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[Illustration]
The Oxford Degree
Ceremony
By
J. Wells
Fellow of Wadham College
Oxford
At the Clarendon Press
1906
HENRY FROWDE, M.A.
PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD
LONDON, EDINBURGH
NEW YORK AND TORONTO
PREFACE
The object of this little book is to attempt to set forth the meaning of
our forms and ceremonies, and to show how much of University history is
involved in them. It naturally makes no pretensions to independent
research; I have simply tried to make popular the results arrived at in
Dr. Rashdall's great book on the _Universities of the Middle Ages_, and
in the Rev. Andrew Clark's invaluable _Register of the University of
Oxford_ (published by the Oxford Historical Society). My obligations to
these two books will be patent to all who know them; it has not,
however, seemed necessary to give definite references either to these or
to Anstey's _Munimenta Academica_ (Rolls Series), which also has been
constantly used.
I have tried as far as possible to introduce the language of the
statutes, whether past or present; the forms actually used in the degree
ceremony itself are given in Latin and translated; in other cases a
rendering has usually been given, but sometimes the original has been
retained, when the words were either technical or such as would be
easily understood by all.
The illustrations, with which the Clarendon Press has furnished the
book, are its most valuable part. Every Oxford man, who cares for the
history of his University, will be glad to have the reproduction of the
portrait of the fourteenth-century Chancellor and of the University
seal.
I have to thank Dr. Rashdall and the Rev. Andrew Clark for most kindly
reading through my chapters, and for several suggestions, and Professor
Oman for special help in the Appendix on 'The University Staves'.
J.W.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I PAGE
THE DEGREE CEREMONY 1
CHAPTER II
THE MEANING OF THE DEGREE CEREMONY 19
CHAPTER III
THE PRELIMINARIES OF THE DEGREE CEREMONY 34
CHAPTER IV
THE OFFICERS OF THE UNIVERSITY 50
CHAPTER V
UNIVERSITY DRESS 64
CHAPTER VI
THE PLACES OF THE DEGREE CEREMONY 79
APPENDIX I
THE PUBLIC ASSEMBLIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD 93
APPENDIX II
THE UNIVERSITY STAVES 94
INDEX 97
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
THE ORIGINAL SHELDONIAN _Frontispiece_
THE UNIVERSITY SEAL _To face p._1
(The seal dates from the fourteenth
century and is kept by the Proctors.)
THE CHANCELLOR RECEIVING A CHARTER FROM EDWARD III _To face p._19
(From the Chancellor's book, circ. 1375.)
MASTER AND SCHOLAR _To face p._34
(From the title-page of Burley's _Tractatus
de natura et forma_.)
THE BEDEL OF DIVINITY'S STAFF _To face p._50
PROCTOR AND SCHOLARS OF THE RESTORATION PERIOD _To face p._64
(From _Habitus Academicorum_, attributed
to D. Loggan, 1674.)
THE INTERIOR OF THE DIVINITY SCHOOL _To face p._79
[Illustration]
CHAPTER I
THE DEGREE CEREMONY
The streets of Oxford are seldom dull in term time, but a stranger who
chances to pass through them between the hours of nine and ten on the
morning of a degree day, will be struck and perhaps perplexed by their
unwonted animation. He will find the quads of the great block of
University buildings, which lie between the 'Broad' and the Radcliffe
Square, alive with all sorts and conditions of Oxford men, arrayed in
every variety of academic dress. Groups of undergraduates stand waiting,
some in the short commoner's gown, others in the more dignified gown of
the scholar, all wearing the dark coats and white ties usually
associated with the 'Schools' and examinations, but with their faces
free from the look of anxiety incident to those occasions. Here and
there are knots of Bachelors of Arts, in their ampler gowns with
fur-lined hoods, some only removed by a brief three years from their
undergraduate days, others who have evidently allowed a much longer
period to pass before returning to bring their academic career to its
full and complete end. From every college comes the Dean in his Master's
gown and hood, or if he be a Doctor, in the scarlet and grey of one of
the new Doctorates, in the dignified scarlet and black of Divinity, or
in the bold blending of scarlet and crimson which marks Medicine and
Law. College servants, with their arms full of gowns and hoods, will be
seen in the background, waiting to assist in the academic robing of
their former masters, and to pocket the 'tips' which time-honoured
custom prescribes.
