ABSTRACT
BALLIOL COLLEGE, OXFORDBA Balliol began life in 1266 as a society of poor scholars, endowed by John Balliol of Barnard Castle, one of the most powerful of the Northern barons, as penance after a quarrel with the Bishop of Durham. Its foundation as a College was completed by John Balliol's widow Dervoguilla, in 1284. Founded ten years after Merton, it is the second oldest College of the University.
