Kings before Mary and baby Jesus
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THE subjects of the offerings at the Epiphany, with the accompanying legend of the Three Kings or Magi, and that of carol singing, require so much space that it has been thought preferable to devote particular chapters to them, rather than interrupt the narrative of Christmas festivities.
The offerings on the day of the Epiphany were in remembrance of the Manifestation of our Saviour to the Gentiles, and of the gifts made to Him by the Magi, or Wise Men of the East; when “the kings of Tarshish and of the isles brought presents; the kings of Sheba and Saba offeredgifts,” or, as the ‘Bee Hive,’ of the Romish Church, states it, “Kings came out of the Moor’s land to worship Christ.”
The king of the bean was the forerunner of our Twelfth-Day King; in the Saturnalia a king was elected, and as some say by beans, by way of lot, and he was invested with full power over the guests, and from him the lord of Misrule, under his various names, may take his origin; but the king of the bean and Twelfth-Day king were strictly confined to Twelfth Day, and ephemeral in their rule.
At the time of our Saviour’s birth, there was an expectation of his appearance among many of the heathen nations; it is said even that the initiated in the religious mysteries of the Persians, possessed as a secret handed down from the time of Zoroaster, that a divine prophet should be born of a virgin, whose birth should be proclaimed by the appearance of a bright star. The celebrated prophecy of Balaam, also made an impression on the surrounding nations; “I shall see him, but not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a star out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” When the star eventually appeared, the Magi, or Three Kings, as they are commonly called, eagerly followed it to the cradle of our Saviour to pay their adorations,—
“See how from far upon the eastern road,The star-led wizards haste with odours sweet.”
According to old legends, which are always fond of embellishment, this star was an eagle flying and beating the air with his wings, and had within it the form and likeness of a young child, and above him the sign of a cross. D’Israeli mentions some rays of this star, in a collection of relics.
There are numerous histories of the magi or kings themselves, all agreeing as to their number having been three, but some of them differing entirely in name. We may, however, consider Melchior, Jasper, and Balthasar, to be the genuine ones, and certainly more euphonious than Galagalath, Magalath, and Tharath; but even the legends that agree in the names, differ in the description of their persons, or in the appropriation of the presents given by them; but as Bede, in the seventh century, was the first writer in this country who has given a description of them, which he, no doubt, took from some earlier account, we may adopt, in the main, his history. According to this, Melchior was old, with gray hair and long beard, and offered gold to our Saviour in acknowledgment of his sovereignty; Jasper was young, without any beard, and offered frankincense in recognition of the divinity; and Balthasar was of a dark complexion, as a Moor, with a large spreading beard, and offered myrrh to our Saviour’s humanity; or as one of my family, Sandys the traveller, translates the description from ‘Festa Anglo-Romana,’—
“Three kings the King of kings three gifts did bring,Myrrh, incense, gold, as to man, God, a king.Three holy gifts be likewise given by theeTo Christ, even such as acceptable beFor myrrha tears; for frankincense impartSubmissive prayers; for pure gold a pure heart.”
Many of the ancient ecclesiastical writers endeavoured to find out mystical meanings in every sacred subject, in which, however, they have followers in the present day; so that the variety in appearance of the Three Kings may be supposed to have some reference to the three races of man, where, accordingto the Armenian tradition, Shem had the region of the tawny, Japhet that of the ruddy, and Ham that of the blacks.
The early heralds, who considered that none could be ennobled, or good, or great, without the aid of their science, little anticipating that, in after times, any one might have “arms found” for him, with crest and motto, according to order and price, and having some vague notions of the early origin of the same, emblazoned coats of arms for all the great characters in the Bible, commencing with Adam—giving one even to our Saviour. It may, therefore, be readily supposed that the Three Kings had theirs. Their journey lasted twelve days, during which they required no refreshment, it seeming to them as one day. After they had presented their gifts, the Virgin Mary gave them in return one of our Saviour’s swaddling clothes, which they took as a most noble gift. In after days they were baptised by St. Thomas, and some time subsequent to their deaths, their bodies were taken by the Empress Helena, in the fourth century, to Constantinople; from thence they were moved to Milan; and when this city was taken by the Emperor Frederick, in 1164, he gave these relics to Reinaldus, Archbishop of Cologne, whence they are commonly called the Three Kings of Cologne. There is some story of Louis the Eleventh having moved some of the bones from Cologne, as they were considered to be of sovereign virtue in royal ailments. Their names even were thought of great efficacy in falling-sickness and madness, if written on parchment, and hung about the patient’s neck, with the sign of the cross; and, as it is to be presumed in all these cases, with a good deal of faith. Another charm is rather more extensive in its benefits:—
“Sancti Tres RegesGaspar, Melchior, Belthazar,Orate pro nobis, nunc et en horaMortis nostræ.
“Ces billets ont touché aux trois têtes de S.S. Rois à Cologne.Ils sont pour des voyageurs, contre les malheurs de chemins, maux de tête, mal caduque, fièvres, sorcellerie, toute sorte de malefice, et mort subite.“
“Ces billets ont touché aux trois têtes de S.S. Rois à Cologne.
Ils sont pour des voyageurs, contre les malheurs de chemins, maux de tête, mal caduque, fièvres, sorcellerie, toute sorte de malefice, et mort subite.“
It was found in the purse of Jackson, a celebrated smuggler, convicted of murder, in 1749, but did not prove efficacious with him, as he died, struck with horror, just after being measured for his irons. Another charm is to write their names in virgin wax, with a cross against each, and place it under the head of one who has had any thing stolen from him, and he will dream of what has become of the stolen article. If he does not remember his dream, it must be his own fault, of course. The names of the Three Kings, together with those of the four shepherds, who went to our Lord in Bethlehem—Misael, Achael, Cyrianus, and Stephanus—(in the Chester mysteries they have the more humble names of Harvey, Tudd, and Hancken), form a charm against the bite of serpents, and other venomous reptiles and beasts. One John Aprilius, when he was hung, having implored their assistance, was more successful than Jackson; for, after having been suspended for three days, he was found to be alive, and being taken down, he went to Cologne, half naked, with the halter about his neck, to return thanks, and, probably, to request that next time he might be taken down a little sooner. One Roprecht, a robber, was hung for certain crimes against society, but his body disappeared from the gibbet, whether by the intervention of the Three Kings or not, was unknown.In a short time, however, it was found hanging again, with the addition of a pair of boots and spurs. As he was now really dead, and could tell no tales, this freak of his absconding for a short time, for the purpose, apparently, of being hung over again in boots and spurs, could not be explained by the people; but the fact was, that some passer-by had, in the first instance, found him still living, and compassionately maintained him for some time; but, like the warmed viper, he returned to his old knavish practices, and stole his benefactor’s horse, when, being pursued and taken, he was, after some trouble, replaced in his old noose, and left to his fate.
