History of disability – student experience
In continuation of UK Disability History month, we take another look at the University archive for stories of students living with disabilities in previous generations. In this blog we highlight the stories of students recorded as blind in the University’s archive. It is acknowledged that individuals who are blind or have some form of visual impairment may not necessarily identify as disabled (see the guide by Sense). However, when looking at the historic record, self-identification is often impossible to determine.
The Acta Rectorum is a register (over three volumes) that records the names of students in the University between 1472 to 1738. The volumes contain entries relating to the administration of the University, but it is the list of names in these volumes that can reveal hidden histories about students in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
George Hastings was incorporated (matriculated) into St Salvator’s College, St Andrews on the 7th of December 1582/83. Next to his name is the phrase τυφλός which means blind in Greek. Unfortunately, very little is known about George beyond his name in the register. His background or his life beyond St Andrews remains a mystery but one can try to imagine what things might have been like for George and his contemporaries within the University .
George would most likely have lived in St Salvator’s College, pictured above. The buildings to the left of the image, the Common Hall and Schools, would have existed when George was a student (the buildings to the North weren’t built until the 18th century).
You can see a reconstruction of St Salvator’s College as it was in 1559 through Open Virtual Worlds.
In the medieval University, students would learn from dictation of set texts, and all examinations were conducted orally in Latin. The curriculum at St Andrews, modelled on the University of Paris, was focused on the student’s ability in disputation (or debate). The orator’s book for St Leonard’s College, covering 1560-1595, provides examples of orations students delivered as part of their practice sessions which took place each Saturday morning.
While we cannot be sure exactly what George’s circumstances were or how the University supported him in his studies, in an environment that was focused on oral debate, there may have been fewer barriers to education than one might have assumed for the 16th century.
In the later volume of the Acta Rectorum, you will see students starting to sign their own names in the register. A few decades after George, there are three students listed as ‘caecus’, the Latin term for blind. In each entry their names have been added by someone else.
John Stewart a student in the College of St Leonard’s in 1611/12 is listed as ‘Caecus, aliena manu subscripsit’, which means ‘blind, signed by another’s hand’. There are two other students listed as ‘caecus’ in the same volume: Henry Drummond who graduated MA on the 31st of July 1612 and Laurence Anderson MA on the 11th of May 1636/7.
Next to Laurence Anderson’s name, the following text in Latin is found:
‘caecus et nesciens manu sua scribere juravit tamen et propterea Pro-Cancellarius eum admisit Chirographo suo testatur’.
As Laurence was not able to write his name (as it states in the register), the Pro-Chancellor took his oath and was able to award him his degree.
As in the case of George Hastings, we know very little about John, Henry and Laurence beyond their names. Unfortunately, this is the case for many students in the University’s earlier history. For later periods, it can be easier to find information, as there are often more records which have survived to the present day.
Henry Moyes (1749/50–1807) was awarded an MD by the University on the 8th of November 1779. Born in Kirkcaldy, Moyes, a contemporary of Adam Smith, lectured on the subject of natural philosophy (physics). Having contracted smallpox as a young boy, he was blind from the age of three.
In the Minutes of Senatus Academicus of St Andrews University there is the following entry regarding Moyes:
8th November 1779
“It was represented to the University that Moyes was desirous to obtain the degree of Doctor of Medicine from this University, Ample Testimonials from L[or]d Kames & Dr Roebuck at Kinneil was produced. Some members of the University to whom Mr Moyes is known, testified that under the great disadvantage of having been blind from his infancy he had made uncommon proficiency in Natural Philosophy & Astronomy, & had also studied many branches of medicine, which being considered, The University unanimously agreed to confer upon him an honorary degree in medicine. They resolve this degree be given gratis”
Moyes would not necessarily have even come to St Andrews, as the MD degree at this point in the University’s history was awarded by payment of a fee and the support of two respected practitioners. The testimonials of Lord Kames and Dr Roebuck in support of Henry’s application state:
“One thing I am certain of that you never shall have cause to be ashamed of having conferred a degree upon Mr Moyes.“
Henry Home [Lord Kames]
Moyes delivered lecture series around the UK and America, accompanied by William Nicol, his assistant and nephew. He was honorary member of various literary and philosophical societies and served as the first president of the Society for the Purpose of Literary Information in Hull, where his portrait was done by John Russell in 1792 (held by Hull Museums and Galleries).
While this is by no means a comprehensive survey of the history of students living with disabilities at St Andrews, it does highlight how archives can be used to reveal stories so often overlooked.
Sarah Rodriguez
Muniments Archivist