Historical context
Dates by feast and term
Many documents give a date by a church feast, not by the day of the month. Rents fell due on feast days, and the law courts sat in terms named after them.
The quarter days
Rents and wages were often due on these four days
| Quarter day | Date | The feast |
|---|---|---|
| Lady Day | 25 March | The Annunciation |
| Midsummer | 24 June | The birth of St John the Baptist |
| Michaelmas | 29 September | St Michael and All Angels |
| Christmas | 25 December | The Nativity |
Nottingham
Other feasts you'll meet
| Feast | Date |
|---|---|
| St Hilary | 13 January |
| Candlemas (the Purification) | 2 February |
| St George | 23 April |
| St Peter and St Paul | 29 June |
| St James | 25 July |
| Lammas | 1 August |
| St Bartholomew | 24 August |
| All Saints | 1 November |
| Martinmas (St Martin) | 11 November |
| St Andrew | 30 November |
| St Thomas the Apostle | 21 December |
Cheney
- Moveable feasts
- Easter, Whitsun and the feasts tied to them move from year to year. Cheney's tables give them for every year.Cheney
Around a feast
- The eve
- The day before a feast, also called the vigilCheney
- The morrow
- The day after a feastCheney
- The octave
- The eighth day counting the feast itself, so a week later on the same weekday. The octave of Michaelmas is 6 October.Cheney
- Next after
- 'The Monday next after Michaelmas' is the first Monday after 29 SeptemberNottingham
The law terms
- Four terms
- The central courts sat in four terms: Hilary, Easter, Trinity and Michaelmas, named after feasts near their startCheney; Nottingham
- Moving terms
- Easter and Trinity terms moved with Easter, so their dates change from year to yearCheney
Sources
- Cheney: C. R. Cheney, ed., rev. M. Jones, A Handbook of Dates for Students of British History (2000)
- Nottingham: University of Nottingham Manuscripts and Special Collections, Dating documents (online guide)
Facts from these sources, in our own words. Page numbers are the printed pages.