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 to the 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 the seventh 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.