Saint John's Day

Saint John's Day is a calendar marker in the Barcelona episode: Roque Guinart names it as the day he intends to bring Don Quixote of La Mancha and Sancho Panza into the city. The date gives a precise deadline to his plan, but the account here records an arrangement, not its eventual fulfillment.

Calendar Reference

In a letter to a friend in Barcelona, Roque says that four days later—on Saint John's Day—he will place Don Quixote, fully armed and mounted on Rocinante, in the middle of the city’s strand. Sancho is to accompany him on an ass. The reference identifies the intended day but supplies no further account of the feast or its observances.

Role in the Barcelona Plot

The date turns Roque’s intention into a scheduled arrival. He asks his friend to notify the Niarros so they can enjoy the spectacle, while wishing that his enemies, the Cadells, could be denied that pleasure. He doubts this can be prevented: he expects Don Quixote’s oddities and Sancho’s humor to amuse people generally.

Scope of the Evidence

Saint John's Day matters here because it fixes when Roque plans to present the pair in Barcelona, not because the passage describes a religious ceremony or a completed event on that day. The stated date is prospective: the letter announces what Roque intends to do four days later.