According to Picart, the Feast of the Epiphany was established in the fourth century, though Brady says it was first made a separate feast in 813. It became, however, one of the most popular of the Christmas festivals, and some of the most splendid entertainments were given on this day; and in our times it is probably the most popular day throughout the Christmas, thanks to the Twelfth Cake, and drawing for characters, with other amusements. It was a very early custom to choose a Twelfth day king, or king of the bean, as he was formerly called; and this was originally a case of election, although afterwards, as at present, taken by lot; but, at the same time, the practice of election was also continued, even to recent times; the French court choosing one of the courtiers for king, who was then waited on by the other nobles, as late as the time of the revolution, when, amongst other vagaries, the ruling citizens, for the time being, changed “La fête de Rois,” to “La fête de Sans-culottes.” The students and citizens in the various cities and universities in Germany, also, used to choose one of their companions for king; and this practice would appear preferable to our practice ofdrawing for characters, and would probably ensure the election of the person best calculated to promote the wit and enjoyment of the evening, instead of taking the chance of the least adapted, or who may be called the “slowest” of the party drawing the lucky card. Even now, however, occasionally an election is made, and the fortunate elect then chooses his court for the evening.
In the last century, the Twelfth Night cards represented ministers, maids of honour, and other attendants of a court, and the characters were to be supported throughout the night. At present they are in general grotesque, and seldom possess much wit or humour. Many early notices may be met with of the antiquity of the custom. In “Les Crieries de Paris,” of the thirteenth century, the “Gastel à fève orroiz” is mentioned, which is described as a cake, with a bean for the “Fête de Rois,” and we shall find a present given to the court minstrels on the Epiphany, in the name of the king of the bean, in the time of Edward the Third. Down to the time of the civil wars, the feast was observed with great splendour, not only at court, but at the Inns of Court, and the universities (where it was an old custom to choose the king by the bean in a cake), and in private mansions and houses.
The lord mayor and aldermen, and the crafts of London also, used to go to St. Paul’s on Twelfth Day, to hear a sermon, which is mentioned as an old custom, in the early part of Elizabeth’s reign.
The usual course, of choosing by the bean, was to insert it in the cake, though sometimes a piece of money was put in instead. The cake was then cut up, and the person to whom the piece with the bean fell was the king for the evening. Sometimes pieces were allotted to our Saviour, and the VirginMary, and the Three Kings, which were given to the poor; and if the bean should be in either of these portions, the king was chosen by pulling straws. Baby-cake, in the mask of ‘Christmas,’ was attended by an usher, bearing a great cake, with a bean and pea. The king elect chose his queen, or occasionally a pea was inserted in the cake for the purpose, and they chose their officers; and in France, when either of them drank, the company were to cry out, on pain of forfeit, “Le Roi (ou la Reine) boit.”
Louis the Fourteenth, on one occasion, in his youth, was king of the bean, but would not undertake the office, handing it over to his governor, De Souvre.
Herrick, in the seventeenth century, refers to the practice of choosing by the bean and pea:—
“Now, now the mirth comes,With the cake full of plums,Where beane’s the king of the sport here;Beside we must know,The pea alsoMust revell as queene in the court here.Begin then to chuse,This night as ye use,Who shall for the present delight here;Be a king by the lot,And who shall notBe Twelfth-Day queene for the night heere.“
The French twelfth-cake is still plain in appearance, containing a bean: it was composed, about 250 years since, of flour, honey, ginger and pepper; what it is made of now, Monsieur Verey can no doubt tell, if he will; they are howeverfar exceeded in appearance by the rich frosted, almond-pasted, festooned, bedizened, and carefully-ornamented cakes of the English pattern, gladdening the eyes of joyful holiday young people, and through them the hearts of their parents. The eager grouping of passers-by, to see the shop-windows crowded with these elegant productions of confectionary science, causes stoppages in our highways and thoroughfares, with reiterated “Move-ons” from our policemen. About twenty-five years ago there was one exhibited, said to weigh one ton, but it might have weighed any given number, being simply several large wedges of cake, all plastered together, at the top and sides, with one uniform coat of sugar-frost. Speaking from memory, and with a taste somewhat blunted to these enjoyments, the flavour was somewhat below the average, and curiosity was rewarded by ascertaining—to use a bad pun, which it is hoped may be excused—that it really was [Greek: mega hkakon] (mega cakon).
The adoration of the Magi was a favourite subject in the early mysteries. The celebrated Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre, wrote one on it as well as on the Nativity, the Massacre of the Innocents, and the Flight into Egypt, which were all published in 1547, in the collection of her works, called ‘Marguerites de la Marguerite des princesses, très-illustre Reyne de Navarre.’
There are said indeed to have been representations in the French churches of the Three Magi as early as the fifth century; and there are French mysteries relating to them in the eleventh century, and also a Latin one mentioned by Lebeuf, wherein Virgil accompanies the kings on their journey; and at the end of the Adoration joins them very piously in the benedicamus.
The first feast of the Three Kings was celebrated at Milan in 1336, by the friar preachers, and was called the Feast of the Star. A golden star was exhibited, as if in the sky, preceding them; the Three Kings appeared on horseback, crowned and richly clad, with a large retinue, and bearing golden cups filled with myrrh, frankincense, and gold. They asked Herod where Christ should be born, and having been answered in Bethlehem, proceeded to the church of St. Eustorgius, preceded by trumpets, horns, apes, baboons, &c. In the church, on one side of the altar, was the representation of a manger, with an ox and an ass; and the infant Saviour in the arms of his mother, to whom the kings then made their offerings. It forms a favourite subject in our early English Mysteries, which were suppressed early in the time of James the First; but it was introduced as a puppet-show at Bartholomew fair as late as the time of Queen Anne. In ‘Dives and Pauper,’ 1496, it is stated, “For to represente in playnge at Crystmasse Herodes and the Thre Kynges and other processes of the gospelles both than and at Ester, and other times also, it is lefull and com̄endable.”
