingen and at Marburg (about 80% of the western holdings were housed in the eastern wing of the castle, the so-called Wilhelmsbau that now houses a museum of cultural history), and in 1978 were moved to the newly opened library on Potsdamer Straße, close to the Berlin Wall, but on the western side. These two institutions – Haus 1 and Haus 2 – whose buildings stand about two kilometers from each other) were brought together in 1990 as the “Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz.” All manuscripts are now in Haus II on Potsdamer Straße.

Libraries (Königsberg): The 1770 Address-Calender lists four public libraries in Königsberg: (1) the Royal (or Castle) Library “is in the castle next to the Residence-Chapel, open Wednesday and also Saturday afternoon from 1 to 4 o’clock.” (2) the University (or Academic) Library “is in the new Collegium Albertinum,” i.e., the building on the north side of the island and directly west of the “old” Collegium. (3) the Wallenrodt Library “is in the Kneiphof Church [i.e., cathedral] above the organ, and is open Tuesday and Friday from 2 to 4 o’clock.” (4) the City (or Council) Library “is in the Altstadt city school, open on Thursday.” Over time these collections were re-arranged.

Baczko [Baczko 1804, 345-] provides summary accounts of the Königsberg public libraries (Royal Castle, Wallenrodt, Academic, City- or Councilors) and private libraries (including those owned by Karl Gottlieb Bock, Ludwig Ernst Borowski, Herr Dunker, several members of the Friedländer family (Bernhard, Meyer, Wulf), Christoph Friedrich Heilsberg, and a number of professors – Medicine: C. F. Elsner, D. Metzger, K. G. Hagen; Theology: J.E. Ernst, H. C. Gräf; Practical Philosophy: C. J. Kraus; Mathematics: J. Schultz; Physics: C. D. Reusch).

Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek: Some sources make no distinction between the Royal Library and the University Library, presumably because the collections were eventually combined (in 1828). The Royal Library was moved in 1810 to the newly-built “Royal House” on Königsstraße, along with the collections from the University and the City Libraries. This building was enlarged in 1827 and in 1828 the Royal and University collections were fully merged and in 1901 moved to a newly built Königliche-Universitäts-Bibliothek. None of these libraries survived the bombing and confusion of World War II, although some of the volumes have since been located. [The lists of librarians, given below, stem predominantly from Pisanski [1886].]

The Royal Library (königliche- or Schloß-Bibliothek) was begun by Duke Albert in 1534 and by 1540 had grown enough to be officially dedicated as a public library (making it the first such library in Europe; Oxford’s Bodleian dates to 1602). It began in a room on the east side, then later moved into two rooms on the west side [Baczko 1804, 345-46; Faber 1840, 302]. Kant and several other professors, including the head librarian F. S. Bock, accompanied Bernoulli on his visit to the library in 1779. “The library is arranged in a large, beautiful hall, behind which are two, more common rooms that contain manuscripts and other things” [1779, 3: 49]. Bernoulli also offered a list of curiosities held in the library, such as a Prussian burial urn, an indian waist-belt of colorful bird feathers, a Malabar text written on palm leaves, a wax writing tablet, a pair of world globes of considerable size, a famous knife swallowed in 1635 by a certain Grünheid, and a piece from an arrow, about 4 inches in length, that a Prussian Landmarschall carried around in his skull for 14 years before it finally came out through the roof of his mouth – some of this must have interested Kant, who worked there for six years as a Privatdozent. A copy of each book published in Prussia was to be sent to this library, but Bernoulli claimed that the library was so underfunded that there was not money to bind the books that were sent.

The Royal Library was moved to the Königshaus in 1810, which was also housing the University Library and the City Library, and in 1828 the Royal and University Libraries were merged together, and in 1901 moved to a new building in Mitteltragheim, to which was added (in 1908) much of the Wallenrodt Library. All of this was destroyed in the 1944 bombardment [Albinus 1985, 323-24]. Librarians included: Andreas Hedio (1694-1703), Martin Silvester Grabe, Jr. (1703-27), Johannes Behm (1728-51), Friedrich Samel Bock (1751-78) Carl Daniel Reusch (1778-??), and Johann Friedrich Gensichen (1790s). Assistant Librarians included: Michael Lilienthal (1714-15), Johann Christoph Grabovius (1715-20), Christoph Albrecht Kowalewski (1720-21), Johann Abraham Hibelet (1722-31), Johan Barthold Goraiski (1731-66), Immanuel Kant (1766-72)[more], Friedrich Ernst Jester (1772-73), Carl Daniel Reusch (1773-78), Johann Gottlieb Kreutzfeld (1779-84), Georg Wihelm Sommer (1784-??). [Sources: Bernoulli 1779, 3: 47-58; Pisanski 1886, 74-77, 275, 492-93; Baczko 1804, 345-48; Faber 1840, 302-3; Lohmeyer 1903; Albinus 1985, 323-24]

The University Library (Universitäts- or Academische-Bibliothek) was established in 1569 on the middle floor of the newly-erected “new college” (on the north bank of Kneiphof Island, just west of the “old college”) – see entry for Collegium Albertinum. The head inspector of the Albertina served as the librarian [Pisanski 1886, 275-76], for which he was paid 60 Mark/year. The collection was increased primarily through estate gifts of faculty – for instance, the mathematics professor David Blaesing (1660-1719) left an extensive library of mathematics books and various instruments. Apart from its collection of approximately 7500 volumes, and the various scientific instruments, it also included curiosities such as gallstones and a sword once swallowed by a certain Hübner in 1720. It was open every Wednesday and Saturday from 9-11 a.m. Bernoulli reported (1779) that the coin collections (from Bläsing and Kowalewski) are a key attraction, and that the library consists of two long halls decorated with the portraits of “many distinguished young people who had studied at the university. The entrance to the library is smelly and unpleasant, and in general the academic buildings, from what I have seen, are in need of remodeling.” [Sources: Arnoldt 1746, 2: 45; Pisanski 1886, 493-94; Bernoulli 1779, 3: 39-42; Baczko 1804, 349; Faber 1840, 80; Albinus 1985, 323-24]

