In their chambers, they
must abstain from noise and interruption of their fellows; and
when they speak they must use the Latin language. . . A Scrutiny
shall be held in the House by the Warden and the Seniors, and all
the Scholars there present, three times a year; a diligent enquiry
is to be instituted into the life, conduct, morals, and progress
in learning, of each and all; and what requires correction then is
to be corrected, and excesses are to be visited with condign
punishment. . ."
Educated men (and those of the 1200s through the 1500s), believed
that the earth was the center of the universe and that it was
surrounded by a giant spherical dome on which the stars were
placed. The sun and moon and planets were each on a sphere around
the earth that was responsible for their movements. The origin of
the word "planet" meant "wanderer" because the motion of the
planets were variable in direction and speed. Astrology explained
how the position of the stars and planets influenced man and other
earthly things. For instance, the position of the stars at a
person's birth determined his character. The angle and therefore
potency of the sun's rays influenced climate, temperament, and
changes of mortal life such as disease and revolutions. Unusual
events such as the proximity of two planets, a comet, an eclipse,
a meteor, or a nova were of great significance. A star often was
thought to presage the birth of a great man or a hero.
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