SCHOOLS 



scholars of Winchester. In 1398-9, two founder's kin in college had 

 gowns of white russet at All Saints' Day for Michaelmas term, and 

 gowns of green cloth for the summer term, while at Christmas, when 

 they went for leave out, they had gowns of the founder's livery. The 

 other scholars no doubt followed suit, except as to the Christmas livery. 

 In 14034 three founder's kin (who offered a halfpenny each, paid for 

 by college, at the founder's obit !) had gowns of blue frieze. The 

 colour of the scholars' gowns therefore varied from year to year. It is 

 generally called simply coloured cloth in the accounts. The one colour 

 that they did not wear was the ' customary suit of solemn black ' 

 which -they are now made to wear, which is wholly unhistorical, and 

 probably Puritanical. 



The shape of the clothes was not dictated, except that the gowns 

 were to be long. They were nearly the same as now, as we know for 

 certain from the brass of John Kent, a scholar who came in 1431 and 

 died in 1434, and was buried in the church of Headbourne Worthy, 

 about a mile and a half up the Itchen valley from Winchester. His 

 gown appears to be simply the ordinary gown of the time, reaching to 

 the ankles (talaris). The sleeves are full to the wrist, not puffed to the 

 elbow and there cut off as now. His collar appears to be the same 

 as that of the present gowns. 1 There is nothing on his head, on which 

 the tonsure does not show. Scholars were forbidden by the statutes 

 to wear anything on their heads, a prohibition which until 1870 

 extended to all inferiors, whether college men or commoners, anywhere 

 within the precincts, but is now limited to college juniors in chamber 

 court. 



The scholar was allowed to wear his livery in its first year only on 

 Sundays and holidays, or at processions or solemn assemblies (convocation- 

 ibus), and had to keep it for three years, not being allowed to sell, pledge, 

 give, or dispose of it outside the college during that time. A similar 

 restriction applied to the warden, fellows, chaplains, and masters for no 

 less than five years, but they might within that time give it to a poor 

 scholar (all scholars therefore were not ' poor'), or a chorister, ' by way 

 of charity.' 



The allowance for a scholar's commons was %d. a week (Rubric 

 xiii.). There were only two regular meals a day, dinner and supper ; 

 but boys under sixteen were allowed breakfast as well. Egglesfield at 

 Queen's, it may be noted, had allowed his poor boys breakfast out of the 

 broken victuals and commons of the fellows. In the fourteenth century 

 dinner was at ten, and nothing was taken before it. This was the rule 

 even in 1526 in the king's household. 2 ' The first dinner in eating days 

 to begin at ten of the clock or somewhat afore, and the first supper at 

 four of the clocke on week-days.' When the king's hall was not ' kept,' 

 dinner was at eleven a.m. and supper at six p.m. 



1 I was misled (History, p. 172) by the drawing of it given in Kirby's Scholars into thinking that 

 the collar was high up in the neck, but a study of the original and the reproduction of a rubbing given 

 in my History thow that it was not. 2 Furnivall, Babees Book, Ixxx. 



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