Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 309, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 December 1914 — CHRISTMAS REVELRY [ARTICLE]

CHRISTMAS REVELRY

A figure everywhere dominant in the celebration of Christmas in the middle ages was that of the Lord of Misrule, also called the Master of Merry Disports, In Scotland this same master of the revels was known as the Abbot of Unreason, while in France his title was very much the same—"Abbas Stultorum”—or Abbot of Fools. The k(ng, the great lords of his realm and othdr important personages must needs appoint such a leader and organizer of their Christmas festivities. In Scotland, previous to the Reformation, the monasteries used to elect such a functionary, but in 1555 a law was passed for the suppression of the Abbot of Unreason, along with ail the other burlesque and fantastic features of the Christmas celebration. The barons and knights kept open house, at Christmas time for a fortnight Revelry reigned throughout this period, and on Christmas day the grand feast given by the feudal chieftain to his friends and retainers, took place with great pomp and magnificence. The boar's head was first and foremost on the board, and its entrance to the banqueting room was heralded by a great blare of joyful trumpets. Borne on a gold or silver platter by the server at the head of a procession of nobles, knights and ladies, the foremost dish of the feast made the round of the hall to merry minstrelsy. When ft was finally given its place rosemary and bay were spread around it, a pippin was placed on Its tusk and a mammoth pot of mustard close at hand. The boar's head was put down by act of parliament in the time of the commonwealth, and after that, although ft was officially freed of the ban. ft never quite recovered its former place as a part of th# Christmas feast > , The peacock dish was next in importance to the bear’s head. This bird sometimes appeared at the board with all tts feathers on and its beak ‘ gilded, its skin having been removed before cooking and carefully readjusted after it was ready for the table. «