(Shristmas in 
 
 I^Cvibing Tarioue customs anb manners s^ 
 as prcvailcb through the fcewc season buring 
 the lifetime of this illustrious printer, ^abe 
 up anb presenteb roith the seasons greeting 
 l^ the (Eaafton Eompang at Clevelanb, 0hio. 
 
 19x0 
 
n;?C) 
 
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sAt Chtistmas be mery, am) timke gob of all. 
 and /root t/iy pore neighbour the great with the small 
 yea all the ycre big have an eie to the poore-. 
 and god shall seiudeluek, to kepc open thy doore. 
 
 Old Rhgnu 
 

 
 
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 ijk^icv* y xiii 
 
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ChnstiMs in Ca^tonSs Cimc 
 
 layeandhtill, woman Seek upthyhMse: 
 and take tlu$ same brawne, Brto seethe and to souse, 
 Ttovide us ^od chece, for thou k/iowesttlie old^uise ■ 
 old customs, that good be^ let no man despise 
 
 OliUkrtnt' 
 
 days^ when, as Goethe 
 ^ ^ 11 “Every journey was a 
 ^ campaign and every way/ 
 farer an armed adventurer,'** 
 the observant visitor to England, 
 assuming he had evaded the dangers 
 of travel at about the year 1474, 
 would End much to gratify an in/ 
 telligent curiosity as well as satisfy 
 his desire for seasonable enjoyment; 
 for this was the period when the 
 middle class of England was emerg/ 
 ing from its chaos with increased 
 wealth, comparative culture and the 
 enhanced standards of comfort, and 
 in general with the aspirations and 
 ideals of the modern age. 
 
 The professional class, and those 
 who had already profited from the 
 advantages of education, must then 
 have held optimistic forebodings of 
 the benefits coming to their nation 
 and language by the introduction of 
 printing from movable types, as was 
 then being practised for the first 
 time in England by Caxton, in the 
 
 Almonry at Westminster. Many of 
 us who are interested in that craft 
 and know its blessings are prone 
 to imagine at this time of the year 
 that during that earlier and more 
 memorable Christmas many toasts 
 must have been given to the success 
 of that venture. The fact that the 
 populace was not aware of the 
 powerful influence in its nation's 
 future that was then just starting 
 to work did not prevent them, we 
 may be sure, from gaining all the 
 pleasure and enjoyment that came 
 with Christmas. 
 
 ^rabel anb Snns 
 
 This was the time of the year 
 when, as today, home ties made 
 themselves felt most, and favorable 
 weather caused a great number of 
 people to travel who bestirred them/ 
 selves at no other time of the year. 
 
 The inns of these times com/ 
 manded a higher respect than the 
 common alehouse, since they were 
 patronised by travelers, and the 
 
accommodations afforded by them 
 is well described by an Italian who 
 wrote that, “Foreign visitors to 
 England saw and wondered at the 
 abundance of food, especially at the 
 quantity of meat spread on the table, 
 at the wines which were drunk there, 
 at the custom of the ladies being im 
 vited to take a glass at the inns, and 
 at their acceptance of such invita^ 
 tions, at the cleanness and fineness 
 of the bleached linen, and at the 
 silver and burnished pewter piled 
 on the sideboards of these houses/' 
 We have Rabelais for authority 
 that “the stomach was the father 
 and master of industry," and it is 
 safe to assume on that basis that 
 the inns were very busy places. 
 Knowledge gained by previous 
 travels of the various reputations 
 ascribed to these inns must have 
 
 been very valuable, as many of the 
 innkeepers and ostlers were known 
 to be in league with the highwaymen 
 and footpads, and as such were 
 well placed to give these gentlemen 
 of the road whatever information 
 was necessary in the expeditious 
 rifling of certain pieces of baggage. 
 The roads leading from Dover to 
 London were the favorite haunts of 
 the Robinhood Fraternity, knowing 
 as they did that the booty coming 
 along in this direction from the 
 Continent was of the richest, and 
 the Weald of Kent was a locality 
 well worth leaving alone, since it was 
 the hiding/place of the residue of 
 disbanded armies from the civil war. 
 
