O X F 
cleus whence the town actually derived its origin, by col¬ 
lecting around it the habitations of the laity. At all 
events, whether this wasthefourceofits exiftence or not, 
it is certain that a town of fome kind occupied the fite 
of Oxford in the tenth century. In 979 it was moftly 
burnt, and in 1002 again fuffered the fame fate. It foon 
revived, however, but only to encounter frelh difafters. 
In 1009, Swein king of Denmark fet fire to it; and when, 
in revenge, king Ethelred ordered a general maffacre of 
the Danes throughout all his dominions, the command 
was executed with terrible fidelity at Oxford. No regard 
was paid either to'fex or age ; even the altars were pol¬ 
luted with the blood of the devoted viftims. Among 
thofe who perilhed on this occafion, was the lady Gunil- 
da, filler to the Danilh monarch. This favage policy of 
the Saxon king inflamed the refentment of Swein to the 
higheft pitch ; he confequently made a defcent upon 
England with an overwhelming force, and laid in allies 
many of the principal towns ; but it appears that he only 
frightened the inhabitants of Oxford into a furrender, 
and impofed upon them a heavy contribution. About 
three years after this event, Ethelred having returned 
from France, whither he had fled to avoid the vengeance 
of Swein, invited fome of the Danilh nobles hither to a 
conference, and treacheroufly caufed two of their number 
to be put to death. The remainder, fearing the fame 
fate, immediately took to arms, but were overpowered ; 
and either fell by the fword, or were confumed in the 
conflagration of St. Frid’s church, in which fome of them 
had fought protection from the rage of their aflailants. 
During the fubfequent contefts of the Danes and Saxons, 
Oxford frequently fuffered feverely. It attained, how¬ 
ever, at this period, a very high degree of political im¬ 
portance. King Edmund, furnamed Ironfide, occafion- 
ally refided here ; and was unhappily murdered in the 
town, November 30th, 1016. Canute the Great held his 
court frequently at Oxford ; and in 1022 he aflembled 
here a general council, in which the laws of Edward were 
difcuffed, and made binding upon all his fubjeCts, Danes 
as well as Englifli. The fame monarch, in a fubfequent 
parliament, confirmed the edicts of king Edgar. Harold, 
furnamed Harefoot, likewife fixed his chief refidence at 
this place, which was the fcene both of his coronation 
and of his death. 
When William the Conqueror made a progrefs to the 
north, after he had been crowned at Weflminller, the 
inhabitants of Oxford, being much attached to their de- 
ce^fed fovereign, refufed to open their gates to the ufurper 
of his throne. The king was therefore compelled to ob¬ 
tain-entrance by force of arms; and, as a punilhment 
for their refiftance, he levied upon the townfmen a tax 
much higher than was paid by other towns. The bet¬ 
ter, however, to reftrain their rebellious fpirit, he con¬ 
ferred the government of Oxford on Robert de Oigli, a 
Norman of tried valour, and empowered him to build 
and fortify a caftle. This ftrufture was of great fize and 
ftrength, and was raifed on the well fide of the town, near 
the river. After the completion of the caftle, Oxford 
became more fubmiflive ; and, long before the termina¬ 
tion of the Conqueror’s reign, appears to have been per¬ 
fectly reconciled to the Norman government. The im¬ 
mediate fucceflors of William frequently made it the 
place of their refidence, and on feveral occafions fum- 
moned parliaments and councils to it. When Wil¬ 
liam Rufus found his throne threatened by formidable 
inlurreCtions in the north, he convened a general council 
here, and, declaring his refolution.to govern his fubjeCts 
with ftriCt impartiality, fucceeded in confirming the alle¬ 
giance of many of his great barons, who might otherwife 
have deferted his intereft ; and, through their means, was 
enabled to quell the revolt. Stephen feveral times held 
his court here ; and, during the conteft for the crown be¬ 
tween him and theemprefs Maud, the latter having taken 
up her abode in the caftle, was befieged in it by the king 
O R D. 143 
in perfon, and only effected her efcape, by ftratagem, the 
day previous to its furrender. 
