graduation

The Oxford Commencement as the Oldest Degree Ceremonies Extant: A Reprise

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A degree ceremony at the University of Oxford, England

A couple days ago my mind returned to some posts I made back in the infancy of TempleStudy.com in 2008.  These posts were about the commencement exercises at Oxford University.  Now that seems quite odd, doesn’t it?  What would commencement exercises have anything to do with the temple?  Well let me tell you.  The Oxford commencement exercises as practiced today may be the oldest, longest-running, and relatively unaltered degree ceremonies still in existence, and their forms are still quite archaic, yet very familiar.  Yes, even older than Freemasonry.

Oxford University, in Oxford England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.  Indeed, its beginnings date back to the 11th century!  That’s old.  Furthermore, they claim that their commencement exercises, also called “degree ceremonies,” have remained unchanged for over 800 years.  That’s a long time.  Therefore, much of what is seen today in the forms of the Oxford commencement are totally unrecognizable to the modern world.  Undoubtedly even the graduates are likely baffled at the performances during the meeting.  No other university does it quite like they do.  On the other hand, much of what happens in the ceremony will be strikingly familiar to the endowed Latter-day Saint.

In 1906 a fellow by the name of Joseph Wells published a study about these ceremonies at Oxford, which I dug into quite a bit, and found quite a treasure trove of interesting parallels to modern LDS temple worship.  Of course, I only point out the Oxford side of the coin.  Why do these ceremonies have such interesting elements?  Perhaps it was when Joseph Smith took his spring vacation to Oxford in early 1842 and witnessed the ceremonies first-hand, and thought there were some good things in there, ripe for borrowing.  Joking aside, the origination of the forms of the Oxford ceremonies is up for investigation.  I only took a passing look into what they are like today.

Here are the links to my original posts in 2008:

Part 1, Introduction – http://www.templestudy.com/2008/06/27/the-degree-ceremonies-of-oxford-university-part-1/
Part 2, Wells study – http://www.templestudy.com/2008/06/29/the-degree-ceremonies-of-oxford-university-part-2/
Part 3, YouTube videos – http://www.templestudy.com/2008/06/30/the-degree-ceremonies-of-oxford-university-part-3/
Part 4, Wells continued – http://www.templestudy.com/2008/07/01/the-degree-ceremonies-of-oxford-university-part-4/

I’m interested in hearing thoughts about where these exercises may have come from.  Please let us know your comments.

P.S.  The matriculation ceremonies at some universities also offer some peculiarities, as seen in this clip with Julia Roberts in the movie Mona Lisa Smile.

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 4

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After changing their gowns mid-ceremony the graduates enter and bow to the Vice-Chancellor and Proctors. Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford.

(Continued from Part 3)

Some more tidbits of information from Wells’ The Oxford Degree Ceremonies that might interest you:

  • The oath or charge to “observe the ‘statutes, privileges, customs and liberties’ of his university” and the accompanying affirmation “Do fidem” (“I swear”) are most likely over 700 years old, and initially were important to keep a unity among those who had subscribed to the university, and to keep out encroachments. ((Joseph Wells, The Oxford Degree Ceremonies, 19-20.))
  • The M.A.s are “exempt from Proctorial jurisdiction…” and “It is the M.A. who is admitted by the Vice-Chancellor to ‘begin’, i.e. to teach (ad incipiendum), when he is presented to him,” and many universities now call the end of the academic study “Commencement” because of this. ((ibid., 23.))
  • A degree is a “‘step’ by which the distinction of becoming a full member” of the university is acquired.  Wells notes Gibbon’s idea that “the use of academical degrees is visibly borrowed from the mechanic corporations, in which an apprentice, after serving his time, obtains a testimonial of his skill, and his license to practise his trade or mystery.” ((ibid., 24.))  [Read more…]

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 3

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Interior, Sheldonian Theatre, Oxford, prior to degree ceremony

(Continued from Part 2)

For those of you who don’t want to wade through my analysis of the Oxford degree ceremony in the last part, or if you’d just like to see what the presentation is like, the degree ceremony that took place on September 28, 2007 at Oxford University was formally videotaped and posted on YouTube just recently.  Be prepared to hear some Latin.  It is divided into seven parts, and is about an hour long total.  I think you will find the ceremony very interesting to watch.

You may see them below: (See below these for another version, with subtitles).

Part 1 – Expand/Collapse

Part 2 – Expand/Collapse

Part 3 – Expand/Collapse

Part 4 – Expand/Collapse

Part 5 – Expand/Collapse

Part 6 – Expand/Collapse

Part 7 – Expand/Collapse

There is also a homemade videotaped version of the ceremony posted on YouTube.  It follows the experience of a graduate named Jacob and his family as he goes through the commencement exercises.  It is shorter, divided into three parts, and has subtitles in English (for those of you who are not fluent in Latin).  You can see it here: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.

(Continued in Part 4)

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 2

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Exterior, Sheldonian Theatre at Oxford University where most degree ceremonies take place - built 1664-1668

(Continued from Part 1)

Dr. Hugh Nibley’s opening remarks in his earthshaking address, “Leaders to Managers: The Fatal Shift,” given at the BYU commencement ceremony on August 19, 1983, would have fit even more perfectly in an Oxford setting. In refering to his statement in a commencement prayer he gave in 1960 in which he said, “We have met here today clothed in the black robes of a false priesthood,” he took this opportunity to explain:

Why a priesthood? Because these robes originally denoted those who had taken clerical orders; and a college was a “mystery,” with all the rites, secrets, oaths, degrees, tests, feasts, and solemnities that go with initiation into higher knowledge.

But why false? Because it is borrowed finery, coming down to us through a long line of unauthorized imitators. It was not until 1893 that “an intercollegiate commission was formed . . . to draft a uniform code for caps, gowns, and hoods” in the United States. Before that there were no rules. You could design your own; and that liberty goes as far back as these fixings can be traced. The late Roman emperors, as we learn from the infallible DuCange, marked each step in the decline of their power and glory by the addition of some new ornament to the resplendent vestments that proclaimed their sacred office and dominion. . . .  [Read more…]

The Degree Ceremonies of Oxford University – Part 1

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A degree ceremony at the Sheldonian Theatre of the University of Oxford, England

The University of Oxford in Oxford, England is “the oldest university in the English-speaking world” ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Oxford)).  It is also one of the “world’s leading academic institutions” ((ibid.)).  Its history dates back to the 11th century CE, and its Christian ties are evident from its crest which reads “The Lord is my Light” in Latin ((ibid.)).  When an argument broke out in 1209, some disbanded and headed north-east to found the University of Cambridge, “the second-oldest university in the English-speaking world” ((http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Cambridge)).

While there are many interesting implications that could be stated from the antiquity of this institution, the aspect which interests us here is that they claim their commencement ceremonies have remained unchanged for over 800 years. [Read more…]