THE "STUDIUM GENERALE"
We have expounded with some particularity the conditions of University
life; we have now to deal with University life in its more intimate
relations. And first we must say something of the title, the Latinity of
which is not above suspicion, though its convenience and expressiveness
are beyond question. The term _studium generale_ was applied, in
mediæval times, to an academy in which instruction was imparted on all
subjects, and which was thus differentiated from grammar schools and
schools of divinity, in the former of which the curriculum was
restricted to Latin, and in the latter to theology. The phrase connoted
also a place of common resort, as distinct from mere local foundations,
the advantages of which were confined to the immediate neighbourhood.
According to Mr. Froude, no fewer than thirty thousand students
"gathered out of Europe to Paris to listen to Abelard"; and the
traditions of Oxford and Cambridge were equally hospitable.
THE "NATIONS"
Before discussing the system of degrees, it is desirable to speak of the
"men"--the candidates for graduation; and, in this connexion, stress
must be laid on the cosmopolitan character of our older universities,
which welcomed with open arms students of various races and of all ranks
of society. The Oxford statutes contain a provision for the
proclamations being made in Latin, that language being, as it is stated,
intelligible to the different nations represented by the scholars. In
addition to the native youth, Welshmen, Irishmen, and Scots were
accustomed to repair to the banks of the Isis and the Cam, and the two
former of these classes--at any rate at their first coming--might have
been totally ignorant of English.
The reader will hardly fail to have been struck with the occurrence of
Welsh names in the foregoing pages; and the records of judicial
proceedings mention the case of a Cambrian scholar, who stole a horse
from the stable of an Oxford inn and decamped with it, in the company of
several compatriots, to the Welsh mountains, in consequence of which the
unhappy innkeeper had to defend a suit brought against him by the
horse's owner! Notices of the Irish and the Scots are no less
characteristic of their imputed traits. Of the presence of the former
there is interesting testimony in petitions to the Crown on the part of
scandalized townsmen, in one of which they set forth that "there have
been murders, felonies, robberies, and riots, &c., lately committed in
the counties of Oxford, Berks, Wilts, and Bucks, by persons coming to
the town under the jurisdiction of the University, some of whom are the
King's lieges born in Ireland and the others his enemies called 'Wylde
Irisshmen'; and that these misdeeds continue daily to the scandal of the
University and the ruin of the country round about; the malefactors
threaten the King's officers and the bailiffs of the town, so that these
last, for fear of death, dare not do their duty and collect the
fee-farm, &c. Pray therefore that all Irish be turned out of the realm
between Christmas and Candlemas next, except graduates in the schools,
beneficed clergy in England, those who have English father or mother, or
English husband or wife, and many other exceptions, persons of good
repute. And that graduates and beneficed men find surety for their good
behaviour."
The Scots were cordially hated. Tryvytlam's poem "De Laude Oxoniæ" has
the following stanzas, which, in the opinion of some, may be still
apposite to the circumstances of University and national life:
Iam loco tercio procedit acrius
Armata bestia duobus cornibus.
Hanc Owtrede reputo, qui totis viribus
Verbis et opere insultat fratribus.
Hic Scottus genere perturbat Anglicos,
Auferre nititur viros intraneos.
Sic, sic, Oxonia, sic contra filios
Armas et promoves hostes et exteros.
By "Owtrede" is intended Uthred de Bolton, a celebrated English
Benedictine, whose cognomen was probably derived from the manor of
Bolton in Northumberland. It was a risky thing to hail from the border,
as another instance is recorded in which a North-countryman found it
necessary to purge himself of the imputation of being a Scot--one of the
King's enemies.
The amazing part of the matter is that national distinctions and
prejudices did not, as far as the British Isles were concerned, end
here. In point of fact, when the word "nations" occurs in this
connexion, the allusion is generally not so much to genuine differences
of descent, government, customs, and language, as to an artificial
separation of the inhabitants of England into North and South
countrymen. The authorities deplored this division into Boreals and
Australs--"diverse nations, which, in truth, be not diverse"--but they
could not ignore it, and thus it became the established rule that of the
two proctors--officials supremely responsible for the peace--one should
be of the North and the other of the South. As we have seen, a similar
practice obtained with regard to the University chests. Just as, at the
present time, Welshmen and Scotsmen gravitate towards particular
colleges, so in the early days "nations" seem to have favoured certain
halls, and as few of the latter were provided with chapels, they appear
also to have fixed upon certain churches for the purpose of devotion of
partisan display. Accordingly, about the year 1250, the following edict
was fulminated with a view to checking the exuberance of the "national"
spirit in sacred buildings:
"By the authority of the Lord the Chancellor and the Masters Regent,
with the unanimous consent of the Non-Regent, it is decreed and resolved
that no festival of any nation soever be celebrated henceforth in any
church soever with the accustomed solemnity and calling together of
Masters and Scholars or other acquaintances, save in so far as any may
desire to celebrate the festival of any saint of his own diocese with
devotion in his own parish, where he lives, but not calling the Masters
and Scholars of a second parish or his own, as also is not done at the
festivals of St. Katherine, St. Nicholas, and the like. This also,
decreed by the authority of the same Chancellor, we enjoin to be
observed, on pain of the greater excommunication, that none lead dances
with masks or any noise in churches or streets, or go anywhere wreathed
or crowned with a crown composed of the leaves of trees, or flowers, or
what not: on pain of excommunication, which we inflict from now, and of
long imprisonment do we forbid it."
