Journal: January 8th. A country walk

I had expected my guests to have departed by now, although they have decided to stay a little longer; of independent means (their income from rents), they might make such decisions without cares. I therefore have little time today to describe our Twelfth Night celebrations. 

Despite this business, we found time to take a walk this morning, strolling through land that skirts the ancient Mundy estate, which lies a short from here.[i] We caught sight of the Hall - a fine brick building of mid eighteenth century date, situated within delightful parkland. I have interest in this edifice, which (as often occurred in the construction of country houses of this time) required the relocation of Markeaton village (formerly close to the previous medieval hall). But the new buildings are not without charm. I hope to ultimately provide tours around the estate.

Markeaton Hall, 1829[ii]

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[i] See Jones' Views of the Seats, Mansions, Castles, Etc. of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England Accompanied with Historical Descriptions of the Mansions, Lists of Pictures, Statues, &c. and Genealogical Sketches of the Families, of Their Possessors Forming Part of the General Series of Jones' Great Britain Illustrated, and Comprised of the following counties, viz. Bed Berks Bucks , Cheshire, Cumberland, Derbyshire, Durham, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincoln, Norfolk, Northamptonshire. London: Jones & Co., 1829.

[ii] Ibid.

Journal of a Lady Antiquary: January 6th (Twelfth Day)

 Twelfth Night cake (from late 18th century book of ballads, The Twelfth Cake. A Juvenile Amusement, Reginald Spofforth) 

With preparations yet to complete for tonight’s Twelfth Night celebrations, journeyed into Derby this afternoon to make some essential purchases; but also with hopes of catching a glimpse of the great Twelfth cakes. The crowds around the pastry cooks were large, and it was with relief that I heard no cries of ‘thief’ among the multitudes; London newspaper reports (published in the local press - until the later 19th century, confined to the Derby Mercury) had made me wary of the pickpockets such gatherings attract.[i] I was also gratified to see that another Twelfth Day custom of the Capital (news of which I encountered in a book of days) seems not to have taken hold in our more practical town: that sport of errant youth, the nailing of the gowns and coat tails of lady and gentlemen onlookers to the shop front, and to one another![ii]

Twelfth Day: clothes nailed to pasty-shop windows. William Hone (1835) The Every Day Book vol. 1 

But, returning to the confectionery! I have heard of colossal cakes of the past – such as the 45-pound cake, with 45 decorations (I suspect that the number 45 is a reference to the 1745 Jacobite uprising), said to be sent to the radical John Wilkes in 1769![iii] I hope that the cake due to be delivered this evening is substantial, but not to this extent!

The competition for the best Twelfth Cake, baked by local pastry-cooks, and viewed by numerous townsfolk, has become popular in Derby, as elsewhere. I took interest in the above newspaper article (Derby Mercury, January 8th 1823) that describes their various and elaborate designs.

The advertisement shown above (on the front page of the Derby Mercury) demonstrates that Twelfth Night was good for the confectionery business! (In this case the cake show, as with other festivities, was held on the 7th, due to the 6th falling on the Sabbath.)

I must now return to preparations, and to welcome my guests (who are due to arrive imminently); I hope to write a favourable report of the party, after they have departed on the 8th!

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[i] Derby Mercury, 4th January 1787.

[ii] William Hone (1835) The Every Day Book vol. 1

[iii] Derby Mercury, 13 January 1769.

Journal of a Lady Antiquary: January 5th

Continuing preparations for the Twelfth Night gathering. Although I look forward with eager anticipation to greeting our guests, I am thankful that they will not arrive until tomorrow!

I had heard that the celebrations of Catholic families take place tonight, and not on the 6th (as is the custom of all whom I know – whether rich, poor, or of moderate income), but saw no signs of such festivities in our town today or this evening. I wonder whether England celebrated on the 5th prior to the Reformation or Commonwealth period?

Journal of a Lady Antiquary: January 1st

With a view to betterment, I have decided to begin the New Year by keeping a journal. It is unlikely that I shall write every day; and what I do write will merely document my activities and thoughts so that I might reflect upon my progress throughout the coming year. Entries will first appear as posts (labelled 'journal'), and will be collated on the Journal page. 

My first entry is as follows:

January 1st (New Year's Day)

Made merry last night in celebrating the turn of the year. Although piqued by antiquarian interest to try the ancient beverage of wassail, I found the aroma unappealing (the spices almost overwhelming), and resisted temptation. By the sore heads of the gentlemen this morning, I feel my lack of adventure vindicated! I shall endeavour to find a less pungent receipt for another occasion, so that I might taste the potion oft claimed as instrumental in bringing about a royal marriage between our Saxon and British forebears (despite my misgivings regarding the veracity of the Hengist and Horsa legend)![i] 

Notes

[i] In Book VI, Chapter 12 of the 12th century Historia regumBritanniae, Geoffrey of Monmouth writes of the marriage in the 5th century between the British king Vortigern, and Rowenna, daughter of Anglo-Saxon invader, king Hengist. Vortigern is said to have fall in love with her after drinking what is popularly supposed to be the beverage now known as ‘wassail’ (whereas in the legend the significance of the term is as a toast, the drink perhaps being another intoxicating beverage). Bearing in mind the late date of this text; its political agenda; use of sources that were themselves potentially inventive; and that the more closely contemporaneous Gildas mentions none of these characters by name in his 6th century De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae, the legend rests on dubious footings. For a balanced discussion of the legend, see (2013) Worlds of Arthur: Facts and Fictions of the Dark Ages (Oxford: OUP), by the eminent specialist on this period, Guy Halsall.

