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for searching only. CHRONOLOGY OF WILLIAM BADGER'S DICTATES 709
It should be noticed, too, that Badger has also preserved here still another landmark than Easter. In z564, there are thirty-three exercises after Christmas without a break. In 1565, thirty-four. In 1566, thirty-three plus. In 1567, twenty-three and eleven, the break being the heading of a Monday, which for some reason Badger has squeezed in between two exercises on one page (ig8r). It will be noticed that these thirty-three or thirty-four exercises are each time the work of nine weeks or a quarter. So the quarter also had its autonomy. The limits of the Post-Christmas quarter can now be determined for each year. Its dictates began Monday January 24, 1564; Monday January 22, 1565; Monday January 21, 1566; Monday January ao, 1567. They ended the week preceding Monday March 27, 1564; Monday March 26, r565; Monday March 25, 1566; Monday March 24, 1567. That is, the work of the Post-Christmas quarter, like that of Post-Michaelmas, was calculated to contain nine weeks of dictates, which were to end in the week preceding quarter-day, Marcia 25. Thus the boys were free from dictates for about a month at Christmas, though they probably were not permitted to go home till after December 28, and the vacation may have been shorter still'
The Post-Lady Day quarter would be interrupted shortly by an inter-mission at Easter and then later by a vacation at Whitsuntide. The dictates, however, were not themselves interrupted between these quarters; as will be apparent when we have established the custom at Easter. As we have seen, the boys regularly received no dictates the week before Easter. Fortunately, Badger marked most of the Mondays in the term following Easter in 1564. In the dictate of the fifth Monday, Johnson remarks that the boys are about to go home (44v), in the next dictate, he pursues the same theme (45r), and in the third and final dictate of the week he also alludes to going home (45v). In the dictate of the sixth Monday, Johnson makes other remarks which show that the boys have now returned (46r). The next dictate has the boys refer to what they did a week ago, fifteen days ago (46v), so that the vacation was longer than two weeks. This vacation following five weeks of work after Easter is evidently at Whitsuntide, which in 1564 was May 2z. There were thus two weeks without dictates between Easter and Whitsuntide, but there is no indication in 2564 as to where they came. Nor is there any direct indication here as to how long the boys were home at Whitsuntide, further than that it was more than fifteen days, hence probably at least three weeks.
In 15565, there are only four weeks of dictates instead of the expected five, between Easter and Whitsuntide, and there is no indication as to when vacation terminated. But in 1566 it is possible to get the exact day on which the boys began their dictates following Easter. There is a group of six dictates following a blank page, the first of which is a fulmination against play, the laps in praise of Jacob and Philip (x 56r); that is, the first of May. This day is said to usher in the warmer weather and to point to Pentecost, "how great joys would that day bring to us," to forecast Johannes drinking
4 At Eton around 16oo, the boys wera off about three weeks at Christmas (Floniaas, July x S, i9o7).
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