COLLEGE, an assemblage of several bodies or societies, or of several persons into one society.

College, among the Romans, was applied indifferently to those employed in the offices of religion, government, the liberal and even mechanical arts and trades; so that anciently the word signified what we now call a corporation or company.

In the Roman empire, there were not only the college of augurs and the college of capitolini, or of those who had the superintendence of the capitoline games; but also colleges of artificers, collegium artificum ; college of carpenters, fabricoum or fabrorum tignariorum ; of potters, figulorum ; of founders, cerariorum ; the college of locksmiths, fabrorum serrariorum ; of engineers of the army, tignariorum ; of butchers, laniorum ; of dendrophori, dendrophororum ; of centonaries, centonariorum ; of makers of military cassocks, sagariorum ; of tent-makers, tabernaculario~ rum ; of bakers, pistorum ; of musicians, tibicinum, and so forth. Plutarch observes, that it was Numa who first divided the people into colleges, which he did that each consulting the interests of his college, and occupying himself therewith, might thus be prevented from entering into any general conspiracy against the public repose.

Each of these colleges had distinct meeting places or halls, and also a treasury and common chest, a register, a person to represent them upon public occasions, and acts of government. They had the privilege of manumitting slaves, of being legates, and of making by-laws for their own body, provided these did not clash with those of the government.

There are various colleges among the moderns, founded on the model of those of the ancients. Such are the three colleges of the empire, viz.

College of Electors, or their Deputies, which formerly assembled in the diet of Ratisbon.

College of Princes, or the body of princes, or their deputies at the diet of Ratisbon.

College of Cities is, in like manner, the body of deputies which the imperial cities send to the diet.

College of Cardinals, or the Sacred College, a body composed of the three orders of cardinals.

College is also used for a public place endowed with certain revenues, where the several branches of learning are taught. An assemblage of several of these colleges constitutes an university. The erection of colleges is part of the royal prerogative, and it is not to be done without the king’s license.

The establishment of colleges or universities is a remarkable period in literary history. The schools in cathedrals and monasteries confined themselves chiefly to the [7:7:69]teaching of grammar, and there were only one or two masters employed in that office. But, in colleges, professors were appointed to teach the different parts of science. The first obscure mention of academical degrees in the university at Paris, from which the other universities in Europe have borrowed most of their customs and institutions, occurs a. D. 1215.

College of Civilians, commonly called Doctors' Commons, a college founded by Or Harvey, dean of the arches, for the professors of the civil law residing in London; where also usually reside the judge of the arches court of Canterbury, the judge of the admiralty, of the prerogative court, &c. with other civilians, who all live, as to diet and lodging, in a collegiate manner, commoning together; whence the appellation of Doctors Commons. Their house being consumed in the great fire, they all resided at Exeter House in the Strand till 1672; when their former house was rebuilt, at their own expense, in a very splendid manner. To this college belong thirty-four proctors, who make themselves parties for their clients, manage their causes, &c.

College of Physicians, a corporation of physicians in London, who, by several charters and acts of parliament of Henry VIII. and his successors, have certain privileges, in virtue of which no man, though a graduate in physic of any university, may, without license, under the said collegeseal, practise physic in or within seven miles of London; with power to administer oaths, fine and imprison offenders in that and several other particulars, to search the apothecaries’ shops, &c. in and about London, to see if their drugs, &c. be wholesome, and their compositions according to the form prescribed by the college in their dispensatory. By the said charter they are also freed from all troublesome offices, such as serving on juries, being constables, keeping watch, providing arms, &c.

Of this college there are a president, four censors, eight electors, a registrar, and a treasurer chosen annually in October; the censors have, by charter, power to survey, govern, and arrest, all physicians, or others practising physic, in or within seven miles of London, and to fine, amerce, and imprison them at discretion. The number of fellows was anciently thirty, till King Charles II. increased their number to forty; and King James II. giving them a new charter, allowed the number of fellows to be enlarged so as not to exceed fourscore; reserving to himself and successors the power of placing and displacing any of them for the future.

Edinburgh College of Physicians was erected on the 26th November 1681. The design of this institution was, to prevent the abuses daily committed by foreign and illiterate impostors, quacks, &c. For this reason, his majesty, at the time mentioned, granted letters patent to erect into a body corporate and politic, certain physicians in Edinburgh, and their successors, by the title of the President and Royal College of Physicians at Edinburgh, with power to choose annually a council of seven, one of whom to be president: and these are to elect a treasurer, clerk, and other officers; to have a common seal; to sue and be sued; to make laws for promoting the art of physic, and regulating the practice thereof, within the city of Edinburgh, town of Leith, and districts of the Canongate, West Port, Pleasance, and Potterrow, through all which the jurisdiction of the college extends. Throughout this jurisdiction no person is allowed to practise physic, without a warrant from the college, under the penalty of L.5 sterling the first month, to be doubled monthly afterwards while the offence is continued; one half the money arising from such fines to go to the poor, the other to the use of the college. They are also empowered to punish all licentiates in physic within the above-mentioned bounds, for faults committed against the institutions of the college; and to fine them of sums not exceeding 40s. On such occasions, however, they must have one of the bailies of the city to sit in judgment along with them, otherwise their sentence will not be valid. They are also empowered to search and inspect all medicines within their jurisdiction, and throw out into the street all such as are bad or unwholesome; and that they may the better attend their patients, they are exempted from watching, warding, and serving on juries. They are, however, restrained from erecting schools for teaching the art of physic, or conferring degrees on any person qualified for the office of a physician; but are obliged to license all such as have taken their degrees in any university, and to admit as honorary members all the professors of physic in the universities of Scotland. These privileges and immunities are not, however, to interfere with the rights and privileges of the apothecary surgeons, in their practice of curing wounds, contusions, fractures, and other external operations.

Edinburgh College of Surgeons. This is an institution, by which the surgeons of Edinburgh are incorporated into a royal college, and authorized to carry into execution a scheme for making provision for their widows and children. They have also the privilege of examining and licensing, if found qualified, all practitioners in surgery within certain bounds.

College of Justice, the supreme civil court of Scotland; otherwise called Court of Session, or of Council and Session. See Scotland. Sion College, or the college of the London clergy, has time out of mind been a religious house, sometimes under the denomination of a priory, sometimes under that of a spital or hospital. At its dissolution under 31st Henry VIII. it was called Elson’s Spital, from the name of its founder, a mercer, in 1329. At present it is a composition of both, namely, a college for the clergy of London, who were incorporated in 1630, in pursuance of the will of Dr White, under the name of the President and Fellows of Sion College; and an hospital for cen poor men and as many women. The officers of the corporation are the president, two deans, and four assistants, who are annually chosen from among the rectors and vicars of London, and are subject to the visitation of the bishop.

College of Heralds, commonly called the Herald’s Office, a corporation founded by charter of King Richard III. who granted them several privileges, such as freedom from subsidies, tolls, offices, &c. They had a second charter from King Henry VI.; and a house built near Doctors’ Commons by the Earl of Derby in the reign of King Henry VII. was given them by the Duke of Norfolk in the reign of Queen Mary, which house is now rebuilt.

This college is subordinate to the earl marshal of England, and the members are assistants to him in his court of chivalry, usually held in the common hall of the college, where they sit in their rich coats of his majesty’s arms.

College of Heralds in Scotland, consists of the lyon king at arms, six heralds, and six pursuivants, with a number of messengers.