Presently, when the hour of ten has struck, the procession of academic
dignity may be seen approaching across the Quad, the Vice-Chancellor
preceded by his staves as the symbol of authority, the Proctors in their
velvet sleeves and miniver hoods, and the Registrar (or Secretary) of
the University.
Already most of those concerned are waiting in the room where degrees
are to be given: others still lingering outside follow the
Vice-Chancellor and the Proctors, and the ceremony of conferring degrees
begins.
Should our imaginary spectator wish to see the ceremony, he will have no
difficulty in gaining admittance to the Sheldonian, even if he have
delayed outside till the proceedings have commenced; but if the degrees
are conferred in one of the smaller buildings, it is well to secure a
seat beforehand, which can be done through any Master of Arts. The
ceremony will well repay a visit, for it is picturesque, it should be
dignified, it is sometimes amusing. But it is more than this; in the
conferment of University Degrees are preserved formulae as old as the
University itself, and a ritual which, if understood, is full of meaning
as to the oldest University history. The formulae, it is true, are
veiled in the obscurity of a learned language, and the ritual is often a
mere survival, which at first sight may seem trivial and useless; but
those who care for Oxford will wish that every syllable and every form
that has come down to us from our ancient past should be retained and
understood. It is to explain what is said and what is done on these
occasions that this little book is written.
[Sidenote: Notice of Degree Ceremony.]
Degrees at Oxford are conferred on days appointed by the
Vice-Chancellor, of which notice is now given at the beginning of every
term, in the _University Gazette_; the old form of giving notice,
however, is still retained, in the tolling of the bell of St. Mary's for
the hour preceding the ceremony (9 to 10 a.m.)[1]. The assembly at
which degrees are conferred is the Ancient House of Congregation (p.
93). The old arrangement of the Laudian Statutes is still maintained, by
which the proceedings commence with the entrance of the Vice-Chancellor
and Proctors, while one of the Bedels 'proclaims in a quiet tone',
'Intretis in Congregationem, magistri, intretis.' The Vice-Chancellor,
when he has formally taken his seat, declares the 'cause of this
Congregation'. It will be noticed that both the Vice-Chancellor and the
two Proctors, as representing the elements of authority in the
University (as will be explained later), wear their caps all through the
ceremony.
[Sidenote: Other business beside Degree giving.]
Degree giving, however, is sometimes preceded and delayed by the
confirmation of the lists of examiners who have been 'duly nominated' by
the committees appointed for this purpose; it is of course natural that
the same body which gives the degree should appoint the examiners, on
whose verdicts the degree now mainly depends. A less reasonable cause of
delay is the fact that the 'Congregation' is sometimes preceded by a
'Convocation' for the dispatch of general business, as a rule (but not
always) of a formal character; the two bodies, Convocation and
Congregation, are usually made up of the same persons, and are the same
in all but name; the change from one to the other is marked by the
Vice-Chancellor's descending from his higher seat, with the words
'Dissolvimus hanc Convocationem; fiat Congregatio'.
[Sidenote: The Registrar's Declaration.]
The degree ceremony itself begins with the declaration on the part of
the Registrar that the candidates for the degrees have duly received
permissions (_gratiae_) from their Colleges to present themselves, and
that their names have been approved by him[2]; he has already certified
himself from the University Register that all necessary examinations
have been passed, and has been informed officially that all fees have
been paid. The names have been already posted outside the door of the
House; it is said that this is done to enable a tradesman to find out
when any of his young debtors is about to leave Oxford, so that he may
protest, if he wish, against the degree. The posting, however, is
natural for many reasons, and no such tradesman's protest has been
known for years; nor is it easy to see how it could be made by any one
not himself a member of the University.
[Sidenote: The College Grace.]
The form of the college 'grace' states that the candidate has performed
all the University requirements; that for the B.A. may be given as a
specimen:--
'I, _A.B._, Dean of the College _C.D._, bear witness that _E.F._ of
the College _C.D._, whom I know to have kept bed and board
continuously within the University for the whole period required by
the statutes for the degree of B.A., according as the statutes
require, since he has undergone a public examination and performed
all the other requirements of the statutes, except so far as he has
been dispensed, has received from his college the grace for the
degree of B.A. Under my pledged word to this University.
_A.B._, Dean of the College _C.D._'
The words as to residence, that 'bed and board have been kept
continuously' are derived immediately from the Laudian statute, but are
in fact much older: the other clauses have of course been changed.
[Sidenote: Order of Degrees.]
The various degrees are then taken in the following order:--
Doctor of Divinity.
Doctor of Civil Law or of Medicine.
Bachelor of Divinity.
Master of Surgery.
Bachelor of Civil Law or of Medicine (and of Surgery).
Doctor of Letters or of Science.[3]
Master of Arts.
Bachelor of Letters or of Science.
Bachelor of Arts.
Musical degrees.
It sometimes happens, however, that a candidate is taking two degrees at
once (i.e. B.A. and M.A.); this 'unusual distinction', as local
newspapers admiringly call it, is generally due to the unkindness of
examiners who have prolonged the ordinary B.A. course by repeated
'ploughs'. In these cases the lower degree is conferred out of order
before the higher.
The same forms are observed in granting all degrees; they are fourfold,
and are repeated for each separate degree or set of degrees. Here they
are only described once, while minor peculiarities in the granting of
each degree are noticed in their place; but it is important to remember
that the essentials recur in each admission; this explains the
apparently meaningless repetition of the same ceremonies. This
repetition was once a much more prominent feature; within living memory
it was necessary for each 'grace' to be taken separately, and the
Proctors 'walked' for each candidate. Degree ceremonies in those days
went on to an interminable length, although the number graduating was
only half what it is now.
[Sidenote: (1) The _Supplicat_.]
The first form is the appeal to the House for the degree. One of the
Proctors reads out the _supplicat_, i.e. the petition of the candidate
or candidates to be allowed to graduate; this is the duty of the Senior
Proctor in the case of the M.A.s, of the Junior Proctor in the case of
the B.A.s; for the higher degrees, e.g. the Doctorate, either Proctor
may 'supplicate'.
The form of the _supplicat_ is the same, with necessary variations, in
all cases; that for the M.A. may be given as a specimen:--
'Supplicat venerabili Congregationi Doctorum et Magistrorum regentium
_E.F._ Baccalaureus facultatis Artium e collegio _C._ qui complevit
omnia quae per statuta requiruntur, (nisi quatenus cum eo dispensatum
fuerit) ut haec sufficiant quo admittatur ad incipiendum in eadem
facultate.'
('_E.F._ of _C._ College, Bachelor of Arts, who has completed all the
requirements of the statutes (except so far as he has been excused),
asks of the venerable Congregation of Doctors and Regent Masters that
these things may suffice for his admission to incept in the same
faculty.')
This form is at least as old as the sixteenth century, and probably much
older; but in its original form it set forth more precisely what the
candidate had done for his degree (cf. cap. ii). After each _supplicat_
has been read by the Proctor, he with his colleague walks half-way down
the House; this is in theory a formal taking of the votes of the M.A.s
present. When the Proctors have returned to their seats, the one of them
who has read the _supplicat_, lifting his cap (his colleague imitating
him in this), declares 'the graces (or grace) to have been granted'
('Hae gratiae concessae sunt et sic pronuntiamus concessas'). The
Proctors' walk is the most curious feature of the degree ceremony; it
always excites surprise and sometimes laughter. It should, however, be
maintained with the utmost respect; for it is the clear and visible
assertion of the democratic character of the University; it implies that
every qualified M.A. has a right to be consulted as to the admission of
others to the position which he himself has attained.
