Other people in the program with me were assigned to different colleges, and I don't know yet if anyone else will call Jesus College home with me, but I am wildly excited and now I'm looking forward to my move even more! I thought I would just briefly go over the school's history with you all, since it technically is very relatable to the Tudors.
Jesus College was founded on 27 June 1571, by a royal charter from Queen Elizabeth I. It was the only Protestant college at Oxford at the time, and remains the only Elizabethan college there as well. When it was originally founded, it was intended primarily to educate clergymen. The main purpose of this, of course, was to educate Protestant churchmen to effectively spread the Protestant faith around England as Queen Elizabeth wished.
The college is arranged in four quadrangles - with the first quadrangle containing the oldest buildings and the third quadrangle the newest (part of the third quadrangle is pictured to the right).
Today, Jesus College is known as "the friendliest college at Oxford" - which is great news for me! It is a college steeped in tradition, with Latin grace being said before and after dinner in the college's formal dining hall. Jesus College's coat of arms, a green background with three white stags, is thought to be related to Maud Green, Lady Parr (mother of Catherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII) - because Lady Parr's coat of arms is reportedly very similar. If that is true, it is just another Tudor connection that this college has, and one that is very exciting for me!
As excited as I am to belong to Jesus College, I know there are many other colleges at Oxford that are from the 15th and 16th centuries, including Magdalen College, which is one of the most beautiful and photographed colleges at Oxford, and Brasenose College, which was founded in the same year as King Henry VIII's coronation, 1509.
I'm very excited to tour as many of the colleges and halls as possible, because most of them are very close to each other, and I know there are several right around Jesus College. I'll be taking pictures and posting Tudor information as I find it! Thanks so much for your support and well-wishes as I prepare to leave for my new and temporary home in Oxford!