Oxford College Arms: Intriguing Stories Behind Oxford's Shields

by John Tepper Marlin, Lee Lumbley (Illustrator)

Overview

Oxford College Arms is an accessible 112-page handbook designed to open up the treasure chest of ancient coats of arms and relate them to today’s University and college branding. The book is written to help current Oxford students and applicants to Oxford college find their way among the 44 separate colleges and Permanent Private Halls. It is also useful as a guide and reference for college and university staff, school advisers, parents and alumni. It will also be handy for tourists, Oxfordshire residents, and visitors to Oxford to help them understand the connections between the college arms and history, and the living institutions of today. It has interest and value for anyone interested in heraldry and British history. The large marketplace for branded goods in tourism and souvenir shops provides a platform for promoting the book as a guide to the merchandise. The book also serves as a guide for the purchase and collection of college memorabilia.

The colleges are the human face of Oxford. The halls came before the colleges and the colleges became more important to the life of the University than the central administration. Oxford as long ago as 1096 had students coming to study, usually novices heading for monasteries or the priesthood. Starting in 1167, when Henry II prohibited students going to Paris to study, Oxford began its relentless growth, stopping only during the reigns of Henry VIII, who dissolved the monastic colleges, and Charles I, who depleted the assets of all the colleges to pay for his defense against the Parliamentary army. The number of students spurted in the 20th century, especially after the Second World War when the British Government wisely invested in educating the armed-services war survivors and strengthened university programs to develop needed new professional specialties and skills.

• New graduate (also called “postgraduate”) programs and departments were created independent of the colleges, strengthening the central University administration.
• Students and faculty tied primarily to departments missed the intimacy and brand affiliation of being attached to a college.
• Existing colleges expanded significantly in size, establishing new buildings inside and outside their existing space.
• Several new colleges were created, including two as adjuncts of the University (St Cross for graduates in the sciences and Kellogg for continuing education).
• Permanent Private Halls were encouraged to consider becoming independent colleges. The PPHs were all (like the ancient colleges) religious in origin. Six remain, but some expanded their size and reduced their formal affiliations with religious denominations and were promoted to college status.

Students and faculty must apply to a college or hall, and nowadays they almost always live in one. That means they need a quick link to identifying each college. The coats of arms and Oxford College Arms help differentiate among the colleges, going beyond the physical buildings and grounds to their spiritual legacies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781087853130
Publisher:	Boissevain Books LLC
Publication date:	09/01/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	112
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

John Tepper Marlin M.A. (Trinity, Oxon.), Ph.D. first became interested in heraldry as a boy at Gilling Castle, Ampleforth College, where he ate in the Great Hall under stained glass windows featuring the arms of the Yorkshire family of Oliver Cromwell's General Fairfax.
Lee Lumbley is a Fellow at the International Association of Amateur Heralds.

Table of Contents

Preface . University of Oxford (Arms, History) . All Souls College . Balliol College . Blackfriars . Brasenose College . Campion Hall . Christ Church . Corpus Christi College . Exeter College . Green Templeton College . Harris Manchester College . Hertford College . Jesus College . Keble College . Kellogg College . Lady Margaret Hall . Linacre College . Lincoln College . Magdalen College . Mansfield College . Merton College . New College . Nuffield College . Oriel College . Pembroke College . The Queen's College . Regent's Park College . Reuben College . Somerville College . St Anne's College . St Antony's College . St Benet's Hall . St Catherine's College . St Cross College . St Edmund Hall . St Hilda's College . St Hugh's College . St John's College . St Peter's College . St Stephen's House . Trinity College . University College . Wadham College . Wolfson College . Worcester College . Wycliffe Hall . Acknowledgments . Heraldic Glossary . Illustrated Map of Oxford

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Oxford College Arms

“A monumental piece of work filled with fascination. The wise will read it with real pleasure and a sense of nostalgia will add to the enjoyment.” – Lady Celia Goodhart (former Principal, Queen’s College, Harley Street and Visitor to Oxford University).

"The book is a delight. John has taken recent images to journalistically nail his theme." – Richard Lofthouse, Oxford Alumni Books, QUAD, September 2018.

"This fascinating and beautifully presented book should be essential reading for all who know and love Oxford." Michael G. Cunningham, Executive Director, University of Oxford North American Office.

“The book looks very handsome indeed, and the illustrations are beautiful. I am sure it will answer many people's questions about the significance of the various heraldic devices, and how this relates to the history of the colleges.” Clare Hopkins, Archivist, Trinity College, Oxford.

"This well researched book is a work of reference and most enjoyable to browse.” – Ian Senior, former chairman, Trinity College Oxford Society.

“An essential vade mecum for all interested in Oxford University and its Colleges and their fascinating heraldic language of branding.” – Paul Christopher Walton (Brasenose, Oxford), Oxford Historian and Branding Strategist.

"I didn't go to Oxford, and the book was an eye-opener about the colleges' diversity. The insider tour has prompted us to add Oxford to our next UK visit." – John Jaxheimer, New York City Publisher.

From the Publisher

2020-03-03
A debut history book focuses on the various coats of arms associated with Oxford University.

Oxford boasts a history as culturally rich as it is long; the first recorded teaching there dates back to the 11th century. Even though the English university received its official royal charter from King Henry III in 1248, its original coat of arms wasn’t created until 1400. Now, there are 38 different colleges recognized under the banner of Oxford—13 of them only since World War II. Even the most recent additions have their heraldic symbols, not just for the sake of traditional continuity, but also for the identification of their athletic teams. Marlin meticulously covers each college, discussing its unique history, the meaning of its coat of arms, and its specific educational mission. Each coat of arms is loaded with nearly esoteric symbolic meanings, and the author expertly interprets—to borrow an apt coinage from Richard Lofthouse’s preface—the “peculiar language of heraldry.” Adding to the demystification of ancient forms is a useful glossary of heraldic terms. All of the coats of arms here are handsomely illustrated by debut heraldic artist Lumbley; there is a smattering of uncredited color photographs as well. The author’s descriptions are composed in unfailingly clear language, and the entire work is as rationally organized as it is informative. This idiosyncratic slice of history actually opens an intriguing portal into the whole of British history since the heraldic symbols signify what should be praised as well as what should be condemned. Of course, such an uncommon vantage point is unlikely to command a broad readership; the entire book truly is devoted to the coats of arms and the colleges to which they belong. But for those in search of a confident guide to these meaningful hieroglyphics, it would be difficult to find one superior to Marlin’s effort.

An astute exploration of Oxford’s coats of arms.

Kirkus Reviews