 ■gTictualsi 
 
 A peculiar law of this time was 
 to the effect that no baker of white 
 bread could make or sell brown; but 
 were the visitor from London or 
 Westminster, and well supplied 
 with the latest rumors from the 
 courts, or could relate the way the 
 fortune of wars was going beyond 
 the seas, he would be at no loss 
 for want of bread or other food to 
 appease a traveler's appetite, espe^ 
 cially if he happened to be in the 
 neighborhood of a Frankelyn, whose 
 position in a village was similar to 
 that of the squire who came later. 
 Being a substantial freeholder, with 
 considerable land, he was frequently 
 known to be profuse and somewhat 
 wasteful in his hospitality, for in 
 
the language of Chaucer, “It snowed 
 in his house of meat and drink,'’ 
 and according to another authority, 
 “His table stood ready covered all 
 the long day.” It is to be hoped 
 that such abundance was open to 
 the poor, for it is recorded that their 
 diet for the most part consisted 
 chiefly of fish; and from a Venetian, 
 Petruccio Ubaldini, we learn that 
 the English at this time were dis^' 
 inclined to exertion, and “sow so 
 little that the produce barely suffices 
 for their subsistence, by reason of 
 which they eat little bread, but so 
 much the more meat, which they 
 have of all kinds and perfect quality. 
 Puddings and cheeses are every/ 
 where forthcoming, for numberless 
 herds pasture day and night in the 
 most fertile districts.” 
 
 5u5Sler)S 
 
 These itinerants provided the 
 principal source of amusement, and 
 since there were no theatres for the 
 people to attend, the jugglers brought 
 the diversions such as we see in 
 them today to the people. 
 
 From old prints and descriptions 
 of the jugglers of this period they 
 would appear to be the forerunners 
 of the present/day circus, as they are 
 frequently shown to be accompanied 
 by bears, monkeys and other ani/ 
 mals which they taught to dance or 
 to fight. During feasts and banquets 
 these itinerants would practise their 
 antics around the tables, to their 
 
 guests’ delight, and whilst the eating 
 was going on. In addition to the 
 usual proclivities assigned to these 
 entertainers are to be enumerated 
 music, poetry, dancing, wrestling, 
 boxing and the training of animals. 
 The humblest practitioners of this 
 profession were the mummers, or 
 grimacers, in their many /colored 
 garments, and bra2;en/faced mounte/ 
 banks, who provoked laughter at 
 the expense of decency. Theirs 
 was a profitable profession, and 
 Christmas brought to them many 
 presents as well as pay. Their 
 mimicry and acrobatic feats were 
 less thought of than their long 
 poems of war and of venture, which 
 were recited in doggerel rhyme to 
 the accompaniment of a stringed 
 instrument. Many of them were 
 foreigners, some of whom, especially 
 
the rope dancers, came from coum 
 tries as far distant as India. 
 
 The Italian invention of fire-' 
 works, used at first to celebrate 
 certain saints'* days, was received 
 with great enthusiasm, and soon 
 became a regular part of the pro^ 
 gram for public festivals; so it may 
 be conjectured that they were used 
 to vary the entertainments at Christ/ 
 mas time also. 
 
 Horb o{ illisirule 
 
 Christmas revelry in these days 
 was one thing in the palace, another 
 in the convent, a third in the uni/ 
 versity, and a fourth among the 
 people. At court it was a serious 
 affair, every step of the entertain/ 
 ment was carefully prearranged, and 
 the courtiers laughed, quaffed, and 
 tripped up one another’s heels with 
 the nicest attention to program. 
 That anomalous personage with the 
 Hibernian title, the Ruler of Misrule, 
 was an indispensable, if temporary, 
 autocrat at those times. 
 