Henry II. convened feveral councils at Oxford; and 
in the year 1177, the princes and chief lords of Wales 
did homage to him here for their territories and eftates. 
This monarch refided, during a greater part of his reign, 
in the palace of Beaumont, which had been ereCted in 
the north fuburbs by Henry I. Within the walls of that 
ftruCture, his heroic fon, Richard Cour-de-Lion, was 
born, and fubfequently held a council here anterior to 
his departure for the Holy Land. King John paffed 
many of his troubled hours in the fame palace ; and had 
a meeting with his indignant barons in the vicinity about 
two months before he was compelled to iign that grand 
bulwark of Englifli liberty, Magna Charta. Henry III. 
following the example of his predeceffors, occafionally 
fixed his abode at Oxford, and held many parliaments 
and councils here on fubjeCts of great political impor¬ 
tance. 
In the reign of Henry VIII. Oxford was conftituted 
the feat of a bilhop’s fee, and confequently elevated to 
the rank of a city. By order of queen Mary, archbifliop 
Cranmer, with bifliops Ridley and Latimer, were exe¬ 
cuted here, OCtober 1555, for herefy to the Romilh 
church. Her fucceffor, queen Elizabeth, frequently vi- 
fited Oxford, as will be more particularly mentioned in 
the fequel of this article. In the year 1577 theplague 
raged with dreadful mortality in this town. While the 
court fat on the trial of a popifli bookfeller, acculed of 
circulating offenfive pamphlets, a fudden ficknefs feized 
nearly the whole of the perfons prefent; and, within 48 
hours, upwards of 300 perfons died, among whom were 
the lord chief-baron, the high-flieriff, feveral juftices of 
the peace, and molt of the jurors. King James I. with¬ 
drew to this city when the plague broke out in London. 
The malady, however, likewife found its way hither, and 
began its devaftations with fuch awful effeCl, that the 
fcholars fled from the univerfity, and the citizens finut 
their fliops. “ Not a living creature,” fays Ayliffe, “ be- 
fides nurfes and corpfe-bearers, was to be feen in the 
ftreets, which were covered with grafs, even in the mar¬ 
ket-place.” 
Charles I. held a parliament at Oxford in the early part 
of his reign; and at a fubfequent period, when he found 
it expedient to quit London, he chofe this city for his 
place of abode, being well affured of the loyalty of the 
citizens, and of the collegians. The whole melancholy 
wdnter of 1646 was fpent by that monarch within the 
walls of Chriftchurch, where he aflembled the fliattered 
remains of his parliament, and whence he wrote the me¬ 
morable letter to lord Digby, declaring that, “ if he could 
not live as a king, he would die as a gentleman.” The 
negociations for peace between Charles and the republi¬ 
can parliament were chiefly carried on at Oxford ; but 
no military event of any confequence occurred here 
throughout the war, though the city was ftrongly forti¬ 
fied, and its pofi’eflion confidered an object of great im¬ 
portance to both parties. It was furrendered by the ex- 
prefs command of the king himfelf, after he had been 
made prifoner by the Scots. The laft parliament which 
met at Oxford was convened in the year 1681 by king 
Charles II. As party-fpirit then prevailed in a very high 
degree, its meeting was attended with many boifterous 
circumftances. The popular faction affecting to dread 
fome fecret machinations among the papifts, their repre- 
fentatives entered Oxford with a large train of fervants 
and partifans as body-guards. Numerous bands of fol- 
diery were drawn up round the royal quarters ; and, on 
the whole, according to Hume, “ the affembly rather 
bore the appearance of a tumultuous Polilh diet than of 
a regular Englifli parliament.” This parliament Lifted 
only feven days, having been diffolved by the king, to 
prevent a bill of baniflunent and exclufion from the throne 
being palled againlt his brother James duke of York, af¬ 
terwards 
