The Use of the Authentica Habita of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in the Corporate Law of the Portuguese University in the 13th — 14th Centuries

Abstract

The article discusses various forms of using the most important authoritative medieval legal text dedicated to the status of scholars, the authentica Habita of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa in documents related to the founding and corporate law of the Portuguese University, established in 1288/1290 in Lisbon and later moved to Coimbra. It proposes to consider this text as the most important guideline for understanding the essence of the studium generale by members of university corporations, royal and ecclesiastical authorities. At the same time, Habita was open to various interpretations, reflecting the mobility of ideas about the tasks and status of higher education, as well as its relations with the authorities, which is clearly visible in the case of the University of Lisbon–Coimbra