Oxford was in a ferment of excitement. It was known all over the place that Hugh le Barbier had escaped from the Bocardo prison, but had surrendered himself to the Constable of the Castle, claiming his protection against false imprisonment, and desiring to be brought before the new Chancellor to tell his tale and be confronted with those who dared to accuse him of the murder of an unoffending citizen. It was also said that the Constable was determined to make the most searching inquiry into the matter, in which the Chancellor would aid him. Both were greatly disturbed by the state of chronic feud that was growing up betwixt citizens and clerks, and were resolved to put down with a high hand this perpetual rioting. The court was to sit in the largest building which could be found in all Oxford, and the citizens and clerks were to attend in a mass, and hear what the Chancellor and the Constable had to say to them. All the ringleaders in the recent riots would receive some sort of trial and punishment, and the case of Hugh le Barbier would be thoroughly investigated. There was a feeling of considerable excitement throughout the town, and the ways to the place of judgment were thronged to suffocation upon the appointed day. Of course it was impossible for all the city to throng into one building; but a very large concourse was admitted there, whilst the streets and open places in the vicinity of the Castle were thronged with eager faces, and the space within the Castle walls was one sea of heads. Within the great hall were seats for Chancellor and Constable, and in a place set apart stood a number of citizens and clerks who had been specially called upon to attend. These were stationed somewhat apart from the rest of the crowd, and upon the faces of some could be read a certain anxiety and apprehension. For the most turbulent spirits within the city had been gathered together and summoned to answer for their conduct. It had been whispered that the new Chancellor intended to make a protest against the habit of carrying arms which prevailed almost universally at that time amidst persons of all classes. It was this habit which led to such constant bloody quarrels. Men in the heat of argument would suddenly break into abuse and invective, and then it was but a short step to blows, which if from fists would matter little, but when struck with sharp, shining blades became quite another matter. Peaceable citizens declared that they were forced to carry arms for self-defence amid the hordes of savage youths who infested their streets, calling themselves clerks and scholars. But if the more turbulent of these could be denied the use of arms, then they would willingly consider laying down theirs.