Today, 28th December, in medieval and pre-Reformation England was traditionally celebrated as the Feast Day of the Massacre of the Holy Innocents – the day when Herod the Great, hearing of Jesus’s birth, ordered the execution of all Bethlehem’s young male children.  My post today is Medieval/early modern England words and pictures of that biblical event.

Flight into Egypt and the Slaughter of the Innocents from Prayer
(England, S. E. (St Albans), c.1240) shelfmark Arundel 157 f.5.

Herod, with half-drawn sword, sitting amidst the Massacre of the Innocents
from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia?),
between 1310 and 1320) shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.132.

Four miniatures: 1. the Annunciation to the Shepherds; 2. the Adoration of the Magi;
3. the Massacre of the Innocents; 4. the Presentation in the Temple
from Omne Bonum (Absolucio-Circumcisio)
(England, S. E. (London), c. 1360-c. 1375) shelfmark Royal 6 E VI f.8.

Herod overseeing the massacre of the innocents by knights, with a partial bar border including a dancing, hooded grotesque, at the reading for the feast of Holy Innocents
on 28 December from The Stowe Breviary
(England, E. (Norwich), between 1322 and 1325) shelfmark Stowe 12 f.25v.

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The Coventry Carol
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child,
By, by, lully, lullay.
Lullay, Thou little tiny Child.
By, by, lully, lullay.

O sisters, too, how may we do,
For to preserve this day;
This poor Youngling for whom we sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

Herod the King, in his raging,
Charged he hath this day;
His men of might, in his own sight,
All children young, to slay.

Then woe is me, poor Child, for Thee,
And ever mourn and say;
For Thy parting, nor say nor sing,
By, by, lully, lullay.

Words originally written by Robert Croo in 1534

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All images are from the British Library’s collection of Medieval Manuscripts and are marked as being Public Domain Images and therefore free of all copyright restrictions in accordance with the British Library’s Reuse Guidance Notes for the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.

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Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following posts
– Christmas in a Tudor town
– Medieval Christmas Stories
– Images from the British Library’s online images from the early modern period
– Images from the medieval illuminated manuscripts

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

If you are out and about today, visiting relatives, watching sport, or are crazy enough to be braving the madness and mayhem of the High Street sales, here are some words and images to help calm you down through the pandemonium of a 21st Century Boxing Day.

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath’ring winter fuel

‘Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know’st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?’
‘Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes’ fountain.’

‘Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither.’
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind’s wild lament
And the bitter weather

‘Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer.’
‘Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter’s rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly.’

In his master’s steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing

Words written by John Mason Neale (1816-1866) and published in 1853.
Christmas stamps from 1973 – designed by David Gentleman.

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Stephen preaching before three others from The Queen Mary Psalter
(England (London/Westminster or East Anglia?), between 1310 and 1320)
Shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.233v.

The martyrdom of Stephen from The Queen Mary Psalter
(England (London/Westminster or East Anglia?), between 1310 and 1320)
Shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.234.

Eight saints (martyrs), four in the upper register and four in the lower register,
with or without emblems, including St. Stephen (stones in a napkin)
and St. Clement the pope (an anchor) from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia?), between 1310 and 1320)
shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.306v.

The images of St Stephen are from the British Library’s collection of Medieval Manuscripts and are marked as being Public Domain Images and therefore free of all copyright restrictions in accordance with the British Library’s Reuse Guidance Notes for the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.

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For myself, I will be spending Boxing Day with my family and cats,
snuggled by the roaring log fire.

Happy Boxing Day

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If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following posts
– Christmas in a Tudor town
– Medieval Christmas Stories
– Images from the British Library’s online images from the early modern period
– Images from the medieval illuminated manuscripts

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Happy Christmas 2012 to all my readers.

The Nativity of Christ from Prayers (Netherlands or England, c. 1490-c. 1510)
shelfmark Harley 1892 f.8v.

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If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following posts
– Christmas in a Tudor town
– Medieval Christmas Stories
– Images from the British Library’s online images from the early modern period
– Images from the medieval illuminated manuscripts

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Annunciation to the Shepherds from The De Lisle Psalter (England, c.1310-c1320) shelfmark Arundel 83 f.124.
Annunciation to the Shepherds from Prayers (England, S. E. (St Albans), c1240) shelfmark Arundel 157 f.3v.
Annunciation to the Shepherds from Sir John Mandeville Travels (England, E. (East Anglia) , 2nd quarter of the 15th century ) shelfmark Harley 3954 f.14.
Adoration of the Shepherds from The Lovell Lectionary (England, S. (probably Glastonbury , between c. 1400 and c. 1410 ) shelfmark Harley 7026 f.6.
Annunciation to the Shepherds from Psalter (England, Central (Oxford), 1st quarter of the 13th century, before 1220) shelfmark Royal 1 D X f.1v.
Miniature of the Annunciation to the Shepherds in the upper register and the Adoration of the Magi in the lower register from Psalter and Canticles (England, S. (St Albans), c. 1246-c. 1260) shelfmark Royal 2 B VI f.8v.
Annunciation to the shepherds from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia?) , between 1310 and 1320) shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.112.

