SCHOOLS 



from school to church and church to school like canons.' 1 There 

 were also the four obits a year for Wykeham's soul, besides the actual 

 anniversary of his death. Those days were, no doubt, specially grateful, 

 as besides the improved meals of a feast, ' a pittance worth 6s. 8</.' 

 was specially directed. 



Wykeham's obit was in course of time followed by a good many 

 more, nineteen of them being recorded in the account roll (i & 2 

 Edward VI.), the year immediately preceding the Chantries Act, which 

 put an end to such ceremonials. Among them may be noticed those of 

 three out of the first four wardens Baker, the alleged inventor of the 

 * bibling rod,' being the exception : Cardinal Beaufort ; T. Beckington, 

 bishop of Bath and Wells ; J. Bedyll, an ex-scholar, mayor of Win- 

 chester ; and W. Danvers, Earl of Oxford, an ex-commoner. 



No reference whatever is made in the statutes to the ancient 

 Wykehamical institution of ' Hills,' or the march two and two of the 

 boys to St. Katherine's Hill, about a mile south-east from college, where 

 the line of the downs breaks into a rounded peninsular hill immediately 

 above the water meadows of the Itchen. It is impossible not to suppose 

 that this march was originally a procession of a religious character. 

 Why the boys went there, and what they did when they got there, 

 we can only conjecture. The earliest known mention of it as a 

 playground is about 1564, ; while Montem, 2 or Salt Hill, at Eton was 

 also used for similar purposes at the same time. 



THE EARLY HEADMASTERS 



The statutes relating to the masters mark an advance on existing 

 school arrangements, which it has been reserved for our own age to 

 make generally applicable. The statute dealing with them is Rubric xii. 

 It is headed ' Of the Master Instructor (Magistro Instructor?) and Usher 

 (Hostiarid) under him.' In the body of the statute the title used is 

 master teacher of the scholars (Magister Informator scolariuni), and this 

 always remained the full official title. Informator was the usual title for 

 a headmaster at that date. It is applied in the college hall books to the 

 headmaster of the City High School when he dined there. In the 

 account rolls and hall books the headmaster appears under all manner of 

 titles : Magister Informator, Magister, Scolarium Magister, Informator 

 Scols, Magister Scolis, Magister Scolas. The last was the term pre- 

 vailing for common use. In later centuries he was called Archididas- 

 calus, Preceptor and other fanciful and high sounding names. The 

 term Informator was not unfrequently used. The second master is always 

 called Hostiarius in the old official documents, and this term was often 

 used in common parlance to within a few years ago. Usher was the 

 English corruption of it. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries 

 he was very commonly called Psdagogus, Subpasdagogus and Hypo- 

 didascalus. The term second master did not come into vogue till there 



1 Inventio Cruets, ed. by Stubbs. * Maxwell-Lyte, Hist, of Eton College. 



279 



