Mandell Creighton - Teaching and Marriage, 1867–1874

Teaching and Marriage, 1867–1874

During the second half of the 19th century, a number of academic reforms were instituted at the University of Oxford, beginning with the Oxford University Act of 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c81). By the 1860s the reforms had trickled down the colleges. Among the changes were the new responsibilities given to college tutors. These instructors, whose primary job was to give personalised instruction in their rooms to undergraduates, were now tasked with the preparation of students for the university's examinations, previously the responsibility of the university-wide instructors, such as professors. As the tutors were chosen from distinguished recent graduates, the new instructional staff were more youthful than the old. At this time Merton College was suffering from student unrest stemming from what was seen as a lack of leadership in the teaching faculty. Many fellows, both resident and non-resident, had become distant presences.

As Creighton was popular with students, he was looked upon as someone who would exercise that leadership. He proceeded to do so by appealing both to the students' reasoning and to their good sense, and by simultaneously immersing himself among them. He was given more responsibilities. These, in their wake, brought promotions and salary increases. After four years of teaching, his salary had more than doubled. He joined forces with a Merton tutor to open collegiate lectures to students of other colleges and received the College's authorisation. Soon, the Association of Tutors was born, as well as an Oxford-wide series of lectures that any student could attend. The lectures were to influence his choice of future research. He wrote later,

We worked out among us a scheme of lectures covering the whole field (of history), and were the pioneers of the "Intercollegiate Lectures" which now prevail at both universities. The needs of this scheme threw upon me the ecclesiastical, and especially papal history, which no one else took.

Religious beliefs were also undergoing an upheaval. Many Victorian intellectuals, who had been raised in Christian households, had, in their adult life, begun to experience religious doubt and were moving in secular directions. Creighton, in contrast, was slowly solidifying his religious beliefs. While his high church views had moderated somewhat, he never had any crisis of confidence. He had no interest in the new natural sciences, and was unmoved to read Darwin, regarding his writings as too much speculation. Creighton's friend Henry Scott Holland wrote of him, "At the close of the, it seemed to us at Oxford almost incredible that a young don of any intellectual reputation for modernity should be on the Christian side." After some speculation by friends whether Creighton would commit to taking holy orders, he was ordained deacon by the Bishop of Oxford in 1870. He preached in first sermon in April 1871.

Creighton spent many vacations in Europe. He fell in love with Italy, its scenery, its culture, and its people. This led naturally to a fascination with Renaissance Italy, which became his scholarly interest. He became an admirer of Walter Pater and the aesthetic movement. His rooms in Oxford were tastefully decorated with William Morris wallpaper and blue china. The furnishings brought admiration from friends and requests to view them from acquaintances. Creighton was now leading a life that was a far cry from that of his frugal student days.

Upon his return from a vacation in Europe, in early 1871, Creighton attended a lecture by art critic John Ruskin at the Sheldonian Theatre. After the lecture, he noticed his friend, the future author Humphry Ward, talking to an unfamiliar young woman who was wearing a yellow scarf. Yellow was Creighton's favourite colour; the scarf aroused his interest enough for him to ask Ward about the woman, whose name was Louise von Glehn. Soon Ward was inviting Creighton and von Glehn to a Valentine's Day lunch hosted in his rooms in Brasenose College. In a few weeks, von Glenn found herself won over by Creighton's charm, and before she left Oxford at the end of the month, the two were engaged. They had agreed to be married the following winter; however, as Christmas approached, it was still not certain whether Merton College would waive its requirement of celibacy for its teaching fellows. On Christmas Eve, the college finally relented and elected four married fellows, one of whom was Creighton. Von Glehn and Creighton were married on 8 January 1872 in her home town of Sydenham, Kent. They spent a week honeymooning in Paris before returning to Oxford for Creighton's new teaching term.

Like many Victorian scholars, Mandell Creighton assumed that his wife would be an accessory in his academic pursuits, and that he would have the upper hand in their intellectual relationship. During their courtship, he had written to her:

The nuisance of married life (is that) strive as I may, or as you may, still the practical side of life must be much more prominent to me than to you. I shall have a number of things to do; whereas you sphere will be all within my reach and knowledge, mine on the other hand will not in your reach entirely.

In the summer of 1873, the couple took their first trip together to Italy. It was during this trip that Creighton made firm his intention to study the Renaissance popes for his life's research. During these years there were additions to the family: a daughter was born to the couple in the autumn of 1872, and another in the summer of 1874. With a growing family and a clear research plan, Creighton now began to doubt the long-term viability of his Merton tutorial fellowship. He felt increasingly that his teaching duties were sapping his stamina for focused intellectual labour. Around this time an opportunity arose for a rural living in a remote parish in coastal Northumberland to which Merton held the right of appointment. Although varying counsel was offered by Louise, by Creighton's married colleagues, by his unmarried colleagues, and even by his students, his mind was made up. When, in November 1874, the college finally offered the position of vicar of the parish of Embleton, Creighton eagerly accepted.