The Colleges of Oxford: Their History and Traditions: XXI Chapters Contributed by Members of the Colleges
History
The Colleges of Oxford: Their History and Traditions: XXI Chapters Contributed by Members of the Colleges
University of Oxford -- History
(III) The Chaplains were four in number. Two were to serve the churches
of All Saints and St. Michael in Oxford, one of whom must be of the
diocese of York, the other of the diocese of Lincoln. They were to be
appointed by the Rector, and to be removed by him when he chose; and
each to receive from the College a stipend of £5 per annum. A third
Chaplain was to serve the church of Twyford under the same conditions,
except that his stipend was to be paid by the Rector; a fourth was to
serve the church of Combe Longa.
It was clearly no part of the founder’s intention that the chaplaincies
should be served by the Fellows: and we find, down to the Civil War
and the Commonwealth, instances of Chaplains who were not Fellows.
But after the Restoration, when £5 per annum no longer represented a
reasonable year’s income, there was a growing feeling that it was for
the honour of the College that the duties of Chaplain of All Saints,
St. Michael’s, and Combe should be undertaken by Fellows. And so long
as there were Fellows in orders enough for the duties, this was done.
In the last half century, recognizing the changed circumstances of the
times, the College has provided a more adequate endowment for each of
its four chaplaincies.
(IV) The Servants. Rotheram’s statutes provided that the Rector and
each Fellow should have free of charge his share of the services of the
“common” servants (_i. e._ of the College servants). These were (1) the
manciple, whose duty it was to buy in provisions and distribute them in
College; (2) the cook; (3) the barber;[176] (4) the laundress. From an
account-book of 1591, it appears that the salary of the manciple and of
the cook was £1 6_s._ 8_d._ per annum; of the barber, 10_s._; and of
the laundress £2.
There was also the bible-clerk (_bibliotista_, contracted _bita_),
who was to be the Rector’s servant when he was in residence. At
dinner in hall he was to read, from the Bible, or some expositor, or
some other instructive book, a portion appointed by the Rector or
Subrector; and at dinner and supper he was to wait at the Fellows’
table. For these services he was to receive food and drink; a room;
and washing and shaving (the latter referring to the tonsure probably,
and not suggesting that he was old enough to grow a beard). Different
benefactors made additions to his emoluments; and at last, until
divided by the 1855 statutes into two “Rector’s Scholarships,” the
Bible-clerkship was the best paid office in College, being worth three
times the Subrectorship, twice the Bursarship, or once and a half a
Tutorship.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account