Editing William Morris (section)

=== Oxford and the Birmingham Set: 1852–1856 ===
[[File:William Morris 23.jpg|thumb|William Morris at 23]]

In June 1852 Morris entered [[Exeter College, Oxford|Exeter College]] at [[Oxford University]], although, since the college was full, he went into residence only in January 1853.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=25–26|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=52–53}} He disliked the college and was bored by the manner in which they taught him [[Classics]].{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|pp=53–55}} Instead he developed a keen interest in medieval history and medieval architecture, inspired by the many medieval buildings in Oxford.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1p=6|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=53–55, 60–61}} This interest was tied to Britain's growing [[Medievalism|Medievalist]] movement, a form of [[Romanticism]] that rejected many of the values of Victorian [[industrial capitalism]].{{sfn|Thompson|1955|pp=9–10}} For Morris, the Middle Ages represented an era with strong [[chivalry|chivalric values]] and an organic, pre-capitalist sense of community, both of which he deemed preferable to his own period.{{sfn|Thompson|1955|p=28}} This attitude was compounded by his reading of [[Thomas Carlyle]]'s book ''[[Past and Present (book)|Past and Present]]'' (1843), in which Carlyle championed medieval values as a corrective to the problems of Victorian society.{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1pp=29–32|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=71}} Under this influence, Morris's dislike of contemporary capitalism grew, and he came to be influenced by the work of [[Christian socialism|Christian socialists]] [[Charles Kingsley]] and [[Frederick Denison Maurice]].{{sfnm|1a1=Thompson|1y=1955|1pp=3, 40|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=64–65}}

At the college, Morris met fellow first-year undergraduate [[Edward Burne-Jones]], who became his lifelong friend and collaborator. Although from very different backgrounds, they found that they had a shared attitude to life, both being keenly interested in Anglo-Catholicism and [[King Arthur|Arthurianism]].{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=10–11|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=34–35|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=52, 56–58}}
Through Burne-Jones, Morris joined a group of undergraduates from [[Birmingham]] who were studying at [[Pembroke College, Oxford|Pembroke College]]: William Fulford (1831–1882), [[Richard Watson Dixon]], [[Charles Joseph Faulkner|Charles Faulkner]], and [[Cormell Price]]. They were known among themselves as the "Brotherhood" and to historians as the [[Birmingham Set]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=35–36, 41–42|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=59–60}} Morris was the most affluent member of the Set, and was generous with his wealth toward the others.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=65}} Like Morris, the Set were fans of the poet [[Alfred, Lord Tennyson]], and would meet together to recite the plays of [[William Shakespeare]].{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=45, 47|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=61–62}}

[[File:William morris self-portrait 1856.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|William Morris self-portrait, 1856; he grew his beard that year, after leaving university.{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=112}}]]

Morris was heavily influenced by the writings of the art critic [[John Ruskin]], being particularly inspired by his chapter "On the Nature of Gothic Architecture" in the second volume of ''[[The Stones of Venice (book)|The Stones of Venice]]''; he later described it as "one of the very few necessary and inevitable utterances of the century".{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=38|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=32–35|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=69–71}} Morris adopted Ruskin's philosophy of rejecting the tawdry industrial manufacture of decorative arts and architecture in favour of a return to hand-craftsmanship, raising [[artisan]]s to the status of artists, creating art that should be affordable and hand-made, with no hierarchy of artistic mediums.{{sfn|Thompson|1955|pp=35–38}}<ref name="EB1911" /> Ruskin had achieved attention in Victorian society for championing the art of a group of painters who had emerged in London in 1848 calling themselves the [[Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood]]. The Pre-Raphaelite style was heavily Medievalist and Romanticist, emphasising abundant detail, intense colours and complex compositions; it greatly impressed Morris and the Set.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1p=11|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=73–74}} Influenced both by Ruskin and by [[John Keats]], Morris began to spend more time writing poetry, in a style that was imitative of much of theirs.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=51–53|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=74–77}}

Both he and Burne-Jones were influenced by the Romanticist milieu and the Anglo-Catholic movement, and decided to become clergymen in order to found a monastery where they could live a life of [[chastity]] and dedication to artistic pursuit, akin to that of the contemporary [[Nazarene movement]]. However, as time went on Morris became increasingly critical of Anglican doctrine and the idea faded.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=62–64|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=25–26|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=65–68}} In summer 1854, Morris travelled to Belgium to look at medieval paintings,{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=48|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=82}} and in July 1855 went with Burne-Jones and Fulford across northern France, visiting medieval churches and cathedrals.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1pp=71–78|2a1=Thompson|2y=1955|2pp=26–27|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=82–94}} It was on this trip that he and Burne-Jones committed themselves to "a life of art".{{sfn|MacCarthy|1994|p=95}} For Morris, this decision resulted in a strained relationship with his family, who believed that he should have entered either commerce or the clergy.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=83|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2p=96}} On a subsequent visit to Birmingham, Morris discovered [[Thomas Malory]]'s ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'', which became a core Arthurian text for him and Burne-Jones.{{sfnm|1a1=Mackail|1y=1901|1p=81|2a1=MacCarthy|2y=1994|2pp=96–97}} In January 1856, the Set began publication of ''[[The Oxford and Cambridge Magazine]]'', designed to contain "mainly Tales, Poetry, friendly critiques and social articles". Funded mainly by Morris, who briefly served as editor and heavily contributed to it with his own stories, poems, reviews and articles, the magazine lasted for twelve issues, and garnered praise from Tennyson and Ruskin.{{sfnm|1a1=Vallance|1y=1897|1pp=20–23|2a1=Mackail|2y=1901|2pp=88, 92|3a1=MacCarthy|3y=1994|3pp=98–102}}