... and their interesting history!
As anyone who knows me well is aware, Christmas is my favorite time of the year. I love the pageantry, the ritual, the food, the traditions, the symbolism, the lights... all of it. Last year I wrote a post about reawakening the magic of Christmas, and in it I shared some of my favorite Christmas music. This year I thought I might dive into some of my favorite medieval and early modern Christmas carols. If you have a favorite carol, I'd love to know about it! Let me know by commenting on this post!
One of the first things I realized as I began my research, is that it can be difficult to know for sure when many of these carols were written. For context, many medieval hymns and carols were first written down in the Early Modern Period when printing made the written word (and song texts!) much easier to produce. But while many hymns first appear in text after the invention of the printing press in 1500, they could be much older - especially those carols that were first published in collections of rural folk songs; many songs and carols were passed around long before they were ever written down. Alternatively, a lot of the carols and hymns we associate with Christmas are much newer - Christmas wasn't really celebrated like we celebrate it now until the 19th century, and a lot of our favorite hymns and carols date from that century.
There are a LOT of medieval carols and hymns that I love, but I've narrowed my list down to the following four which are those I have found myself listening to frequently this season.
1. Of the Father's Love Begotten - This delightful hymn was originally a Latin hymn called "Corde Natus," and was written in the 4th Century A.D. by Marcus Aurelius Clemens Prudentius (saving this to my list of future baby names). According to the delightful website archive Hymns and Carols of Christmas, "Prudentius, one of the last writers of the Roman empire was also one of the first Christian poets. Born in northern Spain in 348, and trained as a lawyer, he rose through the ranks of the empire, finishing his work as an official in the court of the Emperor Theodosius. At the age of 57, weary of civic life [he] retired to write poetry." This tired former Roman lawyer produced one of the loveliest and most theologically rich hymns in all of the Christmas canon... proof that if all the world-weary lawyers out there decided to turn their pens to writing devotional poetry, the world would be a better place!
The hymn was first translated into English in the 19th century, and was then translated twice more - the last translation being the one most of us are familiar with. The whole song is just wonderful, but my favorite verse is the third:
This is He whom heav'n-taught singers
sang of old with one accord,
whom the Scriptures of the prophets
promised in their faithful word;
now He shines, the long-expected;
let creation praise its Lord,
evermore and evermore!
2. Adam Lay Ybounden - This has to be my favorite carol this year. Its tune, though not contemporary, is really beautiful, and the words are really fun for a medievalist. It is short, so I am copying the whole text below (as it was in the original manuscript):
Adam lay i-bowndyn,
bowndyn in a bond,
Fowre thowsand wynter
thowt he not to long;
And al was for an appil,
an appil that he tok,
As clerkes fyndyn wretyn
in here book.
Ne hadde the appil take ben,
the appil taken ben,
Ne hadde never our lady
a ben hevene quen.
Blyssid be the tyme
that appil take was!
Therfore we mown syngyn
Deo gratias.
As you can see, even without a degree in Middle English, you can tell what a lot of those words mean. Note here that "ybounden" is the past tense of "to bind" - i.e. "Adam lay bound." The following is the translation that you will often see:
Adam lay ybounden,
Bounden in a bond;
Four thousand winter
Thought he not too long.
And all was for an apple,
An apple that he took,
As clerkës* finden written
In their book.
Nor had one apple taken been,
The apple taken been,
Then had never Our Lady
A-been heaven's queen.
Blessed be the time
That apple taken was.
Therefore we may singen
Deo gratias!
This song is theologically (and historically) interesting because it includes the idea of Adam being in Limbo (bound in a bond for four thousand winters) from the time he took the apple until the time when Christ harrowed hell and released the souls of the Fathers - a medieval idea that is still present in some denominations. I love also its note of eucatastrophe: if Adam had not fallen, we would not have ever known about Mary (and of course Christ and his saving work). So because of one set of parents sinned (Adam and Eve), we met the other (Mary and Joseph).
Note that "clerkes" here would mean anyone who could write and read - i.e. a literate person. Probably, but not necessarily, ecclesiastical.
3. Gabriel's Message - This hymn was originally a Basque folk carol based on an earlier Latin text, the Angelus Ad Virginem. The words to this hymn come straight from Matthew 1, where the Archangel Gabriel tells Mary that she is going to be the mother of Jesus. This passage is truly one of the most incredible and earth-shattering in all of scripture - not just because of the news of the coming of Christ, but also because of Mary's incredible faith.