In 1252 a great disturbance arose between the Northern and Irish
scholars, and it was resolved that twelve persons should be chosen on
either side to draw up conditions of peace. These were that thirty or
forty of each party should bind themselves not to disturb the peace of
the University themselves nor comfort others in doing so, and they were
to give secret information to the Chancellor if they should hear of any
other person transgressing. If anyone was injured, he was to appear
before the Chancellor; and if the Chancellor was suspected of
partiality, there were to be associated with him two assessors from
either side.
In 1313 a statute was issued that no one was to stir up any nation on
account of some personal injury by conspiracies, leagues, or meetings in
public or private with the name or title of nation; and that when the
Chancellor or his Commissary inquired concerning a breach of the peace,
none was to appear with other than the witnesses needful to him; nor was
any Master or other to thrust himself in, coming with a party or sitting
beside the Chancellor or his Commissary, save such as the Chancellor
should hold it right to summon forth, if at any time it seemed to him
fit. Seeing that the names of delinquents could be better learned
through the Principals of Houses, who moved continually among their
associates, it was determined that every Principal, resident or acting,
as well of Halls as of Chambers, should, at the beginning of every year,
within fifteen days or sooner, as should seem fit to the Chancellor and
Proctors, come and make corporal oath, that if they knew of any of their
society holding such assemblies, or consenting with those who held them,
or commonly and often naming different nations with evil zeal, or
disturbing the peace of the University, or practising the art of
bucklery, or keeping a whore in his house, or bearing arms or in any way
promoting discord between Northerns and Southerns, he should within
three days inform the Chancellor or one of the Proctors, and all such
disturbers of the peace were to be punished with imprisonment. This oath
the servants were bound to take at the same time; and the Chancellor and
Proctors, as touching their part, acknowledged themselves to be equally
bound by virtue of the statute.
In order that such distinction of nations might henceforth be detestable
and hateful to all, it was resolved that the following clause should be
added to the oath of every incepting Master with respect to the
observance of peace.
"_Item_, Master, especially shall you swear that you will not hinder, as
between Australs and Boreals, peace, concord, and affection; and if
there shall have arisen any dissension between them, as between diverse
nations, which in truth be not diverse, you will not foment or kindle it
to the utmost, nor must you be present at assemblies, nor tacitly or
expressly consent to them, but rather hinder them in such ways as you
shall be able."
By the same statute the University was bound to intimate to the diocesan
the names of all persons, whether Masters or others, who should disturb
the peace of the University, and particularly as between the Northern
and Southern students.
In 1428 fresh legislation was found to be necessary, and took the
following form:
"Whereas there is no better way of punishing the disturbers of the peace
than by a pecuniary fine, which in these days is more dreaded than
anything else, therefore the following graduated scale of fines is put
forth by the University. For threats and personal violence, twelve
pence; for carrying of weapons, two shillings; for pushing with the
shoulder or striking with the fist, four shillings; for striking with a
stone or club, six shillings and eightpence; for striking with a knife,
dagger, sword, axe, or other weapon of war, ten shillings; for carrying
of bows and arrows, twenty shillings; for gathering of armed men and
conspiring to hinder the execution of justice, thirty shillings; for
resisting the execution of justice, or going about by night, forty
shillings. And no Master or scholar shall take part with any other
because he is of the same country, nor against him because he is of a
different country; and if he be convicted of doing so, he shall incur an
additional penalty graduated according to his pecuniary circumstances."
That the scholars indulged freely in the pleasant custom of hunting may,
after this, be almost taken for granted. In a petition of the year 1421
complaint was made against them that they hunted with dogs and harriers
in divers warrens, coningries, parks, and forests in the counties of
Oxford, Berks, and Bucks, night and day, taking deer, hares, and
rabbits, and menacing the wardens and keepers. Sometimes they contrived
to combine their love of hunting with their love of street-fighting, as
on the memorable occasion in Queen Elizabeth's reign, when the Magdalen
men went deer-stealing in Shotover Forest, and one of them was sent to
prison by Lord Norris, the Lord Lieutenant of the county. In revenge,
the next time my Lord came to Oxford they set upon him at the Bear Inn,
and, in the skirmish, several of the scholars were hurt, and "Binks,"
his lordship's keeper, sustained a severe wound. The Vice-Chancellor,
intervening at this juncture, ordered the scholars to be confined to the
college, while Lord Norris was requested to quit the University.
