THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSITIES

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 201, 26 August 1939, Page 2

THE STORY OF THE UNIVERSITIES

THERE was a twinkle in the undergraduate's eye which seemed strangely out of keeping with the ancient statute book he was reading and with the fact that the long-dreaded examination began the following day. Demurely lio presented himself before the authorities and, informing them that an old law stated that bread and cheeso and beer were to be served to students during examinations, demanded that the rule should bo kept. Since the law wait ah old one that had never been repealed the authorities must needs comply with his request. But his glee was short-lived. Next day. ho was fined £5 for appearing at tho examination in garments other than the regulation doublet and hone proscribed by an unrepealed law of Elizabethan times. That story is but one of the many which are well-known to lovers of the university. No one can visit Oxford without being impressed by tho wealth of legend and romance which surround the old university. For Oxford has played a part in England's history almost from the beginning, and there is no century wherein something of interest was not added to tho university's story. The colleges themselves have arisen ono by one, century by century, from the tlmo of Alfred tho Great up to the present, when the generosity of Lord Nuffield has made yet another addition to Oxford's facilities for tho student. In spito of tho legend concerning Alfred the Great's interest in Oxford, little is known of the university until M 33, when Robert Fullen gave theologi-

cnl lectures there. From; that time onwards Oxford became a centre of learning with religious Orders, the Dominicans and the Franciscans settling there to study and write. Henry 111., in 1248, sought to help the university by granting a charter. But ho reckoned without the townsmen, who resented his giving the students privileges denied to them. So began the frequent riots between town and gown which were to be a feature of Oxford life for centuries to come. Swindlestock Tavern was the scene of the beginning of the most serious of these, which, in 1355, did immeasurable damage to the university and, assuming the proportions of civil war, almost wiped it out. A dispute between innkeeper and an undergraduate became a street fight. St. Martin's Bells called the townsmen to the battle front. St. Mary's summoned the undergraduates. Tho chancellor, a feeble old man, was greeted with a shower of shot, and everyone grabbed weapons of any kind and fought wildly into the night. Next day eight archers lay in ambush supported by an army of thousands of peasants, and attacked the students at their games. Again tlie fight flared up and several undergraduates Mere murdered in the church where they had sought sanctuary. Panic-stricken, the students fled the city, and no sound was heard but the crackling of flames and the moans of the injured. Tho halls stood empty for many months. Then, gradually, through the

Kings And Cardinals At Oxford

ByGeorge Fairholme

enthusiasm of ardent teachers, the scholastic life was resumed, and Edward 111. gave the university a new charter enhancing its privilege. Special Privileges' Royalty was sometimes more generous than discreet, and Henry VIII., at the instigation of Cardinal Wolsey, gave the university even more power, so that the city had no jurisdiction over the students. Gownsmen, too, could claim the privilege ot being tried by their own chancellors instead of by the ordinary courts of the land. To this day the privilege survives, though no one now avails himself of it. Fired by the new learning, and the influx of Greek scholars to Oxford, Wolsey founded a new college called Cardinal College. True, he had suppressed several of the monasteries to be able to gain the money to build the new college, but the step was a useful one. Times were stormy, King and Cardinal fighting against each other over their religious difference, and Henry eventually suppressed both Cardinal and college, and had another established in its place.

Oxford continued to take a large part in political and religous history. Ridley and Latimer, martyrs in the cause of religion, were burned at the stake in 1555. The spot is marked by a cross. The Royalist tendencies of the university were most strongly evident during the Civil War, for Charles I. made it the headquarters of his army, and held his Parliament there. If this pleased gown, it infuriated town, whose sympathies were with Cromwell, and the city was a hot-bed of conspiracy. Life was exciting, if hardly conducive to study For many years the strife between town and gown continued, but in the reign of George 111. both parties actually agreed to receive the King in the same mood, and from that time political history in the university takes second place. Ancient Customs Behind every college in the university lies some story of romance, and each has its own particular point of beauty, its own curious survival of ancient customs. All Souls, for instance, owes its origin in 1437 to the generosity of Archbishop Chiceley of Canterbury, who wished to expiate his sins by a beneficial gift. When Puritanical governments dictated the covering up of much beautiful carving that tlie barest simplicity might succeed it, All Souls lost its beauty. Sir Gilbert Scott was able, in a later century, to restore the college by removing the plaster. Balliol College was built at an even earlier date—l263—and again a desire to make a penance was behind its foundation. Dervorguila, wife of John de

Baliol, carried out her dead husband's wishes that scholars should be maintained at Oxford. A curious legend lies behind tht foundation of Brasenose College, said to have taken place in 1509. It took the place of Brasenose Hall, built in the middle of the 15th century, of which nothing but a doorway remains. From this, in 1890, an ancient knocker in the form of a nose of brass was brought. Christ Church Cathedral, the smallest in England, is not only particularly beautiful, but very ancient, being a survival of' St. Frideswide's Priory and Osney Abbey. St. Frideswide's was one of the buildings which suffered at the dissolution of monasteries. Wolsey repaid Oxford for - the depredation bj founding his college, already mentioned and also Christ Church. Christ Ohurch carries in its books perhaps more illustrious names, than any other college. King Edward VII. was there, and Frederick VIII. of Denmark not to mention 10 19th century Prime Ministers. Of all curious survivals none is more quaint than the nightly ringing of the great bell "Tom," named after St, Thomas, of Canterbury. At 9.5 p.m each evening it is rung 101 times by hand to warn the students that college gates are about to be closed. Each student is separately warned—or was— when they numbered 101. No comprehensive account of all Oxford colleges can be given in a single article, for Corpus Christi. Exeter. Hereford, Lincoln. Magdalen, Wadham, Oriel, New, Pembroke, Queen's College and the rest all have /their stories and their survivals of ancient customs. The Bodleian Library But there is one famous building at Oxford, which holds enough romance to fill a book. That is the Bodleian Library. From earliest times, Oxford had a library of sorts, though the books were often in danger froni the ill-treatment of ignorant or vicious authorities. On one occasion books of priceless value were sold in bulk to tailors for cutting into patterns. This was but one small item in. a colossal destruction made by the Royal Commissioners of Edward V. in 1550, when windows were smashed, beams fell, and all the glories of illuminated parchments, bright with the gay colours monks had worked on with infinite pride and patience. were destroyed. For, to those whose ignorance made them superstitious, mathematical designs or Greek letters were signs of black magic. The library ruined, its timbers sold for what could be obtained for them, and for generations scholars were too disheartened to begin the work of reconstruction. Thomas Bodley was the man who, in the face of many difficulties, saved a few volumes from the old collection and began what is now the most famous library in the world. To the modern book lover, it will bring both horror and amusement to learn that there was a time when Shakepeare's work was despised at Oxford. The plays were classed as light popular literature, much beneath a scholar's notice, and though the library condescended to accept a copy of the First Folio, it threw it out later with a heap of old rubbish, which was sold in a lot for £24. For centuries the book was lost, and collectors sought in vain. Not until 1905 did it reappear in the hands of a private owner in whose library it had reposed for centuries. » The Bodleian hastily raised £3000 and saved the book from passing into American hands. Next Week: CAMBRIDGE.