Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/775

OXFORD UNIVERSITY 761 city of Oxford, as the scene of important mili- tary and political events, is mentioned from the time of Alfred down, but, the first indispu- table witness to its being a seat of learning is Giraldus Oambrensis, about 1180. It is certain, however, that Vacarius, a Lombard from the university of Bologna, lectured on the civil law at Oxford about 1149, and a foreigner would hardly have selected that city for such a purpose unless it was already frequented by students. The history of the university prior to the time of King John (1199) is almost whol- ly conjectural; but the following facts have been established. Monasteries and other reli- gious houses existed at Oxford long anterior to any special mention of it as a seat of learning. Attached to many of these were schools which gave gratuitous instruction, and usually sup- port, to those who were preparing for the ser- vice of the church ; and secular schools sprang up in imitation of the cloistral institutions. Common interests induced the teachers to form a voluntary association for the discussion and decision of questions of general concern. They chose one of their number to preside over them, and as the powers and duties of the as- sociation increased, subordinate offices were created. This association, distinct from and of higher authority than any particular school, was the origin of the university of Oxford. The date of its formation and the phases of its development are unknown; it had become a great and nourishing institution long before it was mentioned in any known royal decree or legislative enactment. The first known appli- cation to it of the word university (universitas) occurs in a statute of the third year of King John (1201) ; while the earliest known docu- ment in which that word is applied to the schools at Paris is an ordinance of Pope Inno- cent III. dated 1215. At that time, it is said, about 3,000 students were connected with its schools. In 1209 a student accidentally killed a woman belonging to the town, and fearing the consequences fled the place, and three inno- cent students were seized and hanged. All the scholars of the university quitted Oxford in a body, and they also obtained from the pope an interdict against the town and all persons who should resort to it for the purpose of study. The dispute was finally adjusted, the citizens obtained absolution, and King John conferred upon the university certain privileges, the principal of which was the right to take cogni- zance of all causes in which a student or the servant of a student was a party. Henry III. favored the university, and the number of stu- dents was greater than during any previous or subsequent reign. Anthony a Wood, the principal authority for its history, says that at one time there were in Oxford 30,000 persons claiming to be scholars, though many of these did not really belong to the university; but this is undoubtedly an enormous exaggeration. The first charter recognizing the university as a corporate body, and conferring additional privileges upon it, was granted by Henry III. in 1244. This was followed by others from him and his successors confirming the old or granting new privileges. Although the pros- perity of the town depended almost entirely upon the university, intense hostility existed be- tween the citizens and the scholars. As the lat- ter were all required to wear a gown, the feuds which often broke out in riots between them and the citizens were called quarrels between " town and gown." On St. Scholastica's day, Feb. 10, 1355, a disturbance occurred in which several lives were lost, and the town was laid under an interdict by the bishop of Lincoln, whose diocese then included Oxford. It was released two years afterward on condition that the commonalty should thereafter annually cel- ebrate in St. Mary's church a service for the souls of those killed, and that the mayor, two bailiffs, and 60 of the principal citizens should personally appear in the church at mass and offer a penny each at the great altar ; in de- fault of which they bound themselves to pay 100 marks yearly to the university. Subse- quently the penance was repeatedly mitigated, but it was not wholly remitted till 1825. The religious troubles of the reign of Henry VIII. diminished the inducements to the study of theology, and from this and other causes the number of students at Oxford greatly de- clined. In 1546 only 13 degrees were con- ferred, and in 1552 the number of students on the books was only 1,015, and of these the larger majority had quitted the university. An elaborate act of parliament "concerning the incorporations of the universities of Ox- ford and Cambridge," sanctioned by Elizabeth in 1570, resumed and defined previous char- ters ; and from that time until the passage of the act of 1854 this was regarded by both uni- versities as the chief source of their powers and privileges. In 1603 James I. granted the privilege, which still continues, of electing two representatives to parliament ; they are styled burgesses. By an act of parliament passed in the third year of his reign, Catholics were dis- abled from "presenting to any ecclesiastical benefice or nominating to any free school, hos- pital, or donative;" and their rights of pre- sentation and nomination were made over in about equal portions to the two universities. The university of Oxford was distinguished for its loyalty to the Stuarts, and it melted down its plate to assist Charles I. in his struggle with the parliament. This provoked the hostility of the nonconformists, and during their suprem- acy the university was plundered, and many of its professors and masters were expelled and its scholars forced to leave. The statutes of the university were codified in 1629 by Archbishop Laud, who was elected chancellor in 1630. His code was adopted by the univer- sity and ratified by the king in 1635, and was not essentially changed until the act of 1854. By the latter and subsequent acts considerable changes were made in the organization of the