Thereupon the former "went up to the top of their tower, and waiting
till he should pass by towards Ricot, sent down a shower of stones they
had picked up upon him and his retinue, wounding some and endangering
others of their lives. It is said that upon the foresight of this storm
divers had got boards, others tables on their heads to keep them from
it, and that if the Lord had not been in his coach or chariot, he would
certainly have been killed." In the sequel, the culprits were banished,
and the Lord Lieutenant placated, albeit "with much ado by the sages of
the University."
How on earth serious study could be pursued amidst these perpetual
broils, to the engendering of which so many prejudices contributed,
would be an insoluble mystery but for the probability, suggested by
experience of University life in our own day, that the disturbances were
confined, in the main, to the wilder spirits, though it may well be that
occasionally peaceable persons were sucked into the vortex by the
accident of their being abroad at the time, and on the scene of the
affray, where their pacific character would receive scant consideration
from the angry combatants. Esprit de corps also was a powerful incentive
to action, and one from which even Masters were not exempt. To this must
be added that the course of study itself seemed expressly devised to
foster the belligerent temper. The air was laden with the breath of
strife, as the Cambridge term "wrangler," which has survived to our day,
plainly testifies.
THE HIGHWAY OF LEARNING
Let us follow the "poor boy," a technical expression at Oxford, through
the stages of his academic career in that University. At the outset two
courses were open to his parents or guardians: either he might be sent
to a religious foundation like Durham College, where he would be under
no obligation to take vows, but an oath would be required of him to
honour the monks and assist the electing Church, to whatever station of
life it might please God to call him. Or, as was infinitely more usual,
he might be settled in a secular school of grammar in charge of a
recognized master.
Before the rise of colleges, the vast majority of scholars resided in
halls, some of which were kept by laymen. In 1421 the King, incensed at
the constant breaches of the peace, commanded that all scholars and
their servants should be under the governance of some sufficient
principal approved by the Chancellor and Proctors, and should not be
suffered to abide in laymen's houses. In 1432 a statute set forth that,
whereas the principals of halls, fearing to lose their profits, did not
punish the members of their societies, still less did they dismiss them,
when it was their duty to do so; nay, even provoked disturbances--the
consequence, it was believed, of illiterate persons and non-graduates
keeping halls--it was ordained that henceforth all principals and their
deputies must be graduates. In the preamble of another statute of the
same date it was complained that grave crimes were committed by
so-called scholars, who, _nefando nomine_ "chamberdekenys," lived in no
hall, but slept away their days, and passed their nights in riot and
debauchery, crime and violence. This irregularity it was found difficult
to suppress, for on May 13, 1447, two persons feigning to be scholars
and guilty of violence, having been summoned according to law throughout
the schools and not appearing, were banished. The form of banishment was
as follows: "_A_, _B_, _C_, _D_, frequently convicted of a monstrous
disturbance of the peace, and, according to the manners and forms
accustomed to be observed in this University, duly cited, publicly
cried, lawfully awaited, and in no wise appearing, but contumaciously
refusing to obey the law, alike on account of their contumacies and
offences we do ban from this University, and from neighbouring places,
admonishing firstly, secondly, and thirdly, peremptorily, that none do
receive, cherish, or protect the aforesaid _A_, _B_, _C_, _D_, on pain
of imprisonment and the greater excommunication to be fulminated not
unjustly against all who contravene."
Matriculation involved nothing more than an oath to keep the peace,
which oath had to be taken also by the servant of the scholar, supposing
him to have one. If the scholar chose a non-graduate teacher, he was
compelled to enter his name in the books of some master of arts, and
neglect to fulfil this requirement subjected the delinquent to the loss
of the protection and privileges of the University _tam morte quam in
vita_. At the commencement of every term as well as at the end, and at
other times, when need was, the grammar masters held a _convenite_ for
the purpose of arranging the course of study. Each of them had to obtain
a licence, and, as a test of his qualifications, he submitted to an
examination in versification, dictation, and so forth, lest, as the
statute quaintly expresses it, the language of Isaiah should be
verified--_Multiplicasti gentem, non auxisti lætitiam_.
The masters were charged with the training of their scholars in religion
and morals--an onerous duty in too many cases imperfectly performed.
