35. Oxford University’s Students Went to War With the Townspeople
On February 10th, 1355, St. Scholastica Day, two Oxford University students, Roger de Chesterfield and Walter Spryngheuse, were having drinks at the Swindlestock Tavern in Oxford. At some point, they complained to the taverner, John Croidon, about the quality of the drinks, and he did not take kindly to their complaints. One thing led to another, heated words were exchanged, and the students ended up throwing the drinks in the taverner’s face, as a prelude to beating the daylights out of him. Oxford’s mayor asked the university to arrest the thuggish students, but his request was ignored. Instead, 200 students sided with Springheuse and Chesterfield, and went on a rampage during which they assaulted the mayor and other Townies.
That was too much for the locals, who mounted a counter-riot of their own, with hundreds pouring in from the countryside to hunt down the students, crying: “Havoc! Havoc! Smyte [smite] fast! Give gode knocks!” The students were routed, with 63 of them killed, while 30 locals also lost their lives. In the aftermath, authorities sided with the university, and every year thereafter, on February 10th, Oxford’s mayor and councilors were made to atone by marching bareheaded through the streets. They then had to attend mass, and pay a penny for each student killed. That tradition lasted for 425 years, until 1825, when an Oxford mayor finally put his foot down and refused to participate.