The Wallenrodt Library, housed since 1650 in two rooms in the south tower of the cathedral,⁠ Photographs of these two rooms, along with a detailed description of the library, can be found in Dethlefsen [1912, 50-53, plate 11] was established in 1629 by Martin von Wallenrodt (1570-1632), who studied law in Königsberg and Marburg and travelled widely, making many acquaintances, and began a learned correspondence with Königsberg professors. By 1623 he had collected 3000 volumes, many of them rarities. This collection burned and he began over, leaving 2000 volumes at the time of his death. His endowment provided 11,000 Marks annually for maintenance and expansion (there were about 10,000 volumes in 1912). The collection also included curiosities (snake skins and the like). Librarians included: Michael Schreiber (1694-1717), Johann Chrisoph Volbrecht (1717-38), Christian Heinrich Gütther (1738-55), Jakob Friedrich Werner (1755-56), Johann Heinrich Daniel Moldenhawer (1756-63) Carl Andreas Christiani (1763-80), Wilhelm Bernhard Jester (1780-85), Georg Ernst Sigismund Hennig (1785-??), and later Rudolph Reicke. [Sources: Lilienthal 1716, 10-13; Pisanski 1886, 276-78, 496; Baczko 1804, 348-49; Faber 1840, 303-4; Dethlefsen 1912, 50-53; Albinus 1985, 330]

The City Library (Stadtbibliothek or Stadtsbucherei or Rathsbibliothek). The collection was kept in a dark and narrow room of the Altstadt Rathaus, but in 1700 was moved to a roomier and better lit facility in the Altstadt pauper house, where some books had been stored since 1630 (when the pauper house was first built). It became a public library in 1718 under the city secretary H. Bartsch, who also added his personal library to the collection. In 1736 or 1737 it was moved to the Altstadt Gymnasium and given six rooms (an invitation prepared by Lilienthal noted that it would be open every Monday afternoon from 2-4). With the building of a new Altstadt Rathaus in 1774, a reading room was specially built for the library, which was then moved back to the Rathaus. In 1810 the collection moved to the Königshaus on Königsstrasse (along with the Royal Library and the University Library). After the new university building was completed on the parade grounds (dedication in 1861), the Albertinum or Old University was purchased by the city (1875) and the city library and city archive⁠ The city archive (Stadtarchiv Königsberg) was originally housed (since 1724) in the Altstadt town hall, then was moved to the north-wing of the Albertinum in 1875 where it shared the building (and director) with the city library. Directors of the archive were August Wittich (1875-97), Ernst Seraphim (1911), Christian Krollmann (1924-34), and Fritz Gause (1938-45). [Albinus 1985, 96, 186, 296] were moved there. (One of the upper rooms was converted to a Kant-Zimmer in 1923 to hold the accumulating Kantiana – see Museums.) Hippel and Reicke, among others, contributed their personal libraries to this collection, and the library also held some Kantiana.⁠ The Gräfe & Unzer Katalog of the Kant Exhibit (1904) included this list of items: (1) Notes from Kant’s lectures on moral philosophy (quarto, unknown author), (2) Silhouette with the caption: “Immanuel Kant, Prof: Log: et Metaphysices”, (3) the same, from the Altpreußischen Monatsschrift, Bd. 37 (1900), (4) Kant painting: oil painting by Döbler 1791, copied by Pützenberger [Petzenburg?]. Librarians included: Michael Hoynovius (17??-??), Johann Jacob Quandt (1714-18), Gottlieb Siegfried Bayer (1718-26), Michael Lilenthal (1726-50), Theodor Christoph Lilienthal (1750-82), Friedrich Johann Buck (1782-86), Christian Jakob Kraus (1786-1804), Friedrich Adolf Meckelburg (from 1848), August Wittich (1875-97), Christian Krollmann (1923-34), Fritz Gause (1938-45). Assistant Librarians included: Johann Jacob Mekelburg (1726-29), Johann Bernhard Casseburg (1729-46), Friedrich Johann Buck (1747-82), and Christian Jacob Kraus (1782-86). [Sources: Bernoulli 1779, 3: 58-66; Pisanski 1886, 77, 498-99; Goldbeck 1781, 250; Baczko 1804, 349-50; Faber 1840, 304; Albinus 1985, 297]

Löbenicht: See entry for: Königsberg.

Löbenicht Rathaus: The Löbenicht townhall was on the corner of the high street (“Löbenicht Langgasse”) and the Krumme Grube [see], but with a fairly narrow street front on the latter. After the devastating fire of 11 November 1764, this building (still referred to as the Rathaus, but no longer with that function) was rebuilt with the main front on the Krumme Grube [Karl 1922, 110-11]. It was in this building that Kanter [bio] rented space, with his book shop on the ground floor (entrance on the right side of the building) and subletting rooms to various professors and students, including Kant.

[top] M   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Magister: (= one who teaches). Typically used of those graduating from the philosophy faculty (graduates of the higher three faculties were typically called “Doctors” (= one who is taught), abbreviated with a “D.” Goldbeck [1782, 80-81] writes that ‘Magister’ was just a shortened form for “Doktoren der Philosophie und Magister der freyen Künste” (that is, using the above equivalents, “one who is taught in philosophy and who teaches the liberal arts”). In publications, announcements, etc., the “M” in “M. Immanuel Kant” stands for “Magister”, just as a “D.” refers to “Doctor”. See: Graduation: Magister or Doctor

Magister legens: A “reading master,” i.e., one who has the privilege to lecture at the university by virtue of having submitted a successful Habilitationsschrift [see].

Matriculation (German: Immatrikulation): To enroll at a university. This played a slightly different role in 18th century German universities than it does now. Although enrollment records (das Matrikel) were carefully kept and guarded, the procedure for entering student names would differ from school to school, and apart from human error, there were certain commonplace practices that make the records questionable for using as a guide of actual student entrollment: for instance, the names of dignitaries merely passing through town might be entered; some students would fail to ever enroll while others would enroll but then return home and not begin studies for another semester or two. An example of the process of matriculation is given in an account of J. G. Herder [more].

Matrikel: The book at the university in which the matriculations of students and faculty are recorded. The Matrikel for the Albertina is currently stored in the university library in Torun (Poland), and is reproduced in three-volumes by Erler [1910, 1911-12, 1917]. See also Hartung’s Akademisches Erinnerungs-Buch for the years 1787-1817 and 1817-1844 [Hartung 1825, 1844].

Menzer List: In his role as general editor of the lecture notes division of the Academy edition of Kant’s gesammelte Schriften, Paul Menzer [bio] prepared a list of all the extant sets of notes in 1912 [see].

Michaelis: When referring to a date, this is the German name for the Feast Day of St Michael (or Michaelmas), which is always on September 29, and has served as the traditional beginning of the winter semester in many European universities, with Easter marking the beginning of summer semester (see).

Mitschrift: Original notes (see entry for: Nachschrift).

Mittwochsgesellschaft: (“Wednesday Society”) A quasi-secret group of around two dozen Berlin intellectuals promoting Enlightenment ideals, formed in the fall of 1783. It lasted some fifteen years, meeting once or twice a month in the various homes of the members, always on Wednesday evening (thus the informal name). The permanent secretary was J. E. Biester [bio] and other members included Friedrich Gedike [bio], Moses Mendelssohn [bio], Friedrich Nicolai [bio], J. H. Wlömer [bio], and J. F. Zöllner [bio].

