The Irish Bomfords
George Bomford's Baccalaur. in Artibus
A translation by Cyril North of George Bomford's Baccalaur. in Artibus certificate [CN emails Apr 2007]
To all who receive this present document, greetings.
We, the Provost and Senior Fellows of the College of the Sacred and Undivided Trinity at Dublin, give testimony that George Bomford, a Fellow Commoner*, during that time he spent with Us, applied himself diligently to the study of Literature, conducted himself appropriately, and in public assembly held on this 10th day of July l832 earned a full and complete Bachelorship in Arts upon completion of all assignments required by the Academic Laws and Customs and taking the Oath of Fidelity to the Crown ~ ~ ~ In testimony of which we have each placed our hand and seal of office, this 23rd day of July 1832.
Robert Phipps
Charles William Wall
* According to Alumni Dublinenses, the Register of Students of Trinity College, Dublin, edited by Thomas Ulick Sadleir in 1924 (as quoted by Peter Bamford at 20.7), George was Socius Comitatus. In this certificate he is recorded as socior. com. Socior. com. is an abbreviation of Sociorum commensalis, “A co-diner with the Fellows”. This term was usually written socio-communarius, or socio-commensalis, used interchangeably, at Oxford, Cambridge, and Trinity College Dublin. The title is normally translated into English as Fellow Commoner, sometimes also Gentleman Commoner. These were students from wealthy and often aristocratic families and who paid higher fees in return for privileges, such as dining at the high table, completing the course in shorter time than normal if they so choose, and wearing distinctive items of dress. As they were independently wealthy an not under the usual pressure to succeed academically, at Cambridge they were sometimes derided as 'empty bottles' by other students, on account of their poor study habits.