Oxford University Archives

Holdings

Earliest document in the Archives

The earliest document in the University Archives is the award, dated 1214, of the Papal Legate which settled a dispute between the University and the town.

This dispute had begun in 1209 with the hanging of two clerks for the alleged murder of a woman and had been followed by the migration of most of the scholars. The award, the first of many such adjudications which almost invariably settled local differences in the University's favour, commanded the town to feast a hundred poor scholars annually and provided for the appointment of a Chancellor, the first reference to such an officer.