Violence and disturbances in a medieval university: The Welsh students at Oxford, 1282-1485

This article analyses the acts of violence and disturbances committed at Oxford University by scholars from Wales. Violence in medieval universities was far to be uncommon, especially among the young scholars. However, the Welsh had a poor reputation. If they were part of the kingdom of England, those students were not English and therefore were treated as foreigners in England and also in their native country. It appears that in reality, they were not worse than their fellow English students. What is revealing in their case is that their participation in disturbances sometimes strengthened their sense of national identity and belonging, but paradoxically, somehow reinforced their integration in the university community.Este artículo analiza los hechos violentos y disturbios cometidos y provocados por los estudiantes de Gales en la Universidad de Oxford. No era extraña la violencia en las universidades medievales, especialmente entre los estudiantes más jóvenes, pero los galeses eran quienes peor reputación tenían. Siendo parte del reino de Inglaterra, estos estudiantes no eran ingleses y por lo tanto eran tratados como extranjeros en Inglaterra. Parece que, en realidad, no eran peores que sus compañeros ingleses. Lo que se revela en su caso es que su participación en los disturbios a veces fortaleció su sentido de identidad nacional y de pertenencia, y que a la vez, paradójicamente, reforzó su integración en la comunidad universitaria