1225 Arrival of mendicant friars

The arrival of mendicant (begging) friars in Cambridge increased the body of potential students for the University. Leedham-Green states that by the late 14th century three-quarters of Cambridge theologians were members of the religious orders, giving theology numerical superiority over law.

Rashdall notes how Oxford University through a number of statutes sought to limit the friars' numbers and influence in the university, e.g. by deciding that only those who were previously Masters of Arts could graduate in theology. Similar steps are likely to have been taken in Cambridge to curb the friars' influence. Friars were a source of conflict in many university towns. Their energy and popularity, combined with the fact that they were only answerable to their order and the Pope, led many to see them as a threat.

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