Several provincial French collections of Carols, published within these few years, contain a Mystery or Scripture play of the Adoration. The Feast of the Star, just mentioned, was retained to some extent in Germany up to the end of the last century; and Hoffman, in his ‘Horæ Belgicæ,’ contains the Star-song used on the occasion, as old perhaps as the fifteenth century, of which a nearly literal translation is given hereafter. The history of these kings was a favourite subject for tapestry and illuminations for books, of which numerous examples might be given; also for paintings on church and monastic walls, as Barclay, in his Egloges, says,
“. . the Thre Kinges, with all their company,Their crownes glistning bright and oriently,With their presentes and giftes misticall.All this behelde I in picture on the wall.”
The offerings by our sovereigns of gold, frankincense, and myrrh, continued down to the present time, is referred to elsewhere in this work. Melchior was said to have presented a golden apple, formerly belonging to Alexander the Great,—made from the tribute of the world—and thirty pieces of gold.
The history of these pieces of gold is curious, showing how ingeniously these legends were dovetailed together. They were first coined by Terah, the father of Abraham, and taken by the latter, when he left the land of the Chaldees. They were by him paid away to Ephron as part of the purchase money for the field and cave of Machpelah. The Ismaelites then, according to one account, paid them back as the price of Joseph to his brethren; and as, according to our version of the Scriptures, the price of Joseph was but twenty pieces, we may imagine the remainder were given for some other purpose; though Adam Davie, who wrote in 1312, referring to this event, says—“Ffor thritti pens thei sold that childe.” The money was afterwards paid to Joseph by his brethren during the time of scarcity; and on the death of Jacob, his son paid them to the royal treasury of Sheba for spices to embalm him. The celebrated Queen of Sheba, on her visit to Solomon, presented them to him with many other gifts. In the time of his son Rehoboam, when the King of Egypt spoiled the temple, the King of Arabia, who accompanied him, received these pieces of money in his share of the plunder, and in his kingdom they remained until the time ofMelchior, who presented them to our Saviour. On the flight into Egypt, the holy family were closely pursued by Herod’s soldiers, and coming to a field where a man was sowing asked the way: when they had passed on, the corn miraculously sprang up; just afterwards Herod’s soldiers arrived and inquired of the sower if he had seen our Saviour and his parents, but he told them that no one had passed since his corn was sown, on which the soldiers turned back and gave up the pursuit.
This legend is mentioned in the carol of the Carnal and the Crane. In the hurry of the flight the Virgin Mary dropped these pieces of money and the other gifts. They were found by a shepherd, who kept them by him, and in after years, being afflicted by some disease incurable by mortal aid, applied to our Saviour, who healed him, and he then offered these gifts at the high altar. They were subsequently paid to Judas by the priests as the reward of his perfidy. There are two reasons given for his requiring thirty pieces of money: one that he considered he had lost thirty pieces by the box of precious ointment not having been sold for 300 pence, of which he would have purloined the tenth part; and the other, that having been sent by our Saviour, on Holy Thursday, with this amount of money, to provide for the last supper, he fell asleep in the way and was robbed. In the midst of his distress the richJew, Pilate, met him, and he then agreed to betray his master for the amount he had lost.
In one of our ancient chronicles there is a legend of the life of Judas, before he became an apostle, very similar, in many respects, to the well-known history of Œdipus, which need not be repeated here. When, smitten by remorse, he returned the money to the priests, and destroyed himself:they applied half in purchase of the potter’s field, and with the other half bribed the soldiers who guarded the sepulchre to say that the disciples came by night and stole the body of our Saviour. After this, having performed their mission, they were dispersed, and all traces of them lost. They were made of the purest gold, the term pieces of silver used in some parts of our translation with reference to them, being, according to the history, merely a common or generic name for money, likeargentin French; on one side was a king’s head crowned, and on the other some unintelligible Chaldaic characters, and they were said to have been worth three florins each.
There are many old manuscript histories of these kings in existence, at the Museum and elsewhere, one of which resolves the whole story into alchemy; and early printed histories, as by Güldenschaiff, in 1477, and Wynkyn de Worde, in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Some account of particularly splendid feasts on Twelfth Day have been mentioned in the foregoing pages.
Their names were occasionally used as a term of adjuration, which, in former times, whatever may be case now, was a mark of respect. Diccon, in that quaint production ‘Gammer Gurton’s Needle,’ of which the plot and catastrophe would rather astonish a modern audience, says to Dame Chat,—
“There I will have you swear by oure dere lady of Bullaine,Saint Dunstone and Saint Donnyke, with the Three Kings of Kullain,That ye shall keep it secret.”
I will now conclude this chapter with the ‘Star Song,’ before referred to—
“We come walking with our stavesWreathed with laurel,We seek the Lord Jesus, and would wishTo put laurel on his knees;Are the children of Charles the King,Pater bonne Franselyn, Jeremie.
We did come before Herod’s door, &c.Herod, the king, came himself before, &c.Herod then spake with a false man’s heart, &c.Why is the youngest of three so swart? &c.Altho’ he is swart, he is well be known, &c.In orient land he has a throne, &c.We all came over the lofty hill, &c.And there saw we the Star stand still, &c.Oh, Star! you must not stand still so, &c.But must with us to Bethlehem go, &c.To Bethlehem, the lovely town, &c.Where Mary and her child sit down, &c.How small the child, and how great the good, &c.A blessed New Year that gives us God, &c.
Mary on high throne with baby Jesus and kings bowing before them
people in line taking money from man in chair by fire
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THE term carol, appears originally to have signified a song, joined with a dance, a union frequently found in early religious ceremonies; and it is used in this sense by Chaucer, Boccacio, Spenser, and others. By some it has been derived fromcantare, to sing, androla, an interjection of joy. It was, however, applied to joyous singing, and thus to festive songs; and as these became more frequent at Christmas, it has for a long time past, though not exclusively yet more particularly, designated those sung at this feast. But strictly, it should be applied only to those of a cheerful character, and not to the Christmas hymn, which is of a moresolemn cast; many of them, indeed, being more suitable for Passion Week than for Christmas; and a large and appropriate collection might be readily selected for that season, and an interesting work made to illustrate them. In practice, however, the word carol is applied indiscriminately to both classes, whether cheerful or solemn.
