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The Journey of Science from Vienna to Istropolis - The Influence of John Vitez's Education on the Founding of the University of Bratislava

This paper studies the possible relation between John Vitez’s education and the university he founded in Bratislava in 1467. Vitez enrolled in the University of Vienna in 1434 and it is uncertain how long he remained there. He probably didn’t obtain any university degrees and it is unknown which courses he followed. However, it is noticeable that at the time of his potential stay, the University of Vienna already had a strong astronomical component. Some of the leading European astronomers, first and foremost John of Gmunden, taught there during the mid-15th century, and it is likely that Vitez developed an interest in the art, especially in prognostic astrology, already during his student days in Vienna. His interest in it shows clearly in the direction in which he pointed the University of Bratislava, which had at least one, and probably more distinguished astronomers as its professors, such as Martin Bylica and Johannes Regiomontanus. It can be assumed that he wanted his university to be close to and to cooperate with its Viennese counterpart, and it is certain that Vienna alumni taught at and – in the person of George von Schönberg, Vitez’s vice-chancellor – governed the University of Bratislava. However, the main field of their cooperation seems to be theology, which Vitez didn’t study at any university, and his student experience could therefore not apply to it. We could also assume that Vitez wanted his university to be modelled, at least to some degree, on the University of Vienna, but it is uncertain to which degree that was influenced by his own student experiences.

medieval universities, medieval astronomy, intellectual history, John Vitez

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