This book traces the history of Exeter College, Oxford, from its first endowment by Walter Stapeldon, bishop of Exeter, in 1314 until the College's refoundation by Sir William Petre in the 1560s and the election of the zealously protestant Thomas Holland as head of the College in 1592, which brought Exeter's reputation as a fiercely catholic college to a definitive end. It is closely based on the sources, particularly the College's unpublished account rolls, and deals in detail with all aspects of College life during the period: the origins and careers of the fellows; books, studies and intellectual life; possessions and finances; the College site; the daily round, as reflected in the entertainment of visitors, relations with old members, the travels of the fellows, and the services held in the chapel; and the rise of the College's undergraduate population. The effects of the Reformation on the College are given particularly full treatment, and here, as at all points, the history of the College is related to the general history of the period, so that, for example, the effects of the Black Death and of the economic depression of the fifteenth century are seen in microcosm through the College's history. The richness of the sources has allowed Exeter's story to be told with a fullness not attempted in other comparable college histories and at the same time to be seen as part of the wider history of England.

"There is much in Maddicott's book that expands our knowledge of late medieval and early modern Oxford as well as the role of its fellows in the educational, political, and ecclesiastical life of that time. As a detailed and thorough history of the early centuries of Exeter College it is excellent and draws on a wide variety of manuscript and edited sources. ... Founders and Fellowship is a welcome addition to the literature on Oxford colleges and, indeed, to our understanding of education and college life in late medieval and early modern England. It is strongly recommended for reading by those interested in that field of study." - William J. Courtenay, Sehepunkte

"The book is written with the unaffected elegance characteristic of Maddicott's prose, and enlivened by humane details ... These make Founders and Fellowship, as the author clearly intended, as much a biography of a community as of an institution." - Sophie Ambler, History

"a valuable contribution to both the early history of Oxford University and to the history of higher education in general." - Claire Cross, Oxoniensia

"This perceptive and meticulous account of the early history of Exeter College is not only a welcome contribution to Oxford history; it throws a distinctive light on the changing role of the graduate cadre in the development of England." - Jeremy Catto, English Historical Review