But popular imagination has invented a meaning for it, which certainly
was not contemplated in its institution; it is currently believed that
the Proctors walk in order to give any Oxford tradesman the opportunity
of 'plucking' their gown and protesting against the degree of a
defaulting candidate. 'Verdant Green'[4] was told that this was the
origin of the ominous 'pluck', which for centuries was a word of terror
in Oxford; in the last half-century, it has been superseded by the more
familiar 'plough'. There is a tradition that such a protest has actually
been made within living memory and certainly it was threatened quite
recently; a well-known Oxford coach (now dead) informed the Proctors
that he intended in this way to prevent the degree of a pupil who had
passed his examinations, but had not paid his coach's fee. The
defaulter, in this case, failed to present himself for the degree, and
so the 'plucking' did not take place.
[Sidenote: (2) The Presentation.]
The second part of the ceremony is the presentation of the candidates to
the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors; this is done in the case of the higher
degrees, Divinity, Medicine, &c., by the Professor at the head of the
faculty[5], in the case of the M.A.s and B.A.s by the representative of
the college.
The candidates are placed on the right hand of the presenter, who with
'a proper bow' ('debita reverentia') to the Vice-Chancellor and the
Proctors, presents them with the form appropriate to the degree they are
seeking; that for the M.A. is as follows:--
'Insignissime Vice-Cancellarie, vosque egregii Procuratores,
praesento vobis hunc Baccalaureum in facultate Artium, ut admittatur
ad incipiendum in eadem facultate.'
('Most eminent Vice-Chancellor, and excellent Proctors, I present
this B.A. to you for admission to incept in the faculty of Arts.')
The old custom was that the presenter should grasp the hand of each
candidate and present him separately; some senior members of the
University still hold the hand of one of their candidates, though the
custom of separate presentation has been abolished; there was an
intermediate stage fifty years ago, when the number of those who could
be presented at once was limited to five; each of them held a finger or
a thumb of the presenter's right hand.
[Sidenote: (3) The Proctorial Charge.]
The third part of the ceremony is the charge which is delivered, usually
by the Junior Proctor, to the candidates for the degree. Each receives a
copy of the New Testament from the Bedel, on which to take his oath. The
charge to all candidates for a doctorate or for the M.A. is:--
'Vos dabitis fidem ad observandum statuta, privilegia, consuetudines
et libertates istius Universitatis. Item quod quum admissi fueritis
in domum Congregationis et in domum Convocationis, in iisdem bene et
fideliter, ad honorem et profectum Universitatis, vos geretis. Et
specialiter quod in negotiis quae ad gratias et gradus spectant non
impedietis dignos, nec indignos promovebitis. Item quod in
electionibus habendis unum tantum semel et non amplius in singulis
scrutiniis scribetis et nominabitis; et quod neminem nominabitis nisi
quem habilem et idoneum certo sciveritis vel firmiter credideritis.'
('You will swear to observe the statutes, privileges, customs and
liberties of your University. Also when you have been admitted to
Congregation and to Convocation, you will behave in them loyally and
faithfully to the honour and profit of the University. And especially
in matters concerning graces and degrees, you will not oppose those
who are fit or support the unfit. Also in elections you will write
down and nominate one only and no more at each vote; and you will
nominate no one but a man whom you know for certain or surely believe
to be fit and proper.')
To this the candidates answer 'Do fidem'.
The charge to candidates for the B.A. or other lower degrees is much
simpler:--
'Vos tenemini ad observandum omnia statuta, privilegia,
consuetudines, et libertates istius Universitatis, quatenus ad vos
spectent' (as far as they concern you).
