Note VI-6 — Chapter VI · THE GOVERNMENTS OF NUEVA ANDALUCÍA AND CASTILLA DEL ORO. 1506-1510.

'Bachiller,' says the English translator of Benzoni, 'has a wider meaning than our word bachelor, signifying also an inferior order of knighthood.' This is a mistake. The word has the same corresponding significance in both languages. It is true that the degree exempts the possessor from certain obligations, such as personal service, military and municipal, imprisonment for debt, etc., and grants him certain privileges enjoyed by noblemen. But this does not make him noble. The next degree, which is that of licentiate, carries with it still further privileges, but even this does not constitute knighthood. The degree of doctor, which follows that of licentiate and is the highest conferred by the university, gives the possessor the right to prefix Don to his name, and places him in nearly every respect on a par with noblemen.