ABSTRACT
English students abroad were only a small fraction of all English students, but they formed larger groups at a number of foreign institutions, and several members of the academic and political elites went to continental universities, often finishing off their education after studying at Oxford or Cambridge. Some students were genuinely attracted by a university’s academic reputation and continued and deepened their studies abroad; several took degrees. Other students, in particular noblemen, were rather travellers who, possibly with a teacher and servants, did ‘the round’, later called Grand Tour. Others again were rather religious or political refugees in need of a shelter abroad.
