Chapter I: Front Matter

[Transcriber’s Note: Italic text is surrounded by _underscores_ and superscripted text is preceded by a ^ and surrounded with {curly braces}. Certain letters in the text were smaller and these letters are surrounded by ~t~.]

Christmastide.

James Stephanoff, del. Ashbee & Dangerfield, lith.

PLAY BEFORE QUEEN ELIZABETH.]

CHRISTMASTIDE

its History, Festivities, and Carols.

BY WILLIAM SANDYS, F.S.A.

LONDON:
JOHN RUSSELL SMITH,
_SOHO SQUARE_.

LONDON: Printed by E. TUCKER, Perry’s Place, Oxford Street.

TO

WYNN ELLIS, ESQUIRE,

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire,

THE FOLLOWING WORK

IS GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED, AS A SMALL TRIBUTE
OF RESPECT FOR HIS PUBLIC, AND
ESTEEM FOR HIS PRIVATE
CHARACTER.

CONTENTS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.

Lithographs.
PAGE
Play before Queen Elizabeth _frontispiece_
Ushering in the Boar’s Head 30
Pageant before Henry the Eighth 66
Lord of Misrule, G. Ferrers 86
New Year’s Gifts to Queen Elizabeth 100
Temple Revels, temp. Charles the Second 130
The Wassail Bowl 134
Old Christmas Festivities 142
The Christmas Tree 152

Vignettes.

CHAP.
1 Edward the First’s Offering at the Epiphany 1
2 Froissart’s Christmas Log 23
3 Merry Carol 45
4 Archie returning his Christmas Gift 63
5 Teonge’s Twelfth Night at Sea 85
6 Charles the Second gambling at Christmas 103
7 Pepys’ Wassail Bowl 127
8 Modern Christmas Plays 145
9 Three Kings offering 159
10 Carol Singers of old 173
11 Decorating with Evergreens 199
Carols 215
A Mock Play 292
Christmas Play of St. George and the Dragon, as
represented in the West of England 298
Index to Carols 303
Index to principal matters 305
Index of References 306

Music.

A Virgin most pure 313
A Child this day is born 315
The Lord at first had Adam made 316
The first Nowell 318
This New Christmas Carol 319
God rest you, merry gentlemen 320
St. Stephen 321
God’s dear Son 323
To-morrow shall be my dancing-day 324
I saw three ships 325
Joseph was an old man 326
In those twelve days 327