Museums (in Königsberg/Kaliningrad) with Kantiana: The Kneiphof Rathaus served as the common town hall for all of Königsberg when the three founding cities were united in 1724. A new town hall built in 1927 (on the Hansaring to the northwest) made the now-empty Kneiphof Rathaus available as a 25-room city museum – the Stadgeschichtliches Museum Königsberg – which opened in 1928 with Eduard Anderson as the first director. A single room held all the materials moved from the Kant-Zimmer of the city library (the Stadtbibliothek) in the Albertinum, but within a decade Kantiana was spilling over into four other rooms on the ground floor,⁠ See Malter [1992c, 19]. Anderson’s 1936 inventory of the Kantiana in the city museum [Anderson 1936] includes what he identifies as the ‘Kantzimmer’ (or Room 8 of the museum), and this includes a large majority of the entire inventory, but a dozen or so other items are listed in Room 3 (seven items in vitrine #14), Room 6 (an earthenware vase bearing a Collin relief is in a cupboard and the Heydeck painting based on Döbler is on the wall), Room 7 (four items in vitrine #27) and Room 20 (a model of Kant’s house, a small statue based on Rauch, and Heinrich Wolff’s etching of Kant in his study). Anderson notes that he isn’t listing most of the engravings, etchings, and woodcuts of Kant that were done after Kant’s death, and similarly any of the materials related to Kant’s circle of friends – so perhaps these four other rooms were filled with these additional materials. (This inventory is reprinted in Malter/Staffa [1983, 23-32].) and this larger collection was dedicated in 1938 as the “Kant-Museum,” with Fritz Gause as its first director. Many of these items were on loan from the “Friends of Kant Society” and from the Prussia Museum (housed in the castle), as well as from the city library’s original collection. All of this was then destroyed or lost in the bombing (August 1944) and later ransacking (April 1945), even though it was being stored underground in a bunker.⁠ Gause [1951] provides a one-paragraph description of any remaining Kantiana:
“Because of the great uncertainty, we did not dare to go into the destroyed city until August 1945. The bunker in the Kneiphof town hall withstood the last stage of destruction. Of course, the contents were ransacked and most were destroyed. The head of Hagemann’s Kant bust had been knocked off; it lay on the opposite side of the street. As fate would have it, I became acquainted with a good German-speaking Russian who had studied in Germany. With him I undertook a visit to the bunker in Copernicus Street where the Kant memorabilia was housed, but with little success. It was March 1946 by then and there was hardly anything left to find. The bunker itself was standing, but inside we found only destruction. Orienting ourselves with only a candle was difficult, but I could tell I was in the right place because there were still a few 17th century library books lying around. I also found a piece of the large vase from the Kant Museum – but nothing else. During my farewell walk through the city in March 1948, I noticed that the Kant tomb remained completely intact. The central part of the Kneiphof town hall had collapsed, burying anything that remained in the bunker.” [Anderson 1936; Gause 1996, 3: 86-87; Gause 1974, 133-35; Albinus 1985, 251, 297-98; Grimoni 2004]

The Prussia-Museum (in the Königsberg Schloß) was co-founded by August Hagen in 1844 as a project of the Altertumsgesellschaft Prussia, first in the Königshaus then in the ground floor of the south wing of the castle, but in the 1890s was in the Castle’s north wing (Rooms 1-8), as indicated in the Katalog des Prussia-Museums [Part 1 (1893), Part 2 (1897), Part 3 (1894)], and in a 1905 street map appears as a stand-along building on the north side of Königstraße (in Sackheim), south-east of the new Friedrichs-Kollegium. (A photograph in Schmidtke [1997, 226] depicts “the Prussia-Museum in the Moscow Hall of the Königsberg Castle.”) The museum acquired a great many artifacts, including Kantiana in Room 7.⁠ Katalog des Prussia-Museums [Part 3 (1894)]: [44][…] Nr. 93. Schreibpult. Kant's, nach seinem Tode 1804 in der Versteigerung seines Nachlasses von dem Schuhmachermeister Ernst Gottlieb Gothe erstanden.
Nr. 94. Kant's Handschuhe und Hut, letzterer auf der Versteigerung von Kant's Nachlass für 25 Gulden 3 Groschen gekauft. (Die Echtheit ist verbürgt durch eine dabei befindliche Bescheinigung Motherby’s und die Quittung.)
Nr. 95. Fünfzehn Knöpfe von Kants Rock.
Nr. 96 u. 97. Erinnerungen an Kant: Haare von ihm, welche Kalkulator Born vom Pfarrer Wasianski im Mai 1822 erhielt und an den stud. theol. Gebauer weitergab, von letzterem 1825 der Sammlung vaterländischer Altertümer übergeben. Ferner verschiedene (neun) auf Kant bezügliche Schriftstücke, auch eigenhändige Schriftproben desselben. […]
Nr. 99. Brustbild Kants nach dem Ölgemälde von Döbler, Kupferstick von J. L. Raab. [45]
Nr. 100. Schattenbild von Kant, geschenkt von Gräfe sen. 1862.
Nr. 101. Brustbild Kants. Vermächtnis des Subrektors Stielow. Nach dem Urteile Wasianski’s mit Ausnahme der Augen sehr gut getroffen.
Nr. 102. Reliefbild Kants in Gyps.
Nr. 103. Brustbild Kants in Wachs.
Nr. 104. Bildnis Kants in ganzer Figur (Senf einrührend) nach einer Originalzeichnung von Hagemann.
Nr. 105. Reliefbildnis Kants in Gyps.
Nr. 106. Kant am Katheder. Darunter: Freitag (Uebermorgen) d. 22sten trete ich mein 80stes Jahr an, wozu mich meine gütige Freunde gütigst aufnehmen wollen. I.K. Lithographie von Bils.
Nr. 107. Schattenbild Kants, gefertigt von Puttrich. […] [49] […]
Nr. 172. Zeichnung, darstellend die Anfdeckung der Gruft des Philosophen Kant an der Nordseite des Königsberger Domes im Juni 1880. Gezeichnet von Professor Dr. Heydeck, welcher selbst zugegen war, und auf dem Bilde in der Gruft stehend Kants Schädel in die Höhe hebt. Die anderen Anwesenden sind: Professor Kupffer, Professor Dr. Albrecht, Kandidat der Medizin Hagen, Professor Dr. Walter, Oberlehrer Witt, Dr. Arnold, Bibliothekar Dr. Reicke, Archiv-Assistent Wittich, Stadtkämmerer, jetzt Oberbürgerneister Hoffmann, Rentner Carl Schmidt. (Vgl. Sitzungsberichte der Altertumsgesellschaft Prussia. 1879/80. s. 119.)
Nr. 173. Drei Kant-Bilder: a) Photographie nach dem Bildnis Kants im Universitäts-Album; b) Stich von Liebe nach Lowe's Bild; c) Photographie nach dem Gemälde Doeblers (Berlin 1791) in der Totenkopf- und Phönix-Loge zu Königsberg. […] [50-51] […]
Nr. 180. Totenmaske Kants, abgenommen von Professor Knorre.
Nr. 181. Gyps-Abguss des Schädels Kants, angefertigt nach der Aufdeckung von Kants Gruft am 22. Juni 1880. (Vergl. Nr. 172.) […] [52-60] […]
Nr. 303. Brustbild Kants, Kupferstich von Schleuen.
Nr. 304. Spazierstock Kants. Geschenk des Herrn Forstmeister Hoffheinz.
Nr. 305. Gedenktafel von Kants 1893 abgebrochenem Wohnnhaus in der Prinzessinstrasse. Most or all of the Kantiana kept here was moved to the Stadtgeschichtliche Museum once it opened.

