Heidelburg University

The Great Schism of 1378 made it possible for Heidelberg, a relatively small city and capital of the Electorate of the Palatinate, to gain its own university.The Great Schism was initiated by the election of two popes after the death of Pope Gregory XI in the same year.One successor resided in Avignon (elected by the French) and the other in Rome (elected by the Italian cardinals).The German secular and spiritual leaders voiced their support for the successor in Rome, which had far-reaching consequences for the German students and teachers in Paris: they lost their stipends and had to leave.

Rupert I recognized the opportunity and initiated talks with the Curia, which ultimately led to a papal bull for foundation of a university. After having received, on 23 October 1385, permission from pope Urban VI to create a school of general studies (Latin: studium generale), the final decision to found the university was taken on 26 June 1386 at the behest of Rupert I, Count Palatine of the Rhine. As specified in the papal charter, the university was modelled after the University of Paris and included four faculties: philosophy, theology, jurisprudence, and medicine.