This is shown not only by the lawlessness prevalent in the University,
but by the low views and low practices that characterized methods of
instruction in secular subjects. The term "lecture," as commonly
understood in the Middle Ages, implied or included a catechetical system
of teaching, in which the master asked and the scholar answered a series
of questions. This laborious but effective mode of ascertaining and
accelerating progress in knowledge was left irksome by both parties, and
"ordinary" lectures--or, as we should term them, lessons--were
threatened with supersession by a seductive invention known as "cursory"
lectures. These appear to have been neither more nor less than lectures
in the modern sense. The master delivered his discourse, and the scholar
was left to gather from it what degree of enlightenment he could or
would. The statute referring to the subject taxes teachers with
favouring scholars in this way, for the "hope of gain," which points to
corrupt dealing between them. In both its moral and intellectual aspects
the practice met with scant countenance from the authorities, and, save
in special cases, any master indulging in it was liable to be punished
with deprivation and imprisonment for so long a period as the
Chancellor, in his discretion, deemed fit. One learns from an undated
statute, which, however, is probably of the thirteenth century, that
grammar scholars were expected to construe in both English and French,
the object being that the latter language might not be utterly
forgotten. When we recall that our ancient pleadings were in
Norman-French, and that a sensible proportion of the students embraced
that most conservative of professions, the law, the wisdom of this
course is at once evident.
The grammar schools may be regarded as the nursery of the University,
but not a few of the scholars, educated in monastic and other local
schools, arrived with a knowledge of Latin sufficient to dispense them
from preliminary instruction in that language, for that is what is meant
by "grammar." It is not perhaps quite clear whether a schoolmaster's
house ranked as a hall, but, as soon as a scholar was equipped with an
adequate stock of Latin to enter upon his Artist's career, he would
naturally move to one of the halls tenanted by his equals in learning,
thus making room for another and younger person more strictly _in statu
pupillari_. The age at which students began their academic course in
earnest averaged from twelve to fifteen--needless to say, much earlier
than at present. They were required to devote four years to qualifying
for the degree of bachelor; and during the former part of this period
they went by the curious name of "general sophist." This, the initial,
stage of University existence was terminated by an examination, then and
still called Responsions, which might not be taken in less than a year,
after which the student became known as a "questionist." The occasion of
responding was a high day with scholars, and celebrated with such
extravagant feasts that we find the Chancellor intervening to limit the
expense attending them to sixteen pence. The meaning of the term
"Responsions" is explained by the formula of the testamur: _Quæstionibus
magistrorum scholarum in Parviso respondit_. The parvise, or porch, may
have been symbolical of the initial stage--the early provisions of our
universities are full of symbolism. By way of preparation for his
examination the sophist was required to be diligent in attending
disputations in the parvise, and when he presented himself for his own
ordeal he had to make oath that these exercises had been duly performed.
The third stage was reached when the "questionist," as he was now, stood
for his bachelor's degree. This was known as Determination, because the
candidate had to determine questions in which his recent acquisitions in
logic should have enabled him to appear to advantage. According to the
rule, this function took place either on Ash Wednesday or on some day
between Ash Wednesday and the following Tuesday. However important
Responsions may have been in the eyes of the youthful student, they
paled before the elaborate ceremonies of Determination. In all the
two-and-thirty schools of School-street sat the Masters Regent in full
academical attire, their desks before them, it having been enacted that
the exercises should be carried out in the schools, not in private
dwellings or in churches. The statutes forbade unfairness in proposing
questions or in the manner of examining, but the candidate was, to some
extent, forearmed in this matter, since he might, apparently, select
his own judge. As a good audience was considered a primary necessity by
the masters, in order that their talents might obtain the widest
possible recognition, well-wishers seem to have gone so far as to drag
into the schools reluctant passers-by--a nuisance of such frequent
occurrence that it was forbidden by statute. An attempt was made also to
prevent fees or robes being given to the masters, but the statute
doubtless proved inoperative, and was afterwards repealed. Another
custom, which the authorities vainly prohibited, and was plainly
incongruous at the season of Lent, was the holding of feasts by
bachelors on admission.
Before a scholar was permitted to determine, six masters at least had to
testify on oath in congregation regarding his fitness in knowledge,
morals, age, stature, and personal appearance. They were bound to
secrecy as to the nature of their testimony, the sufficiency of which
was decided by four Regent Masters of Arts, two of the North and two of
the South, eight days before Ash Wednesday. On the following Sunday,
Monday, or Tuesday masters and scholars appeared before the four members
of the Committee; and if the testimony had been satisfactory the
scholars made oath that they had completed the necessary studies, and
were "admitted" to determine. Determination itself was largely a show,
and had nothing to do with the attainment of the degree, of which it was
rather the outward and visible sign. If the student failed to acquit
himself with distinction, the only penalty to which he exposed himself
was the censure or ridicule of friends and foes. Discomfiture was
extremely probable, as the affair was intellectual game, in which either
the master laid himself out to pose the scholar, or a brace of scholars
argued (or, as the phrase then ran, "disputed") by turns, under the
supervision and correction of the master.