Directors: […] Georg Bujack (1872-91), Adalbert Bezzenberger (1891-1916 [or 1912?]), Felix Ernst Peiser (1916-21?)[Gause 1996, 2: 725, 3: 12, 86; Schmidtke 1997, 226, 316].

A Kant-Zimmer (in the Königsberg Stadtbibliothek or city library) was installed (at the request of the mayor, Dr. Lohmeyer) in an upper room of the old university building (the “Albertinum”) that already housed the city library and city archives since 1875, opening on 22 April 1923 in anticipation of the bicentennial celebrations the following year.⁠ Anderson [1936, 5] describes this arrangement as provisional. The aim was to collect any Kant relics that that could be either purchased or loaned. This room was in an upper floor with a wall of windows overlooking the college courtyard and the cathedral; Doerstling’s 1892 painting of “Kant and his Dinner Guests” was hanging in the stairwell leading up to the Kant-Zimmer [Schöndörffer 1924, 228-29]. Five years later (1928) its contents were transferred to the Stadtgeschichtliche Museum (see above for further discussion) [Anderson 1933, 27]. (More photos of these two rooms can be found on the Image Index page.)

The Stadtmuseum (City Museum) located at Königstrasse 57 where it was housed in the Kunstakademie – a 1910 street map shows it on the north side of the street directly across from the French Reformed church, and just one block west of the Prussia Museum.

This museum is mentioned in 1899 Kant-Studien (vol. 3) as holding the Dresden Kant portrait. Gause [1996, 2: 479] refers to this as the City Art Gallery (städtische Gemäldegalerie), installed in the Kunsthalle that was finished in 1841 on Königstrasse (on the site of the old Jägerhof). The art academy, previously housed in the castle, moved to this same building in 1845, and the portrait gallery remained there until 1921 (after which it moved into the castle’s Krönungsgang (with Eduard Anderson overseeing the collection) [Gause 1996, 3: 86].

The Gemäldegalerie (Painting Gallery) is likely the same as the portrait gallery that was housed in the Kunsthalle

The Stadtgeschichtliche Museum (City Historical Museum, Königsberg, or “city museum” for short) was installed in the twenty-five rooms of the recently vacated Kneiphof Town Hall. The ground floor was given over to a “Kant-Museum” (1928-44).

Directors: Eduard Anderson (1 Oct 1927-1938), Fritz Gause (1938-1945) [Gause 1996, 3: 86-87; Schmidtke 1997, 262, 298].

The Museum Stadt Königsberg (Duisburg) opened in October 1968 (first in the “Haus Königsberg” at Mülheimer Straße 39, then moving to the newly-built Kultur- und Stadthistorische Museum Duisburg in December 1992)[Grimoni 2004] and closed in 2016, with the holdings transferred to the Ostpreussischen Landesmuseum in Lüneburg [website][Lüneberg blogsite], where they will be displayed in a new wing (the Kantbau) scheduled to open in 2024.

The Kant-Museum (Kaliningrad) was opened in the spring of 1974 in the university building. This occurred on the occasion of a special Kant Conference held that year in Königsberg [Peitsch 1979, 47; Malter/Staffa 1983, 59-70], and in 1996 a renovated Kant museum was opened in the north tower of the Kneiphof cathedral [Grimoni/Will 2004, 242] consisting of three rooms on the fourth floor (as of a 2015 report).

A second Kant-Museum in the Kaliningrad Oblast is located in Wesselowka (Russia), formerly Judtschen (in 1938 renamed ‘Kanthausen’), opened in 2018. This is the restored parsonage where Kant lived and worked as a Hofmeister (1748-51) to the family of Reformed Pastor Daniel Andersch. [website]

[top] N   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Nachlaß: Literary remains. A brief description of Kant’s Nachlaß is provided in the overview of the Academy Edition.

Nachschreiber: One who writes a Nachschrift.

Nachschrift: ‘Nachschrift’ is best thought of as a generic term covering different sorts of handwritten materials, all of which have this much in common: (1) the writer of the text is not the source of the text (the copied text is either someone’s speech or lecture, or another written text) and (2) the original source is the spoken word. There are different sorts of ‘Nachschrift’ possible, and the following terms and meanings are the preferred: (a) Mitschrift (original notes): here the text is written down in the lecture hall. Such original notes are typically marked by an abundance of abbreviations and truncated sentences, and almost necessarily written in pencil; (b) Reinschrift (fair copy; häuslichen Ausarbeitungen): here the original notes have been re-written, normally in a neater hand, with fewer abbreviations and truncated sentences, and with fewer spelling and grammatical errors. The student and/or Hofmeister would typically do this once back at home after the lecture; (c) Abschrift (copy): this is a copy of another written text, often for the purpose of selling it to other students. With such copies, detected errors here might also be removed from the text, but the intention is to copy a set of notes, not simply to clean-up and perhaps amplify one’s own notes taken in class. Typical errors found in copies are missing words or entire lines.

We occasionally find in the German literature the words ‘Urschrift’ or ‘unmittelbare Niederschrift’ (original or immediate notes): these refer to the Mitschrift. Occasionally ‘Nachschrift’ is used in the same sense as ‘Mitschrift’. I use the words ‘original notes’, ‘fair copy’, and ‘copy’ in the senses noted above.

NDB: Neue Deutsche Biographie, edited by the Historische Kommission bei der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften (Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, 1953- ). [see: Biographical and Other Reference Works]

Newspapers (Königsberg): See Publishers and Periodicals.

NL: An abbreviation for Nachlaß, or literary remains. For instance, manuscript collections mentioned in these pages include NL-Kant, NL-Herder, and NL-Adickes.

[top] O   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Oberkonsistorium: Superior Consistory; here, the administrative body based in Berlin that oversaw the Lutheran church in Prussia.

