Hypnogoria: THE OLDTIME YULETIDE ADVENT CALENDAR

Welcome dear friends back to the Hypnogoria Old-time Yuletide Advent Calendar! Well, we have reached Door 21, and also the trickier end of the alphabet! And hence, behind this door we discover two letters lurking!

Firstly we have U which stands for Unreason, as in the peculiar festive character known as the Abbot of Unreason! And just who was this bizarre sounding fellow?

Well, as we mentioned right at the start of this Advent journey, in Tudor times, the Christmas season started at Hallowe’en, in particular with institutions and households would appoint a Lord of Misrule, who would oversee all the festivities of the coming season. The tradition had begun in mediaeval times, and possibly had links back to the Roman saturnalia, but it would reach its heyday in the Tudor era. John Stow in his book, Survey of London, published in 1603, gives a description of the Lord of Misrule:

In the feaste of Christmas, there was in the kinges house, wheresoeuer hee was lodged, a Lord of Misrule, or Maister of merry disports, and the like had yee in the house of euery noble man, of honor, or good worshippe, were he spirituall or temporall. Amongst the which the Mayor of London, and eyther of the shiriffes had their seuerall Lordes of Misrule, euer contending without quarrell or offence, who should make the rarest pastimes to delight the Beholders. These Lordes beginning their rule on Alhollon Eue , continued the same till the morrow after the Feast of the Purification, commonlie called Candlemas day: In all which space there were fine and subtle disguisinges, Maskes and Mummeries, with playing at Cardes for Counters, Nayles and pointes in euery house, more for pastimes then for gaine.

And yes, you heard that right, the Christmas season not only started at Hallowe’en but finished at Candlemas, which falls upon February 2nd. Yes, the Tudors certainly went large as we would say with Christmas. As well as appointing a Lord of Misrule, in 1496, King Henry VII, the first of the Tudor monarchs, appointed an Abbot of Unreason too. And over in Scotland, Abbots of Unreason was more commonly used for these masters of merry-making than the title Lords of Misrule.

And over the years, at the Tudor court in particular, the Lords grew more numerous, with the King appointing many Lords of Misrule to oversee the festive merry-making. Another contemporary account, from Puritan Phillip Stubbs, writing in 1585, described them thus -

This king, anointed, chooseth forth, twenty, forty, three-score or a hundred lusty guts like himself to wait upon his lordly majesty and guard his royal person. They bedeck themselves in scarves, ribbons, and laces, hanged all over with gold rings, precious stones, and other jewels; this done, they tie about either leg twenty or forty bells, with rich handkerchiefs in their hand, borrowed for the most part of their pretty moppsies from bussing them in the dark. They then have their hobby horses, dragons and other antiques, together with bawdy pipers and thunderous drummers!

As you might have gathered Stubbs and other Puritans did not approve of such things. And as they grew in political power, the practice was outlawed. Indeed, the Puritan regime ruled over by Oliver Cromwell eventually would outlaw any kind of celebration of Christmas. Thankfully however that was not to last…

So then onto the letter V! And v is for Ves Heill!

No, not “wassail” but its ancient ancestor! Now I am sure most of you are aware that wassailing was the precursor to the modern day custom of going carol singing. However it is perhaps one of our oldest Christmas traditions. We know from ancient documents it dates back at least as far as the 13th century. However looking at the word itself, it is very possible that the custom is much older, even possibly a relic of pre-Christian Yule celebrations.

For the word itself is thought to be derived from old Norse - ves heill - which meant “be in good health”. And it was absorbed in old Saxon too as “was hael” and eventually became “wassail” in Old English. Indeed the word itself was a drinking toast. And what few folk know is that the cry of “wassail” demanded a response too - “drinc hael” which means, as you might have guessed, “drink well!”

A poem from the court of William the Conqueror, originally in Norman French in the 13th century has this to say!

Lordlings, listen to our lay,

We have come from far away,

To seek Christmas…

…Here then, I bid you all Wassail,

Cursed be he who will not say Drinkhail!

However there was more to wassailing than just a festive toast at Christmastime, as we shall learn tomorrow!