barrier and the cultural differences did nothing to improve relations between scholars and townspeople. The tenor of town–gown relations became a matter of arrogance on the one hand and resentment on the other. Students in the medieval universities enjoyed certain exemptions from the jurisdiction of the ordinary civil courts. These privileges were normally safeguarded by a conservator Apostolic, usually a bishop or archbishop appointed by the pope. By the Papal bull Parens scientiarum ("Father of the Sciences") (1231), the charter of the University of Paris, Pope Gregory IX authorised the masters, in the event of an outrage committed by anyone upon a scholar and not redressed within fifteen days, to suspend their lectures. This right of cessation of lectures was frequently made use of in conflicts between town and gown. On various occasions, the popes themselves intervened to protect the scholars against encroachments by the local civil authorities. Pope Nicholas IV in 1288 threatened to disrupt the studium at Padua unless the municipal authorities repealed within fifteen days ordinances they had framed against scholars. It became quite common for the university to lay its grievances against the city fathers before the Holy See, and its appeal was usually successful. (See The Catholic Encyclopedia for a more in-depth discussion.) Thus, medieval students were under the legal protection of the clergy, who protected them from physical harm. They could be tried for crimes only in a church court under canon law. The protection from civil law gave students free rein in the urban environs to break secular laws with near impunity. This often led to abuses and outright criminal behaviour among students who realised they enjoyed immunity from civil authorities. The anomalous jurisdictional situation only exacerbated tensions between town and gown. Town versus gown Conflict was inevitable in the medieval university towns, where two separately governed bodies with different priorities and loyalties shared the same restricted space. Moreover, violence was commonplace in medieval life, not only between scholars and townsmen, but also among ordinary citizens, as well as between scholars from different regions of Europe who attended the universities. Violent confrontations between town and gown erupted on a recurring basis. One of the most famous was the Battle of St. Scholastica Day, which occurred on 10 February 1355, at the University of Oxford. An argument in a tavern – a familiar scenario – escalated into a protracted two-day battle in which local