WRANGLER. In old times the word Wrangle was used in the universities in the sense of " to dispute publicly," that is, to defend or oppose a thesis. The verb has gradually 'ilequired a meaning of re proach (being nettle to imply uncivil and indecorous opposition), which it had as early ns the time of Shakepere. In the Taming of the Shrew,' the teacher of music says to the scholar— The substantive Wrangler is hardly ever used, except as significative of a person who his passed the mathematical examination for the Bachelor's degree in the university of Cambridge (the word is unknown in Oxford) with such credit as to have had his name inscribed in the highest list, or list of wranglers. Of these the first in merit is the Senior Wrangler : but persons not accustomed to the phraseology of the University are apt to confound Wrangler with Senior Wrangler, that is, to imagine that any one of their friends who may have obtained a wrangiership must necessarily be the first man of his year. The second list is that of Senior Optimes, as they arc called, and the last that of Junior Optimes. All who are in these three lists (which are bollectively called the mathematical Tripos) are said to take the Bache lor's degreo with honours, or to go out to honours ; those whose names appear in the Classical Tripos are said to take classical honours ; while the remainder, who aro called the of woad, abbreviated into " the NI," though they equally take the Bachelor's degree, are not supposed to be honoured. But in point of fact, the last of the Junior Optimds, or the last on the list of honours, has always been considered an unfortunate person, and the name of the wooden spoon* has long been attached to his place. It is not as if all were examined together, and the honoured were selected out of the whole list : those who wish to go out in honours declare their intention and are examined separately ; so that it frequently hainiens that the last of the honoureed graduates is a person of very inferior attainments to many at the head of the un honoured multitude. With regard to the facetious terms current in the universities, it should be known that the nicknames invented by undergraduates are generally adopted in the university, which become therefore real and well-known denominations. From the vice-chancellor to the freshman of yesterday, the last of the honoured is the wooden spoon : and he must bo a formal man to " regular Don " the under graduates would call him) who, in speaking of the " previous examina tion," as it is styled in the grace of the Senate which established it, should use those words instead of " the little go," a term which was borrowed from the Oxonians as soon as the grace was passed.
There is no history extant of the original introduction of the terms wrangler, senior optimd. and junior optima. ilubcr, whose history of
our universities has been translated by Mr. Newman, says that every attempt be has made to unravel the skein of university technicalities has made him giddy with heed:sae. A Cambridge man however finds no difficulty in seeing how the word was used, as applied to the manner in which an examination (not a public disputation) is passed. The examination which takes place in .January, and at which a young man is said to " take his degree" (because in fact he then does rill that will be ()eked of him, the old disputations having long been abandoned), in old times %vas not an examination for the B.A. degree, but for the right of being admitted to perform the disputations necessary for a degree. All degrees were originally gained by disputations, the substitution of an examination, to see whether the candidates were fit to dispute, being a thing of comparatively modern times. The vice-chancellor, when • Since the institution of the classical honours, to which mathematical ones are Et necessary preliminary at Cambridge, the wooden spoon has frequently been a distinguished classic, who did nut need nor wish for anything except the formal place on the mathematical list, which was required previously to competition for a place in the classical one, though by recent changes classical honours may he obtained without the necessity of passing the mathematical examination, and the degree of B.A.be ohtained through the classical tripos.
the examination was over, admitted the candidates, not to the Bache lor's degree, but " ad respondendum questioni," and the person thus admitted was called a questionist. The form of asking some trifling question, or keeping a mock act [Acv] was afterwards performed be tween the questionist and the Father of his college, which is the name given to one of the fellows whose duty it is to present the candidates of his college to the vice-chancellor. Ou the Thursday after 3lidlent Sunday the vice-chancellor used to declare all the questionists (who in the interval had borne the name and assumed the dress of Bachelor of Arts) " actualiter ease in artibus baccalaureos." The term wrangler then must imply one who is held more than usually qualified to proceed to the disputations which were once the practical test of his fitness for the degree.
The Tripes lists are given in the ' Cambridge Calendar' from 1747 downwards; but the wranglers and senior optimds form one list till 1752 inclusive. It is said that the regular order of previous years cannot be ascertained, as the proctors were in the habit of making honorary senior optimds, and placing them in the list at pleasure.