ANGLO-NORMAN CAROL. And Anjou's too; He makes his neighbour freely drink, So that in sleep his head doth sink May joys flow from God above, Lords, by Christmas and the host Each must drain his cup of wine, Thus I advise, Here then I bid you all Wassail, Cursed be he who will not say Drinkhail.* The following very early Carols, with their mixture of Scriptural allusions and invitations to hard drinking, are such as were doubtless sung by the tribe of professional minstrels during the several periods of feasting into which the day of Yule was divided. A peculiar instance, showing, that even in a subsequent age, music and singing was held in greater account than devotion, and that eating and drinking was rated far above all, is found in the accounts of the Stationers' Company for the year 1510, which contain the following entry : Item payd to the preacher 3. d. vi. 2 xii. 0 XV. 0 The first of the two following Carols is among the Additional MSS. in the British Museum.† The other will be found in the Sloane MSS.‡ Ritson considers this latter manuscript to be of the time of Henry VI.; but in all probability the Carols themselves belong to a considerably earlier date. In the original version of the first Carol, some of the phrases are in French; these have been translated, and the spelling has been modernised in both instances, for it was so corrupt, and the abbreviations were so numerous, that, had they been followed, the Carols could only have been deciphered with considerable labour. * Wassail and Drinkhail are both derived from the Anglo-Saxon. They were the common drinking pledges of the age. Wassail is equivalent to the phrase, "Your health," of the present day. Drinkhail, which literally signifies "drink health," was the usual acknowledgment of the other pledge. + No. 5665, fol. 6, vo. No. 2593, fol. 79, ro. NOWEL, Nowel, Nowel, Nowel, Who is there, that singeth so Nowel, Nowel, Nowel? Welcome my lord Sir Christmas, Welcome to all both more and less ;* Come near Nowel. God be with you, Sir, tidings I you bring, A maid hath born a child full young, The which causeth me to sing RELIGIOUS CAROLS. Drink you all right heartily, Make good cheer and be right merry, Nowel. WELCOME YULE. WELCOME be thou heavenly King, Welcome, for whom we shall sing Welcome Yule.* Welcome be ye Stephen and John, Welcome Innocents every one, Welcome Thomas Martyr one, Welcome Yule. Welcome be ye good New Year, Welcome Twelfth day both in fere,† Welcome Saints loved and dear, THE three subsequent poems are, perhaps, the best specimens that could be selected of the religious Carols of the fifteenth century, so far as these have been preserved in the manuscripts of the period, for we fancy that more of the hand of the poet than of the monk may be recognised in their composition. In the last of the series there is a gracefulness and tenderness in many of the touches, not often met with in poems of this early date. No further liberties have been taken with them, beyond the modernising of the spelling, and some occasional transpositions, with here and there the substitution of a modern word for one of obsolete character, except in the case of the first poem, which has been perfected from two different versions existing in contemporary manuscripts; one belonging to the Harleian collection,* the other in the possession of Thomas Wright, Esq., who has reprinted both versions in works edited by him for the Percy Society. A third copy of this Carol, with numerous variations, may be seen among the Sloane MSS. THE THREE KINGS. Now is the time of Christmas come, In fere-a, God send us a good new year-a. I would now sing, if that I might, Of a child so fair to sight A maiden bare this winter's night, So still-a; And as it was his will-a. There came three kings from Galilee To Bethlehem, that fair citie, To seek him that should ever be, By right-a, Lord, and king, and knight-a. - No. 541, fol. 214, ro. + Christmas Carols, 1841. Songs and Carols, 1847. THE THREE KINGS. As they went forth with their offering, And thus to them 'gan say-a : From whence come ye, you kings three?" Out of the East, as you may see, To seek him that should ever be, 66 When you to this child have been, Then of Herod, that moody king, They took their leave both old and young, And forth they went with their offering, By light-a Of the star that shone so bright-a ; Till they came to that blissful place |