In the earlier times, music, both instrumental and vocal, was introduced into religious ceremonies, and was a necessary accompaniment to all the sacred feasts and games. Jubal’s harp or organ, whatever that instrument may have been, was doubtless, like the harp of David, used on such occasions, and the science of music was a necessary part of the education of many of the priesthood. In the records and sculptures of the Hebrews, Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, and other great nations of antiquity, and in the recent discoveries at ancient Nineveh, we find descriptions and representations connected with it.
The Hebrews, as we know, had numerous psalms and hymns, one of the earliest on record being that of Miriam and her companions, on the overthrow of the Egyptians, when they celebrated the downfall of the horse and his rider, with timbrels and with dances. The Druids had recourse to music, and the Anglo-Saxons and Gothic nations made great use of hymns in their public worship. Some early specimens of the primitive music have been handed down to us, but do not impress us with much respect for the powers of harmony of our forefathers, and their neumes, and other obscure and imperfect methods of notation, must have cramped them. Certain of the old chants have a pleasing solemnity, and it has of late been much the custom to revive or to imitate them, commencing even with the old Ambrosian chant; though, as our ancestors considered the introduction of the Gregorianchant to have been a great improvement on it, we may very safely be of the same opinion, as this is really fine, and we need not here trouble ourselves with the Lydian, Phrygian, or Dorian modes. With respect to the merits of ancient music, our taste and skill have been so gradually improving, that we can scarcely be judges of what—though flat, insipid, and meaningless to us—might have given much gratification to the less educated ears of former times. Even within the last few years, a great advance has been made in our own musical knowledge: pieces and composers, popular in the early part of this century, are now scarcely known; and recollected, perhaps (if at all), with amazement at their having ever been listened to; while works of the great masters, then thought impracticable, and containing difficulties not understood, or considered insuperable, are played and appreciated in most good musical meetings. More might be said on this subject, but want of space, and not of materials, compels a postponement, till some future opportunity. It may be mentioned, that much curious information, respecting our ancient national airs, with the tunes themselves, will be found in the very interesting work on the subject, by my friend, Mr. William Chappell, who, it is to be hoped, will, at no distant time, increase our obligation to him, by further publication from the large store in his possession, still unedited. Many of these airs are very pleasing, yet simple in construction, and still remain popular after the lapse of centuries; they are, however, much more recent than the ancient music before referred to.
The Romans had their hymns on the calends of January, and the practice was adopted by the early Christians, especially on their Sabbath-days and festivals, and on the vigils of theirsaints. St. Paul and St. James both refer to this custom, and Pliny the younger, in a letter to Trajan, mentioning the Christians, says, “They were wont to meet together on a certain day, before it was light, and sing among themselves, alternately, a hymn to Christ, as to God.” Bishop Taylor observes, that the well-known “Gloria in Excelsis,” sung by the angels to the shepherds, on the night of the Nativity, is the earliest Christmas carol. We have many carols now existing, that are founded on the appearance of the angels to the shepherds; and the subject is represented in several of the ancient mysteries, and occasionally in a very familiar and homely manner.
In the Chester mysteries, for instance, the three shepherds, with their man Trowle, who is the buffoon of the piece (though the greater part of the play of the shepherds is of a humorous nature, comprising the homely dialogue of rustic labourers), having eaten their supper of sheep’s head, soused in ale, with onions, garlic, and leeks, and other viands of like quality, and plenty of ale, are having a bout at wrestling, where Trowle throws his masters. In the midst of their sport the star appears, and afterwards the angels’ song is heard. They then proceed reverently, though “rude in speech,” to Bethlehem, and make their offerings; the first shepherd, addressing our Saviour,—
“Heale, Kinge of heaven, so hie,Borne in a crebe,Mankinde unto TheeThou haste made fullye.Heale, kinge! borne in a mayden’s bower,Profittes did tell thou shouldest be our succore,Thus clarkes doth saye.Lor, I bringe thee a bell;I praie Thee save me from hell,So that I may with Thee dwell,And serve thee for aye.”
The second Shepherd presents a flagon with a spoon, and the third a cap, but finishes his speech with some degree of pathos.
“This gueifte, Sonne, I bringe Thee is but small,And though I come the hyndmoste of all,When Thou shall them to Thy blesse call,Good Lorde, yet thinke on me.”
Well may we say, seeing how small our gifts are, “Good Lord, yet think on me.”
In the second century, Telesphorus refers to the Christians celebrating public worship, on the night of the Nativity, and then solemnly singing the angels’ hymn, because in the same night, Christ was declared to the Shepherds by an angel; and in the early times of Christianity the bishops were accustomed to sing hymns on Christmas Day among their clergy. Aurelius Prudentius, towards the end of the fourth century, wrote a divine hymn or carol in Latin, which is still extant; but, besides that it consists of twenty-nine stanzas, it is not of sufficient general interest to be printed here.
The Bretons were very similar in manners and language to the inhabitants of Britain, many of them having had the same origin, and being, in fact, a colony from our island. The Cornouaille of Bretagne, however, must not be confounded with our province of that name by the well-wishers of the latter, because the romance writers do not speak in such terms of some of their knights as their friends might have desired.
There is a Breton song, said to be as old as the fifth century, arranged as a dialogue between a Druid and a scholar, which is similar in idea and construction to the carol beginning, “In those twelve days,” and to that called ‘Man’s Duty,’ though the twelve subjects given are quite different from those in the carols, and refer to some druidical superstitions. It is called ‘Ar Rannou,’ or ‘Les Series,’ and is in the “dialecte de Cornouaille.” The early missionaries engrafted on this a poem or song of the same construction, where the twelve subjects were connected with the Christian religion, and agree much with those in the carols, which there is fair reason to suppose may have been taken from this early poem. These subjects are,—one God; two Testaments; three Patriarchs; four Evangelists; five books of Moses; six water-vessels at Cana of Galilee; seven Sacraments; eight Beatitudes; nine degrees of Angels; ten Commandments; eleven stars that appeared to Joseph; twelve Apostles. The hymn itself is in Latin, and at the end of each verse all the previous subjects are repeated in the style of the ‘House that Jack built,’ an example to which I refer simply from its being so well known, the style itself being of great antiquity, and taken originally from an old Hebrew hymn, of which some particulars, with a translation, may be found in Halliwell’s ‘Nursery Rhymes of England;’ but the butcher, the ox, the dog, and the cat, with the other characters mentioned there, have all a mystical meaning. The last verse of the old Latin hymn may be given as a specimen:—
“....Die mihi quid duodecim?....Duodecim Apostoli;Undeim stellæA Josepho visæ:Decem mandate Dei,Novem angelorum chori,Octo beatitudines;Septem sacramenta;Sex hydriæ positæIn Cana Galileæ;Quinque libri Moysis,Quatuor Evangelistæ,Tres Patriarchæ,Duo testamenta;Unus est Deus,Qui regnat in Cœlis.”
