Oxford (England) -- Description and travel; University of Oxford
So runs the catch of a later Dean. At Christ Church also there was a
lecturer in Greek. The dialler, Kratzer, was made mathematical
professor. Wolsey’s chapel never rose above a few feet in height, and
the uncompleted walls remained for a century; St. Frideswide’s became,
almost at the same time, the cathedral of the newly-created see of
Oxford, and the chapel of the college.
The grandiose Christ Church kitchen, which caused so much laughter
because it was the Cardinal’s first contribution to his college, was in
fact rather characteristic of the age that followed. It was built with
the revenues of suppressed monasteries. It was almost contemporaneous
with the destruction of many priceless books by reformers who were as
ignorant of what is dangerous in books as a Russian censor. The shelves
of Duke Humphrey’s library were denuded and sold. The shrine of St.
Frideswide’s, where the University had long offered reverence twice a
year, was shattered; the fragments were used here and there in the
buildings of the time. The relics of the saint were husbanded by a pious
few in hope of a restoration; but they were finally interred with those
of Peter Martyr’s wife--a significant mixture. It was the age when the
University became the playground of the richer classes, and the
nobleman’s son took the place of the poor scholar in a fellowship. Now
men found time to dispute with Cambridge as to which university was of
the greatest antiquity. The arguments put forward in Oxford were seldom
more convincing than this: that Oxford was named from a ford, Cambridge
from a bridge; and since the ford must have been older than the bridge,
Oxford was therefore founded first. Greek for the time decayed, and the
founder of Trinity College feared that its restoration was impossible in
that age. As to Latin, Sir Philip Sidney, who was at Christ Church, told
his brother that Ciceronianism was become an abuse among the Oxonians,
“who neglected things for words.” Oxford was dignified mainly by the
architecture of Christ Church; by the foundation of Trinity, St. John’s,
and Jesus College, all on learned and holy ground; by the martyrdom of
Latimer and Ridley, opposite Balliol; and by great names, like those of
Burton and Marston at Brasenose, Peele at Broadgates Hall (Pembroke),
Raleigh at Oriel, Hooker at Corpus Christi. Religion was still in the
pot, and men could not confidently tell what it would turn out to be. On
the one hand,
[Illustration: ST. JOHN’S COLLEGE
It is the east front of the College we see in the picture, the library
occupying the south end to the left. The garden upon which it looks is
one of the most beautiful and extensive in Oxford.
Some buildings of Balliol College show to the left.
The time is late afternoon in summer.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account