In conformity with modern usage, we have spoken of the status of
Bachelor as a degree, but originally it is doubtful if the description
would have been deemed accurate. Like the Master, the Bachelor might be
a teacher, but his lectures were, for the most part, of an
"extraordinary" or "supernumerary" character, and not allowed to compete
with the "ordinary" lectures of the Master or Doctor. The number of
bachelors so privileged--instances even occur of such half-finished
clerks officiating as Principals of Halls--was probably very small, and
much would have depended on age. As a rule, bachelors went on with their
studies as before, attending the lectures of others, until three more
years had elapsed, when they became eligible for Inception. At first it
seems as if the terms "Determination" and "Inception" had somehow got
transposed. In reality the latter word contemplates a state or condition
which was only possible or usual when the scholar, having accomplished
the full course of study, finally and definitely assumed the rights and
duties of Master.
The fundamental distinction underlying all academic order was that of
teacher and pupil. The licentiate, it is true, may be regarded as a
hybrid, and the Doctor as an overgrown master--a master and something
more; but the existence of these classes only obscures what was,
nevertheless, the vital and essential principle on which University
discipline was organized.
We have heard of licentiates once before--as excluded from University
processions. This clearly implies no small amount of prejudice against
them, but ere an attempt can be made to account for it, we must
understand what, exactly, a licentiate was. A licentiate, then, was a
bachelor who had attended lectures for some time, had given lectures,
and had been privately examined by members of his faculty. Having been
presented by one of them, he had obtained from the Chancellor licence to
perform certain exercises before the _conventus_, or meeting of the
faculty, by which the degree was finally bestowed. The Chancellor's
licence authorized the candidate to incept, to read (lecture), to
dispute, and to do all that belonged to the rank of master as soon as
he had taken the necessary steps for the purpose. The licentiate
lectured in the schools, precisely like the master, for whom indeed he
acted. The fee for the licence was one commons, which may represent a
shilling--in any case, it was trivial. The cost of Inception, on the
other hand, was very great on account of the feasts, etc., which
accompanied it; and as the licentiate already enjoyed some of the
privileges of the master, there was an evident temptation to put off the
evil day. Security was therefore demanded from the licentiate that he
would incept within a year; and, if he omitted to do so, he was fined.
Nevertheless, students often remained in this category--neither fish nor
fowl--beyond the allotted term, in fact, for years; and they probably
furnished a considerable quota of the vagabond scholars, whose exactions
have been recorded, and who certainly did not consist wholly and solely
of "poor boys." One of the Cambridge statutes deals expressly with this
baneful _materia vagandi_. These two reasons together fully explain the
disfavour with which licentiates were regarded, and which ultimately led
to the abolition of the status. At Cambridge it had ceased before Bedel
Stokys' time (1574), for, when he wrote, the licence was given by the
Proctors at the vespers, or exercises, on the day preceding Inception.
We come now to Inception, or the degree of Master of Arts. The candidate
was first presented to the Chancellor and Proctors by his master, who
was called upon to make oath that he believed his pupil to be qualified
for admission by his morals and learning. This testimony, however, was
not enough. No fewer than fourteen masters had to depose, nine that they
knew, and five that they believed the candidate to be fit. He was then
presented to the Chancellor and Proctors in congregation, and, with hand
laid upon the Bible, swore, in a kneeling posture, that he would keep
the statutes, would actually incept--we shall see what this means
presently--within a year, that he would not spend more at his inception
than the sum allowed, that he would neither lecture nor hear lectures at
Stamford[6]--_nefandum et detestabile nomen_--and that he would handle
the books of the library with becoming care. Having assented to these
and other conditions, he received the Chancellor's licence.
It is to be noted that the Chancellor merely _admitted_; he did not
_create_. This was, and at Cambridge still is, the work of the
faculty--the Proctors, as representative of the Arts, or the several
"fathers" in the three superior faculties, for whom the Regius
Professors are now substituted, in the junior University. At Oxford,
since the promulgation of the Laudian statutes, the duty has been
discharged by the Vice-Chancellor. In the faculty of Grammar--the
Cinderella of the faculties, which apparently did not of necessity
involve any previous academical training--the Master was presented with
a palmer and a rod. In Arts a cap was placed on his head, and in the
higher faculties the Master or Doctor was installed in a chair and
received the hat, together with the book, the ring, and the kiss of
peace--the three last, perhaps, in theology alone.
Inception properly signified the commencement of an active career as a
teacher; and thus the new master would have taken precautions to secure
a school as well as the articles of attire appertaining to his degree,
including "pynsons," a kind of boot or shoe. He was also obliged to
visit all the schools, invite the masters to be present on the day of
inception, and provide them, one and all, with a suit of clothes. This
was such a serious incubus that statutes were passed limiting such
perquisites to kinsmen or members of the same hall; and it probably
explains the custom of incepting for others--the rich acting for the
poor. From every inceptor the bedels were entitled to a gratuity of
twenty shillings and a pair of buckskin gloves, or an equivalent sum of
money; and inceptors whose income amounted to forty pounds a year were
compelled to feast all the Regent Masters or forfeit twenty marks to the
University. The main distinction between Regent and Non-Regent Masters
seems to have been that the former were perforce teachers, in which
condition they were obliged to remain during the remainder of the year
in which they incepted and for a twelvemonth afterwards. In the case of
the Non-Regents, who had exceeded this period of probation, lecturing
appears to have been optional. The Regent Master was required to devote
forty days of his novitiate to disputation.