In the fourth century, St. Ambrose introduced the chant known by his name, at Milan, of which he was the bishop, and some reformation took place in church music; and when the Gregorian chant was composed, about two centuries later, a still greater advance was made. The Anglo-Saxons, after their conversion, preserved their fondness for religious music, it being a common practice in their guilds that each member should sing two psalms daily, one for the dead, and the other for the living members. Particular hymns were appropriated to particular feasts; the Nativity, therefore, especially had its own. When the Anglo-Normans obtained the government, they equally encouraged music, and introduced greater pomp into their ceremonies.
In the twelfth century, or sooner, the monks composed legends in verse, of the lives of the saints, &c., for the proper holidays; and religious pieces suited to the time, with appropriate hymns, were recited at Christmas; some Latin hymns of this description of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, being still extant.
King John, in 1201, gave 25s.to the clerks who chanted “Christus vincit” before him on Christmas Day; and these spiritual songs were gradually introduced into the palace, and private houses, together with others for the same purpose, of a lighter description, which were found acceptable, and thus the carol had its origin.
The theatrical exhibitions at this season, of which the subjects were originally taken from the Holy Scriptures, as they gradually ripened into maturity, also occasionally had songs incidental to them. The angels’ song to the Shepherds, in the Towneley mysteries, may be taken as a carol.
“Herkyn, hyrdes, awake, gyf lovyng ye shalle,He is borne for youre sake, Lorde perpetualle;He is comen to take and rawnson you alle,Youre sorowe to slake, Kyng imperialle,He behestys;That chyld is borneAt Bethlehem this morne,Ye shalle fynde Hym beforneBetwix two bestys.“
In the Coventry pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors, towards the beginning of the fifteenth century, there are three songs which are in the nature of carols. One, by the women, is a lullaby song, on our infant Saviour, beginning, “Lully lulla, thou littell tine’ child,” and referring to Herod’s wrath. One by the Shepherds is short, and may serve as an example.
“As I out rode this endenes (last) night,Of thre ioli sheppardes I saw a sight,And all a bowte there fold a star shone bright,They sange terli terlow,So mereli the sheppards ther pipes can blow.”
In the same pageant one of the prophets says—
“Novellis, novellis of wondrfull mrvellys,Were ’hy and defuce vnto the heryng,Asse scripture tellis these strange novellis to you I bryng.”
One of the earliest known carols, however, in our island, is the Anglo-Norman one, of the thirteenth century, first printed in Douce’s ‘Illustrations of Shakespeare,’ with a free translation, which is not only of a cheerful, but of a festive nature, giving the
“....host’s command,And Christmas joins him hand in hand,To drain the brimming bowl.”
It is in effect a Christmas drinking song.
Edward the Fourth had regulations for the singing of songs before him at Christmas, by the clerks and children of his chapel, and the custom of singing songs had now become general. In some of the early ones, scraps of Latin were introduced, probably from the Christmas hymns, which they were intended in a great measure to supersede; as, for example, from additional MS., 5665, British Museum, about the time of Henry the Eighth, which contains several others.
“Now make us ioye in this feste,In quo xpûs natus est,A patre unigenitus,iij zong maydens cam till us,Syng we to hym and say well come,Veni Redemptor gentium.Agnoscat omne seculum,A bryzth sterre iij kyngs made come,A solis ortus cardine,So myzthi a lord ys non as he,Veni Redemptur omniu gentium.“
Others, again, were in a simple, familiar style, adapted tothe hearths of our unsophisticated ancestors; a style, by the by, we may soon expect to see again, if the taste for mediævalism and præ-Raphaelism extends much more, and we shall have a modern ode to parliament, beginning—
“Sit you merry gentlemen,Let nothing you dismay.”
In the fifteenth century, the Low Countries had their carols, similar to the English; in some cases, even the subjects being the same, and equally adapted to the simplicity of their hearers. Several examples of these are given by Hoffman, in the second part of his Horæe Belgicæe; and I must here express my thanks to Mr. Thoms, who will,no doubt, convey them safely to the editor of that very useful publication, ‘Notes and Queries,’ for the kind loan of this book.
There is a story on record, of a terrible plague at Goldsberg, in 1553, which carried off above 2500 persons, leaving not more than twenty-five housekeepers alive in the place. The plague having abated, one of the few survivors went, on Christmas Eve, to the lower ring, and sang a carol, according to old custom; he was gradually joined by others, to excite each other to thanksgiving; and thence arose a custom for the people to assemble in large numbers, at the upper and lower ring, on Christmas morning, to sing carols, beginning with, “Unto us this day a child is born.”
In the time of Henry the Seventh, after the introduction of the wassail, a good song, that is, no doubt, a carol, was to be given in answer to the steward’s cry of wassail, by those belonging to the chapel; and when the king held his state on other occasions, at Christmas, the carol was introduced. The reward given to the children of the chapel, for singing “Gloria in excelsis,” appears to have been usually 40s.; and, in theseventh year of his reign, there is a payment of £1 to Newark, for making of a song, probably a carol. In the ‘Northumberland Household Book,’ the reward to the singers varies from 6s.8d.to 20s.On Christmas Day, 1521, the Princess Mary gave 10s.to John Sentone, and other clerks, of the college of Windsor, singing before her. William Cornyshe, a musician of those days, was paid 13s.4d.for setting a carol; but scanty reward, even if he was only arranging any well-known tune; but the price of a collection was low in proportion, for at St. Mary-at-Hill, in 1537, Sir Mark had only 3s.4d.for ‘Carolls for Christmas,’ being five square books. One would gladly multiply this small fee by a good round figure, to get hold of these five square books now.