All images above are English drawings from the British Library’s collection of Medieval Manuscripts and are marked as being Public Domain Images and therefore free of all copyright restrictions in accordance with the British Library’s Reuse Guidance Notes for the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.

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While shepherds watched their flocks by night,
All seated on the ground,
The angel of the Lord came down,
And glory shone around.

Fear not, said he for mighty dread
Had seized their troubled minds;
Glad tidings of great joy I bring
To you, and all mankind.

To you in David’s town this day
Is born of David’s line,
The Savior who is Christ the Lord;
And this shall be the sign:

The heavenly babe, you there shall find
To human view displayed,
All meanly wrapped in swathing bands,
And in a manger laid.

Thus spake the seraph, and forthwith
Appeared a shining throng
Of angels, praising God, who thus
Addressed their joyful song:

All glory be to God on high,
And to the earth be peace;
Goodwill, henceforth from heaven to men
Begin and never cease.

Words by Nahum Tate (1652-1715)
written c1700

While Shepherds washed their socks by night
Whilst watching ITV
The Angel of the Lord came down,
And switched to BBC.

Alternative words remembered from my childhood – author unknown.  I was delighted to see the BBC2 programme ‘Rev.‘ preforming a rendition of this version in its full glory.

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This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following posts
– Christmas in a Tudor town
– Medieval Christmas Stories
– Images from the British Library’s online images from the early modern period
– Images from the medieval illuminated manuscripts

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Six scenes from the life of Christ from The Howard Psalter and Hours (England, c1310-c1320), shelfmark Arundel 83 f.124.

Miniature of the Magi from Prayer Book (St Albans, England, c1240), shelfmark Arundel 157 f.4.

The Adoration of the Magi from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum (The ‘Neville of Hornby Hours’) (England, (S.E, London?), 2nd quarter of the 14th century, possibly the 4th decade), shelfmark Egerton 2781 f.112.
Adoration of the Magi from Book of Hours (the ‘Harley Hours’), Use of Sarum (England, Last quarter of the 13th century), shelfmark Harley 928 f.5v.

Adoration of the Magi from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum (England, S. E. (London), c. 1440 – c. 1450), shelfmark Harley 2915 f.33.

The Magi from Psalter (England, Central (Oxford), 1st quarter of the 13th century, before 1220) shelfmark Royal 1 D X f.2.

Adoration of the Magi from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia?), between 1310 and 1320) shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.112v.

The three Magi before Herod from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia?), between 1310 and 1320) shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.131.

Adoration of the Magi from Breviary, Use of Sarum with Norwich variants (‘The Stowe Breviary’) (England, E. (Norwich), between 1322 and 1325) shelfmark Stowe 12 f.40.

Adoration of Magi from Book of Hours, Use of Sarum (‘The Taymouth Hours’) (England, S. E.? (London?), 2nd quarter of the 14th century) shelfmark Yates Thompson 13 f.94v.

All images above are English drawings from the British Library’s collection of Medieval Manuscripts and are marked as being Public Domain Images and therefore free of all copyright restrictions in accordance with the British Library’s Reuse Guidance Notes for the Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.

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We three kings of Orient are
Bearing gifts, we traverse afar.
Field and fountain, moor and mountain,
Following yonder star.

O Star of Wonder, Star of Night,
Star with Royal Beauty bright,
Westward leading, Still proceeding,
Guide us to Thy perfect Light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain
Gold I bring to crown Him again
King forever, ceasing never
Over us all to reign

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Frankincense to offer have I
Incense owns a Deity nigh
Prayer and praising, all men raising
Worship Him, God most high

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume
Breathes of life of gathering gloom
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Glorious now behold Him arise
King and God and Sacrifice
Alleluia, Alleluia
Earth to heav’n replies

O Star of wonder, star of night
Star with royal beauty bright
Westward leading, still proceeding
Guide us to Thy perfect light

Words by Reverend John Henry Hopkins (1820-1891),
written c1857 (or c1863)

We three kings of orient are,
One in a taxi one in a car,
One on a scooter beeping his hooter,
Following yonder star.

