Matrix of the later seal of the Faculty of Medicine

Description

Between 1450 and 1459 twenty seven citizens of Basle had studied at Erfurt, and when Basle University opened in 1460 five of the lecturers teaching there were graduates of Erfurt. These personal links explain why the organization of Basle University was largely modelled on Erfurt; in places the statutes of Basle repeat those of Erfurt word for word. Basle's dependency on Erfurt is evident even in the choice of imagery for its seals. As in Erfurt, the ox of St Luke (without the Evangelist himself) was chosen for the seal of the Faculty of Medicine. According to a passage in St Paul Luke had been a doctor (Colossians 4:14). The ox as the symbol of Luke was therefore also used as a symbol of the medical profession. The earlier seal of the Faculty of Medicine also had the ox of Luke on it. In this more recent matrix - there is documentary evidence that it was made in 1570/71 - the ox is holding an open book with its front legs containing the inscription LV/KAS//ME/DI/CVS. It is not clear why the faculty had this seal made in 1570/71 as a very similar one dating from the C15 is still in existence; perhaps the older matrix had been mislaid for a short period.