the castle and the castle-quarter the name spread
within sixty years to the whole town, the similarity between the names
Grantebrig and Cantebrig playing some part in this extension (_The Dual
Origin of the Town of Cambridge_, p. 31). Granta is the earlier and
still an alternative name of the river Cam, this more common modern form
having been adopted in sympathy with the modern name of the town.
Cambridge had a further importance from its position at the head of
river navigation, and a charter of Henry I., in which the town is
already referred to as a borough, grants it exclusive rights as a
river-port, and regulates traffic and tolls. The wharves lay principally
along that part of the river where are now the celebrated "backs" of
some of the colleges, whose exquisite grounds slope down to the water.
The great Sturbridge or Stourbridge Fair at Barnwell, formerly one of
the most important in England, is a further illustration of the ancient
commercial importance of Cambridge; the oldest known charter concerning
it dates from the opening of the 13th century, though its initiation may
perhaps be placed a century before.

Concerning the early municipal history of Cambridge little is known, but
at the time of the Domesday survey its citizens felt themselves strong
enough to protest against the exactions of the Norman sheriff, Roger
Picot; and the town had attained a considerable degree of importance
when, in 1068, William the Conqueror built a castle on the site known as
Castle Hill, and used it as a base of operations against Hereward the
Wake and the insurgents of the fenland. Cambridge, however, has
practically no further military history. From the 14th century onward
materials were taken from the castle by the builders of colleges, while
the gatehouse, the last surviving portion, was removed in 1842.

The medieval spirit of emulation between the universities of Cambridge
and Oxford resulted in a series of remarkable fables to account for the
foundation of both. That of Cambridge was assigned to a Spanish prince,
Cantaber, in the 4321st year after the Creation. A charter from King
Arthur dated 531, and the transference of students from Cambridge to
Oxford by King Alfred, were also claimed as historical facts. The true
germ of the university is to be sought in the religious foundations in
the town. The earliest to be noticed is the Augustinian house of St
Giles, founded by Hugoline, wife of Roger Picot the sheriff, in 10