This charge, which is of course the first part of the charge to M.A.s,
goes back to the very beginnings of University ceremonial; the latter
part of the charge to M.A.s is modern, and takes the place of the more
elaborate oaths of the Laudian and of still earlier statutes. By these a
candidate bound himself not to recognize any other place in England
except Cambridge as a 'university', and especially that he 'would not
give or listen to lectures in Stamford as in a university'.[6] There
was also a special direction that each candidate should within a
fortnight obtain the dress proper for his degree, in order that 'he
might be able by it to do honour to our mother the University, in
processions and in all other University business'. It is a great pity
that this latter part of the old statutes was ever omitted.
The candidates for a degree in Divinity, whether Bachelors or Doctors,
are charged by the Senior Proctor; the senior of them makes the
following declaration, taken from the thirty-sixth canon of the Church
of England (as revised and confirmed in 1865):
'I, _A.B._, do solemnly make the following declaration. I assent to
the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion and to the Book of Common Prayer
and of the ordering of bishops, priests, and deacons, and I believe
the doctrine of the United Church of England and Ireland, as therein
set forth, to be agreeable to the Word of God.'
The Senior Proctor then says to the other candidates:--
'Eandem declarationem quam praestitit _A.B._ in persona sua, vos
praestabitis in personis vestris, et quilibet vestrum in persona
sua.'
('The declaration which _A.B._ has made on his part, you will make on
your part, together and severally.')
[Sidenote: (4) The Admission by the Vice-Chancellor.]
When the candidates have duly taken the oath, the last and most
important part of the ceremony is performed.
The candidates for any Doctorate, except the new 'Research' ones, or for
the M.A., kneel before the Vice-Chancellor; the Doctors are taken
separately according to their faculties, then the M.A.s in successive
groups of four each; the Vice-Chancellor, as he admits them, touches
them each on the head with the New Testament, while he repeats the
following form:--
'Ad honorem Domini nostri Jesu Christi, et ad profectum sacrosanctae
matris ecclesiae et studii, ego auctoritate mea et totius
Universitatis do tibi (_vel_ vobis) licentiam incipiendi in facultate
Artium (_vel_ facultate Chirurgiae, Medicinae, Juris, S. Theologiae)
legendi, disputandi, et caetera omnia faciendi quae ad statum
Doctoris (_vel_ Magistri) in eadem facultate pertinent, cum ea
completa sint quae per statuta requiruntur; in nomine Domini, Patris,
Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.'
('For the honour of our Lord Jesus Christ, and for the profit of our
holy mother, the Church, and of learning, I, in virtue of my own
authority and that of the whole University, give you permission to
incept in the Faculty of Arts (or of Surgery, &c.), of reading,
disputing, and performing all the other duties which belong to the
position of a Doctor (or Master) in that same faculty, when the
requirements of the statutes have been complied with, in the Name of
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.')
This venerable form goes back (p. 26) to the beginning of the fifteenth
century, and is probably much older; the only change in it is the
omission at the beginning of 'et Beatae Mariae Virginis'. Modern
toleration has provided a modified form for use in cases of candidates
for whom the full form is theologically inappropriate, but this is
rarely used.
[Sidenote: Change of Gowns.]
The ceremony of the licence is now complete; but before the B.A.s are
admitted, the Doctors first, and then the Masters in their turn, retire
outside, and don 'their appropriate gowns and hoods'. They receive these
from those who were once their college servants, and the right of thus
bringing gown and hood is strictly claimed; nor is this surprising, as
unwritten custom prescribes that the gratuity must be of gold. The newly
created Doctors or Masters then come back, with the Bedel leading the
procession, and 'make a bow' to the Vice-Chancellor, who usually shakes
hands with the new Doctors; they are then conducted to a place in the
raised seats behind and around his chair, from which they can watch the
rest of the proceedings. The M.A.s either leave the house or join their
friends among the spectators.