Inception feasts were apt to degenerate into occasions of riot, and in
1432 the following statute was passed with a view to regulating them:
"Whereas at the feasts held at graduations there occur such disorderly
scenes and violence that more annoyance and disgrace than pleasure is
caused to the host himself and all his guests, the University, for the
prevention of such disorders for the future, hereby orders that no one
shall stop the ingress and egress of any master or his servants to or
from the hall or tent or other place where the feast is being held; and
that no one, except the servants of the University, or of the host,
shall enter the said hall, until after the masters, who have been
invited, have entered with their servants; and after they have sat down,
no one shall sit down, except by the appointment of the Chancellor and
in proper order according to rank; and no one shall beat the doors,
tables, or roof, or throw stones or other missiles so as to disturb the
guests, on pain of imprisonment, excommunication, and a fine of twelve
pence."
As these convivialities were so unpleasant, and even dangerous, it may
seem that it would have been the obvious course to prohibit them
altogether, as in the case of determining bachelors; but the University
clung to its feasts, and in 1478 fresh rules were made, this time with
the special aim of bleeding or mulcting the intrusive friars and the
wealthy monks:
"Every mendicant friar shall, on the day of his inception, feast the
Regent Masters according to ancient custom, or forfeit ten marks to the
University; and every such incepting friar must be a regent for
twenty-four months from his inception. And every religious possessing
private property, and not being an abbot or prior or other governor of a
conventual house, the rents of whose society amount to two hundred
pounds yearly, must on the day of inception feast the Regents or pay
twenty pounds to the University in lieu of a feast. And every secular,
who can spend forty pounds a year at the University, must, in default of
such feast, forfeit twenty marks; and, if he can afford to spend one
hundred pounds, must forfeit twenty pounds."
Brief reference must here be made to the relations between the mendicant
orders and the University in general, if only because the memory of the
former was so perpetuated, long after the disappearance of the
fraternities, in the famous term "Austins." Those relations were, for a
considerable time, the reverse of friendly. The friars complained that
degrees in theology were refused them; the University accused the
friars, among other enormities, of "stealing children." To prevent such
abduction, in 1358 the following statute was passed:
"The nobles and people generally are afraid to send their sons to
Oxford, lest they should be induced by the mendicant friars to join
their order; it is therefore hereby enacted that if any mendicant friar
shall induce or cause to be induced any member of the University under
eighteen years of age to join the said friars, or shall in any way
assist in the abduction, no graduate belonging to the cloister or
society of which such friar is a member shall be permitted to give or
attend lectures in Oxford or elsewhere for a year ensuing."
This enactment was repealed eight years later; but in 1414, when
forty-six articles were drawn up by the University of Oxford, addressed
to the Council of Constance, it was urgently represented that the friars
should be restrained from granting absolution on easy terms, from
_stealing children_, and from begging for alms in the house of God.
Their adversaries also warmly denounced the nefarious conduct of
"wax-doctors," or ignorant friars, in seeking to obtain graces for
degrees by means of letters from influential persons; and in 1358 their
indignation bore fruit in a very stringent statute bearing upon the
subject.
It is difficult not to think that a large part of this antagonism was
caused by envy of the friars. For one thing, they were excellent
grammarians, and eventually almost all elementary instruction passed
into their hands with the full approval of the authorities, who ordered
that payment should be made to them, as the actual teachers, and no
longer to the idle grammar masters. This, however, is only a tithe of
the service rendered by the friars to the University, which owed an
immense obligation to them. The Dominicans, Franciscans, Carmelites, and
Austins, all settled at Oxford, and rendered invaluable service to the
cause of learning. The most erudite were perhaps the Franciscans, who
arrived in 1224 and established themselves in St. Ebbe's parish in
houses and lands assigned to them by Richard le Mercer, Richard le
Miller, and others; and their possessions were enlarged and confirmed by
Henry III., their chief benefactor.
Such was the fame of the Franciscan friary that in 1353 Bishop
Grosseteste, of Lincoln, left all his books to the brotherhood, whilst
Bishop Hugo de Balsham, founder of Peterhouse, Cambridge, in his
statutes, dating about 1280, directed that some of the scholars should
annually repair to Oxford for improvement in the sciences under
Franciscan and other readers. It was in this seminary that Roger Bacon,
so renowned for his devotion to science and mathematics in the barbarous
ages, received his education. The priory, with the fine chapel and large
enclosures belonging to it, was granted in the thirty-sixth year of
Henry VIII. (1534) to two persons named Richard Andrews and John Howe,
who sold it the same year to one Richard Gunter.
