the Regal only and that the Regal privileges should be sent to the King but the Episcopal and Papal should be kept but my Author thinks the last were also sent After this when any office in the University was void the King appointed the Successors so that it is found that even one of the Bedles was so placed This Instance doth sufficiently manifest the Kings absolute power over the Universities in taking into his hands at his pleasure all or any part of their privileges and restoring them when he thinks fit as he did these Anno 1541. 33 H. 8. The King (a) F. F. fol. 107.6 appointed Rules about the Election of the Proctors and ordered several other things relating to the better Governing of the University Anno 1543.35 H. 8. The King restores their privileges conditionally The King restored the Liberties to the University which he had retained from the Year 1522. yet so as the Vice-Chancellor Tresham entred into a Recognizance of 500 l. that the University should exercise none of the privileges granted Anno 1523. by the means of Cardinal Wolsey Thus I have given an Abridgment of what the Laborious Mr. Wood hath related concerning the Kings or Popes Grants of privileges to the University or what I have met with other where relating to this business and shall now proceed in my designed Method referring the Reader for later Charters to the Arcives of the University and the Act of Parliament for Incorporating both Oxford and Cambridge CHAP. IV. Concerning the Visitations of the Universities and particularly of that of Oxford SECT I. Concerning the Kings Supremacy and Power in Ecclesiastical Causes and Visitations §. 1. First what Authority the Kings of England used before the Reformation IT cannot be expected that I should discuss the Controversie here how far the Popes power was exercised in England in matters Ecclesiastical or in things to be done in Ordine ad Spiritualia The Curious may have recourse to the Learned Marca de Regno Sacerdotio the Concordata the Regalia of France and Sir Roger Twisdens Historical Vindication if he would be satisfied in the bundaries of the Ecclesiastical and Secular power ☞ It will be sufficient for my purpose to shew first that long before the Reformation several Kings of England permitted no Canons or Constitutions of the Church or Breves and Bulls of the Apostolic See to be executed here without their Allowance and that in several particulars wherein the Pope in other places by the Canons or the Plenitudo potestatis exercised a special Jurisdiction either some of our Ancientest Kings did the same or if they apprehended any diminution of their Crown or Dignity to attend their exercise by any power not derived from their selves they prohibited them ☞ And Secondly Secondly What power they have exercised since the Reformation That since the Supremacy hath been Established by Acts of Parliament in the Crown The Kings of England may according to the Laws in force not only exercise all the powers they could as Sovereign Princes but likewise whatever the Pope de Jure if not de facto could or did do in the outward Regiment of Ecclesiastical matters and consequently whatever was done in Visitations by the Authority of the Popes Metrpolitans or Dioecesan Bishops may now be done by the Kings of England as Supreme Ordinary §. 2. Before I enter upon this Subject I desire it may be noted These Instances are produced to Induce the Subjects obedience to the King whose Authority ought to be well considered that I bring not the Instances to induce a belief that the Popes according to the Canons of the Church did not oppose some of the practices of the Kings I mention But to shew how Incongruously the Fellows of St. Mary Magdalen College acted who knowing these things and that later Laws had devolved upon the King even the power of the Pope exercised here inforo externo should dispute the Kings Authority in a matter so manifestly appertaining to his Royal Dignity ☞ For Brevities sake I pass the Saxon times King William the 1st for the sure Establishing his Conquest is noted by Eadmerus (a) Histor novorum lib. 1. fol. 6. to which he adds de hujusmodi personis Episcopes Abbates alies principes per totam tenam Justituit de quibus Indignum Judicaretur si per omnia suis legibus non obedirent Idem to have Introduced the Norman usages of his Ancestors tho' he calls them new here Among which he reckons that none in his Dominions should own the Pope but by his Command nor receive his Letters unless shewed first to him and if the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury called and praesided in a General Council of the Bishops he allowed nothing to be appointed or forbid unless they were accommodated to his Will and were first ordained by him nor suffered any of his Barons or Officers to undergo any Ecclesiastical Censure but by his precepts So that I think it not so strange What King William Rufus did Upon the Shism none more fit then the King to resolve whom to