 From an old account of the cere/ 
 monies of Misrule, by one not alto/ 
 gether in sympathy, it appears that 
 “All the wild heads of the parish, 
 flocking together, chose then a grand 
 captain of mischief, whom they 
 ennoble with the title of Lord of 
 Misrule; and him they crown with 
 great solemnity, and adopt for their 
 king. This king anointed chooseth 
 four and twenty, forty, threescore, 
 or a hundred like himself, to wait 
 
 on his lordly majesty, and to guard 
 his noble person. Then every one 
 of these men investeth with his 
 liveries of green, yellow, or some 
 other light wanton color; and as 
 though they were not gaudy enough, 
 they bedeck themselves with scarves, 
 ribbon, and laces, hung all over with 
 gold rings, precious stones, and other 
 jewels. This done, they tie about 
 their legs twenty or forty bells, with 
 rich handkerchiefs, and sometimes 
 laid across their shoulders and necks. 
 Then have they their hobbyhorses, 
 their dragons, and other antics, 
 together with their bawdy pipes and 
 thundering drummers to strike the 
 devil’s dance withal. Then march 
 this heathenish company towards 
 the church, their pipes piping, their 
 drums thundering, their bells jing/ 
 ling, their handkerchiefs fluttering 
 about their heads like madmen, 
 their hobbyhorses and other mom 
 sters skirmishing amongst the 
 throng. And thus these terrestrial 
 furies spend the day. Then they have 
 certain papers wherein is painted 
 some babelerie or other imagery 
 work, and these they call my Lord 
 of Misrule’s badges or cogni2;ances. 
 These they give to everyone that 
 will give them money to maintain 
 them in their heathenish devilry. 
 And who will not show himself 
 buxom to them and give them 
 money, he shall be mocked and 
 flouted shamefully. Yea, and many 
 
times carried on a cow staff and 
 dived over head and ears in water/'* 
 However that may have been, 
 there is no exaggeration made in 
 respect to treatment served out to 
 those who did not show themselves 
 “buxom” to the revelers and their 
 chief, as a certain apparitor attached 
 to the archiepiscopal court of Saint 
 Andrews once proved to his sorrow. 
 This officer, with rare audacity, 
 ventured to serve letters of excom/ 
 munication issued against the Lord 
 of Borthwick, while the inmates of 
 the castle were celebrating Christmas. 
 Having discharged his duty, the 
 apparitor was seized by the Abbot 
 of Unreason (equivalent to the Lord 
 of Misrule) and his crew, taken to 
 the mill stream and thoroughly well 
 ducked. He was compelled to eat 
 his letters of excommunication to 
 
 the last shred, and dismissed with 
 the warning that all similar docu^' 
 ments “should gang the same gate.” 
 
 #amES! 
 
 Most of the games indulged in by 
 the younger generation today at this 
 season of the year, such as Musical 
 Chairs, Secret Whisper, Blindman‘*s 
 Buff, Hide the Thimble, et cetera, 
 formed a part of the entertainment 
 in those days as well as the numen 
 ous games of forfeits, which came 
 down from the Courts of Love of a 
 still earlier period. Most of these 
 games required little skill and were 
 purely matters of chance. 
 
 The games of Tables, however, 
 required skill and calculation, for 
 under this head were comprised all 
 the games which were played on a 
 board, and particularly draughts, 
 chess and backgammon. 
 
 Jfeagts anil CEremonieiS 
 
 The feast of Noel was celebrated 
 by a procession that started from the 
 church door, made the circuit of the 
 parish, and ended where it began. 
 In front marched the cures and chon 
 isters, bearing crosses, banners, and 
 relics, and occasionally singing am 
 thems. After them came a young 
 girl representing the Virgin, and a 
 young man rather lightly clad and 
 ornamented with a pair of wings as 
 the angel Gabriel. 
 
 Then followed a cardboard cock 
 with a child inside. This was suc^ 
 ceeded by a cow, a goat, four sheep. 
 
and an ass, or rather by models of 
 these animals, each containing a boy. 
 A fool mounted on a hobbyhorse 
 and provided with bells and bauble 
 closed the array. Every now and 
 then the procession halted. The 
 Angel recited a salutation and kissed 
 his companion, who said, “Fiat''*' 
 “So be it,'’ though some preferred to 
 translate it into “Do it again." Then, 
 one after another, the cock crew the 
 words “Puer natus est nobis" “Unto 
 us a child is born"; the cow lowed, 
 “Ubi".^ / “ Where".^ / the sheep baaed, 
 “Bethlehem"; and the ass brayed, 
 “He haw ^ mus" »' to signify Eamus 
 “Let us go thither." And then as 
 the goats and the fool had nothing 
 in particular to add, the procession 
 moved on, until the next halting 
 place was reached, when the per/ 
 formance was repeated. 
 