The ceremony of admitting B.A.s is much simpler. As in the case of the
Masters, they are presented by their college Dean; the form of
presentation is:
'Insignissime Vice-Cancellarie, vosque egregii Procuratores,
praesento vobis hunc meum scholarem (_vel_ hos meos scholares) in
facultate Artium, ut admittatur (_vel_ admittantur) ad gradum
Baccalaurei in Artibus.'
The charge is then given by the Junior Proctor (see pp. 12 and 13).
After this the candidates are, without kneeling, admitted by the
Vice-Chancellor, in the following words:
'Domine (_vel_ Domini), ego admitto te (_vel_ vos) ad gradum
Baccalaurei in Artibus; insuper auctoritate mea et totius
Universitatis, do tibi (_vel_ vobis) potestatem legendi, et reliqua
omnia faciendi quae ad eundem gradum spectant.'
This form also is old, but has been cut down from its former fullness;
e.g. in the Laudian Statutes the candidate was admitted, among other
things, to 'read a certain book of the Logic of Aristotle'. The B.A.s,
when admitted, are allowed to disperse as they please, and the ceremony
is over. It is unfortunate that the form of admission to the degree
which is most frequently taken, and which (speaking generally) is the
most real degree given, should be such an unsatisfactory and bare
fragment of the old ceremonial.
[Sidenote: Degrees in Absence and Incorporations.]
It may be noticed that degrees 'in absence' are announced by the
Vice-Chancellor after each set of degrees has been conferred, e.g. an
'absent' M.A. is announced after the M.A.s have made their bow. The
University only allows this privilege to those who are actually out of
the country, and to them only on stringent conditions; an extra payment
of L5 is required.
The proceedings terminate sometimes with the admission to 'ad eundem'
rank at Oxford, of graduates of Cambridge or of Dublin; this privilege
is now rarely granted, though it was once freely given. When all is
over, the Vice-Chancellor rises, announces 'Dissolvimus hanc
Congregationem', and solemnly leaves the building in the same pomp and
state with which he entered.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: In 1619 a B.A. candidate from Gloucester Hall (now
Worcester College), who failed to present himself for his 'grace', was
excused 'because he had not been able to hear the bell owing to the
remoteness of the region and the wind being against him'.]
[Footnote 2: Till recently the whole list of candidates for all degrees
was read by the Registrar, as well as by the Proctors afterwards when
'supplicating' for the graces of the various sets of candidates. Time is
now economized by having the names read once only.]
[Footnote 3: If the Doctor be not an M.A., then his admission to the
Doctorate follows the admission of the M.A.s.]
[Footnote 4: _Verdant Green_ was published in 1853, and this is the
oldest literary evidence for the connexion of 'plucking' and the
Proctorial walk. The earliest mention of 'plucking' at Oxford is
Hearne's bitter entry (May, 1713) about his enemy, the then
Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Lancaster of Queen's--'Dr. Lancaster, when Bachelor
of Arts, was plucked for his declamation.' But it is most unlikely that
so good a Tory as Hearne would have used a slang phrase, unless it had
become well established by long usage. 'Pluck', in the sense of causing
to fail, is not unfrequently found in English eighteenth century
literature, without any relation to a university; the metaphor from
'plucking' a bird is an obvious one, and may be compared to the German
use of 'rupfen'.]
[Footnote 5: The old principle is that no one should be presented except
by a member of the University who has a degree as high or higher than
that sought; this is unfortunately neglected in our own days, when an
ordinary M.A., merely because he is a professor, is appointed by statute
to present for the degree of D.Litt. or D.Sc.]
[Footnote 6: This delightful piece of English conservatism was only
removed from the statutes in 1827. It refers to the foundation of a
university at Stamford in 1334 by the northern scholars who conceived
themselves to have been ill-treated at Oxford; the attempt was crushed
at once, but only by the exercise of royal authority.]