Prophets and Grammarians

On the Purpose and Method of Higher Education in Reformation Zurich

Abstract

After years of preparation, in June 1525 Zwingli’s plan could finally come to fruition: from then on learned scholars would give daily public and free lectures in Latin on theology, rhetoric, dialectic and poetics. This marked the beginning of the history of higher education in Zurich, which was due to culminate in the foundation of the University of Zurich three centuries later. But what was Zwingli’s intention in giving birth to those public lectures? Which models inspired him and how should his purposes be fleshed out in the classroom? The article addresses these questions by pointing to the essential connection that, according to the Zurich Reformers, linked prophecy and grammar together.