In 1602 the German nation of the University of Orléans decided to separate the registration of new members from the texte des rapports in the Livres des procurateurs, 1444-1602. The registres matricules that were subsequently used show that in the seventeenth century many young people from a great diversity of European countries found their way to Orléans. Apart from the genuine students, many were 'tourists', though considered by the authorities as 'étudiants universitaires'.
Joining the German nation offered the newly enrolled the privilege of being part of a university community that had traditionally been favoured by the French kings with special privileges, such as royal protection in time of war and, more importantly, freedom of religion. A majority of these student-tourists came from the nobility or from urban patrician families.