universities was more freely permitted than is now the case. This
freedom to study at more than one university is still the rule in
Germany, and Oxford is returning to it in the new statute on Colonial
and Foreign Universities, which excuses members of other bodies who have
complied with certain conditions, from one year of residence, and from
part of our examinations.

[Sidenote: Relaxations of Residence.]

The University in old days, however, was more prepared to relax this
requirement than it is in modern times; the sons of knights and the
eldest sons of esquires[13] were permitted to take a degree after three
years, and 'graces' might be granted conferring still further
exemptions; e.g. a certain G. More was let off with two years only, in
1571, because being 'well born and the only son of his father', he is
afraid that he 'may be called away before he has completed the appointed
time', and so may 'be unable to take his degree conveniently'. The
University is less indulgent now.

[Sidenote: (2) Lectures.]

The old statute quoted above also implies that there were special
lectures to be heard during the four years of residence; some of them
had to be attended twice over. The old Oxford records give careful
directions how the lectures were to be given; the text was to be closely
adhered to and explained, and digressions were forbidden. There are,
however, none of those strict rules as to the punctuality of the
lecturer, the pace at which he was to lecture, &c., which make some of
the mediaeval statutes of other universities so amusing[14].

The list of subjects for a mediaeval degree is too long to be given
here; it may be mentioned, however, that Aristotle, then as always, held
a prominent place in Oxford's Schools.[15] This was common to other
universities, but the weight given to Mathematics and to Music was a
special feature of the Oxford course.

The lectures were of course University and not college lectures; the
latter hardly existed before the sixteenth century, and were as a rule
confined to members of the college. As there were no 'Professors' in our
sense, the instruction was given by the ordinary Masters of Arts, among
whom those who were of less than two years' standing were compelled to
lecture, and were styled 'necessary regents' (i.e. they 'governed the
Schools'). They were paid by the fees of their pupils (_Collecta_, a
word familiar in a different sense in our 'Collections'). There was keen
co