Town and Gown

History of Town-Gown Relations

Although the exact dates of the origins of many of Europe's universities are uncertain due to lack of accurate records, its oldest—such as those in Bologna, Paris, and Oxford—were established during the twelfth century. Their students typically studied Latin grammar, logic, music, mathematics, geometry, astronomy, and classical languages. While Salerno is even older, it was primarily a medical institution.

Conflicts between town and gown were not uncommon during the formative years of these older universities in Europe. The rapid expansion of Oxford University, for example—which probably took place because of the expulsion of English scholars from Paris—was not entirely to the liking of the townspeople, as the interests of this community of scholars often were at odds with those of the town. Students complained about the exorbitant rents they had to pay the town landlords, and the townspeople complained about the behavior of the students in pubs and other public places. One widely cited town-and-gown altercation occurred there in 1209, when a scholar practicing archery killed a woman. Townsmen captured and hanged three of his colleagues. For a while thereafter, the university was dispersed and its students fled to Cambridge and elsewhere, such as Northampton. The bishop interceded, the burghers had to pay fines as compensation, and the town had to relinquish control over the university from then on. The university was given jurisdiction over its own premises and its students. The town authorities had to turn over delinquent students to the university chancellor for discipline. Another skirmish at Oxford originated [Page 1389]at a tavern in 1354 and resulted in student deaths. On other occasions, students attacked townspeople, resulting in loss of lives. Such conflicts were common enough that when the University of Vienna was founded in 1365, penalties were established for the varied types of injury and loss that would result from such incidents.

In general, the town wanted to extend its jurisdiction and power over the gown. The townspeople wanted control over the administration of the universities and especially over the students, who were often accompanied by their servants during those early centuries. The gown wanted to be free from the control of the civil authorities, wanted to regulate its own affairs, and even demanded special privileges for its students and teachers. This led to simmering discontent between the two groups, which sometimes boiled over. These conflicts were based on issues of power, authority, jurisdiction, control, autonomy, social class and elitism. As universities gradually gained more power and prestige, they also started influencing both the church and the state—partly through their distinguished alumni.

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