History of Encaenia
The Chancellor at Encaenia in his elaborate robe and black velvet cap with a gold tassel
Encaenia is a Greek word for a festival of renewal; in St John's
gospel it is traditionally translated as 'festival of dedication'. The
word corresponds to the term 'Commencement', from the Latin, used in
many North American universities for the chief ceremony of the academic
year.
The Oxford Encaenia is the surviving part of a more
extensive ceremony called 'The Act'. This used to include ambitious
musical works, often composed for the occasion, and traditional
features such as a satirical speech, often scurrilous and sometimes
scandalous, by an anonymous speaker known as Terrae Filius, 'Son of the
Earth'. The Act was originally held in St Mary's Church, a setting many
people thought unsuitable. Such feeling prompted its move in 1670 to
the Sheldonian Theatre.
By 1760 the ceremony had assumed a form
much like today. It was largely reshaped by the will of Nathaniel, Lord
Crewe (1633-1721), successively Rector of Lincoln College, Bishop of
Oxford and Bishop of Durham, who left money to the University for this
and other purposes.
Early history of honorary degrees
Procession and Ceremony
The honorands of the 2008 Encaenia ceremony in procession outside the Sheldonian Theatre
On the morning of the ceremony, the Heads of Colleges, university
dignitaries and the honorands assemble, in full academic dress, in one
of the colleges, where they enjoy Lord Crewe's benefaction of peaches,
strawberries and champagne. They then walk in procession to the
Sheldonian Theatre on Broad Street.
The University dignitaries enter
the theatre in procession; those who are to receive honorary degrees
wait in the Divinity School where they sign their names in the Honorary
Degrees Book. They are then escorted into the theatre by the Bedels.
Once the proceedings have been opened by the Chancellor, or in his
absence by the Vice-Chancellor, each honorand is introduced by the
Public Orator with a speech in Latin and admitted to his or her new
degree by the Chancellor. The Orator then delivers the Creweian Oration
on the events of the past year and in commemoration of the University's
benefactors. In alternate years the Professor of Poetry delivers the
second part of this speech.
