The History of the College of Corpus Christi and the B. Virgin Mary (Commonly Called Bene’t) in the University of Cambridge: From its Foundation to the Present Time

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, was founded in 1352 by the religious Guilds of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary, making it the only college in Oxford or Cambridge to be established by the town’s citizens. Robert Masters (1713-1798), a fellow of Corpus and member of the Society of Antiquaries, published this history in 1753. Divided into two parts, the work gives a full account of the college’s establishment. The first section explains the role of the guilds and lists the college’s early benefactors and college masters from the foundation to Masters’ own day. The second section, organised alphabetically, focuses on the most distinguished members of the college, with brief descriptions of them. This comprehensive and illustrated account of the college’s foundation and development to the eighteenth century will appeal to anyone interested in the history of Cambridge University and its colleges.