A rule that outlived its reasonSourced
Swear never to forgive him.
Who was he again?
Henry Symeonis was implicated in the killing of an Oxford scholar in the thirteenth century. The university kept an oath against reconciling with him for degree candidates, even after its reason had faded from memory. It lasted until 1827.
The rule survived
longer than its explanation.
Summary / translation: Unbubly · CC BY-SA 4.0
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Henry Symeonis · Wikimedia contributors
Adapted, summarized and translated from the source. Adapted text is also available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Reviewed: 2026-10-01