Traditions
The tradition of the beadle and staff are certainly not unique to the VU. Almost all universities have a beadle and the position is as old as that of rector, dating back to the 13th century. The position was initially administrative in addition to ceremonial. The beadle announced the rector and took care of all kinds of matters of 'general university benefit', such as the registration of new students and the registration of the exams. The beadle also helped doctoral students prepare for their promotions, a task that the Office of the Beadle still has today.
Wrong symbol?
When founding VU Amsterdam, Abraham Kuyper liked to use existing symbols, such as the seal with the virgin in the garden.
When designing the staff, however, some say he reverted to the wrong symbols. On top of the staff there is a sphere with a silver, non-biblical Minerva figure with spear and shield. In addition, there are four silver plates hanging from it which include the seal of the Virgin in the garden, the inscription D. XX M. OCTOBR. ANNI MDCCCLXXX DIES NATALIS (October 20, 1880 birthday).
Minerva, Roman goddess of wisdom
Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, was not an uncontroversial choice for the VU supporters, and it came in for a lot of criticism after the opening in 1880, where the staff was on display for the first time.
Abraham Kuyper, however, explained that the Free University had joined the Dutch university tradition, the foundation for which had been laid in 1574 with the inauguration of the Leiden Academy. He noted that "it has pleased God the Lord to cause science to germinate not in Israel, but among the Greeks and later the Romans" and therefore the Reformed "judged that we should honor God's generous arrangement by taking as a symbol of science what has applied to it throughout the ages among all the peoples who count, namely the type of Minerva".