Oberkuratorium: This is the Berlin administrative control of the universities. Until 1747, a separate Kuratorium oversaw each of the four Prussian universities; in 1747 these were combined into a single Oberkuratorium [Bornhak 1900, 180], with the following ministers (and their terms of office):

• von Cocceji, von Marschall, and Bielefeld (1747-1749),

• von Danckelmann (1748-1763),

• Freiherr von Fürst und Kupferberg (1763-1771),

• von Münchhausen (1771),

• Karl Abraham Freiherr von Zedlitz (1771-1787) [bio],

• Johann Christoph von Wöllner (1787-1798),

• Julius Freiherr von Massow (1798-1816).

Octavo (8°): A term designating a certain book size, roughly 4 x 5 1/2 inches (see entry for: Bogen)

[top] P   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Page: One side of a sheet or leaf of paper. See entry for: Bogen.

Pedell: An archaic term used for the Hausmeister of a school or university – so, an adult functionary responsible for the general management of a building, and similar to the English beadle, at the university in 18^th century Königsberg they worked on behalf of the rector and senate and there were normally two of them. Their responsibilities included the distribution of programs and invitations, making the rounds of the senator’s homes to collect votes or announce special meetings, posting notices on the university message board, arresting members of the community whose untoward behavior warranted such, hauling in unregistered students to the rector for their punishment, and walking along either side of the rector during official processions, each carrying a silver scepter and dressed in red cloaks with white collars. For all this they received free lodging in the Collegio, some firewood, and 40 gulden per year. Goldbeck is explicit that only matriculated students were hired for this purpose [Goldbeck 1782, 56-57]. The student Puttlich mentions in his diary a drunken pedell and his wife [Warda 1905a, 286].

Physicus: A medical officer (“city doctor” or “provincial doctor”). This office originated during the plague years of the medieval period. At first a municipal office, in later years it tended to became territorial. It was salaried and was almost always reserved for graduates of university medical programs (i.e., MDs). The primary duties were to care for the indigent and to inspect the various healthcare providers (such as checking that apothecaries used the proper medicaments and charged a fair price; likewise barbers, surgeons, bathkeepers, and of course other physicians). In university towns, a member of the medical faculty would generally hold this office; see the biographies of Heinrich von Sanden and Johann Christoph Bohl. Broman [1996] offers a useful discussion.

Pietism: Pietism was an evangelical religious movement of the 17th and 18th century, set primarily in Germany and rooted in the writings of Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705). In reaction to the dry formalism of the orthodox Lutheran Church, the Pietists emphasized a religion of personal experience and spiritual rebirth, leading to a new life that should differ markedly from that of the non-Christian. Spener’s Pia Desideria (1675) included a six-point plan for reforming Christendom: (1) promoting personal and group Bible study, (2) emphasising Luther’s “priesthood of all believers,” (3) not merely believing in God’s will, but also acting accordingly, (4) entering into religious controversies with heretics and non-believers with a loving regard for the other, (5) educating new pastors so as to develop the spiritual commitment of their hearts as well as the cultivation of their minds, (6) preaching in order to edify and cultivate one’s inner piety. In Königsberg, the leading Pietists would have included Heinrich Lysius, G. F. Rogall, F. A. Schultz, D. H. Arnoldt, J. D. Kypke, and D. L. Salthenius.

In his sketch of J. G. Hamann, Isaiah Berlin characterized pietism as...

… that wing of German Lutheranism which, inspired by the revolt against book learning and intellectualism generally that broke out in Germany towards the end of the seventeenth century, laid stress on the depth and sincerity of personal faith and direct union with God, acheived by scrupulous self-examination, passionate, intensely introspective religious feeling, and concentrated self-absorption and prayer, whereby the sinful, corrupt self was humbled and the soul left open to the blessing of divine, unmerited grace. [Berlin 2000, 258]

Gause wrote that …

… most of the students [at Königsberg in the mid-18th century] were enemies of pietism, which they not incorrectly saw as an infringement on their freedom in the sense of punitive study ordinances and discipline. They broke the windows of Pietist professors and made ‘cat music’. The Pietists, for their part, proceeded like missionaries in the Kingdom of Satan with a mandate to convert the heathen and to purify Babylon of sin. [1996, 2: 119-20]

PL: pro loco disputation, the public defense of a dissertation that is supposed to occur whenever the individual assumes a professorship (either associate or full). See entry for: Disputatio.

German	Polish	Latvian	Lithuanian	Russian	Latin/other
Allenstein	Olsztyn
Braunsberg	Braniewo
Breslau	Wroclaw
Danzig	Gdańsk				Gedanum
Dorpat	Dorpat	Tērbata		Юрьев/Дерпт	Tartu (Est.)
Königsberg	Królewiec				Regiomantus
Memel			Klaipėda	Клайпеда
Mitau		Jelgava
Preussen					Borussia
Thorn	Torun
Warschau	Warszawa

Place Name equivalents: See the table to the right – an entirely accidental and short list.

PR: pro receptione disputation, the public defense of a dissertation that is to occur whenever an individual first joins the academic community, conferring the right to teach (either as lecturer or as professor). See entry for: Disputatio.

Practicals: These were variously called repetitorium, examinatorium, disputatorium, or some combination, but appear to refer to roughly the same thing, namely, a scheduled event in which students had the opportunity to articulate their understanding of material presented in the lectures and where they could ask the professor questions.[more]

For Kant, and perhaps at Königsberg in general, these appear to have been one hour events, held every Wednesday or Saturday (although in Kant’s later years only on Saturday), at which time students could ask questions, and in turn be quizzed. After Kant became a Full Professor, the Practical was always over the public lecture being held that semester (either logic or metaphysics).[more] 

Students receiving a stipend of some sort – and there were a great many at Könïgsberg – were often required to attend these Practicals as proof of their academic progress.[more] Kant’s biographer R. B. Jachmann wrote: “To give evidence of diligence and attention in Kant’s repetitorio was the surest way, as a student, to win his favor. But he also quite openly showed his displeasure if, during the repetition hour [Wiederholungsstunde], the student was unable to answer” [more] [repr. Malter 1990, 221].

Präses, praeses: Vorstand (eines kirchl. Vereins); (evang. Kirche) Vorsitzender (einer Landessynode) – the presider or chairperson. At the university, public disputations generally had a named praeses who would preside over the event.

Privatdozent (plural: Privatdozenten): Unsalaried lecturer at the university who has habilitated; a magister legens [see].

