Friday, February 10, 2023

It is the 10th of February, 2023. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org. I’m Dan van Voorhis.

 

It’s our 4th year of shows, and I had yet to tell the story of the St. Scholastica Day Riot at Oxford on this day in 1355- mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.

I don’t know why stories of Medieval riots- especially involving peasants and clerics- have always interested me so much- perhaps it’s that in my mind, I have all the characters as cartoon animals, a la Disney’s Robin Hood.

So first- St. Scholastica- she is the twin sister of Benedict- yes, the Benedict, after which we get Benedictine Monasteries and Monks. Scholastica is said to have traveled with her brother. When he set up a monastery on Monte Cassino (ooh, note to self-do a show on that fascinating monastery- fascinating stories up through World War 2), Scholastica set up a monastery for women, becoming the first Abbess and now the patron saint of religious sisters.

Ok- so it’s 1355, and it is St. Scholastica Day in Oxford. Oxford is not yet the towering institution it is today (there were no shirts named after it yet), and there was a constant and common struggle between the world of “town and gown.” That is, rich kids and clerics came to dominate the town once inhabited by regular townsfolk. [Note: I was a bartender at the Olde Castle Tavern in St. Andrews, Scotland, and saw these animosities up close!]

So- if a student is acting up, who are they reported to? The constable or the University? Also, the Black Death had brought things to a standstill economically, so the University would raise taxes to pay for the school- they came through the church so you could expect some anti-clerical reactions.

And then, on the aptly named St. Scholastica’s day (for a university riot), a few of the students and clergy were having drinks in the Swindlestock Tavern. One of the clergymen complained about the quality of the wine and asked for another drink. The bartender refused. What happened next? Well- it depends on whom you listen to. It seems that the bartender, who may have been the landlord for the property and perhaps even the town's mayor, used “Stubborn and Saucy” language to the priests. Perhaps a cup was thrown at the Barman’s head. Perhaps he was savagely beaten.

A battle broke out in the streets and attracted others to join the fray. Opposing church bells were rung as a call to arms, and fighting continued into the night and spilled over into the next day. Once the fighting stopped, over a hundred people died (they fought with bows and arrows), including 62 clerics.

The King, Edward III, saw the attack on the university and church as an attack on the crown and had the town's mayor sent to prison. Furthermore, he established a law that the civil authorities in Oxford were required to attend a Mass for the dead every St. Scholatica’s day, had to swear fealty to the University, and pay a fine of 63 pence. They did this, with maybe some spotty attendance, for the next 500 years.

 The story is not only part of the lore of Oxford, one of the grand universities in the Christian West for centuries, but also for what it reveals about the fissure amongst the townsfolk and the university and the association of university and clerics (where they would study and then some would teach). That the English crown would take interest and support the University and Clerics- the royal, religious, and educated formed a powerful class bloc against the general population and led to the proliferation of popular rebellions and revolts.

Today we remember the patron saint of religious sisters, but also the riot in Oxford which took her name, coming on her feast day: the 10th of February.

  

The last word for today comes from- heck, it’s Friday and I’d like to recite one of my favorite poems- from William Cowper, an early Weekend Edition topic- this is ‘God Moves in A Mysterious Way”:

God moves in a mysterious way,
His wonders to perform;

He plants his footsteps in the sea,

And rides upon the storm.


Deep in unfathomable mines

Of never-failing skill,

He treasures up his bright designs,

And works his sov'reign will.


Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.


Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust him for his grace;

Behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face.


His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding ev'ry hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flow'r.


Blind unbelief is sure to err,

And scan his work in vain;

God is his own interpreter,

And he will make it plain.

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 10th of February 2023, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man known for his “Stubborn and Saucy” language- he is Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man wishing you a happy 1-year anniversary of the Harden for Simmons trade. Ouch! I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.