until November, 1552, that their task was completed; but CHAP. II. it will be observed that this was somewhat more than a year before the compilation of the original statutes of Magdalene and that any points of correspondence between the two codes must consequently be regarded as borrowed by the latter society. ness of the for which Master. The original statutes of Trinity College are especially Completeremarkable for the completeness of the organization for which organization they provide and the minuteness of their instructions with they provide. respect to details, characteristics justified by the theory on which the whole scherne had been conceived as that of a foundation which, in the words of dean Peacock, 'gave the first complete example of the separation of domestic and collegiate, from academical, public, and professional instruction'. The functions of its numerous officers-the master, vicemaster, deans (censores), 'magister aulae,' bursars, three Regius professors, preachers, and chaplain (aedituus sacer), are all defined with much care and fulness. The office of the master The office of is invested with new importance and his duties are described with greater exactness. The omission (noted by Baker as a somewhat remarkable one2) in the original statutes of Michaelhouse, of any oath as obligatory on the head of the society, is made good by the introduction of a formula which imposes upon him a distinct declaration of religious belief, of political obligations allegiance, and of his recognition of the paramount claims it on of the college upon his time and services. It pledges him upon office. to the observance of the canons of the Protestant faith, to the maintenance of the royal prerogative as supreme and in no way subject to 'the jurisdiction of foreign bishops,' to the acceptance of the Scriptures as the highest rule of faith. He is bound not to be absent from the college more than three months in the year", unless on business connected with the society, on state affairs, or by the royal command. 1 Peacock, Observations, p. 35. 4 The statutes of St John's (1545) included a like condition, while bishop Fisher's statutes of 1530 required the It is master not to be absent more than imposed by entering CHAP. II. his duty to protect the property and revenues of the college from being diminished or alienated, and to enforce the general observance of the statutes through the agency of the other officers. Other offi- Duties assigned to the deans, preachers. The other officers of the college are distinguished as 'superior' and 'inferior.' To the former class, who compose the senatus or seniority, belong the vice-master, the deans, the 'magister aulae',' the bursars, and the Regius professors ('as many as are fellows of the college'); to the latter, the preachers, the Greek and Latin examiners, the 'quaesitores aulae,' and the chaplain. All these officers are to be elected annually; each retiring in succession from his office, the electors being the whole official body. To the deans it belongs to superintend the religious discibursars and pline and general conduct of the students; to the 'magister aulae,' to supervise the studies and method of tuition; to the bursars, to manage the domestic economy and expenditure and to receive the tithes and other revenues due from the college estates. One-fourth of the fellows, at least, must be preachers, who are to assist the deans in watching over the moral conduct of members of the college; by virtue of their office they are under obligation to preach at certain specified seasons of the year. None are to be eligible to this function who have not already given instruction in the college on the Catechism. The preachers are also required, each in turn, to expound in hall, after breakfast, the portion of Scripture which has been read aloud during the meal. The chaplain is required to administer the sacraments, exercise a general superintendence over the chapel, and to visit the sick and the dying. Tutors and pupils. Every pupil (discipulus) in the college must be under the care of a tutor, who, besides personally instructing him, is charged with the duty of seeing that his expenses as a 1 Styled in the statutes of 1560 the 'lector primarius,' or head lecturer, and now represented by the head examiner. 2 Stat. 3 and 4: Append. (A). 3 Stat. 9: That is to say, each can didate must have taught and explained the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer and the Ten Commandments; the rites of Baptism, the Eucharist, and the theory of the 'Power of the Keys' (potestates clavium). Ibid. collegian are regularly defrayed once a month. No pupil is CHAP. II. permitted to transfer himself from one tutor to another without legitimate cause and the sanction of the master and the seniority1. fellowships. against dis from the The elections to fellowships are entrusted to the whole Elections to official body, and masters of arts are to be admitted to their fellowships nine days after election. Bachelors however are regarded only as fellows-designate and are not to be admitted until of master of arts' standing, their conduct and progress in study being in the mean time subject to the scrutiny of the master and seniority, and their ultimate admission as fellows being dependent on the continued approval of that body'. The oath administered at admission is noticeable as not containing the clause directed against dispensations from No clause the obligations imposed by the oath itself, which is to be pensations found in other college statutes of