12th-nite-msg - 1/29/01 Medieval 12th Night celebrations. NOTE: See also the files: holidays-msg, Yule-msg, wassail-msg, Holiday-Celeb-lnks, holiday-gifts-lnks, Spring-Celeb-lnks, Candlemas-msg, Christmas-art, Xmas-art. ************************************************************************ NOTICE - This file is a collection of various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as recent as yesterday. This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org I have done a limited amount of editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance, the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter. The comments made in these messages are not necessarily my viewpoints. I make no claims as to the accuracy of the information given by the individual authors. Please respect the time and efforts of those who have written these messages. The copyright status of these messages is unclear at this time. If information is published from these messages, please give credit to the originator(s). Thank you, Mark S. Harris AKA: THLord Stefan li Rous Stefan at florilegium.org ************************************************************************ From: dorothy at cogsci.berkeley.edu (Dorothy Heydt) Date: 8 Dec 89 17:25:38 GMT Organization: University of California, Berkeley Newsgroups: rec.org.sca ("Eleanor J. Evans at 462-5330") writes: >twelfth night customs ...... Well, it is apparently the last day on which you can serve the roasted boar's head. The last verse of the carol reads: The boar's head, I dare well say, Anon upon the twelveth day, He takyth his leave and goeth away, Exivit tunc de patria. [He has left the country.] You can be visited by people representing the Three Kings who pass out goodies (or lumps of coal). You can pass around a fruit (or other) cake in which is baked a single bean (or coin, or ...). Whoever gets the token is Lord of Misrule and gets to sit on the King's throne and act silly. One year my Lord Husband got the bean and spent part of the evening having all the Heralds act out all the heraldic positions: a herald rampant, a herald passant guardant, a herald salient, etc., etc... Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin Mists/Mists/West Date: Tue, 4 Nov 1997 10:15:00 -0600 From: "Decker, Terry D." Subject: RE: SC - Redaction class on-line Recipes and commentary will be provided after I run my test batches, as I did with the Galette Persane. The recipes I'm working with are modern, but they are simple festive breads such as might have been done in period. The Galette de Dame Carcas celebrates the lifting of Charlemange's siege of Carcassonne and is a Twelfth Night bread. The pepper cakes appear medieval in their spicing. Bear Date: Thu, 6 Nov 1997 06:44:44 -0600 From: L Herr-Gelatt and J R Gelatt Subject: SC - Wassail traditions A copy of an excellent reply from a very nice lady too shy to post to the Rialto: >Here's the section on wassail from a paper I'm writing for the local >baronial newsletter's A&S edition: > >Another variation on the king-for-a-day is an English Twelfth Night >custom that was documented in the mid-nineteenth century in >Devonshire. On Twelfth Night, the farmers would get their weapons, >gather around the oldest tree in the apple orchard, and sing a short >song: > >Here's to thee, old apple tree >Whence thou mayst bud and whence thou mayst blow >And whence thou mayst bear apples enow: >Hats full, caps full, >Bushels, bushels, sacks full, >And my pockets full too! > >The men would then fire their weapons at the tree. They returned >to the home and would be denied entrance no matter what the weather >by the women indoors. When one of the men guessed what sort of >roast that was being prepared for them, all were let in. The one >who guessed the roast was named "King for the Evening" and >presided over the party until the wee hours. > >This custom of "wassailing" the apple tree is still done in the west >country in England, and has been done for centuries. The word >"wassail" comes from the Anglo-Saxon "wÊs hÊl," meaning "be whole" or >"good health." This custom dates from a medieval story, of a Saxon >lady named Rowena who presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine, >toasting him with the words "wÊs hÊl." Over the centuries a great >deal of ceremony had developed around the custom of drinking wassail. > The bowl is carried into a room with great fanfare, a traditional >carol about the drink is sung, and finally, the steaming hot beverage >is served. > >Karen Larsdatter > Barony of Ponte Alto, Atlantia Aoife From: tadhg at bigfoot.com (Dr Tiomoid M. of Angle) Newsgroups: rec.org.sca Subject: Re: Info needed Organization: EDS Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 02:56:32 GMT Scripsit Andrea Hicks : > What is 12th Night and what is the history behind it? Twelfth Night is the Feast of the Epiphany, a fine Greek term referring to the point where a god traveling among men makes himself (or herself) manifest, the manifestation in this case being of the infant Christ to the Three Wise Men. The Twelve Days of Christmas refers to the period between Christmas and Epiphany; prior to modern times it was customary for gifts to be given on Epiphany rather than Christmas itself, in commemoration of the gifts presented by the aforesaid Three. (Pedantic note: The given name "Tiffany" comes through a very roundabout route from "Epiphany" and appears to have been originally given to girls born on or about that date; it is a Certified Medieval Name, much to the distress of myself and all of the other Period Flavorists, dating in England to the mid-14th century.) I'm sure there's a Society publication somewhere that explains all of this in a much less interesting fashion. ================================================================================ Fra Tadhg Liath OFT tadhg at bigfoot.com The Grumpiest Pelican Date: Sun, 20 Sep 1998 2:03:31 -0500 From: "I. Marc Carlson" Subject: re: Info needed Newsgroups: rec.org.sca > >What is 12th Night and what is the history behind it? As has been mentioned elsewhere, "Twelfthnight" is the evening of "Twelfthday", the twelfth day of Christmas, Epifania domini nostri Ihesu Christi, Epiphany, the Recognition of Jesus by the Three Kings. In the Middle Ages it was celebrated by a major religious service sometimes marked by suspending a large "Star of Bethlehem" from the Rood Loft or "in the Body of the Church". This service was followed by much celebration, masques, revelry and gift giving. It was the last of the merry-making before the beginning of the preparation for the plowing. Some of the revelry included a "Bean King", "Christmas King" or "Lord of Misrule", determined by a bean or coin in a cake. There is some thought that this all was a holdover from the ancient Roman celebration of "Saturnalia", but that's somewhat debateable. Marc/Diarmaid Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1998 20:18:26 EST From: LrdRas at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - Tablecloths and Christmas feasts oftraquair at hotmail.com writes: << Twelfth Night has become an SCA-holiday because.......... >> This is one area of the SCA where I am happy that things are being done more perio-like. :-) One custom of 12th Night that we, in the current MA have relegated to Christmas but which was originally an Epiphany custom is the habit of gift giving. Traditionally small gifts of sweets were given to children at that time of year. Ras Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2000 01:16:57 EST From: CBlackwill at aol.com Subject: Re: SC - saffron troy at asan.com writes: > The galatte du roi or Twelfth Night Cake is traditionally assumed to be, > but is not documented, as period, AFAIK. It often includes a gold coin, > more or less for similar reasons. > > Adamantius Twelfth Night Cake was often stuffed with a number of things, ranging from a gold coin, a bean or a little figurine of a baby. It was supposed to represent the baby Jesus, and the lucky diner who got the slice with the "secret toy surprize" was declared King of the Feast. Balthazar of Blackmoor Edited by Mark S. Harris 12th-nite-msg Page 4 of 4