Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/454

444 - ^- Gt'os^ complained that the Dukes of Berri and Orleans were trying to destroy his authority, and requested the rector and masters to cause this fact " to be published and preached in churches and elsewhere throughout the realm." ' The various circumstances or considerations which we have thus far set forth do not suffice, however, to explain the political role of the University ; they were simply conditions which would favor or facilitate the exercise of political power. In seeking the true expla- nation of this power, we must remember that the activity of the University in public affairs was largely confined to the reign of Charles VI. ; in no other reign did the rector and masters take the initiative in secular politics, It is not surprising that during the disorders of the first quarter of the fourteenth century, when a mad king sat on the throne and the realm was rent asunder by party strife, the great school of Paris should exert its influence in behalf of peace and good government. It would feel impelled to do this by a mere sense of patriotic duty [ex sua professionc) ; for the rector and masters held a high place in the religious and educational world, and their opinions on any subject would naturally receive attention. They were aroused to action by the appalling condition of things in France, by "the pitiable desolation of the realm," by "the iniqui- ties intolerable and painful to the hearts of all good Frenchmen." ^ Moreover, the material welfare of the University and at times even its very existence seemed to be jeopardized by the struggle between the Burgundians and Armagnacs. In 1410 the rector informs the King that the University is inclined to abandon Paris, because, owing to the depredations of the troops of both factions, food cannot be provided and property is unprotected;' and in 141 8 the rector joins with the Parlement of Paris in a request that the King should take measures against these troops, in order that the necessities of life may not be wanting in Paris. ^ Again, in 141 2 the Dukes of Orleans and Berri tried, for political reasons, to secure the removal of the University from Paris. We should scarcely expect the rec- tor and masters to remain passive when the body politic of France was paralyzed and the University itself was threatened with ruin. The prominence of the University in the Great Schism may also have given an impulse to its activity in the affairs of the state. The ' Chartularmm, IV. 219. ^Ibid., IV. 18S-189, 241, 259-260, 355. ^Ibid., IV. 191, ^ Ibid., IV. 351. In 1410 the rector and masters complained of the desolate condi- tion of Paris, and in 141S deliberated with the Parlement concerning the lack of provis- ions and fuel in Paris {ibid., IV. 189, 354). ^IHd., IV. 235.