University of Oxford in popular culture

The University of Oxford is the setting for numerous works of fiction. Quickly becoming part of the cultural imagination, Oxford was mentioned in fiction as early as 1400 when Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales referred to a "Clerk [student] of Oxenford": "For him was levere have at his beddes heed/ Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reed,/ of Aristotle and his philosophie/ Than robes riche, or fithele, or gay sautrie". By 1989, 533 Oxford-based novels had been identified, and the number continues to rise.

Literary works include:

Fictional universities based on Oxford include Terry Pratchett's Unseen University and "Christminster" in Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure.

For a list of fictional colleges of the University of Oxford, see List of fictional Oxford colleges.

Many poets have also been inspired by the University:

Films set in the University include:

This list does not include movies in which university buildings appeared as a backdrop but were not depicted as the University of Oxford, such as the Harry Potter movies and the earlier Young Sherlock Holmes.

...
Wikipedia