Then gentle Mary meekly bowed her head
"To me be as it pleaseth God," she said,
"My soul shall laud and magnify his holy name."
Most highly favored lady. Gloria!
Too often we think of angels as cute little cherubs or elf-like, white-clad blonde creatures with wings, when in reality they must have been terrifying to behold. In scripture, humans' response to angels is always either fear or worship (or both). This song begins by describing Gabriel - "His wings as drifted snow his eyes as flame." What a powerful description! Terrifying, and yet so aptly symbolic with its very Christmas-y elements of snow, and flame. The wings as snow simile didn't become part of the hymn until it was translated out of its original Basque and into English by Sabine Baring-Gould in 1895 ("Gabriel's), but I am so glad it is now part of the carol.
4. Boar's Head Carol - This one I am mostly including because it is my husband's favorite, though I do love it as well. It is called a "macaronic" carol, which means that it has two languages in it. A lot of Christmas carols, especially the older ones, are macaronic carols, including Latin as well as English (or whatever language they were originally written in). The carol describes the bringing in of a boar's head to celebrate a feast. This is an ancient custom, dating far back beyond our celebration of Christmas, but worked well with the general festivities surrounding the day. The meat of the boar would be served to the feast-goers, and the head would be brought in and presented to the host as a sort of delicacy and ritual sign of the host's authority at the feast. This ancient custom is still carried on annually at Queen's College, Oxford, where the boar's head has been carried in for the annual Christmas feast for hundreds of years! You can watch a (pretty poor quality) version of the ceremony here. When I was reading about the Boar's Head Carol and the tradition at Queen's, I came across this story, which I had to share:
"There was an amusing tradition formerly current in Oxford concerning the boar's head custom, which represented that usage as a commemoration of an act of valour performed by a student of the college, who, while walking in the neighbouring forest of Shotover and reading Aristotle, was suddenly attacked by a wild boar. The furious beast came open-mouthed upon the youth, who, however, very courageously, and with a happy presence of mind, thrust the volume he was reading down the boar's throat, crying, "Græcum est," and fairly choked the savage with the sage ("Boar's").
I first heard this carol when we sang it at a Christmas party for my husband's college literary society - I don't think that the choir at Queen's themselves could have sung a more rousing version than those USC boys did.
Well, I was going to write about five songs, but at this point I have probably given you sufficient random facts to ponder. I'll save my last song, and perhaps a few more, for another post sometime in the future.
May the King who came in the form of a helpless babe so "that the powers of hell may vanish" bless each of you this Christmas season.
Honorable Mention: Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence
While this incredible hymn is actually a product of the 19th century, I couldn't leave this post without giving it a shoutout. It is truly one of the most textually gorgeous and theologically rich hymns in the whole canon. I haven't sung it this year, and I feel the lack. I don't know why, but the hymn just feels like it could have been written by J.R.R. Tolkien (himself a very devout Catholic). I get goosebumps every time I sing (or hear) the third verse:
Rank on rank the host of heaven
spreads its vanguard on the way,
as the Light of light descendeth
from the realms of endless day,
that the pow'rs of hell may vanish
as the darkness clears away.
Further Resources:
I asked on Instagram for folks to share their favorite (not necessarily medieval) Christmas Carols, and here is the complete list for your enjoyment:
Somerset Wassail
Good King Wenceslas
Gaudete
Masters in this Hall
Silent Night
Christians Awake, Salute the Happy Morn
Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
Ding Dong Merrily on High
O Come, O Come Emmanuel
The Wexford Carol
We Three Kings
The Holly and the Ivy
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
I Saw Three Ships
Away in a Manger
Corpus Christi Carol
Spotify Playlists:
I am currently building this one - medieval Christmas songs for church and tavern both!
This is another good one that my friend Brenda made.
Works Cited:
“Adam Lay Ybounden.” Hymns and Carols of Christmas, https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/adam_lay_ybounden.htm.
“The Boar’s Head Carol.” Hymns and Carols of Christmas, https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/boars_head_carol.htm.
“Gabriel’s Message.” Hymns and Carols of Christmas, https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/gabriels_message.htm.
“Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” Hymns and Carols of Christmas, https://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/Hymns_and_Carols/of_the_fathers_love_begotten-1.htm.
Lastly, but not least(ly?), I leave you with this fine meme:
