The University 

The exact origins of Oxford University are not known. Certainly many theories on how it came into being have been expounded, but none have been proved beyond a shadow of a doubt.

King Alfred
It has been said for example, that the Saxon King of Wessex, Alfred the Great could have founded the University during his reign (871 and 899), due to his very un-Saxon penchant for scholarly pursuits, and although this is not as unlikely as it might sound, no cast-iron evidence supports it.

Long after Alfred however, during the late 11th or early 12th century, it is known that Oxford became a centre of learning for clerics, from which a school or university could have sprung or evolved.

Academic Centre
Firmly established as an academic centre by the 13th century, Oxford was drawing students from across Europe for studies focused on houses established by the Dominicans (1221), Fransiscans (1224), Carmelites (1256), and Augustinians (1267).

The University and the Town
History records a rocky relationship between the city of Oxford and the University of Oxford. Resentment towards the University on the city's part stemming, not least, from the scholars' legal precedence over the town. Until the 20th century the Chancellor of the University had the legal right to trial over townsfolk, and it was only in 1974 that the university lost the right to place its own representatives on the Oxford City Council.

In fact, the 'town and gown' of Oxford have experienced a rather violent past with one of the most infamous outbreaks of rioting happening on St. Scholastrica's Day (February 10) in 1354.

An argument over 'indifferent' wine served at the Swyndlestock Tavern near Carfax Tower escalated out of control and resulted in the townsfolk coming to the defence of the innkeeper against the student patrons.

What followed, was three days of fighting, beating and killing of students in Oxford plus the ransacking of colleges.

Afterwards, the city was made to pay for college repairs and both the Mayor of Oxford and Burgesses were forced to swear allegiance to the University's Chancellor every year in a special ceremony which included paying token damages. This occasion continued well into the Victorian era.