Privatissima: A course of lectures [see] offered privately to a closed group of students. These tended to pay better than the non-public lectures that one offered for honoraria. [more]

Professor (ordentliche and außerordentliche): These terms are perhaps best rendered as full (ordentliche) and associate (außerordentliche) professors, and both are to be distinguished from the unsalaried lecturers (Privatdozenten). An ordentliche Professor was a salaried teaching position that carried the obligation to offer certain lectures free of charge (i.e., publicly), usually one set of lectures per semester, with the topic and order given mandated by the state. These professorships were relatively stable and normally retained until death (see Professors: Introduction). There were far fewer außerordentliche Professoren; these come with little or no salary attached and usually with only nominal teaching obligations. Associate professorships were often quite ephemeral, although we do find lecturers applying for vacated positions – for instance, Kant had applied for Martin Knutzen’s position [more].

Prussia: (German: Preussen; Latin: Borussia) Königsberg and its environs constituted the original Prussia and the people living there the authentic Prussians. As with nearly any acre of land in Europe, Prussia’s history was complicated, but in a nutshell: The land had been a fiefdom of the Polish kingdom since 1466 (Second Treaty of Torun), then passed by marriage into the house of Hohenzollern in 1618, and eventually gained its sovereignty (and independence from the Polish crown) in 1660 (Peace of Olivia). This occurred through the military and diplomatic efforts of the Hohenzollern Friedrich Wilhelm (the “Great Elector” of Brandenburg, ruled 1640-1688). (A century later under Friedrich II, the “Second Partition of Poland" in 1772 resulted in the newly acquired Polish lands becoming “West Prussia” and Kant’s Prussia becoming “East Prussia.”)

Brandenburg was part of the Holy Roman Empire, but Prussia was not, and Friedrich Wilhelm’s son (Elector 1688-1713; King in Prussia 1701-13) crowned himself on January 18, 1701, in the city of Königsberg, as “Friedrich I, King in Prussia,” becoming now “King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg.” The Hohenzollern lands soon became de facto lands of the independent kingdom of Prussia, and thus separate from the Holy Roman Empire. The royal succession through the 18th century was as follows:

[1] Friedrich I (1657-1713, son of the “Great Elector”; reigned 1701-1713; coronation on 18 January 1701),

[2] Friedrich Wilhelm I (15 Aug 1688 - 31 May 1740, son of Fr. I; reigned 1713-1740; coronation on 11 September 1714),

[3] Friedrich II (24 Jan 1712 - 17 Aug 1786, “the Great,” son of FW I; reigned 1740-1786, coronation on 20 July 1740),

[4] Friedrich Wilhelm II (25 Sep 1744 - 16 Nov 1797, grandson of FWI and nephew to FII; reigned 1786-1797, coronation on 19 September 1786),

[5] Friedrich Wilhelm III (1770-1840, son of FW II; reigned 1797-1840; coronation on 5 June 1798).

Prussia-Museum: See Museums.

Prussian University: There were four Prussian universities in Kant’s day: Königsberg, Frankfurt an der Oder, Halle, and Duisburg, although Erlangen came under Prussian control in 1791 and Erfurt in 1802, and was closed by Prussia in 1816. Frankfurt was the oldest of the original four, founded as a Catholic institution and reformed in 1537. Königsberg was founded as a Lutheran institution in 1544, as was Duisburg (1655) and Halle (1694). Halle had the largest enrollments by far, followed by Königsberg, and then Frankfurt and Duisburg [more].

Pulsator: This was a student (specifically, “a Prussian student of good standing”) employed to ring a small bell every half-hour during disputations, as well as at the beginning of meals, where it is also their job to offer prayers and to read. The pulsator was paid from fees drawn from the disputatants and participants of other ceremonies, and was given free lodging in the Alumnat [see] [Lilienthal 1728, 4: 808; Arnoldt 1746, 1: 311-12].

[top] Q   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Quarto (4°): A term designating a certain book size, roughly 5 1/2 x 8 inches (see entry for: Bogen)

[top] R   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Rat: Advisor or Councillor. See entry for: Consistorialrath, Geheimrat, Hofrat.

Recto: The front-side of a sheet/leaf, as opposed to verso (the back-side).

Regiomontanus: The Latin name for Königsberg (see entry for: Königsberg).

Reinschrift: Fair copy (see entry for: Nachschrift).

Rektor/Prorektor: Rector/Prorector. The rector was the academic and administrative head of the university. In 18th century Königsberg, the prorector was generally understood to be the previous semester’s rector, who was available to fill-in should the rector be incapacitated.

Rektorwahl/Prorektorwahl: Literally, the “election of the rector/prorector,” although in 18th century Königsberg the office of rector rotated among the university senators in a mechanical fashion that involved no choosing or voting. ‘Prorector’ was occasionally used as title for the acting rector since, officially, the rector was the political ruler (e.g., Frederick the Great). [more]

Repetitorium: See entry for: Practicals.

Royal Library (see entry for: Libraries)

Russian Occupation: The Russian Occupation of Königsberg lasted from January 1758 to July 1762 (more or less). It occurred in the context of the Seven Years War (1756-63), which began when Friedrich II occupied Saxony in August 1756 with 61,000 men. Friedrich had to cede Königsberg to the Russians when his army later lost the battle at Groß Jägersdorf against the Russians; fortunately, Königsberg itself was spared any fighting. By January 14 (1758) the Prussian military abandoned the city, and a few days later the Royal officials did likewise. On January 21, a capitulation with the Russians was concluded and the city was given over without a battle. The next day, with the church bells ringing, the Russian general William von Fernor marched into the city and set up house in the castle. It appears that the Russian calendar (which was still Julian) was not implemented during the occupation.

Empress Elizabeth died on 25 December 1761. Peter III, Elizabeth’s nephew and a Prussiaphile, assumed the throne and immediately ceased all hostile activities. He then entered an alliance with Prussia on 5 May 1762 (announced in Königsberg on July 5) and declared war on Denmark (a traditional enemy of Holstein). In Königsberg, the Russian commander ceased to be in charge, but Russian troops remained there. The Germans and Russians celebrated Catherine’s name day together on July 10, and a Friedensfest on July 14.

Peter was forced to abdicate by his German wife, Catherine (a princess of Anhalt-Zerbst), and on July 7 he was murdered by her lover and his brothers. The newly-widowed Catherine II (“the Great”) ascended the throne on June 18 and claimed as void the peace made by Peter, after which the Russian commander in Königsberg again reasserted authority, and Russia again became an occupying force. Catherine soon changed her mind, however, and on August 6 the whole affair was declared a misunderstanding. The German nobility were allowed to reenter the city, and Catherine pulled her soldiers back to Russia (in September). See Gause [1996, 2: 154], Kuehn [2001, 112-18], and Krouglov [2016].

