New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1879-12-14
LADY PROFESSORS OF LONG AGO.

From The Qren. ,..
Girls are becoming learned colleges ior thein a,'
beginning to rise within sntures ago for their
male relations alone. The time VIII come W.T.. ~
maidens will clamor for the letters OIL ocs'eo W
be tagged to their names, ana wheh
Academic silks I'm hue
The lilac, with a sIlken hood To eaen'
And z0ned with gold.
will no longer be the pretty conceit OF poet, nut
the actual vestury of girl-graduates. we are
tempted to ask those VINO speak leeiinRy vi .no
past aud apppchensivclv OF the future.t tncy Know
that i'm DAYS very remote from those they look
back upon with such ailectionate regret, There
was university. the most famous of those OF
the middle ages that treated women rs u treated
men-gave to them the same privileges OF training
tagged the degree of doctor to the names OF the de-
serving and not only invested those who had II
with the cap and gown that were its badge. but
Tins arraved. allowed ladies 10 ascend the profess
sor's rostium and lecture to students;
It's of the University of Bologna that we speak
The date of its foundation is uncertain Existing
documents seem to fix it toward the middle OF the
fifth century Ii not. however, till the twelfth
that it burst into sudden fame, for then lrnerlus
lcctured III il on Roman law and by tie spiendor OF
his lore and eoquencc drew the gaze OF all learned
Europe upon 1t. Crowds of students and scholars
ocked to hear and learn from the Jurlsconsult VINO
was at once the real founder OF the University OF
BOLOGNA and the reformer of the whole law code of
Europe Irnerius besides lecturlng ana writing
worked with might and main to form ana establish
n aw-schoOl that would carry on his work after MS
death He traced the course of work to be followed
by his disciples and descendants, invented me de-
gree of Bachelor and Doctor. and designed inc cap
and gown that were their insignia. lrnerllis mace
no distinction of sexes III his scheme Ill women
had the pluck, the power of work in them, ana the
desire to become jursconsults, the great law re-
former saw no reason that they should not. They
mus, 90 through the same training as the men-sx
wears for canon law eight for civil law; hey mus,
submit to the two necessary tesIS 'he ptin"'c ah
the public examinations. The latter to1h
place IN the cathedral before the dlgnItaries inc
College of Doctors. the students the eccleslastGS
and the principal inhabitants OF Bologna. Inc
fort he
was called upon to read thesis, eXpound some
knotty law point and maintain and defend MS OF
her explanation OF 1T, against all uisDutants. II
victorious in the contest, the degree OF Doctor WIN
the cap and gown, were won and duly awarded
The names of several ladles-wise Ior,las Wen
learned in law-are inscribed IN the records OF iie
university as having been invested WIN the lltie
and the badge. Space Will not allow us 10
enter into details about them fnrther IMAM
to notice the pquant account of tho fair Novella
daughter of Giovanni dAndrea. the most famous
urisconsut of the fourteenth century, given 10y
Christine de Psan in LA Cite DIES Danes Inc
quaint old manuscript does not record whether
Novclla stood the public examination or was re-
ceived a doctor; but 1t tells how she excelieu IN
legal lore so that when the wise Giovanni coma
not attend TO his students he sent hls daughter 10
take his place at the university. And so iar was
She" it goes on to relate tnat llI'Ie cuI,ain a,'d
cause the thoughts of her listeners to wander, and
| her instruction be of no avail To them.
The fame OF the legal schools of Bologna threw
into the shade those of the other branches OF learn
ing pursued in the univerSIty but they too; had
| thelr share OF celebrity. In medicine the ladies'
won full degrees some were professors OF anatomy
There is portrait by GlOrgione OF one OF these III
the fifteenth century. The slight figure stands mp
right, clad i'll doctors gown, skuil III hahu, as l,
must have stood many times before the assembled
students. The grave. beautiful, somewhat
weary countenance pale above the
dark and flowing draperles OF mo probes
sioUal robe. Later i'll the eighteenth century,
the wax casts, modelled by another lazy
professor of anatomy TO illustrate her lectures are
sill among the ornaments of the museum nj Bo-
logna. In 1906 Napoleon !. founded the char OF
obstetrics for Maria dale Donne, whose medical
and surgical know ledge ranked her high among the
pnysicians of her day. In art, there was SalnDe-
rn the assistant of Raphael If ProDerzla RosSi
was not an art professor IN the university, her
name must no. yet be omitted. Her fame as
sculptrcss reached far beyond Italy, and Nasar re-
corded il his lives of the eminent artists oil the
fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
IN more modern times Laura BaSsl was professor
of philosophy in 1913. This ladys learning won
for her on the day of her public examination, that
took place with all the pagcaniry OF the middle
ages not only her doctors degree, but the unani-
nous vote of the Senate TO crown her with wreath
of silver leaves. Maria GaGtana Agnesc succeeded
her father in the chair of ahematlcs IN l|oO she
WAS the Mrs SOmervile of Italy. Her works were
translated into French and English, and, after
her DEATH her euOgy was pronounced IN me
French Academy. In 1884 the beautiful Clotllde
Tambron was professor of Greek. The warmth oil
her loving heart and the noble use she made OF er
intellectual gifts have been recorded by MI: Au-
pustus Hare in the Memories of II Quiet Life
This ia necessarily but very meagre account oil
the learned ladies of Bologna. III ~, however, our
gracious task to conclude 1t by noticing the TACT
mat the chrOnclers If their learning are also those
Il their domestic virtues, their unsullled mOdes'y,
their gentle social graces.