The University of Oxford is first mentioned in 12th-century records.

Of the
hundreds of aularian houses that sprang up across the city, only St Edmund Hall
(c. 1225) remains. What put an end to the halls was the emergence of colleges.
Oxford's earliest colleges were University College (1249), Balliol (1263) and
Merton (1264). These colleges were established at a time when Europeans were
starting to translate the writings of Greek philosophers. These writings challenged
European ideology, inspiring scientific discoveries and advancements in the arts,
as society began to see itself in a new way. These colleges at Oxford were
supported by the Church in the hope of reconciling Greek philosophy and Christian
theology. The relationship between "town and gown" has often been uneasy – as many
as 93 students and townspeople were killed in the St Scholastica Day Riot of 1355.

The sweating sickness epidemic in 1517 was particularly devastating to Oxford and
Cambridge where it killed half of both cities' populations, including many students
and dons.[18] Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford is unique in combining a college
chapel and a cathedral in one foundation. Originally the Priory of St Frideswide,
the building was extended and incorporated into the structure of the Cardinal's
College shortly before its refounding as Christ Church in 1546, since when it has
functioned as the cathedral of the Diocese of Oxford. The Oxford Martyrs were tried
for heresy in 1555 and subsequently burnt at the stake, on what is now Broad
Street, for their religious beliefs and teachings. The three martyrs were the
bishops Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, and the archbishop Thomas Cranmer.[19]
The Martyrs' Memorial stands nearby, round the corner to the north on St Giles'.