Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

and the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, a sizar is an

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education, usually in a college or university. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, ...

who receives some form of assistance such as meals, lower fees or lodging during his or her period of study, in some cases in return for doing a defined job.

Etymology

The word is thought to derive from the "sizes" or "sizings" (in turn a shortened form of "

assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

"), which were the specified portions of food and drink made available at a fixed price at the college. One of the sizar's duties was, historically, to fetch the "sizes" for his colleagues.

History

University of Cambridge

At Cambridge, a sizar was originally an undergraduate student who financed his studies by undertaking more or less menial tasks within his college but, as time went on, was increasingly likely to receive small grants from the college. Certain colleges, including St John's and

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

, distinguished between two categories of sizar: there were specific endowments for specific numbers of sizars who were called "proper sizars"; those who were not so endowed, but who were maintained by

fellow-commoner A commoner is a student at certain universities in the British Isles who historically pays for his own tuition and commons, typically contrasted with scholars and exhibitioners, who were given financial emoluments towards their fees. Cambridge ...

s and

fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

s were called subsizars.

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

matriculated Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used now ...

as subsizar at Trinity College.

Richard S. Westfall S. Westfall (April 22, 1924 – August 21, 1996) was an American biographer and historian of science. He is best known for his biography of Isaac Newton, ''Never at Rest'', and his work on the Scientific Revolution of the 17th century. He ta ...

noted that sizars were considerably more successful in gaining degrees than the gentlemen who entered Cambridge in the seventeenth century. Whereas only 30% of the latter (and 68% of the sons of professionals) continued to the degree, around 80% of the sons of tradesmen and

yeomen Yeoman is a noun originally referring either to one who owns and cultivates land or to the middle ranks of servants in an English royal or noble household. The term was first documented in mid-14th-century England. The 14th century witnessed ...

, who made up most of the sizars, took their degree.

Churchill College, Cambridge Churchill College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. It has a primary focus on science, engineering and technology, but retains a strong interest in the arts ...

offers three sizarships per year, with the recipients being expected to promote music, theatre and the visual arts in the life of the college.

Trinity College Dublin

According to ''Alumni Dublinenses'' from 1935, most students entered Trinity College Dublin as "pensioners"; in other words, they paid a fixed sum annually. The other two categories were "sizars" and "fellow commoners" (''Socii Comitates''). Sizars were "allowed free education in consideration of performing certain, at one time menial, duties"; fellow commoners paid double fees and enjoyed several privileges, including that of finishing the college course in three years instead of four; "sizars were sons of poor parents, frequently the clergy". According to William Howitt, writing in 1847 with reference to

Oliver Goldsmith Oliver Goldsmith (10 November 1728 – 4 April 1774) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish poet, novelist, playwright, and hack writer. A prolific author of various literature, he is regarded among the most versatile writers of the Georgian e ...

: Sizarships are still awarded at Dublin, to new entrants of limited means who have shown merit in their school-leaving examinations. They receive their evening meal (

commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

) free of charge, normally for the first two years of an undergraduate course. The word ''sizarship'' is also still used elsewhere to refer to monetary awards made to members of a student body willing to take on defined jobs with responsibility; according to

John Stillwell John Colin Stillwell (born 1942) is an Australian mathematician on the faculties of the University of San Francisco and Monash University. Biography He was born in Melbourne, Australia and lived there until he went to the Massachusetts Instit ...

, "Sizars had to earn their keep as servants to the wealthier students ...

References

External links