Geographical and commercial importance of the city site—Map of the county a palimpsest—Glamour of the Fenland—Cambridge the gateway of East Anglia—The Roman roads—The Roman station—The Castle Hill—Stourbridge Fair—Cambridge a chief centre of English commerce.

William I. at Cambridge Castle—Cambridge at the Domesday Survey—Roger Picot the Sheriff—Pythagoras School—Castle and Borough—S. Benet’s Church and its Parish—The King’s Ditch—The Great and the Small Bridges—The King’s and the Bishop’s Mills—The River Hythes—S. Peter by the Castle and S. Giles Church—The early Streets of the City—The Augustinian Priory of Barnwell—The Round Church of the Holy Sepulchre—The Cambridge Jewry—Debt of early Scholars to the Philosophers of the Synagogue—Benjamin’s House—Municipal Freedom of the Borough.

Monastic Origins—Continuity of Learning in Early England—The School of York—The Venerable Bede—Alcuin and the Schools of Charles the Great—The Danish Invasions—The Benedictine Revival—The Monkish Chroniclers—The Coming of the Friars—The Franciscan and Dominican Houses at Cambridge—The Franciscan Scholars—Roger Bacon—Bishop Grosseteste—The New Aristotle and the Scientific Spirit—The Scholastic Philosophy—Aquinas—Migration of Scholars from Paris to Cambridge—The term “University”—The Colleges and the Hostels—The Course of Study—Trivium and Quadrivium—The Four Faculties—England a Paradise of Clerks—Parable of the Monk’s Pen.

The Early Monastic Houses in Cambridge—Student Proselytising by the Friars—The Oxford College of Merton a Protest against this Tendency—The Rule of Merton taken as a Model by Hugh de Balsham, Founder of Peterhouse—The Hospital of S. John—The Scholars of Ely—Domestic Economy of the College—The Dress of the MediÆval Student—Peterhouse Buildings—Little S. Mary’s Church—The Perne Library—The College Chapel.

The Fourteenth Century an Age of Great Men and Great Events but not of Great Scholars—Petrarch and Richard of Bury—Michael House—The King’s Scholars—King’s Hall—Clare Hall—Pembroke College—Gonville Hall—Dr. John Caius—His Three Gates of Humility, Virtue, and Honour.

Unique Foundation of Corpus Christi College—The Cambridge Guilds—The influence of “the Good Duke”—The Peasant Revolt—Destruction of Charters—“Perish the skill of the Clerks!”—The Black Death—Lollardism at the Universities—The Poore Priestes of Wycliffe.

Henry VI—The most pitiful Character in all English History—His devotion to Learning and his Saintly Spirit—His foundation of Eton and King’s College—The Building of King’s College Chapel—Its architect, Reginald of Ely, the Cathedral Master-Mason—Its relation to the Ely Lady Chapel—Its stained glass Windows—Its close Foundation—Queens’ College—Margaret of Anjou and Elizabeth Wydville—The buildings of Queens’—Similarity to Haddon Hall—Its most famous Resident, Erasmus—His Novum Instrumentum edited within its Walls.

The Foundation of Trinity Hall by Bishop Bateman of Norwich—On the Site of the Hostel of Student-Monks of Ely—Prior Crauden—Evidence of the Ely Obedientary Rolls—The College Buildings—The Old Hall—S. Edward’s Church used as College Chapel—Hugh Latimer’s Sermon on a Pack of Cards—Harvey Goodwin—Frederick Maurice—The Hall Library—Its ancient Bookcases—The Foundation of S. Catherine’s Hall.

The New Learning in Italy and Germany—The English “Pilgrim Scholars”: Grey, Tiptoft, Linacre, Grocyn—The practical Genius of England—Bishops Rotherham, Alcock, and Fisher—Alcock, diplomatist, financier, architect—The Founder of Jesus College—He takes as his model Jesus College, Rotherham—His Object the Training of a Preaching Clergy—The Story of the Nunnery of S. Rhadegund—Its Dissolution—Conversion of the Conventual Church into a College Chapel—The Monastic Buildings, Gateway, Cloister, Chapter House—The Founder a Better Architect than an Educational Reformer—The Jesus Roll of eminent Men from Cranmer to Coleridge.

The Lady Margaret Foundations—Bishop Fisher of Rochester—The Foundation of Christ’s—God’s House—The buildings of the new College—College Worthies—John Milton—Henry More—Charles Darwin—The Hospital of the Brethren of S. John—Death of the Lady Margaret—Foundation of S. John’s College—Its buildings—The Great Gateway—The new Library—The Bridge of Sighs—The Wilderness—Wordsworth’s “Prelude”—The aims of Bishop Fisher—His death.

Dissolution of the Monasteries—Schemes for Collegiate Spoliation checked by Henry VIII.—Monks’ or Buckingham College—Refounded by Sir Thomas Audley as Magdalene College—Conversion of the old buildings—The Pepysian Library—Foundation of Trinity College—Michaelhouse and the King’s Hall—King Edward’s Gate—The Queen’s Gate—The Great Gate—Dr. Thomas Neville—The Great Court—The Hall—Neville’s Court—New Court—Dr. Bentley—“A House of all Kinds of Good Letters.”

Queen Elizabeth and the Founder of Emmanuel—The Puritan Age—Sir Walter Mildmay—The Building of Emmanuel—The Tenure of Fellowships—Puritan Worthies—The Founder of Harvard—Lady Frances Sidney—The Sidney College Charter—The Buildings—The Chapel and the old Franciscan Refectory—Royalists and Puritans—Oliver Cromwell—Thomas Fuller—-A Child’s Prayer for his Mother.