Few of the oldest song tunes had much melody, and there are probably none extant beyond the fifteenth century; but here I must again refer to Mr. Chappell’s valuable collection of English airs.
Church music was cultivated in the sixteenth century, by clergy and laity, and secular music was also in request. The pious puritans, both in England and Scotland, used to unite their rhapsodies to popular song tunes (as has been done in modern times), frequently preserving a few lines at the commencement. Luther himself composed some appropriate hymns of thanksgiving for Christmas.
There are some collections of old carols and songs, with the music, of the early part of the sixteenth century, or somewhat earlier, in the British Museum, but not of a popular description, or of interest, except to the musical antiquary; and some of the old psalm tunes, as the Bristol, Salisbury, and Kenchester, have a similarity to the graver style of old carol tunes. Tusser, who prescribes jolly carols for Christmas,mentions one to be sung to the tune of King Solomon. Several of the existing carol tunes are very pleasing, and are of considerable antiquity; one or two of them, according to repute, having been known in Cornwall for three hundred years and upwards; and some of the northern tunes are, probably, equally old, though the age may be a little overstated. The natives of Cornwall have been famous for their carols from an early date. Scawen says, they had them at several times, especially at Christmas, which they solemnly sang, and sometimes used in their churches after prayers, the burthen of them being “Nowell, nowell, good news, good news, of the gospel.”
Henry the Eighth, and his children, being skilled in music, and keeping also the Christmas feast with great magnificence, carol singing flourished; and Latin hymns being abolished at the time of the Reformation, the carols became still more in vogue, and were sung throughout the kingdom. At the grand Christmasses, at the Inns of Court, the master of the revels was, after dinner and supper, to sing a carol or song, and command other gentlemen to sing with him; but it is to be assumed that he selected such “other gentlemen” as could respond properly to his call. The Roman Catholics observed the custom equally with the Reformed church.
“And carols sing in prayse of Christ, and for to help them heare,The organs answere every verse with sweete and solemne cheare.”
The carols at this time seem to have been of two descriptions: one of a serious sort, sung commonly in churches, and through the streets, and from house to house, as they were in Shakespeare’s time, ushering in the Christmas morning; and the other of a more convivial nature, and adaptedto feasting. The festive carols were sung by the company, or by itinerant minstrels, that went round for the purpose, to the houses of the wealthy: some of them were called wassail songs. Those of the religious or grave style were getting out of use in private houses, until the time of the puritans, who, when they began to strive for the mastery, tried to bring them back, in substitution of the lighter ones, and subsequently endeavoured to abolish the latter altogether. As early as 1596, one of them says, that superstition and idolatry were entertained, which appeared in keeping of festival days, bonfires, pilgrimages, singing of carols at Yule.
The carol, beginning,
“All you that are to mirth inclined,”
was written by the well-known Thomas Deloney, at the end of the sixteenth century. In the former part of the seventeenth century, carols continued in great repute, and were introduced at all the feasts, even those of the higher ranks; and Bishop Andrews, in a sermon on the Nativity, in 1619, celebrates it as glorious in all places, as well at home with carols, as in the church with anthems.
At the celebrated feast of the ‘Christmas Prince,’ at St. John’s College, Oxford, in 1607, the boar’s head was ushered in with a peculiar carol, of which there were several connected with this important dish, and all the company joined in it by way of chorus. There is an amusing anecdote of carol singers of this date, in ‘Pasquil’s Jests,’ 1609, which may as well be given in the words of the original.
“A Tale of a Merry Christmas Carroll, sung by women.
“There was sometime an old knight, who being disposed to make himselfe merry in a Christmas time, sent for many ofhis tenants, and poore neighbors, with their wives, to dinner; when, having made meat to be set on the table, would suffer no man to drinke, till he that was master ouer his wife should sing a carroll, to excuse all the company. Great nicenesse there was, who should bee the musician, now the cuckow time was so farre off. Yet, with much adoe, looking one upon another, after a dry hemme or two, a dreaming companion drew out as much as hee durst, towards an ill-fashioned ditty. When, having made an end, to the great comfort of the beholders, at last it came to the woman’s table, where, likewise, commandment was given, that there should no drinke be touched till she that was master ouer her husband had sung a Christmas carroll; whereupon they fell all to such a singing, that there was never heard such a catterwalling peece of musicke; whereat the knight laughed heartely, that it did him halfe as muche good as a corner of his Christmas pie.”
This jolly old knight might have been a descendant of the squire of Gamwell Hall, in the time of Robin Hood (who Mr. Hunter has lately brought down a little from his supposed aristocratic birth, and cleared from the mist of poetic legend)—for he is made to say,
“....Not a man here shall taste myMarchbeer,Till a Christmas carol he does sing;Then all clapt their hands, and they shouted and sung,Till the hall and the parlour did ring.”
Sir Thomas Overbury, who died in 1613, in his description of a Franklin, says, he kept the “wakefull ketches” on Christmas Eve, with other observances, yet held them no relics of popery; other writers of the same age also refer to them. As the rule of the puritans advanced, and the time of theCommonwealth approached, endeavours were made, as stated in a former page, to suppress all observances of Christmas; and carol singing would naturally share the same fate, and join therefore in the struggle to avoid absolute destruction. In ‘Festorum Metropolis,’ 1652, it is stated, “As for our songs and carrols, brethren, they are collected and composed out of the Scriptures, containe matter of instruction and edification, they implant the history and benefits of Christ’s birth in the minds of poor ignorant people; and oftentimes he is taken by a song that will flye a sermon.” They were still preserved in private, and in remote places, and old Christmas, in his visit to Devonshire, before mentioned, names the carols and pleasant songs as part of the amusements of the evening. Warmstry, also, in his ‘Vindication of Christmas,’ in answer to an objection, whether the feast might not be a remnant of the Saturnalia, and whether the carols might not arise from the hymn to Ceres, during that feast called [Greek: ioulos], says “Christmasse Kariles, if they be such as are fit for the time, and of holy and sober composures, and used with Christian sobriety and piety, they are not unlawfull, and may be profitable, if they be sung with grace in the heart.” An observation that may well be remembered in the present times, in answer to any objectors.
