In the late 17th century Anthony Wood set forth his view of the ‘Wykehamist academic trajectory’: ‘Golden Scholars, silver Bachelors, leaden Masters and wooden Doctors.’ Yet in the cases of Robert Pink (1573–1647) and William Twisse (1576/7–1646) this is quite plainly untrue. Yet Wood’s adage can highlight the extent to which ²ÝÁñÊÓƵ provided an academic community in which ‘Golden Scholars’ could find a base for their non-academic pursuits. Both Pink and Twisse can be seen as emblematic figures in the ambiguities of religious-political divergence during the decades before the English Civil War.

Robert Pinke (oil on panel) by Paul van Somer (c. 1572–1621) (circle of), New College, Oxford, NCI 631 [detail]

²ÝÁñÊÓƵ, Oxford