We are, however, chiefly concerned with the Austins, whose priory had a
similar history. In 1351 Pope Innocent IV. empowered the Friars Eremites
of St. Austin to travel into all lands, found houses, and celebrate
divine service. Here in England they were first domiciled in London, but
certain of the brethren were deputed to journey to Oxford, where they
hired a small house near the Public Schools. Their attainments in
divinity and philosophy having attracted the attention of a rich
Buckinghamshire knight, Sir John Handlove, or Handlow, of Burstall, he
bought a piece of ground for them, and this was afterwards enlarged by a
gift from Henry III. Upon this they erected a splendid college and
chapel, in which, before the Divinity School was built, the University
Acts were deposited, and exercises in Arts performed. It was
particularly enjoined that every Bachelor of Arts should dispute once a
year, and answer once a year, in this house--a rule enforced until the
dissolution. The disputations were then removed to St. Mary's, and
afterwards to the Schools, but they still retained the name they had so
long borne--"disputations in Austins."
Candidates for degrees in the higher faculties--Law, Medicine, and
Theology--had to undergo the same experiences as were prescribed for the
faculty of Arts; that is to say, they had to respond, to dispute, to
determine, and to incept. Regents from other universities were permitted
to lecture at Oxford after determining in the schools of their
respective faculties, and those "resuming," as the phrase was, in Arts
were required to determine at least thrice in the schools of the Masters
Regent, once in grammar and twice in logic. This liberal spirit was
tempered by common sense, since only those were admitted whose _almæ
maters_ received Oxford graduates on equivalent terms. At Paris and
elsewhere the sons of Oxford were, it was complained, maliciously shut
out from academic privileges, and accordingly those proceeding from such
places had the same measure meted out to them at Oxford.
In a chapter like the present it seems fitting to furnish an account of
a typical round in a mediæval university. Ample material exists for this
reconstruction as regards Oxford, but that University--the senior of the
two, and the model of the other, as Paris was of it--has already
absorbed a large share of our attention[7]. We will therefore turn our
eyes to Cambridge, and to a period somewhat later than the times on
which we have mainly dwelt--i.e., that which followed the institution of
colleges.
At both Universities the colleges were closely associated with the
Church, but if any may be pointed out as pre-eminently designed for the
study of theology, it was surely St. John's College, Cambridge.
Three of the scholars were appointed by the Deans _ministri sacelli_
(servants of the sanctuary), of whom one had to act as sub-sacrist at
morning mass and ring the bell at certain hours, whilst the two others
were clock-keepers and bell-ringers.
The first act of the day was the ringing of the great bell at four
o'clock in the morning--a duty which devolved on the third of the
_ministri sacelli_. "Let the third ring the great bell of the College
every day, except on Good Friday and Easter Eve, as was wont to be done
before the College was founded. Let it ring at the fourth hour, that
those throughout the whole University, who wish to rise at that hour and
apply themselves to their studies, may more easily rouse themselves at
the sound of the bell."
The earliest Chapel service--morning mass--was over before six, after
which three lecturers were engaged for two hours in teaching and
examining the scholars and bachelors and hearing their recitations.
Disputations in philosophy were held on Mondays, and on Wednesdays and
Fridays similar exercises took place in theology, each disputation
lasting two hours, and two questions from Duns Scotus being discussed.
Each priest was obliged to celebrate mass four times a week, a fine of
fourpence being imposed if he failed to celebrate three times; and each
fellow and scholar had to say daily the psalm _De Profundis_, the
suffrages, and a prayer for the souls of the foundress and other
departed benefactors. These constituted quite a long list, and included
Henry VI., Henry VII., Henry VIII., Cardinal Wolsey, and James Stanley,
Bishop of Ely, who gave the old hospital to the college. Another
benefactor was Bishop Fisher, who established two fellowships and two
scholarships; and priests on this foundation were required to say four
masses weekly for his soul and the soul of Lady Margaret, his "second
mother." Those who were not priests had to say daily the psalm _De
Profundis_, the suffrages, and the prayer _Fidelium Deus omnium
conditor_.
"Also on all Sundays and other festivals the Masters, Fellows, and
Scholars shall say Matins, Sprinkling of Holy Water, Procession, Mass,
and Vespers and Compline, according to the ancient use of the Church of
Sarum, at convenient times, as the Master shall appoint."
A fourth part--that is, seven--of the fellows were told off to preach to
the people in English, and at least eight sermons were delivered in the
course of the year, one in the college chapel. Should this last be
omitted, the defaulter lost his fellowship. On the other hand, preaching
was encouraged by the concession of various privileges, such as the
salary of a mark, exemption from college office and disputations, a
week's commons for every sermon, leave of absence from college, and the
right of holding benefices. Each preacher, besides the delivery of
sermons, had to expound the Bible lessons read in hall daily, except on
particular festivals. By the way, the reading aloud of the Bible in hall
during meals was inflicted by the Master on disorderly scholars as a
punishment and an alternative to feeding alone in hall on bread and
water.