adhere to that during the Schism his Son William Rufus claimed as other Princes did a Right to declare to which Pope he would adhere some consenting to Pope Vrban others to Clement Therefore the King demanded of Anselm from which of those Popes he would receive his Pall and the Arch-Bishop Answered him he would receive it from Pope Vrban But the King (a) Rex dixit illum prō Apostelico nondum accepisse nec suae vel paternae Consuetudinis eatenus extitisse ut praeter suam licentiam aut Electionem Aliquis in Regno Angliae Papam nominaret quicunque sibi hujus dignitatis Potestatem vellît praeripere Unum foret ac si coronam suam sibi conaretur Auferre Eadm fol. 25.47 told him that he had not yet received him for Pope nor had it been his or his Fathers Custom hitherto that any should be received as Pope in England without his Licence and Election and whoever would take from him this Power of his Dignity should be esteemed by him as one that endeavored to take from him his Crown And when Anselm Answered that he would not in any thing depart from obedience and subjection to Pope Vrban The King in great wrath protested (b) Nequaquam fidem quam sibi debebat simul Apostolicae sedis obedientiam contra suam voluntatem posse servari fol. 26. N. 1. None to go to Rome but with the Kings leave that the Arch-Bishop could not keep alike or together the Faith which he ought to the King and the obedience to the Apostolic See contrary to the Kings Will. When in the same Kings Reign the Arch-Bishop was sollicitous to have leave to go to Rome and Visit the Successor of St. Peter for the being better instructed in the Government of the Church He received Answer (c) Sed si Iverit pro certo noverit
quod totum Archiepiscopatum in Dominium meum Redigam nec illum pro Archiepiscapo ultra recipiam Idem fol. 38.10 from the King that if he went he should for certain know that he would seize his whole Arch-Bishopric into his hands nor would he receive him for Arch-Bishop any more like as now the Writ no exeat Regno is used with a Penalty specified After this the Bishops of Winchester Lincoln Salisbury and Bathe with several Barons sent to him by the King tell him that he had troubled the King with many complaints How that at the Parliament held at Rockingham he had (d) Pollicitus es per te usus ac leges suas usque quaque deinceps servaturum cas sibi contra emnes homines fideliter defensurum Idem fol. 39.27 In this whole Relation of matter of Fact it is to be owned that it was the personal repair of a Peer or great Man to Rome to Appeal that was forbid without the Kings leave but Appeals by Proctors were Anciently used in several Cases promised for the future The promise of an Arch-Bishop in all respects to keep and observe the Customs and the Kings Laws and to defend them faithfully against all Men which was an Oath of Fidelity used in that Age and bound him in Allegiance by reason of his Temporalities but no ways like the present Oath of Supremacy upon which they tell him the King believed he would have been quiet for the future But that he had openly contravened his promise and Faith by threatning to go to Rome without the Kings leave Which was a thing altogether unheard of before and against the usages of the Kingdom that any of the Great Men and especially himself should presume any such thing and lest the King should either be wearied or importun'd with him any more or with any other who being aggrieved might follow his Example The King (a) Jubet ut quatenus jure jurando promittas quod nunquam amplius sedem St. Petri vel ejus Vicarsum pro quavis quae tibi queat ingeri causa Appellas aut si sub omni celeritate de terra suâ recedat Idem 39.36 Commands that by Oath he should promise that he would never Appeal to the See of St. Peter or his Vicar for any cause that might befall him or if he did that he should speedily depart out of the Kings Territories But the Arch-Bishop persisting in his resolution to go had not only his Arch-Bishopric seized but the Pope being shewed how his Carriage here was resented did not afford him either (b) Idem fol. 52.17 53 28. Consilium or Auxilium yet the Writers of that Age censure that as an exorbitance of the Kings power however it may be a Document to some not obstinately to oppose their Prince ☞ By this Relation of matter of Fact it is evident The Inference from this History These are to be understood of matters Political and of Government not in matters of Doctrin and Faith. that in the time of these two Kings whatever was directed from Rome hither or was done by the Arch-Bishop was to have the Kings Approbation otherwise it was not suffered to be executed so that the Kings allowance before made public as now used in France was requisite to give them a practicableness here §. 3. Of the Investitures of Bishops It is allowed by our Historians (c) Ingulphus fol. 500. vid. literas Paschaâ—lis 2 Henrico 2. apud Eadmerum fol. 113. 