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not imagine him aggravating spats.
    ‘William preached a sermon saying that Waltham is home to the Devil,’ explained Langelee. ‘So now Hemmysby joins with Thelnetham in deploring William’s excesses, and clamours at me to dismiss him on the grounds of bigotry. Can I, Brother? I would do anything for peace.’
    Michael considered; he loved the minutiae of College rules. ‘Unfortunately, William has been a Fellow too long for us to object to his character now. If we dismiss him for extremism, he will appeal the decision and will probably be reinstated – after which he will be more insufferable than ever. However, there is a statute that says all disputes are to be adjudicated by the Master—’
    ‘I know,’ said Langelee acidly. ‘You were rash enough to mention it in front of them once, and I have been plagued by demands to arbitrate ever since. I have better things to do than sort out their quarrels. They come to me two or three times a day, and I am at the end of my tether.’
    ‘What do they argue about?’ asked Bartholomew.
    Langelee regarded him askance. ‘That is a question only a man with his head in a corpse would pose! They squabble about everything – who should have which part of the hall for teaching, who should stand where in church, who should have first loan of a book from the library—’
    ‘How many students should be admitted next term.’ Michael took up the list, having also been dragged into their rows. ‘Whether we should use white tablecloths on Sundays. Whether we should apologise to Ovyng Hostel for the racket made by our porter’s pet peacock. Whether Hemmysby should be a member of the Guild of Saints—’
    ‘Why should he not?’ interrupted Bartholomew. ‘It is a body of people committed to worthy causes. It is good for us to be associated with it, and all the Fellows of Winwick have joined.’
    ‘William claims it is only open to very wealthy folk, and he disapproves of elitism,’ explained Langelee. ‘Hemmysby is rich, what with his stipend here and what he earns at Waltham. I suppose Winwick’s Fellows must be similarly affluent.’
    ‘Actually, they were admitted because their founder wants as close a connection between the Guild and his new College as possible,’ said Michael. ‘They are members by default, although I doubt they mind – its functions are very lavish. But the real reason why William objects to Hemmysby’s involvement is because
he
was not invited to join – he is jealous.’
    ‘He is not a man to rejoice in the good fortune of others,’ sighed Langelee. ‘However, what worries me more are his mad views on apostolic poverty, which is a deeply contentious subject.’
    Michael agreed. ‘Have you heard what is happening in Oxford because of it? The debate has inspired so many fanatical theologians to air their opinions that some bishops refuse to let men from their dioceses study there. The King has been forced to issue an edict forbidding anyone from discussing it, but too late – the whole
studium generale
is already seen as a hotbed of heresy.’
    ‘Yet apostolic poverty has been chosen as the subject for tomorrow’s Cambridge Debate,’ remarked Bartholomew.
    ‘It is a calculated gamble on my part,’ explained Michael. ‘We get the matter out in the open, but in strictly controlled conditions and before most of our students arrive back. Then it will become a banned topic until further notice.’
    ‘Do you think Oxford’s current reputation for dissent is why John Winwick chose to found his new College here?’ asked Langelee.
    ‘I am sure of it,’ replied Michael. ‘Especially after what happened to Linton Hall.’
    ‘And what was that?’ asked Bartholomew, when Michael pursed his lips in disapproval.
    ‘You have not heard? Its members defied the King’s edict and wrote a tract challenging the most recent papal bull on apostolic poverty. In response, His Majesty dissolved their hostel, and His Holiness excommunicated all its