The New Orleans Democrat., 1876-05-07

1
celebrated In their duels and brnwls. or
concealed within their bosom u poiR-
nard or u two-edged knife.
The scholars of Paris have ever been
u turbulent and ungovernable race and
ut the period Of which this history
treats, and, indeed. long before. were
little better than licensed horde .of
robbers, consisting Of u pack OF idle
and wayward youths drafted from all
parts Of Europe. ms well as from the re-
moter provinces or their own nation.
There was little In common between the
mass Of students and their brethren.
excepting the fellowship resulting from
the universal license IN which oil in
dulged Hence their Thousand combats
amongst themselves--rom bats almost
invariably attended with fatal eonse-
quences and which the ho ds OF the
university found II impossible to check.
Their own scanty resources. eked ont
by what little they could derive from
begghry or robbery. formed their chief
subsistence. for many of them were
positive mendicants and were SO denom-
mated; and, being possessed of sane
tuary within their own quarters. 10
which they could at convenience retire,
they submitted to tho copstraint or no
laws except those enforced within the
jurisdiction of tho university, and hest
tnted ut no mems of enrichng them
selves ut the expense Of their neigh bors.
Hence the frequent warfare winged be-
tween them and the brethren OF Saint
Germain des Pres, whose moDastic do
mains ndjoined their territories. and
whose meadows were the constant
! champ clos OF their skirtnishcs.
Hence their sanguinary conflicts with
the good citizens OF Paris to whom they
were wholly obnoxious. and who occa-
sionally repaid their aggrcssions with
interest. In 1407, two Of their number.
convicted of assassination and robbery,
were condemned to the gibbet, and the
sentence WAS carried into execution but
40 great was the uproar accustomed In
the university by this violation OF Its
ifnmunities, that the provost OF Paris.
| Guillnume do Tignonvllle, was com
pelled to take down their bodies from
Montfaucon, and sec them honorably
and ceremonioualy inferred. This recog-
milton Of their rights only served to
make matters worse. and for series of
years the nuisance continued undated.
II II not our purpose to record oil the
excesses OF the university. nor tho
means taken for their suppression.
Vaiply were the civil authorities arrayed
against them. Vainly were bulls thun-
dered from the Vatican. No amend
ment WAS effected The weed might be-
cut down, but was never entirely scxtir-
patod. Their feuds were transmitted
! from generation To generation. aud their
| old bone Of contention with the abbot of
Saint Germain (the Pre.au1Clercs) was,
after an uninterrupted strife for thirty
years submitted 70 the arbitration OF
tho Pope. who very cqnitablv refused t.
pronounce judgment in favor OF either
party
Such were the scholars Of Paris IN the
sixteenth century such the character
OF the clamorous crew who besieged the
portals OF tho college Of Navarro.
The object that summoned together
this unruly Y multitude was, it appears, u
desire on the bart ~ the scholars 70 be
present ut public controversy or
learned disputation, then occurring
within the great hall of the college be-
fore which they were cOngreRntel, and
the disappointment caused by their
finding the gates closed, and all en-
trance denied to them. occasioned their
present disposition to riot.
II WAS In vain they were assured by
the halbcrdiers stationed ut the gates,
and who with crossed pixies, strove to
resist the onward pressure Of the mob.
that the hall and court were already
crammed to oyertlowing. that there was
not room even for the sole OF a foot Of n
doctor Of the faculties. and that their
orders were positive and imperative that
none beneath the degree OK a bachelor
or licentiate should be admitted. In
vain they were told this was no ordi-
nary disputation, no common contro.
versy,' that oil were alike entitled to
license Of ingress, that the disputant
was no undistinguished scholar, whose
renown did not extend beyond his
own tritling sphere, and whose opilfions,
therefore, few would care to hear, nnd
still fewer to oppugn, but foreigner Of
high rank. In high fnvOr and fashion,
and not more remarkable for his extra
ordinary intellectual endowments, than
for his brilliant personal accomplish
ments In vain the trembling officials
sought to clinch their arguments by
stating, that not alone did the conclave
consist OF the chief members OF the uni
vcIsity, the senior doctors Of theology.
medicine and law, the professors Of the
humanties, rhetoric, and philosophy,
and oil the various other dignitaries
but that the debate was hOnored by
the presence OF Monsieur Christophe
dc Thou. first president Of parlia-
ment; by that Of the learned jacques
Augustin, OF the same name; by one
OF the secretaries Of state and gov
quier; by the ambassador Of Elizabeth,
Queen Of England, and Of Philip H.,
King OF Spnin, and several Of their
suite; by Able de Brantone; by M.
Miron. the court physician by Cosmo
Ruggieri, the Queen Mothers astrolo-
ger by the renowned poets and masque
writer's, Maitres Ronsard, Baif, and
Philippe Desportes;' by the wellknown
advocate Of parliament, Messire Etienne
Pasquicr; but, also land here came the |
gravamen Of the objection TO their ad
mission) by the two special favorites Of
his majesty and leaders Of affairs, the
seigneurs of Joyeuse and D'Eperon.
II was in vain the students were in
forme~ that, for the preservation Of
strict decorum, they had been com
mandod by the rector to make fast the
gates. No excuses would avail them.
The scholars were cogent reasoners,
and show Of slaves soon brought their
opponents to nonplus. In this line
of argument they were perfectly aware
of their ability TO prove a major.
III a.. m