Alternative words remembered from my childhood
author unknown

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This blog
If you want to read more from my blog, please do subscribe either by using the Subscribe via Email button top right of my blog, or the button at the very bottom.  If you’ve enjoyed reading this post, then please do Like it with the Facebook button and/or leave a comment below.

Thank you for reading this post.

You may also be interested in the following

– Images from the British Library’s online images from the early modern period
– Images from the medieval illuminated manuscripts

© Essex Voices Past 2012-2013.

Tonight (5th December) and tomorrow (6th December) are times of much celebration for the excited children (and parents!) of many countries within continental Europe. For Saint Nicholas is due to make his arrival and give presents to the children of Europe.  Parts of France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Poland all celebrate, in different ways, this saint – known as the protector of children.  However, in England, as a consequence of Henry VIII’s break with Rome and the English Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century, it is no-longer the modern-day English custom to celebrate Saint Nicholas.  But in the pre-Reformation medieval/early Tudor period, the feast of Saint Nicholas was celebrated in many towns and villages of England (including the North Essex town of Great Dunmow) as part of the Catholic festivities of Yuletide and Christmas.

The stories and legends of St Nicholas made their way into the exquisite and breath-taking illuminated manuscripts of the medieval England.  One such legend is the tale of three children who had wandered away from their homes and got lost.  A wicked butcher lured the children, by now cold and hungry, into his shop where he attacked and murdered them, then pickled them in a large tub.  Fortunately Saint Nicholas saved them and brought them back to life – thus forever taking his place in legends as the protector of children.

For your delight, below is a selection of images of Saint Nicholas, the saviour of pickled children and storm-lashed boats, from the British Library’s Illuminated Manuscripts collection.

Consecration of Nicholas as a bishop of Myra from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia), between 1310 and 1320), shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.317, © British Library Board.

Nicholas stilling a storm and saving a boat from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia), between 1310 and 1320), shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.318, © British Library Board.

Nicholas as a bishop addressing three children in a tub from The Queen Mary Psalter (England (London/Westminster or East Anglia), between 1310 and 1320), shelfmark Royal 2 B VII f.317v, © British Library Board.

Bishop saint Nicholas of Bari resurrecting three murdered children from a pickling vat, at the beginning of the reading for 6 December from The Stowe Breviary (Norwich, England, between 1322 and 1325), shelfmark Stowe 12 f.225, © British Library Board.

Of course, over the centuries the tale of Saint Nicholas has morphed from a saintly bishop in clerical vestments, into the Father Christmas/Santa Claus we know today. And, thanks to a well-known gigantic soft-drinks company, is now a little fat fella with white hair and full beard, resplendent in his red clothes trimmed with white fur.
Nicholas of Bari (or Myra) enthroned and dressed as a bishop, holding a crozier and three golden balls, his hand raised in benediction (Italy, N. (?Lombardy), 2nd half of the 15th century), shelfmark Additional 61734, © British Library Board.

Nicholas of Bari (Italy, N. (?Lombardy), 1st decade of the 16th century), shelfmark Additional 39636 f.49, © British Library Board.

Coca-Cola^® Santa December 1940. Artist Haddon Sundblom had first created this very familiar image of Santa in the 1930s.  Above is “Somebody Knew I Was Coming” and the basis for advertising material during Christmas 1940.  Looking at this image and the ones above, it occurred to me that six hundred years after the beautiful illuminated manuscripts of the middle ages, Santa’s right hand is still raised in a form of benediction.

A future post, to be published over this Christmas, will retell the
story of Great Dunmow’s 1530s festivities of Saint Nicholas.

Note on the British Library’s copyright
Nearly a year ago, I first started to use on my blog digital images from the British Library’s catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts.  As all the images were in copyright, I (quite rightly) had to request permission to use these images.  This permission the British Library very willingly and quickly granted me, as my blog is a non-profit hobby blog. However, just recently the British Library has marked all their images from their catalogue of illuminated manuscripts as being Public Domain Images and therefore free of all copyright restrictions.  This is fantastic news for both professional and amateur historians alike.  I have gained much pleasure from sharing my ‘finds’ from their catalogue with you.  The decision to remove their copyright will hopefully encourage more people to use some of the most exquisite images in existence, thereby giving us modern sophisticated(?) digital-age folk a fleeting glimpse into the medieval world.

You may also be interested in the following posts
– Christmas in a Tudor town
– Medieval Christmas Stories