Christmas and the Antiquarians: Customs, Continuity, and Change

 

Nostalgia for Christmas in ‘Merrie England’ (from Robert Seymour’s 1836 Book of Christmas)[i]

As I partly let slip when twittering in the market place the other day, I am planning several Christmastide educational and creative endeavours for next year's celebrations. To this aim, around preparations for the Academy opening I persevere with antiquarian investigations – and what better employment at this time of year! I shall primarily incorporate my discoveries within talks, walks, and workshops; in academic publications and presentations; and I hope in more publically accessible texts, such as the pamphlet Old Christmas on which I now work (as mentioned previously). But for now, perhaps my reader might be interested in occasional tid-bits from my findings, and work-in-progress.

In my current writing I consider the widely held beliefs and assertions surrounding continuity from the Roman and Medieval eras, and explore the influence of early modern and industrial period antiquarians upon our understanding of ‘Old Christmas’ in Britain.[ii] One article pays particular attention to the almost universal assertion within popular works that the origin of the ‘modern’ Christmas lies in the pagan Roman festival of Saturnalia. This primarily agricultural feast (typically involving over indulgence), merriment (usually including pranks and role-reversal), and present giving, was initially observed on December 17^th and 18^th, and later celebrated over five days. The festival is of interest to antiquarians of my time – including the redoubtable Edward Gibbon Esq.[iii] Some consider another Roman cult (with somewhat similar celebrations) as a more likely candidate – that of sol invicta (the ‘unconquered sun’), whose ‘birth’ was marked by the winter solstice, Brumalia, on the 25th December. It is usually claimed that with ‘Christianisation’ of the empire in the 4^th century, the church chose to adopt this date for celebrating the birth of Jesus,[iv] providing direct continuity of British Christmas festivities from this time, to this day.

However, while my 18^th century antiquarian self might allow such a conclusion (though may start to see alternative viewpoints emerge in the following decades), from the perspective of my 21^st century archaeologist self, I cannot escape the contention that many claims of continuity are largely based upon assumptions. [v] I will elaborate within future publications, but for now shall very briefly highlight several important issues with regard to notions of continuity. This forms part of  the well-attested argument that, by considering the work of antiquarians over several centuries, it is clear that interest in (and thus expansion of knowledge about) the past was (and is) largely intertwined with the various social and political circumstances and concerns of the day.[vi] Over time customs are selectively appropriated, modified, and discarded when no longer relevant, giving rise to new traditions that are most ‘meaningful’ at particular times, in particular places.

The first point is that such arguments rely upon homogenous ‘Roman’ culture – which any study conducted at various scales of analysis (the household, community, region, and – where appropriate, state or nation) reveals was clearly not the case.[vii] It also assumes that the rites described within written sources relating particular parts of the empire, at particular times, may readily apply to the British isles – which again is not necessarily (or often) the case.

Secondly (but following the same line of reasoning), until relatively recently, while the church provided an (inter-)national calendar of festivals – of course including Christmas, the actual form of associated rituals often varied significantly in different places, at different times, with much revelry taking place outside the sphere of the church. Such diversity might be expected without the mass media of recent centuries to aid the sense of shared culture across a wide area:[viii] for many centuries after the ‘fall’ of Roman, learning and the written word was concentrated within religious establishments, and primarily confined to ecclesiastical concerns.[ix]

Thirdly (though still connected with the previous issues), these assumptions seem to largely ignore that extensive changes that took place during and after the Middle Ages. Clerics had long been interested in the past (notably the work of Gildas in the 6^th century, Bede in the 8^th, and Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12^th);[x] but with the Renaissance, interest in classical culture and origins grew. Antiquarianism flourished during the early modern period, with greater attention paid to the medieval era. In breaking from the Church of Rome, the Tudor monarchy looked to the Germanic settlers for political and religious foundations,[xi] while defense against invaders from the Continent, and colonial expansion, were significant in forming England (and later, Britain) as a nation.[xii] By bringing together, and committing to paper, various local customs, ‘national’ traditions were born. (I have considered similar issues here, with regard to ‘Halloween’ traditions).

With increasing urbanisation and industrialisation in the 18^th and early 19^th centuries, conflict after conflict, social change (with the development of a ‘middle class’), and economic strife, many Christmas traditions are out of place, and fall into disuse. The sense that declining ‘ancient’ traditions will soon be lost – the dying embers of which are seen as sustained by ‘simple’ people, in rural regions, and preserved for posterity within antiquarian collections – provokes nostalgia for the supposedly static and ‘uncorrupted’ traditions of a semi-fictional past: ‘Merrie England’ (spanning the 15^th to 17^th centuries). Antiquarians continue attempts to ‘save’ ‘ancient’ rituals at risk of extinction, but those devoid of meaning to the society of the day go ‘out of practice’.[xiii] During the Victorian era, some traditions are adapted; others forgotten; and others still (famously including the Christmas tree, card, and cracker) are added to the corpus of popular customs.