[top] S   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

SBPK: Berlin State Library – Prussian Cultural Heritage (Staatsbibliothek Preußischer Kulturbesitz). [library list]

Schloß-Bibliothek (see entry for: Libraries)

Schwarzes Brett: A term still used, this refers to a general announcement board, which at the university in Königsberg consisted of a shallow box with a chalkboard on the back and with two hinged doors with a grill (and presumably glass) in the frame of each door, and with a decorative top and a bas-relief image of Albrecht above it (although Goldbeck says his image is painted on the wall). This was hung on the outside wall of the main university building, just to the left of the front entrance, and was the place for official notices to be posted, as well as course offerings (before WS 1770/71, it was the only official forum for private lecturers to announce their courses). It was the duty of the Pedellen to post this material [Goldbeck 1782, 140]. The Schwarzes Brett can be seen clearly in the engravings reproduced in Hubatch [1966, 10, 16]. The first engraving shows the courtyard of the university, c.1830, behind the Professors’ Vault; the Schwarzes Brett can be seen to the far left, hanging on the outer-wall of the building. The second engraving stems from the 300-year anniversary in 1844, and depicts students dressed in current (left) and older (right) fashion.

Sedez / Sextodecimo (16°): A term designating a certain book size, in which each printers’ sheet is folded four-times, to make sheets one-sixteenth of the original. (see entry for: Bogen)

Semester: The academic year consisted of two semesters, winter (WS) and summer (SS), divided by St. Michael’s (September 29) and Easter, with lectures beginning, at the very earliest, eight days after the Sunday following each of these dates. On this website, semesters are indicated either with the ‘SS’ or ‘WS’ prefix (SS 1770, WS 1771-72), or simply the years (1770, 1771-72), since winter semesters always involve two calendar years.

Semester classes always began on a Monday, and most classes met four times each week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday), but we know with Kant (and there is no reason to think Kant unique in this) that he began his private lectures later in the week (often that Thursday), and his courses on physical geography and on anthropology were offered on a Wednesday/Saturday schedule, and so would typically begin the first Wednesday. See the discussion of semester length in Professors: The Academic Schedule, and the table of semesters.

Senatstube: The room in which the faculty senate would meet. This was across the hall from the large auditorium in the Collegium Albertinum; see also the discussion of the Academic Senate in the "Universities" pages.

Seven Years War: See entry for: Russian Occupation.

Sheet: See Blatt.

Signature: See Lage.

Signum depositionis: A document given to a candidate for matriculation after he has passed the entrance exam given by the dean of the philosophy faculty, and is to be presented to the rector before he can be matriculated (thus serving as proof of having passed the entrance exam). This practice was introduced in 1717. Cf. Goldbeck [1782, 28, 59, 78, 103]. Hippel [bio] mentions this in his Lebensläufe novel: “Nur das Signum depositionis. Er schrieb uns einen Passirzettel, einen Freibrief, womit wir uns noch bei Sr. Magnificenz [the Rector] zu melden hätten. […] Nachdem das Signum depositionis unterschrieben und besiegelt war ….” [1759, 2: 145-47].

SS: Summer Semester. See: Semester.

Stadtsbibliothek / Stadtsbücherei (see entry for: Libraries)

Stammbuch: (Latin: album amicorum). An “autograph album” for collecting comments or sayings and signatures of one’s friends, relatives, and acquaintances. These were commonplace in the 18th century, something like a portable guestbook, and various of Kant’s entries in student Stammbücher have been preserved and reprinted in the Academy edition (AA 12: 415-18), with additional examples in Malter [1988b] and Stark [1993]. The UB Tübingen holds the Stammbuch of Johann Georg Marmalle, a Gymnasium professor at Königsberg (entries from 1787-94) [see]. The Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences has made available a Stammbuch from the years 1711-1726 [see].

StB: city library (Stadtbibliothek). [library list]

SUB: State and University Library (Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek). [library list]

Stüler Universiät: This is the occasional name used for the new university building on the Paradeplatz that was opened in 1862 (named after its architect: Friedrich August Stüler). See entry for: Collegium Albertinum.

Subscription List: Students wanting to attend a private lecture would sign their name to a subscription list for that course of lectures. The list was maintained by the individual professors, so the student would need to visit the professor in their home to sign the list. Signing the list indicated the student’s interest in attending the course, and obligated them to pay the required honorarium at the end of the semester. Many students would have their fee waived, and others would not be able to pay until the following semester (one finds reports that prompt payments of these fees were both appreciated and uncommon). These lists often indicated the time that the lecture was held, and would also show the number of students attending, and so are a useful (if rare) source of information on Kant’s lecturing activity. Some of these lists have been preserved, for instance the list for Kant’s anthropology lectures of WS 1792/93 (dated October 17, 1792) is housed in Berlin [SBPK, Autogr. I 2426] and the list for Kant’s lectures on “Practical Philosophy and Ethics” of WS 1773/74 (dated October 3, 1773) is housed in the New York Public Library [online]. Werner Stark has a prepared a list of the ten known subscription lists from Kant’s lectures, and can be found here.

[top] T   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Terminus a quo / terminus ad quem: The earliest (a quo) and latest (ad quem) possible date for an event. For instance, in attempting to determine the semester from which a set of notes originated, one might look for internal evidence (mention of a publicly recorded event or reference to a publication) that would mark the earliest possible source-date for the text (the terminus a quo). A date tied to the material production of the notes themselves – such as a date written on the manuscript itself – often serves as the latest possible date (the terminus ad quem). One can also speak of the terminus post quem (the limit after which; a quo) and the terminus ante quem (the limit before which; ad quem).

Testament: Materials related to Kant’s last will and testament, see: “Testament,” dated 27 Feb 1798 [AA 12: 382-385], dated 28 Feb 1798 [AA 12: 386-389], dated 22 Feb 1802 [AA 12: 389-90], dated 3 May 1802 [AA 12: 390], dated 7 Feb 1803 [AA 12: 390], dated 29 May 1803 [AA 12: 390], “Ergänzungstuck,” dated 1799 [AA 12: 391], gift to Wasianski of the golden medal, dated 8 Nov 1801 [AA 12: 392]. An inventory of Kant’s Nachlass (money, property, personal belongings, books and papers), prepared by Just. Commissarius Radke on 17 Sep 1804, is published in Radke [1901][pdf].

Testimonia: These are letters of recommendation (Zeugnisse), and were often the only indication of the student’s academic performance. Stark [1993, 260-61] lists evidence of ten such letters written by Kant (for L. A. F. Baczko, T. W. Ebel, C. J. H. Elsner, J. G. Flach, K. G. Hagen, J. E. S. Jester, F. T. Lehmann, S. Levin, H. F. Passarge, and F. L. Schröder);⁠ (Footnote: A list made available in 2015 with Stark’s online materials on physical geography includes twelve other students (this list also includes receipts for payment given to students, as well as testimonials): J.F. Crueger, H.L.A. Dohna-Wundlacken, F.A. von Finckenstein, J.B. Jachmann, J.D. Kurow, J.H.I. Lehmann, H.L. Lübeck, I. Naumburg, N.G.L. Richter, C. Schoenaich, C.W. Trosien, R.F. Weiß. (Information for Naumburg, Richter, and Weiß is also available at Stark [1993, 262].) the text of seven of these are extant, and all but two are in Latin. Baczko mentioned in his autobiography that:

Kant gave me a highly advantageous testimonial written in Latin regarding my knowledge, of which Hamann made a copy and sent to his friend in Warsaw, the Privy Councillor von Kortum, to whom he most strongly recommended me.

Kant gab mir in Betreff meiner Kenntnisse, ein höchst vortheilhaftes Zeugniß in lateinischer Sprache, wovon Hamann eine Abschrift an seinen Freund den Geheimen Rath von Kortum nach Warschau sandte, dem er mich auf das dringendste empfahl. [Baczko 1824, 2: 3]

Two samples follow:

Theodor Wilhelm Ebel: “Virum iuvenem eximium Theodor Guiliem. Ebel Bialla Boruss. I.V.St, collegia mea philosophica tam privata quam publica, et praeterea repetitorium frequentasse, testor. Regiom d 14 Febr. 1788 I.Kant. Log et M. P.O” [Stark 1993, 260]

Christoph Johann Heinrich Elsner: “Dass Herr Christoph Johann Heinr. Elsner, aus Bartenstein in Preussen gebürtig; Sohn des Herrn Dr. Elsner, practischen Medicus in Königsberg: der von Berlin, über Hamburg nach Bordeaux zu Schiffe abgegangen, bey mir alle seine philosophische Collegia frequentiert und von seinem Fleiss zu Erwerbung gründlicher Kenntnisse die besten Proben gegeben, bezeuge hiemit. / Koenigsberg, d. 10. Juny 1800. / Immanuel Kant Der Logik und Metaph. / Professor ordin., der Philos. Facult u. der ganzen Universität Senior, der Königl. Preuss. Acad der Wissensch. in Berlin und der Russisch Kayserlichen zu St. Petersburg Mitglied.” [Krause 1920, 140; qtd. Stark 1993, 260]

[top] U   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

UB: University Library (Universitätsbibliothek). [library list]

Universitäts-Bibliothek (see entry for: Libraries)

Urschrift (see entry for: Nachschrift)

[top] V   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Venia legendi: The privilege of teaching in the faculty as a Privatdozent (lecturer), conferred upon a Magister by one of the faculties of a university.

Verso: The back-side of a sheet/leaf, as opposed to recto (the front-side).

Vorlage: Model.

Vorlesung: Lecture. The lecture was one of two standard teaching methods at the university in Kant’s day (the other was the Practical [see]), and these semester-long courses of lectures might be either public or private. Public lectures cost nothing to attend, and were given by the full professors (sometimes also by associate professors), for which they were paid a salary. Each full professor was required to give one course of public lectures every semester, with both the topic and the time specified [list of philosophy faculty at Königsberg]. Kant’s public lectures (after becoming a professor in 1770) were Metaphysics (taught in the winter) and Logic (taught in the summer). Private lectures were offered independently of any contract with the government, could be over any topic, so long as one did not violate a boundary with another faculty – e.g., a professor or lecturer in the philosophy faculty, as such, could not lecture on revealed theology, or civil law, or human anatomy, for instance. Students would be charged to attend these private lectures, generally four Reichsthaler per course, although poor students would often ask to attend for free, which Kant occasionally allowed. [more]

Vorlesungsverzeichnis: Lecture catalog (catalogus praelectionum, catalogus lectionum). By law,⁠ (Footnote: In an edict of 1672, partially reprinted as appendix #69 in Arnoldt [1746, 1: 408-9]; see also the edict of 17 March 1717, printed as appendix #68. ) this was to be published and distributed before the beginning of each semester – “printed in Latin on two sheets and distributed among the students” [Goldbeck 1782, 89] – no later than eight days after the installation of the new rector – thus, the second Monday after either Easter (for summer semester) or St. Michaels (for winter semester). [more] Included here were all public and private lectures, but not the so-called privatissima [see], which were entirely private arrangements between a professor and a small group of students. Before 1770, the lectures offered by the Privatdozenten were not printed in this Vorlesungsverzeichnis, and instead were posted on the schwarzes Brett [see].

Facsimiles of several of these catalogs are offered in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999]. Prior to 1770-71, when the courses only of professors (full and associate) were listed, the catalog was printed on four folio pages. After this semester, when all offered courses were included, the catalog was printed on eight quarto pages: the title page lists the new rector, the university chancellor, and the four new deans of the faculties, followed by a brief Latin address,⁠ (Footnote: Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999] suggest that these prefatory addresses were composed by the incoming rector; Dietzsch [2003, 294-96] has more recently argued that they were written by the incoming dean of philosophy, which would mean that we have six brief Latin addresses by Kant — one for each semester that Kant served as dean. Dietzsch offers German translations of these addresses[2003, 297-307]. NB: The title page and preface from WS 1785/86 is inadvertently listed in Dietzsch as SS 1785. ) and then five pages of the course listings, beginning with the theology courses, then law, then medicine, and finally philosophy. Earlier in the century the philosophy listings were arranged by professor, in order of seniority; later, they were first sub-divided into philology, history, math, and philosophy (which would include logic, metaphysics, practical philosophy, physics, geography, anthropology, political economy, natural law). A much closer description is given in Oberhausen/Pozzo [1999, xli-xliii].

Not all of the announced lectures actually took place; there are university and government records that document courses that were actually completed. The course offerings from WS 1781/82, as listed in the catalog, are included among the Professors pages.

Vorsatzblatt: The endpapers (or “endleaves”) of a book, usually of a heavier kind of paper than that used for the body of the book; it is double the size of the normal book pages, with one-half glued to the inside of the cover [Deckel] and the base of the title page. In older books, these end-pages are often decorative or marbled. The next page is the title page, which is the first page of the body of the book (all of the same kind of paper).

[top] W   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Wallenrodt Library (see entry for: Libraries)

Warda Number: The number assigned to each edition of Kant’s publication in Arthur Warda’s 1919 bibliography [see].

WS: Winter Semester. See entry for: Semester.

[top] Y   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

[top] Z   [ A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z ]

Zeugnis: Letter of recommendation (see entry for: Testimonia).

---

Footnotes

ALZ

Amanuensis

Bible, Kant’s

Bridges

Inspicient

Libraries

Museums

Testimonia

Vorlesungsverzeichnis

Copyright ©2006 Steve Naragon (Manchester University)
Last modified: 28 Aug 2024
Please send comments and questions to: ssnaragon@manchester.edu