the university. He was also to keep a ledger over the students and keep guard over incarcerated students. The pedell at Uppsala wore a richly decorated livery in blue and yellow with silver embroidery, and carried a wooden staff with a silver button. Beadle The word Beadle, the name for various similar but not identical offices in Scotland and England, is of the same origin. Bidello The Italian word bidello, the person whose work is to check classrooms and schedules and, in the past, to signal the end of the class, has the same origin. The function of announcing the end of each hour-long lesson by uttering the word finis (Latin for "end") has long been abandoned due to the introduction of electrical bells and public address systems. References Cobban, Alan B., English University Life in the Middle Ages. UCL Press, London 1999. Stubbings, Frank, Bedders, Bulldogs & Bedells: A Cambridge Glossary. Revised and enlarged edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1995. Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, Bd 12 (1888), p. 800 Nordisk familjebok, Vol. 21 External links Academic culture Education and training occupations