Warton mentions two celebrated itinerant ballad, and therefore doubtless carol, singers, about the middle of this century, called Outroaringe Dick and Wat Wimbars, who occasionally made 20s.a day, by attending fairs and meetings; but they must have been of earlier date, as they are mentioned also in ‘Kind Hart’s Dreame,’ by Henry Chettle, in 1592; their gains, therefore, taking into account the difference of value in money, were large, and such as would temptmany a modern carol-singer, as well as some members of a recently reformed learned profession, anxiously looking for any respectable life-boat to save them from sinking.
After the Restoration, the people gladly returned to their amusements without restraint, and from the reaction, in many instances perhaps, went into the opposite extreme and indulged in too much conviviality. Carol singing was renewed with increased zeal.
“Carols and not minc’d meat make Christmas pies,’Tis mirth, not dishes, sets a table off;Brutes and phanaticks eat and never laugh.”
It so continued down to the present century, when it apparently began to abate; but it will be unnecessary to give any references to prove the continuance of such a custom, when, to a certain extent, it exists at present, though this and other observances are much shorn of their honours. Many of us will recollect when at Christmas time every street of any note had its carol singers, with their bundle of various carols, whereas now scarcely one vagrant minstrel can be found throughout the town, brass bands having blown them out; but there is still some demand for the carols, and specimens of broadside carols may be procured from the printers of this class of literature, in St. Andrew’s Street, Monmouth Court, Long Lane, and elsewhere.
In Birmingham also, and other large manufacturing towns, and other neighbourhoods where the practice of carol singing is retained, popular editions of the style called chap-books, as well as broadsides may be found; several of them of considerable antiquity, handed down for many generations, and frequently illustrated by woodcuts of the most grotesquenature in point of execution and design. Many of us will also recollect when carols were sung in the country, not only in the farm-houses, in mansions, and baronial halls, but likewise in churches—as Heath says, was the custom, in Scilly, in the middle of last century—and this with much propriety and right feeling.
“If unmelodious was the song,It was a hearty note and strong.”
Each succeeding year shows a falling-off in the number of houses where the practice is now admitted; and in many parts the carols are scarcely heard at all, people getting too refined, or—too good(?); the extreme west and north, and some of the manufacturing districts, being the most likely places to hear them, as they were, in former times, among the yeomanry of our land. The custom exists also in Ireland and Wales, there being many carols in the Welch language, some of which are of ancient date, and others recent; one David Jones, of Rhuddlan, having died about twenty years since, who for fifty-three successive years, sang at the church there, a new carol of his own composing every Christmas; a worthy poet laureat of his parish.
The practice of singing carols on the Continent is of ancient date. Crysostom, the unfortunate youth in Don Quixote, “was such a great man at composing couplets, that he made carols for Christmas Eve, and plays for the Lord’s Day, which were represented by the young men in our village; and every body said they were tip-top.”
The Spaniards, before their country got into so much confusion, used, in most respectable families, to set up anacimiento, which was a rude imitation of rocks, with babyhouses, &c., and clay figures, representing the Nativity, the Shepherds, the ox, and ass, kneeling to the Holy Infant, with Joseph and Mary in a ruinous stable. They had numerous collections of carols, and parties used to meet, dancing, reciting speeches, and singing carols to the sound of the zambomba, an instrument formed by stretching a piece of parchment, slightly covered with wax, over the mouth of an earthen jar, with a slender reed fixed in the centre, from which a sound was produced something like the tambourine, when rubbed by the finger. The only refreshments were Christmas cakes, calledoxaldres, and sweet wines, and home-made liquors.
In France, the custom of carol singing was of very early date, and there are many collections of them, including several in thepatois, or provincial dialect. They are called noël, or nouel, and sometimes nuel, derived evidently from the same source, as novell or nowell, used in some of our old carols, and references to Christmas, as in Chaucer, for instance.
“Janus sit by the fuyr with double berd,And drynketh of his bugle horn the wyn;Biforn him stont the braun of toskid swyn,And nowel crieth every lusty man.”
The term is, however, sometimes used in the sense of news or tidings. Some writers have derived it from natalis, as signifying a cry of joy at Christmas, but this seems a doubtful etymology. It may have the same origin as yule, or gule, but it was not absolutely confined to Christmas time, though it was probably borrowed from its use then. It was frequently used as a sort of burden to carols. In a carol, or hymn, by Herrade de Landsberg, Abbess of Hohenbourg, as early as the twelfth century, saluting the holy “crêche,” or manger, she sings,
“Leto leta concioCinoël resonat tripudio,Cinoël hoc in natalitio,Cinoël, cinoël,Noël, noël, noël,Noël, noël, noël, noël, &c.”
In Normandy it is called nuel. In Burgundy the people pronounce noé for noël. A priest at Dijon, wishing to avoid this error, fell into the opposite extreme, and in one of his discourses repeated three or four times, “l’Arche de noël, et le patriarche Noé.” The Poitevins write nau; and in la vielle Bible des noëls, is found “chanter no.” Rabelais talks of “les beaulx et joyeulx noelz, en langaige poitevin,” and quotes the two last lines of the following commencement of one sung in Poitou, within the last twenty years, if not still.
“An sainct nau,Chanteray sans point m’y feindre,Je n’en daignerois rien craindre,Car le jour est ferian,Nau, nau, nau.”
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 joyeDu 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.
About 1540, Clement Marot made his celebrated version of the psalms into French rhyme, which were sung to popular tunes, and adopted by the French court; and some were probably introduced at Christmas, as well as the noëls. About the same time, Calvin introduced the psalms into his congregation at Geneva, and Sternhold and Hopkins brought out their version in England, “with apt notes to sing them withall.”
