17. The Town Beats the Stuffing Out of the Gown
The Oxford students’ rampage was too much for the locals, who mounted a counter-riot of their own. Hundreds poured in from the countryside to hunt down the students, crying: “Havoc! Havoc! Smyte [smite] fast! Give gode knocks!” The students were routed, with 63 of them killed, while 30 locals also lost their lives.
In the aftermath, the authorities sided with the university, and every year thereafter, on February 10th, Oxford’s mayor and councilors were made to atone by marching bareheaded through the streets. They then had to attend mass, and pay a penny for each student killed. That tradition lasted for nearly four centuries, until 1825 when an Oxford mayor finally put his foot down and refused to participate.