BURSCHENSCHAFT

burschenschaft, an association of students at the german universities. it was formed as a result of the german national sentiment awakened by the war of liberation, its object being to foster patriotism and christian conduct, as opposed to the particularism and low moral standard of the old _landsmannschaften_. it originated at jena, under the patronage of the grand-duke of saxe-weimar, and rapidly spread, the _allgemeine deutsche burschenschaft_ being established in 1818. the loud political idealism of the _burschen_ excited the fears of the reactionary powers, which culminated after the murder of kotzebue (_q.v._) by karl sand in 1819, a crime inspired by a secret society among the _burschen_ known as the blacks (_schwarzen_). the repressive policy embodied in the carlsbad decrees (_q.v._) was therefore directed mainly against the _burschenschaft_, which none the less survived to take part in the revolutions of 1830. after the _emeute_ at frankfort in 1833, the association was again suppressed, but it lived on until, in 1848, all laws against it were abrogated. the _burschenschaften_ are now purely social and non-political societies. the _reformburschenschaften_, formed since 1883 on the principle of excluding duelling, are united in the _allgemeiner deutscher burschenbund_.