The book of Christmas : $b descriptive of the customs, ceremonies, traditions, superstitions, fun, feeling, and festivities of the Christmas seasonHervey, Thomas K.
Religion
The book of Christmas : $b descriptive of the customs, ceremonies, traditions, superstitions, fun, feeling, and festivities of the Christmas season
Hervey, Thomas K.
Christmas
"Firste," says Master Stubs, "all the wilde heades of the parishe
conventynge together, chuse them a grand Capitaine (of mischeef) whom
they innoble with the title of my _Lorde of Misserule_, and hym they
crown with great solemnitie, and adopt for their kyng. This kyng
anoynted, chuseth for the twentie, fourtie, three score, or a hundred
lustie guttes like to hymself, to waite uppon his lordely majestie, and
to guarde his noble persone. Then every one of these his menne he
investeth with his liveries of greene, yellowe or some other light
wanton colour. And as though that were not (baudie) gaudy enough I
should saie, they bedecke themselves with scarffes, ribons, and laces,
hanged all over with golde rynges, precious stones, and other jewelles:
this doen, they tye about either legge twentie or fourtie belles with
rich handkercheefes in their handes, and sometymes laied acrosse over
their shoulders and neckes, borrowed for the moste parte of their pretie
Mopsies and loovyng Bessies, for bussyng them in the darcke. Thus
thinges sette in order, they have their hobbie horses, dragons, and
other antiques, together with their baudie pipers, and thunderyng
drommers, to strike up the Deville's Daunce withall" (meaning the Morris
Dance), "then marche these heathen companie towardes the church and
churche yarde, their pipers pipyng, drommers thonderyng, their stumppes
dauncyng, their belles iynglyng, their handkerchefes swyngyng about
their heades like madmen, their hobbie horses and other monsters
skyrmishyng amongst the throng: and in this sorte they goe to the
churche (though the minister bee at praier or preaçhyng) dauncyng and
swingyng their handkercheefes over their heades, in the churche, like
devilles incarnate, with suche a confused noise that no man can heare
his owne voice. Then the foolishe people, they looke, they stare, they
laugh, they fleere, and mount upon formes and pewes, to see these
goodly pageauntes, solemnized in this sort."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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