Research On The Laudian Code Issued By Oxford University In 1636

At the initial period Oxford University had possessed the corporate attributes and gained all the elements of corporation in the process of development.Before the Reformation,the university had the right to enact statutes,regulations and rules and govern the body based on them.After the establishment of the Absolute Monarch,the British government bettered the Common Law and capitalized on the institution of corporation to bring miscellaneous bodies under control.In 1571,Queen Elisabeth I granted Oxford University and Cambridge Oxford and Cambridge Act 1571.Since then,the government began to meddle the university governance.In the seventeenth century,the British society suffered from the political disorder and religious turmoil.As an academic center and talent-training center,Oxford University was an institution that both the British government and the Roman Church were determined to acquire.Therefore,both James I and Charles I constantly granted patents and charters,and manipulated the governance of the university through visitations.William Laud,the minion of the King Charles Ⅰ,was also the Chancellor of Oxford University.Under his guidance,a university commission spent seven years compiling,modifying and revising a new statute.In 1636,Oxford University officially issued the new statute,dubbed The Laudian Code,which is a connecting link between the preceding and the following statutes.Based on the texts of statutes issued in the Middle Ages and with the contemporary situation taking into account,the statute was the result of development of the society and the university.Through the statute,William Laud not only realized his religious and political ambition,but also greatly helped the royal family boost its manipulation over the university.When The Laudian Code was issued,Oxford had been run for 400 years and its governing institution had been a systematic one.The new statute regulated the governing body and administrative staff of Oxford University in the seventeenth century.The governing body included policy-making body,administrative body,judicial body,supervisory body and academic body,which was a combination of the old governing body in the Middle Ages and the new one in the age of Stuart Monarchy.On the request of the Stuart king,the university erected a Hebodomadal Meeting to govern the whole university and manage the daily operation based on the demands and policies from the government.The Laudian Code displays many characteristics,such as structural completeness,strict rules,unified forms and bright features,and manifests the superiority and advancement of Oxford University’s governance.In theory,the governor of Oxford University screwed up the disciplines,set an academic model,promoted the development of collegiate and tutorial systems and secured the franchises and privileges through The Laudian Code.Whereas,the Statute limited the university’s power to make and modify the statutes,the Hebodomadal Meeting undermined the university autonomy and the professorial governance tradition,and the political and religious oath system resulted in the brain drain.It was not until the Constitutional Monarchy was gradually established and the corporation system was completed that the university regained its autonomy.The dissertation mainly includes the following parts:Part One is about the development and the process of construction of Oxford University before the enactment of The Laudian Code.Before the Reformation,the relationship that the university had with the kings and the church went smoothly,because the university was endowed with many privileges from the kings and the popes.Under the circumstance of binary opposition between the monarch and the church,the university enjoyed high degree of autonomy.During the Tudor dynasty,England developed its institution into the Absolute Monarchy,corporations became the governing tools by the monarchs.In 1571,Queen Elizabeth confirmed the university’s legal status by issuing a patent.Since then,the British government began to intervene the university into its internal affairs,especially beliefs of its members.Part Two is the analysis of reasons for the enactment of The Laudian Code.Before its enactment,Oxford University failed to meet the government’s needs of intervention into its internal affairs.During the Stuart dynasty,the British society and politics were in chaos.In addition,the religious beliefs were complex.Under such circumstances,Charles I demanded that the government should put the university under control and academic institutions serve the politics.At that time,William Laud,Charles I’s minion,functioned as the Chancellor of Oxford University.Under the guidance of William Laud,the university began to revise its statute to cater for the government’s requirement.Part Three discloses the governing body and administrative structure of Oxford University and demonstrates the perfection and superiority of the statutes issued by the university at that time by means of analyzing The Laudian Code.In the seventeenth century,Oxford University carried out chancellor-in-charge system,and the decision-making body was Convocation.Besides,the administrative body included the Hebdomadal Board and the Great Congregation of Regent Masters,the judiciary body involved the Chancellor’s Court and the High Steward’s Court,and the academic body were faculties and colleges.It is worth mentioning that Oxford University has established the supervisory and appealing mechanisms.Besides,The Laudian Code regulates the qualifications and process of electing officials,ministers and servants of the university,together with their specific responsibilities,salaries and mechanism of supervision.Part Four is the summary of the characteristics and execution of the statute through analyzing the text of The Laudian Code.The Laudian Code is characterized by structural completeness,strict rules,unified forms and bright features.During the Stuart period,the statute functioned as the tool to maintain the order and stability of the university,simultaneously,the training institute of cultivating talents loyal to Anglicanism and the kings for the British government.When it came to the Cromwell period,The Laudian Code was contradictory to the principles of the new government and was abolished by the Cromwell officials.Whereas,in the period of the Restoration,Oxford University executed The Laudian Code again in a bid to fulfill its mission of maintaining the government.It was not until the Constitutional Monarchy was gradually established and the corporation system was completed that the university began to reform The Laudian Code and regained its autonomy.Although The Laudian Code has some demerits,it has exerted a significant impact on the construction of the contemporary statute and is the fountain of the modern ones.Oxford University keeps the practice of governing itself based on its statutes,which have many idiosyncrasies,that is to say,maintaining its legal status as a lay corporation and its legal effect,having the detailed rules and regulations,assigning explicit responsibilities to each division,and possessing the long-lasting supervisory mechanism,democratic supervision,and appealing mechanism.Effective governing institution of modern university and better statutory institution facilitate Oxford University to maintain its status as the world-class university,which has a revealing function for constructing modern university institutions in China.