this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2025
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Today I Learned

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[–] vaguerant@fedia.io 194 points 1 year ago (7 children)

For those who didn't follow the link:

But what was the reason for Henry’s condemnation by the University to five and a half centuries of infamy? It was a murder. In 1242 he and a number of other men of the town of Oxford were found guilty of murdering a student of the University. Henry and his accomplices were fined £80 by King Henry III in May 1242 and were made to leave Oxford as a result, forced to stay away (and allowed no closer than Northampton) at least until the King returned from abroad.

Further research is needed to discover the exact details of what happened here but it seems that Henry Symeonis had bought the King’s pardon and his permission to return to Oxford. The King was willing to allow his return if the University agreed to it. But the University refused and chose to ignore the King’s order of 25 March 1264, resuming its hostility to Henry Symeonis. In fact, it felt so strongly about it, that it gave Henry Symeonis the unique honour of being named in its own statutes, making the University’s dislike of him official and perpetual.

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 64 points 1 year ago (3 children)

So they did know who he was and what he did.

[–] foggianism@lemmy.world 40 points 1 year ago

"By 1608, SOME people didn't know who he was. We mention them here for higher article clickability."

[–] EfreetSK@lemmy.world 38 points 1 year ago

Yes but only because of a guy in 1910s who looked into it

The identity of Henry Symeonis was only (re-)discovered in 1912 by the then Keeper of the University Archives, Reginald Lane Poole. In an article for the English Historical Review, he looked at the curious statute and tried to get to the bottom of the Henry Symeonis mystery.

[–] Saleh@feddit.org 15 points 1 year ago

Man, boarding school kids always got the easy treatment.

[–] errer@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Sounds like people do know who he was and what he had done. Clickbait headline.

[–] chaogomu@lemmy.world 26 points 1 year ago

Sometimes knowledge is lost and then later rediscovered.

[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 12 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Wonder why it was only Masters of Arts students?

Or was that the only Masters Degree Oxford had?

[–] jaybone@lemmy.zip 39 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Their Computer Science department sucked back then.

[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] IWW4@lemmy.zip 5 points 1 year ago

01001100 01001111 01001100

They didn't even write unit tests!

[–] Mac@mander.xyz 7 points 1 year ago

National Archives gov uk says £80 in 1270 is approx £78k in 2025

[–] angrystego@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago
[–] Epzillon@lemmy.world 75 points 1 year ago

Fuck Henry Symeonis, all my homies hate Henry Symeonis.

[–] archonet@lemy.lol 71 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Meanwhile, Ea-Nasir and his shitty copper will never, ever be forgotten.

[–] GreenKnight23@lemmy.world 2 points 1 year ago

that thieving no-good son of a jackal!

[–] doublebatterypack@piefed.social 47 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I'm going to try and make "You look like you're friends with Henry Symeonis" a casual insult. Wish me luck.

[–] Adulated_Aspersion@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Your mom is friends with Henry Symeonis.

[–] Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 year ago

your real dad is Henry Symeonis

[–] turdburglar@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 year ago (1 children)
[–] crystalmerchant@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

Stop trying to make fetch happen

[–] burgersc12@mander.xyz 46 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I know what you did in 1263

[–] Successful_Try543@feddit.org 13 points 1 year ago

Was it in summer '63?

[–] Ulvain@sh.itjust.works 43 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Forget, but don't forgive!

[–] pastermil@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 year ago

I don't know who you are or what you did, but fuck you!

[–] dogslayeggs@lemmy.world 32 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Spite is one of the greatest human emotions.

[–] khannie@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

So much has been achieved because of it. Hell the moon landings were a massive fuck you.

[–] SharkAttak@kbin.melroy.org 9 points 1 year ago

A grudge worse than the sin, apparently.

[–] obvs@lemmy.world 7 points 1 year ago

So over time, the number of people lying about that particular statement reduced, until it was eventually zero.

[–] merc@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago

I wonder what would have happened if someone refused to swear. I'm the kind of stubborn bastard that would refuse to swear to something I didn't understand. I imagine the university probably just ignored it if someone refused to swear because it wasn't worth the headache to deal with someone refusing.

[–] haloduder@thelemmy.club -2 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Colleges do some incredibly fucked up things to control what people think. I do not view them as sacred, infallible, or even run and attended by generally good people.

I'm starting to form some theories that it's why we herd so many of our children to it. If they ever go off and find knowledge on their own, then they can't be monitored as easily.