Six monitors were chosen from among the scholars by the Deans, and of
these two put bad marks against those who absented themselves from
chapel or lecture, whilst four reported misbehaviour in hall or the use
of any language other than Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Chaldee, or Arabic.
Breach of the latter rule subjected the offender to the fine of a
halfpenny, if a fellow, and a farthing if a scholar. Every week seven
scholars were appointed to wait in hall, and an eighth to read the Bible
aloud during dinner--not always as a penal and ignominious task.
The statutes, in a general way, permitted no dallying in hall after
meals--a prohibition for which the following reasons are advanced:
"Abuse, slander, strife, scandal, wordiness, and other faults of the
tongue rarely accompany an empty but often a well-filled stomach." It
was therefore ordained that after grace had been said and the loving-cup
had gone round, the fellows and scholars should, without long delay,
betake themselves to their studies. But the rule was not to be unduly
pressed. "If in honour of God or of His glorious Mother, or one of the
saints, a fire is lighted in hall, for the comfort of those who dwell in
the college ... then we allow them to remain for the sake of moderate
recreation and amuse themselves with singing or repeating poetry or
tales, or with other literary pastime." Conversely, "excessive noise,
laughter, singing, dancing, and the beating of musical instruments in
the bedrooms" were sternly denied.
ON PARADE
We have now embodied in this and the two preceding chapters practically
all the information relating to University life that can be conveniently
included in a small volume. It is unnecessary to state that,
were more space at our disposal, many other features might be
incorporated--notably University costume, which was the subject of
endless regulations. As the topic is so large and complex, we must
reluctantly forgo any proper discussion of it, but it seems needful to
subjoin a few remarks designed to throw light on the picture, "New
College on Parade," which appears in "Archæologia," vol. liii., part i.
In the middle, fronting the spectator, is the Warden--none other than
the worshipful Thomas Chandler, whose name has been several times
mentioned in these pages. He wears a cassock, and over that what may be
a sleeved cope or tabard. Over that again is a tippet, a development of
the almuce, or worn over it. No hood is visible. On his head is the
_pileus_ with tuft or point. The common meaning of these terms, still
less their emblematic significance, will not be universally understood.
A sleeved cope, then, was the distinctive garb of a canonist not in holy
orders, and as Thomas Chandler became S.T.P. in 1450, the _capa
manicata_ would be obviously out of place on his person. The tabard,
generally associated with heralds, was a sleeveless garment, worn with
and probably over the gown, with which it was afterwards combined, and
the sleeves of which, at that period, came through the armholes. This
garment, a dress of dignity, might be worn by undergraduates, and was
compulsory in the case of bachelors lecturing in the schools. The
scholars of Queen's College, Oxford, are still officially styled
Tabarders.
The tippet was an academic adaptation of the ecclesiastical almuce, and
was not the same as the hood, although the almuce seems to have been in
the first place nothing but an ordinary hood with a lining of fur to
keep out the cold. The original meaning of "typet" was the poke of the
cowl, in which, the reader may happen to remember, Chaucer's Frere was
in the habit of carrying his knives and pins. Academically, it was a
distinct article of dress, lined with fur, and formed part of the
insignia of the doctor or master.
The _pileus_ was the hat of honour, evolved from the ecclesiastical
skull-cap, and was distinctive of the higher degrees, particularly of
that of doctor. Indeed, it has been thought that this class alone is
designated by the term _pileati_ found in our old statutes. From the
thirteenth century onwards _pilei_, and the overtopping tufts, were of
various colours according to the faculties which it was intended to
distinguish. It may be added that red, and even green, gowns were worn
by the higher graduates, as appears from wills proved in the
Chancellor's Court at Oxford.
Next to the Warden, on each side, are two figures in sleeveless copes,
tippets and _pilei_, without hoods--doctors in theology or degrees. More
in the background are other _pileati_, wearing both tippet and hood; and
through the armholes of their outer garments show the tight sleeves of
the cassock. These may be secular doctors, or they may be bachelors of
divinity or masters of arts. Five on the extreme right have no _pileus_.
Following them are persons wearing hoods and tippets over what may be a
tabard, to which are attached loose sleeves or flats, with the tight
sleeves of the cassock appearing underneath. This is the most numerous
class represented in the picture, and seems to have comprised masters
and bachelors of the faculties, with the exception, probably, of
theology.
Facing the Warden are younger persons, attired similarly to the last,
who may be bachelors of arts; and to the right and left of these are
older individuals, severely tonsured, the majority of whom wear
surplices. If Mr. Clark's conjecture be correct, they are the clerical
members of the choir. Two of them have a scarf over a surplice or, as is
more likely, a loose-sleeved cassock. Lowest in rank are the surpliced
choristers wearing hoods, with, in some instances, a liripipe depending
from them behind.
JUDICIAL