Universities have taught in England for about seven centuries, and mathematics has always been one of the subjects taught; but in the earlier centuries it was not part of the undergraduate course. This consisted of three years’ study of Latin grammar, logic, and rhetoric, forming what was called the trivium. Mathematics was part of the M.A. course, consisting of arithmetic, geometry, music and astronomy, forming the quadrivium; but this postgraduate status meant less than might seem, because the undergraduates had the position of schoolboys today, and became Bachelors of Arts at ages from fourteen to seventeen. The B.A.s of those days corresponded to the undergraduates of our time.