In the same century was a collection of “Noëls vieux et nouveaux.” Pasquier, in his work on France, published in 1643, says, “En ma ieunesse c’estoit une coustume que l’on ausit tournée en cérémonie, de chanter tous les soirs presque en chaque famille des noüels, qui estoient chansons spirituelles faites en l’honneur de nostre Seignor. Lesquelles on chante encores en plusieurs Eglises pendant que l’on célèbre la grand messe le iour de noüel, lors que le prestre reçoit les offrandes. Or cette allegresse manifesta encores hors les Eglises; parce que le peuple n’auoit moyen plus ouvert pour denoter sa ioye, que de crier en lieu public noüel, quand il vouloit congratuler à un Prince.” In 1610, appeared ‘Melanges de la musique de Eustaché du Caurroy, maistre de la musique de la Chappelle du Roy,’ which contains some noëls, of one of which Burney has given the music; and it is said that the greater part of the noëls sung in France are gavots and other airs, whichDu Caurroy composed for Charles the Ninth. The well-known air, ‘Charmante Gabrielle,’ was also a Christmas hymn. In ‘Recueil de Poètes Gascons, première partie, contenant les œuvres de Pierre Goudelin de Toulouse,’ Amsterdam, 1700, are some carols. There are upwards of twenty different collections in the patois. In 1699, was a collection by Le Sieur Nicolas Saboly. In 1701, one was published at Dijon, in the dialect of the province, which at first gave some offence, from the freedom of the compositions; but the naïveté of the patois, which also prevented their being perfectly understood, saved them. There were subsequent editions of these. In 1720, the fourth edition of ‘Noël Bourgignon de Gui Barôzai,’ was published, containing thirty-four noëls, and two chansons, with the music to each, and an ample glossary; and there was a subsequent edition in 1736. There is also a recent edition by Fertiault, at Paris, in 1842. Many of these are written in a vein of burlesque humour, quite out of character with the subject, and in a very free and irreverent style. In the seventh noël, the salutation of the Virgin by the angel, is quite in the manner of apetit maître.
“Po lai fenétre el antri,Et peù de queique distance,Ai li fi lai reverance,Car el étó bén épri.Dei vo gar, mai chére aimie,Dit-i d’ene douce voi, &c.”
The effect of the salutation reminds one of the old lines,
“Gaude Virgo, Mater Christi,Quæ per aurem concepisti.”
and of a similar conceit in Molière’s ‘Ecole des Maris.’There is some buffoonery introduced into the fourteenth of the Coventry plays, as gross as this, but which was adapted to the rude audiences of its time; and the language of the buffoons of the piece, Primus and Secundus Detractator, forms an exception to its general gravity and seriousness. The fifth noël, amongst other things, introduces the adoration and offering of the Three Kings, in the following manner.
“Ai lai Nativitati,Chanton, je vo suplie,Troi Roi d’autre contai,Moitre au estrôlôgie,De l’anfan nôvea naiSaivein lai prôfecie.Ai lai Nativitai,Chanton, je vo suplie,De l’etoile guidaiTô troi de compagnie,Patire sans menai,Gran seùte, ni meignie.A lai Nativitai,Chanton, je vo suplie,L’un pris soin d’epotai,De lai myére candie,L’autre d’or efeignai,E’ne bonne poignie.Ai lai Nativitai,Chanton, je vo suplie,Le tier pu macherai,Qu’ein Roi d’Etîôpie,Prezanti po son plaiDe l’ançan d’Airaibir.“
The thirteenth is a dialogue between a shepherd and his wife, and begins in the following quaint way.
“Fanne, coraige,Le Diale á mor,Aipre l’oraige,J’on le beá jor.”
The glossary contains, incidentally, some curious particulars. It is stated to be the custom in the provinces, for the master of the family, with his wife and children, to sing noëls; “une très grosse buche,” calledlai suche de noei, was put on the fire, and the younger children were sent into the corner of the room, to pray that thesuchemight produce bon-bons; and on their return, packets of sugar-plums, &c., were found near thesuche, to whom the children implicitly attributed the power of producing them.
There was a collection of Noëls Bourguignons, by De la Monnoye, of which a translation into the common language of the country was published in 1735. De la Monnoye was denounced by the priests at Dijon, for his carols; but the translation, though it might have taken off the sting, probably lessened the humour also.
In 1738 was published, at Troyes, ‘La Grande Bible Renouvelles de Noëls Nouveaux,’ in four parts, containing ninety noëls, many of them of a rude and humble description. In 1750, at Avignon, ‘Nouveaux Cantiques Spirituels Provençaux,’ with the music; it contains some noëls, though not exclusively confined to them. In 1785, at Paris, ‘Noëls Nouveaux sur les Chants des Noëls anciens, notez pour en faciliter le chant,’ par M. l’Abbé Pellegrin. In 1791, at Avignon, Recueil de Noëls Provençaux,’ par le Sieur Peirol,Menuisier d’Avignon, nouvelle édition. This contains forty-two noëls, besides five pieces of a different description. They are mostly of a light and joyous nature, and the subjects are very similar to those in our carols. In 1805, there was a collection of noëls published at St. Malo, and another edition in 1819, containing twenty-one noëls; and at the commencement of the work are three pastorals, or dramatic pieces, in the style of our old mysteries; one on the Birth of our Saviour; another on the Adoration of the Three Kings; and the third on the Massacre of the Innocents, where Herod orders all children under the age ofsevento be killed, which gives his own son, who is one of the sufferers, an opportunity for making a speech; to this is added the regrets of Herod for the massacre, in the form of a dialogue between himself and the Innocents. I have also a collection of “Noëls Vieux et Nouveaux,” of which the title-page and first two or three leaves are torn out. In 1807, there was a collection, at Avignon, of Noëls Provençaux, by Le Sieur Nicolas Saboly, a new edition, containing ninety. The tunes of some of the more favourite noëls may occasionally be found in collections of popular French airs; and among the chap books of the day are small collections of noëls at small prices, and collections of Spanish and German carols may be met with.
There are some curious burdens or refrains to some of the French noëls; one will be seen in the selection given, “Turelurelu, patapatan;” but these words are intended to represent the sounds of the flute and tambour. They often introduce in their old songs “Lurelure,” or something similar; indeed “Leire la, Leire lanleire,” is very ancient, as also is “Dondon,” another refrain. “Mironton,” “Biribi,” and “Turlututu,” are other terms, of which the explanation must be leftto wordy antiquaries. The English refrains, however, seem equally as inexplicable as the French; unless we suppose, with some learned expositor, that the well-known “Down derry down” has reference to the oak, and is derived from the Druid, “Hob y deri danno;” but then how are we to account for “Hey troly loly lo,” and “Dumble dum deary,” &c.? In the Elizabethan age, “Hey, nonny, nonny” was somewhat a favourite, though there were some strange burdens also at this time, that would make us fancy that the celebrated Tarleton and Kemp must occasionally have improvised any clinking nonsense that entered their heads, which was afterwards printed with the songs.