Introduction to Part I

Mathematicians can sometimes be ferociously competitive, making rivalry a central theme in the history of mathematics. Various forms of competitive behavior come easily to mind, but here I am mainly concerned with a specific rivalry between two leading research communities as this evolved during the latter-half of the nineteenth century in Germany. This concern has, in fact, less to do with specific intellectual achievements, important as these were, than with the larger context of professional development that eventually led to a clearly demarcated German mathematical community by the end of that century. Unlike the highly centralized French community, in which Parisian institutions and their members dominated the scene, the German universities were largely autonomous and tended to cultivate knowledge in local settings, some more important than others.