The Corps Hannovera still commits itself to the principles of academic fencing, as well as the common principles of tolerance and democracy shared by all Corps of the KSCV. Its members wear red and blue couleur (red cap and tricoloured sash) on official occasions. Hannovera's Latin motto is Nunquam retrorsum, fortes adiuvat fortuna! (engl: Never backward, fortune favours the bold).
The Corps Hannovera officially regards 18 January 1809 as its founding date though it can be proved that there were similar gatherings of Hanoverian students in Göttingen as far back as 1735.
The Corps Hannovera is also a founding member of the blaues Prinzip or blue principle (along with fellow cartel Corps Teutonia Marburg [de] and Lusatia Leipzig [de]). The blue principle is a social principle which consists of the promotion of gentlemanly conduct and social behavior. Flowing from these ideals Corps Hannovera host several social events in their club house (Corpshaus) which are generally regarded as some of the most coveted and exclusive social occasions in Göttingen.[citation needed]
The Corps has some members from the United Kingdom and the United States. Including the later physician Mitchell Campbell King from South Carolina, who belonged to the circle of Bismarck's American friends in Göttingen. During his stay at Gottingen in 1856 John Pierpont Morgan joined the Corps, but was "not a full fledged member" since he wanted to avoid a smite.[1] Others have worked in the US and Canada like surgeon Hinrich Bitter-Suermann.
Further reading
Rosco Weber: The German Corps in the Third Reich. Macmillan, London 1986
Stephen Klimczuk, Gerald Warner: Secret Places, Hidden Sanctuaries: Uncovering Mysterious Sights, Symbols, and Societies, Sterling Publishing Company, 2009, p. 224-232 (The German University Corps)
