The Local Rise and International Role of Marischal College, 1593-1860

525 Years in the Pursuit of Truth: A New History of The University of Aberdeen

From its inception the purpose of Marischal College is fascinating. Most historical discussion has centred on its being a more seriously ‘Protestant’ alternative to the Episcopal (by which many mean crypto-Catholic) King’s College in Old Aberdeen. Unfortunately, this does not hold up to scrutiny. Founded as a civic university that catered to the sons of Aberdeen’s elite, Marischal prepared young men for careers in medicine, religion, and ‘commerce’ (broadly defined). Consequently, King’s and Marischal developed different international ‘profiles’ that reflected their diverging institutional objectives. What defined Marischal from its inception to the union of the two colleges in 1860 was its international student mobility both in students leaving Marischal for a life abroad and for those coming to Aberdeen from the far corners not only of the British imperial world but even further afield. Professor Naphy surveys the global and institutional history of Marischal College from its founding to the union of 1860. Marischal may have started as an institution for educating the children of local elites but the civic university attracted international students as an ideal destination to prepare young men for public life, which gradually elevated its reputation beyond the northeast of Scotland as an institution firmly embedded not only in Aberdeen but also the wider world. Find the transcript online: https://www.abdn.ac.uk/events/resources/index.php#panel1550