Many early instances occur of its use as a cry of joy; as at the baptism of Charles the Sixth, of France, in December, 1368; the entry of Philip, Duke of Burgundy, with his sister, into Paris, in 1429; and the entry into Paris of Charles the Seventh, in 1437, where the people proclaimed their delight with loud shouts of noël. “Ce jour vint le Roy à Verneuil, Où il fut receu à grand joye Du peuple joyeux à merveil, En criant Noël par la voye.” On the entry of Henry the Fifth into Rouen, in January, 1419, though this was about Christmas time, and on his return to London, he was received with cries of “Nowell! nowell!” and so afterwards, when the English Regent went through Paris in state, in 1428, “on crioit haultement nouel!” and again on the proclamation of Henry the Sixth. The ancient French customs were in many respects similar to those of England, having a common origin; and Christmas was considered, in like manner, a great time for feasting and rejoicing. In the old poem, of the date of 1400, or thereabouts, called the “Bataille de Karesme et de charnage,” Karesme has on his side all the fishes, both sea and fresh-water—being a decided advocate of temperance—vegetables, cheese, milk, &c.; Charnage has the animals, birds, &c. The battle is fierce, and the issue doubtful, when night separates the combatants; but Karesme, hearing that Noël was approaching, with considerable succour to his enemy, makes peace on certain terms, by advice of his council. The practice of singing carols in France, in the language of the country, is of very early date, and had its origin, probably, as early as the time when the people ceased to understand or to use Latin, the Christmas hymns previously having been in that language. In “Les crieries de Paris,” of the end of the thirteenth century, par Guillaume de la Villeneuve, appears, “Noël, noël, à moult granz cris;” meaning collections of noëls, of which it is said, that the Duc de la Vallière had a valuable manuscript collection of the fourteenth century. The editor of ‘Noël Burguignon,’ in 1720, mentions a volume that had come to his hands, containing three collections of old noëls, printed at Paris, in Gothic letters, of which the first two were without date; the first containing the noël mentioned by Rabelais; the third was dated 1520, composed by “_feu Maître Lucas le Moigne, en son vivant Curé de S. George de Pui-la-Garde, au diocese de Poitou._” He also mentions an old noël in the time of Louis the Twelfth, to the tune of “_A vous point vu la Perronelle?_” Brunet gives the title of a collection printed at Lyon, about 1520, containing one in the patois of that province, which would appear to be different from that by Lucas le Moigne.