Self-presentation and geographical origin at the fifteenth-century University of Paris: an analysis of manuscript decoration

ABSTRACT This article analyses the decorated prefatory statements in two fifteenth-century books of the proctors of the German natio at the University of Paris as part of the discussion on the relationship between academic mobility and identity construction in medieval Europe. The article argues that the decorated statements – a virtually unexplored source – functioned as acts of self-presentation and ‘public identities’ for the proctors. Then, it discusses the complex role of geographical origins and related political, linguistic and cultural factors in the articulation of identity in the Parisian scholarly community. The relevance of the analysis for the debates surrounding the idea of ‘national identity’ in medieval Europe is also addressed.