115. generally that the Receiving Investitures of Churches from our Princes their calling of Synods determining Causes Ecclesiastical without Appeal to Rome their Translating of Bishops c. have been practised here in Ancient times the Canons and Popes reclaiming sometimes quitted and resumed by our Kings as State Interest required It is clear in History This was no conferring holy Orders but in relation to their Baronies that Bishops received Investitures from the King by delivery of a Staff as an acknowledgment of a subjection to the King at least for their Baronies which was after yielded not to be done by Lay Hands yet King Henry the First at one time Writ to the Pope that he would (a) Nec pro Amissione Regni sui passurum se perdere Investituras Ecclesiarum Idem fol. 73.13 not for the loss of his Kingdom lose the Investiture of Churches and another time he threatned that without doubt he would resume his Investitures because he held them in Peace However I do not find that this went any further then Swearing Fealty to the King Oath of Fidelity which seems to have long continued and which was a sufficient badge of subjection So we find a Writ (b) Gervac Dorob 4.1187 Col. 1503.36 from R. de Glanvil to the Abbot of Batle c. wherein he Commands him on the part of the King by the Faith which he owes him and by the Oath which he made to him to do what he then enjoyned ☞ As to the Legatine Power Concerning the power of Legats it is apparent by several Instances that none Exercised any here without the Kings leave whether by the Grant of Pope Nicholas to Edward the Confessor I dispute not I shall only note some few King Henry the First had an Interview at Gisors with Pope Calixtus and obtained of him that he should Grant him all the Customs which his Father King William the First had in England and Normandy and especially (c) Maxime ut neminemaliquando Legati Officio in Anglia fungi permitteret si non ipsa aliquâ praecipuâ quaerelâ exigentur quae ab Archiepiscopo Cantuariorum Caeterisque Episcopis Regni terminari non possint hoc fieri a Papa postularet Kidm fol. 125.53 that he would permit none at any time to exercise the Office of Legat in England unless the King upon any special Plea should require it and the thing could not be determined by the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury and the Rest of the Bishops of the Kingdom and that the King should desire it of the Pope How the Popes Legats were received may be best known by some Instances Instances how the Popes Legats were received The Wars betwixt France Scotland England might make this caution When Guido Arch-Bishop of Vienna Anno 1100. In the beginning of King Henry the First 's Reign by the Popes Authority was appointed Legat as he gave it out Eadmerus saith that it was an admiration to all in England for all knew that it was (a) Inauditum scilicet in Brittannia cuncti Scientes quemlibet hominum super se vices Apostolicas Gerere nisi solum Archiepiscopum Cantuarierum Idem fol. 58.40 unheard of in Brittain that any Man except the Bishop of Canterbury had the Popes power Therefore as he came so he returned being received by none as Legat neither did he perform the Office of a Legat while here The words of my Author are a nemine pro
Body Corporate governed by Local Statutes granted and confirmed to them by His Majesties Royal Predecessor King Henry the 6th for him his Heirs and Successors under the Great Seal of England which are also since confirmed by several other Letters Patents of others His Majesties Royal Predecessors under the Great Seal of England That by the Statutes of the said College to the observation of which each Fellow is Sworn it is ordered that the person to be Elected President thereof shall be a Man of good Life and Reputation of approved Understanding and of good Manners and Temper and Discreet Provident and Circumspect both in Spiritual and Temporal Affairs And at the time of the Election of a President the said Fellows are bound by the said Statutes to take an Oath that they shall nominate none to that Office but such as are or have been Fellows of the said College or of New-College in Oxford and if they are not actually Fellows at the time of Election that they be such as have left their Fellowships in those respective Colleges upon creditable accounts And when two qualified persons shall be nominated at the time of Election by the greater number of all the Fellows to the said Office of President The thirteen Seniors also swear that they will Elect one of them whom in their Consciences they think most proper and sufficient most discreet most useful and best qualified for that place without any regard to love hatred favor or fear and every Fellow when he is first admitted to his Fellowship in the said College Swears that he will inviolably keep and observe all the Statutes and Ordinances of the College and all and every thing therein contained so far as does or may concern him according to the plain litteral and grammatical sense and meaning