Traditions of the Christmas Court
As many may have guessed, Christmas in medieval times was
quite different from our modern Christmas in how it was kept. The English
certainly kept Christmas with lots of revelry and no place had grander revels
than the King’s court. Wherever the king decided to hold his Christmas
celebration, the nobles of all ranks followed—if they were invited, of course.
And to not be invited was a grave injury to one’s status in society.
There are many traditions that would seem familiar to our 21st
century eyes: decorating with holly garland, giving presents, singing songs
(Christmas carols but not called that until the 15th century),
feasting, and dancing. These Yuletide merriments we continue to this day,
however, the medieval court had additional pastimes at the Christmas Court that
we may not have heard of.
One peculiar (to our eyes) tradition was that of the “boy bishop.”
A boy would be elected bishop and would rule over church processions and preach
a sermon on December 28, the Feast of the Holy Innocents. A surviving sermon
from the period shows the boy bishop hoped that all his schoolteachers would
end up at Tyburn (the local place of execution).
Also the Christmas season lasted longer, from the first day
of Advent until Twelfth Night (January 6th). The problem was that
Advent was a time of fasting. The feasting didn’t begin until Christmas Eve and
continued—quite sumptuously—for another two weeks.
And sporting activities were all the rage during a Medieval
Christmas celebration. Some years the king would host a joust and most years
there would be hunting, especially of the boars that would then grace the
tables. These animals were wicked little warriors, and worthy opponents. They
were hunted with boar hounds, bred specially for the purpose, and they hunted
in pairs. The hunters would ride and chase the boar, then the dog would “catch”
the boar in its jaws and hold it while the hunter would kill the pig with a
dagger. It would later be served, roasted whole, often with apples in its
mouth. Quite the showpiece of the meal.
Because I wanted to give the reader the experience of these
medieval Christmas traditions, I’ve managed to weave almost all of them into my
novella, Seduction at the Christmas
Court. I certainly hope the descriptions bring you a little closer to a
medieval Christmas celebration at court.
Alyse and
Geoffrey, Lord and Lady Longford, have journeyed to the glittering Christmas
Court of King Edward III in the year 1349 to wait upon the king and take part
in some Yuletide merriment. However, when Geoffrey is suddenly called into the
king’s service again, Alyse must remain at court, attending the queen and
persuading her rebellious sister to accept an unwanted betrothal. When rumors
of Geoffrey’s death arise, Alyse fends off an old suitor who wants to
renew their friendship. But how long will he take “No” for an answer?
“This entertainment will be tedious. I would much rather
retire for a good night’s bedding right now,” he whispered, the puff of his
breath tickling her ear and sending prickles of excitement down her neck.
She laced their fingers together. “’Twill be finished ‘ere
long, my love. Then you can wield your weapon with a vigor yon knights cannot.”
He laughed and drank deeply. “Aye, sweet Alyse. My skill
with both weapons outshines any other knight.”
“As you will not want me to be judge of that, I think, I
will demur to your claim, although I will test your skills again with the one
blade ‘ere the night is done.”
At Geoffrey’s bark of laughter—so loud it turned heads on
the dais their way—Alyse settled back to watch the mummers, her cheeks burning,
but a pleasant anticipation building within as well.
The mummer playing St. George took the center spot in the
Great Hall and began a sing-song rhyme that soon had the court laughing at its
nonsense. A stream of knights—played in turn by the other mummers—approached,
made their rhyming challenge, and were quickly slain by St. George, whose
wielding of his sword became swifter and swifter. He slayed the knights in such
short order that by the time he faced the final knight, he did no more than
look at the Turkish knight than the man fell down, his toes jingling softly as
he landed on the soft rushes covering the floor.
A burst of laughter and applause followed that performance
as the quack Doctor shuffled forward, his “magic potion” in a large bottle,
gripped in his hand.
Thoroughly engrossed, Alyse laughed and clapped her hands.
She held her breath and leaned forward as the Doctor poured the potion down the
throats of the slain knights, spoke his own rhyme over them, and one by one,
they began to twitch and dance, the rush-strewn floor seeming to come alive as
they did. The room resounded with merriment as all seven knights revived.
Loud applause burst out from the courtiers, many of whom
threw gold and silver coins onto the floor. Geoffrey tossed a gold florin to
the Turkish knight. “For my lady’s pleasure,” he called.
The man nimbly caught the coin and made a deep bow. “Thank
you, my lord.”
With a lecherous grin, Geoffrey grasped Alyse’s arm and
urged her to rise. “And now allow me to attend to my lady’s pleasure as well.”
Amazon buy link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQSFB3U
Smashwords buy link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/687341
AUTHOR BIO:
Jenna Jaxon is a multi-published author of historical
romance in all time periods because passion is timeless. She has been reading and writing historical
romance since she was a teenager. A
romantic herself, she has always loved a dark side to the genre, a twist,
suspense, a surprise. She tries to
incorporate all of these elements into her own stories. She’s a theatre director when she’s not writing
and lives in Virginia with her family, including two very vocal cats, Marmalade
and Sugar.
Jenna is a PAN member of Romance Writers of America as well
as Vice-President of Chesapeake Romance Writers, her local chapter of RWA. She
has three series available: The House of
Pleasure, set in Georgian England, Handful
of Hearts, set in Regency England, and Time
Enough to Love, set in medieval England and France.
She
currently writes to support her chocolate habit.
Find Jenna Jaxon online:
AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE: https://www.amazon.com/Jenna-Jaxon/e/B005CHPBD2/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1
