Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II THE EARLY STATUTES The first statutes of University College are distinguished from the earliest statutes of other Colleges by their brevity and remarkable simplicity. While the earliest ordinances devised for the government of the Sorbonne and those of Merton are numerous and abound in minute instructions, the rules laid down by the Masters delegated by the University for the government of William of Durham's scholars are few in number and free from minor details. In them there is no evidence or trace of imitation, and from the terse phraseology it would appear that their framers were only anxious to put into the form of ordinances such of the benefactor's intentions as could be clearly gathered from the wording of his bequest. In order that the wishes of the founder might be justly carried out, experience had probably shown that some form of government under definite rule was needed, and it was to meet this want that the University delegated to some of its members an authority to issue statutes as a kind of corollary to their inquisition into the disposal of William of Durham's money. In thestatutes of 1280, owing to lack of income, provision could only be made for four ' Masters.' These were to be ' well learned,' of good manners, and such as had ruled in Arts. They were to be elected by the Chancellor along with some Masters in Divinity, and other Masters in the other faculties chosen by their advice. The main qualifications of the four to be chosen out of all who should offer themselves to live upon the said rents were to be their fitness to advance or profit in Holy Church, and that otherwise they were unable to live fittingly (honeste) in the state of Masters. It was further provided that in future elections into the society the four members should be cal...