thereof and as much as in him lies will cause the same to be kept and observed by others And that he will not procure any Dispensation contrary to his aforesaid Oaths or any part thereof nor contrary to the Statutes and Ordinances to which they relate or any one of them nor will he endeavor that such Dispensation shall be procured by any other or others publickly or privately directly or indirectly and if it shall happen that any Dispensation of this sort shall be procured granted or obtained of what Authority soever it be whether in general or particular or under what Form of words whatsoever it shall be granted that he will neither make use of it nor in any sort consent thereunto all which several Oaths follow in express words at the End of this their Answer That upon notice of the Death of Dr. Clark late President of the said College the Vice-President called a Meeting of the said Fellows in order to appoint a day for Election of a new President and the 13th day of April last was the time prefixt with power to prorogue the same as they should see cause until the 15th day of the same Month beyond which time they could not Statutably defer their Election and in pursuance thereof a Citation or Praemonition was fixed upon the Chappel-door of the said College signifying the same and by which the absent Fellows are summoned to repair home to the said Election as the Statute in that case requires And the said Vice-President and other deputed Fellows further say that upon the 11th day of the said Month of April they received His Majesties Letters requiring them to Elect and Admit the said Mr. Anthony Farmer to be President of the said College But forasmuch as the said Vice-President and the other Fellows apprehended the Right of Election to be in themselves and did believe His Majesty never intended to dispossess them of their Rights And forasmuch as the said Mr. Farmer had never been Fellow either of Magdalen College or of New-College in Oxford and had not those qualifications which in and by the Statutes of the said College are required in the Character of a President as they in their Consciences did and do verily believe and in regard they could not comply with His Majesties Letters without the violation of their Oaths and hazard of that Legal Interest and property whereof they are by the said Statutes possest and which by their Oaths they are bound to maintain They represented the same by their Humble Petition to His Majesty and having deferred their Election of a President to the last day limited by their Statutes they then proceeded to Election And having first Received the Blessed Eucharist and taken the said Oaths as the Statutes require to choose a person so qualified as is before exprest they did Elect the Reverend Mr. John Hough Batchellor in Divinity and one of the Fellows of the said College a person every way qualified to be their President who has been since Confirmed by the Lord Bishop of Winchester their Visitor as the Statutes of the said College direct And that they might not lie under His Majesties displeasure by their proceedings on the 19th day of the said Month of April they made humble Representation thereof to His Majesty by his Grace the Duke of Ormond Chancellor of the University of Oxford setting forth their indispensable obligation to observe their Founders Statutes All which matters the said Vice-President and other deputed Fellows do humbly offer to your Lordships consideration and pray to be dismissed with your Lordships favor Charles Aldworth Vice-President John Smith D. D. Mainwaring Hammond B. D. Henry Dobson Dean of Artes. Ja. Fayrer A. M. §. 3. To this were subjoyned the following Statutes for regulating the Election of a President De numero Scholarium Electione Praesidentis IN primis siquidem ut Sacra Scriptura seu pagina scientiarum omnium aliarum Mater Domina sua liberius dilatet tentoria cum ea utraque militet Philosophia The College to consist of one President and 40 poor and indigent Scholars Clerks praefatum nostrum Collegium Oxoniae in de numero unius Praesidentis Quadraginta pauperum indigentuim Scholarium Clericorum in dictis scientiis studere debentium subsistere Statuimus etiam Ordinamus sic ipsum volumus Deo propitio perpetuò permanere Praeter quem numerum sint alii Triginta pauperes Scholares And 30 poor Schollars called Demys vulgariter vocati Demyes Grammaticalia Logicalia vel Sophisticalia diligenter addiscentes ut cultus Dei a quo bona cuncta procedunt amplius augeatur melius sustentetur Volumus quod praeter dictos numeros Scholarium sint etiam quatuor Presbyteri Capellani And 4 Presbyters Chaplains 8 Clerks and 16 Choristers octo Clerici Sexdecim Choristae Cappellae dicti Collegii in Divinis servitiis deservientes Proviso quod de dicto numero quadragenario ex speciali providentia Praesidentis Two or 3 of the 40 to be Students of the Canon and Civil Laws and as many in Physic Vice-Praesidentis Decanorum trium aliorum Seniorum duo