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King's College, Cambridge. But even this last was to be eclipsed by the more than princely foundations of Wolsey and Henry VIII. Bishop Wykenham however was the first to found a college, complete, from the very first, in all its parts. His endowment was named New College, and contained seventy fellows; (of whom fifty were Theologians, ten Canonists, beside ten Chaplains ;) three Choralists, (music directors,) and sixteen Chorister boys. To this institution he attached a Latin School at Winchester, the pupils of which were afterwards to enter the College. But this was by no means a common school. It was as rich and extensive a foundation as that at Oxford, being in fact a College, with twelve Prebendaries, (as teachers,) and seventy free admissions for scholars. This establishment afterwards served as a model for King's College, Cambridge, and the Latin School at Eton. There was however less difference in the incomes of Fellows at different Colleges, than in the number of fellowships; because founders were originally less anxious to raise the incomes above mediocrity, than to support the greatest possible number of academicians. Partial changes however in this respect certainly took place as early as the fifteenth century, accompanying the change in the academic population mentioned in a former chapter.

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§ 113. Increased pretensions of College Fellows.

For from the very first, the endowed members of the Colleges, either belonged, by preference, to the ecclesiastical order, or were destined to the Church. This was partly enforced by the Statutes, partly effected by the habits and spirit of the times; and afterwards by express provisions to that purpose.* Their foundations were intended to afford a maintenance to students; and it will be remembered that a Master of Arts was still but a student of the higher faculties: no provisions therefore were made in the earlier Statutes as to the duration of the enjoyment of these fellowships. We saw, however, how the principle established itself, in spite of resistance, that the fellows should remain in their place until provided for elsewhere. Now as such provision was often slow in coming, the fellowship gradually ceased to be a stipend for young Students,

*The rule came to be established even in Colleges where no express mention was made of it, as we may see by a command of the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Warden of Merton College, enjoining the Fellows to take orders within a certain time and not to marry. (Wilkins' Concil. 140.) This was for the interest of the body, because ecclesiastical members could not burden the college so easily or so openly with families.

† An instance of this is given in the supplementary Statutes of Oriel College; which provide that the Fellows should resign their Fellowships, upon obtaining a benefice elsewhere, or when twenty years had elapsed without their obtaining any; since such a case must presuppose that they deserved none, and had employed their time improperly. (v. Joh: de Thorkelowe. Annales Edwarde II.. Ed: Hearne 1729. Appendix.)

and was transformed into a life-maintenance for learned ecclesiastics of maturer years. Hence, as the pretensions of the Fellows increased, benefactors began to aim at increasing their incomes, in preference to founding new fellowships. The selfinterest of the members themselves, in the administration and disposition of collegiate property, tended of course to the same end; often in direct opposition to the desire of the Founder and to the Statutes. If the Visitors, at first, endeavoured to counteract this, they at last gave way to the force of circumstances; and the necessity of larger incomes was at least tacitly recognized. Thus in founding new Colleges, or new Fellowships in the old Colleges, the benefactors of the University, as early as the fifteenth century, generally intended to furnish a decent and permanent maintenance for poor men of learning of the clerical order; and not mere stipends for young students. The elections also fell on persons of older standing: and thus the degree of Master* became at least the tacit condition of election, unless the contrary was expressly ordained by the Statutes. The transformation proceeded very gradually; and exceptions to these rules exist in fact to this day: but, at the same time, the principle which we have here noted was the predominating one even at the end of the fifteenth century. The Reformation did nothing more in this respect than hasten the process already going on.

* [It is expressly thus in the German.]

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