Midweek Update

As I hoped, I've been able to keep making some good progress on the research this week...not having midterms to deal with makes this much easier! I've moved into compiling the list for Prince George, using the Establishment Books to get a sense of some of the nobles and commoners who could be found at his court. Beyond that, though, there's not much of interest to report on the research front, so I thought I'd devote this weeks post mainly to our...
Interesting Historical Tidbit of the Week!
Our tidbit this week will deal with an important aspect of English record keeping I've had to deal with fairly extensively while going through the Establishment Books: the English fiscal calendar.
Like modern businesses and financial systems, the English used a fiscal calender that did not correspond with the regular calendar. The English fiscal calendar was, like modern fiscal years, divided into quarters. These quarters were based on the traditional liturgical year, and the dates were reckoned by the old Julian Calendar, since the new Gregorian Calendar would not be implemented in Britain until the 1750s. The four days that marked the quarters of the year were the following:

• Lady Day-March 25th. The traditional feast of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, "Our Lady's Day"...hence "Lady Day". This day marked the beginning of the ecclesiastical and fiscal year.
• Midsummer Day-June 24th
• Michelmas- September 29th. The feast of St. Michael the Archangel. As the midpoint of the fiscal year, it is fairly common in the Establishment Books for terms of service to begin or end on this day.
• Christmas Day- December 25th