[Footnote 84: At the end of the xvth century, there existed
in Europe about fifty universities, and of these the
foundation of ten or twelve is prior to the year 1300. They
were crowded in proportion to their scarcity. Bologna
contained 10,000 students, chiefly of the civil law. In the
year 1357 the number at Oxford had decreased from 30,000 to
6000 scholars, (Henry's History of Great Britain, vol. iv.
p. 478.) Yet even this decrease is much superior to the
present list of the members of the university.]