the period3 and which oath. recurs in the Elizabethan statutes of the college given in 1560,-an omission that may probably be explained by supposing that at the time when these statutes were drawn up, a proviso which, as we have already seen, was directed against Declaration the Romish pretensions, may have appeared superfluous from candiwhen the circumstances of the foundation and the general mission. tenour of the whole code were considered. There was no examination, but it is necessary that each candidate should be of at least bachelor standing and that he should declare his intention, if elected, of devoting himself to the study of divinity. Two fellowships are however to be reserved for 1 Stat. 11: Append. (A). Stat. 12: Ibid. 3 See Vol. 1 455-59. This clause occurs however in the statutes of St John's of 1545, and is introduced in the statutes of Trinity of 1560 [Mayor, Early Statutes, etc., p. 15; infra, Append. (A)], but dean Peacock is singularly in error in stating that 'it first appeared in the original statutes of the college given by Edward vi' (Observations, etc., p. 97), where, on the contrary, its absence is a notable feature. • Vol. 1 457-8. The explanation I have there suggested of the design 5 Stat. 12: Append. (A). required dates on ad CHAP. II. medicine, and two for civil law. The restriction which is Fellowships frequently to be met with in sixteenth-century college and civil law. statutes, whereby it was sought to maintain the balance for medicine General qualifications. between 'north' and 'south,' is not embodied in the original code of Trinity, the only limitation of this character being of that yet more common kind requiring that not more than three fellows at any one time shall be natives of the same county. Members of the college are to have the preference over those of other foundations, and actual attainments, promise of future excellence, and poverty are all specified as considerations to be taken into account. As regards religious belief and spiritual allegiance, clauses corresponding to that in the oath to be taken by the master, are inserted both in the form of oath prescribed for fellows and in that for Fellowships scholars'. All fellowships are to be vacated on marriage marriage. excepting those held by the Regius professors. vacated by Elections to scholarships. Conditions under which admissible. The sixty scholars on the foundation are to be admitted subject generally to requirements similar to those prescribed in the election of fellows,-their academic status presenting the chief point of difference. No bachelor of arts is admissible, and candidates must possess such a knowledge of Latin and polite learning as will enable them to stand the test of the examinations in hall and to take part in the college disputations3. Pensioners may be admitted subject to conditions correpensioners are sponding to those laid down with respect to scholars; but in order that their rawness (imperitia) and predominance may not obstruct the general progress of the students, their number is limited to fifty-four. They are required to give evidence with respect to character and to be bound by an oath similar to that administered to the scholars*. Instruction in the different prescribed subjects of study 1 Stat. 13 and 15: Append. (A). 3 Stat. 14: Ibid. This necessarily respect to pensioners: 'Primum per learnt in chambers and is to be given daily by the tutors to their pupils in their CHAP. II. chambers, and on the following day the pupil is required to Lessons to be recite his lesson in hall. Absence from this task on the part recited in hall. of the pupil is to be punished in the first instance by a reprimand; in the second, by a fine; in the third, by expulsion from the college. The scheme of study indicated corresponds in the main with that laid down in the Edwardian statutes for the university'. college The religious exercises of the students, their places in Details of chapel, their dress, demeanour towards their superiors, sports discipline. and recreations, are all the subjects of minute, and what would now appear somewhat vexatious, enactments. lawful ab college. The total period of absence from college during the year Limits of is limited in the case of fellows to seventy days, in that of sence from other students, to forty; but where 'just and necessary cause' can be shewn, the master and seniority are empowered to permit these periods to be extended by thirty days in the former case, and fifteen in the latter. Two or even three (but not more) of the fellows may reside abroad (in transmarinas partes abeant) for a period not exceeding three years, for the purpose of prosecuting their studies, but in such cases their stipends are to be diminished to the amount of 40s. On each occasion of departure or return, every member of the college, whether fellow, scholar, or pensioner, is required to make on the same day a corresponding entry in a book in the custody of the master3. and fines. Fines for breaches of discipline are imposed by mulcting 'Commons" the offender of his commons or allowance for maintenance,the weekly allowance (commeatus hebdomaticus) being, for fellows, 1s. 9d.; for scholars, 1s. 2d.'. It is forbidden that any one shall either breakfast or sup out of hall without the master's permission. As we approach the close of Edward's reign, there are indications which might lead us to believe that had the prolongation of his life afforded the opportunity for more deliberate 1 Stat. 21: Append. (A). 2 Stat. 20, 23: Ibid. 3 Stat. 24 and 25: Ibid. |