‘Yule’ – a festival associated with the early medieval Germanic and Nordic ‘peoples’, who are credited with bringing winter traditions to this land that remain a part of modern Christmas celebrations – provides an interesting case when considering the putative ‘ancient’ origins of ‘British’ Christmas traditions. We see both the selective appropriation of certain customs (perhaps more extensively at the end of the early modern period); and their adaptation and rejection with urbanisation and industrialisation during and after the 19^th century. But we can also more general similarities between these customs, and those of many societies and cultures (Christian and pagan) in Northern and Western Europe over the centuries – including those of the late Roman empire (again both pagan and Christian).[xiv]

The celebration of a mid-winter festival is widespread – past and present, which, though diverse (and not directly related), incorporate a range of broadly comparable rituals. This frequently includes rites surrounding warmth, light, and food; communal festivities, frequently boisterous and indulgent; and although often taking place within a religious calendar, not necessarily involving sustained religious devotion.[xv] The extent and endurance of festivals at this time of year suggests their significant social (and perhaps psychological) value.

The aim of this post has not been to dismiss any notion of continuity with regard to Christmas customs; instead, it has been to show that rather than monolithic and unchanging, ‘traditions’ are living performances that shape, and are shaped by, our understanding of both past and present, and expectations for the future. By joining in, we invest a part of our selves, for succeeding generations.

A Happy Christmas, one and all!

Notes

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[i] Image: Google

[ii] There are some notable exceptions, which I shall elucidate in subsequent work.

[iii] Perhaps some of my readers will be familiar with Gibbon, though his twelve-volume work of the 1770s – 80s, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. In this work (Vol. I, Chapter XV, Part III) he speaks of the festival in discussing the progress of the Christian religion.  

[iv] Returning to Gibbon’s History, in Vol. II he suggests that without knowledge of the true date of Christ’s birth, the Church adopted the date of the pagan festival that celebrated the birth of the sun.

[v] In the final decade of the 20^th century, and first decade of the 21^st century, I specialised in the late Roman and early medieval periods, in particular examining the prospect of cultural continuity and change, especially with regard to tradition and ritual, and local, regional, national, and imperial identities. My doctoral research examined (among other topics) the significance of Christianity and Roman culture in the formation of ‘British’ identity and maintenance of power; the bibliography has references to research on the spread of Christianity in Roman and early medieval Britain. My work on the late pre-Roman period to 5^th century is available here, and reference to my work on the 6^th – 7^th centuries, here.

For the last six years, I have concentrated on post-Medieval culture and society, including consideration of the significance of the past (and the role of antiquarians – hence the ‘Academy’ endeavour!), and the importance of history in the formation of local communities, regions, and nations. This includes research projects that examine domestic life through standing buildings and surface artefact deposits (through Living in the Past Community Archaeology Project); family life and gender (though the Past Sense Project); folk magic (through Malefic Midlands Project); and various independent research as part of my teaching work, as highlighted on this site, and my other freelance website, and blog. References to my academic work are available here.

[vi] For a more detailed discussion of this topic, see e.g. Ronald Hutton (2001) Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (OUP).

[vii] Much work has been done in this field: see the bibliographies of the works cited above.

[viii] See Benedict Anderson (2006) Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Verso.

[ix] It may be difficult for modern readers to imagine the investments needed in order to write prior to the development of paper and the printing press, with the production of velum from animal skins being most time-consuming and costly.

[x] Gildas: The Ruin and Conquest of Britain; Bede Ecclesiastical History of the English People; Geoffrey of Monmouth: Histories of the Kings of Britain; Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

[xi] An interesting summary on this topic is Sue Content and Howard Williams (2010) ‘Creating the Pagan English, From the Tudors to the Present Day’, in Martin Carver, Alex Sanmark and Sarah Semple (eds.) Signals of Belief in Early England. Anglo-Saxon Paganism Revisited. Oxbow, pp. 181-200.

[xii] While I have argued elsewhere (see the references provided in note v) that a small body of elites may have held some notion of ‘British-ness’ (as defined in relationship to the Roman empire, and in the formation of post-Roman states in opposition to other ethnic groups), the concept of widespread British identity essentially develops during and after political change in the early modern era. See Linda Colley (2009) Britons: Forging the Nation 1707–1837. Yale University Press.

[xiii] There works of the early 19^th century – both for popular consumption (within magazines and newspapers), and academic interest (in the journals of the numerous antiquarian societies) ­– that seek to record declining traditions are too numerous to mention here. I shall outline various material in future publications.

[xiv] See e.g. Margaret Baker (2007) Discovering Christmas Customs and Folklore: A Guide to Seasonal Rites Throughout the World. Shire.

[xv] See note vi.