 Wherever there happened to be 
 a choir, a school was maintained for 
 the instruction of the choristers / to 
 stimulate these youths in their 
 studies / (that they might one day 
 attain to the real mitre) the festival 
 of the Boy Bishop was devised. 
 
 On the eve of Saint Nicholas (the 
 Patron of the school boys) the elec/ 
 tion took place. From the registers 
 of York Cathedral it is learned that 
 the qualification rested as much in 
 his personal attractiveness as merit. 
 Special vestments were reserved for 
 the occasion, and on Saint Nicholas 
 Day he went to the church in great 
 
 state, sometimes mounted, and with 
 adequate following. The Statutes of 
 Saint Paul's School (1518) direct 
 that every Childermas the pupils 
 shall go to Saint Paul's to hear the 
 childe/bishop's sermon, and after 
 high mass each shall offer a penny 
 to the childe/bishop. 
 
 During the day he and his chapter 
 performed the parts of the bishop 
 and canons; while the real canons 
 took the places of the children, and 
 acted in all respects up to the char/ 
 acter. 
 
 The text of his sermon appears 
 always to have been, “Suffer little 
 children to come unto me." The 
 balance of the day's routine with its 
 services was repeated year after year 
 and was just a moral lecture to 
 children and nothing more. After 
 the service the boy/bishop and his 
 
followers, assisted by a hired train of 
 mountebanks and minstrels, prom^ 
 enaded the district in search of com 
 tributions. They sang gay songs and 
 indulged in laughter, moving antics, 
 and returned to a feast provided by 
 the church-'wardens. 
 
 29ancing 
 
 The art of the light and fantastic 
 was as popular then as now, despite 
 all the opposition of the Catholic 
 Church, which had for centuries 
 consistently disapproved of it on 
 account of its tendency to corrupt 
 the morals. This pastime, however, 
 lacked no encouragement from the 
 civil powers. 
 
 In the social dances it was usual 
 that as soon as the two sexes were 
 assembled in sufficient numbers, 
 before or after the feasts, the balls 
 began, and men and women took 
 
 each other by the hand and com' 
 menced the performance in regular 
 step. From an old description we 
 find that “Youth and Gaiety opened 
 the ball, accompanied by their sister, 
 Bravery ; Cowardice, confused, went 
 of her own accord and hid herself.'' 
 An interesting round dance was 
 practised in which each person by 
 turn sang a verse, the chorus being 
 repeated by all. Sometimes a mim 
 strel sang songs to the accompani' 
 ment of a harp, and the young ladies 
 danced in couples and repeated at 
 intervals the minstrel's songs. Some' 
 times the torch dance was per' 
 formed; in this each performer bore 
 in his hand a long, lighted taper, 
 and endeavored to prevent his 
 neighbors from blowing it out, 
 which each one tried to do, though 
 this performance was principally 
 reserved for weddings. 
 
 I^aggatling 
 
 If we extend our festive season 
 to Twelfth Night, we would come 
 to the picturesque ceremony of 
 “Wassailing," or singing to the 
 apple trees, which is observed yet 
 in a few and isolated instances in 
 West Somerset and some parts of 
 Devonshire, which is the apple 
 district of England, and where cider 
 remains more popular than in other 
 counties. 
 
 The farm help, re'enforced by 
 such village worthies as the black' 
 smith or carpenter, would pay a 
 
yearly visit to the orchards of their 
 neighborhood, beginning their tour 
 in the evening at about seven o'clock. 
 On entering an orchard they would 
 form a circle beneath the largest 
 apple tree and sing their Wassail 
 song ^ the first verse to this effect: 
 
 It is our V/assail round our town, 
 Cup it is white and ale it is brown. 
 
 The mention of ale in connection 
 with apples is not what one would 
 expect, and appears inconsistent ; 
 we find, however, that “Wassail," 
 a word of great antiquity, derived 
 from the Saxon Waes / hael (health 
 to you) ^ is a liquor composed of ale, 
 apples, and sugar, and was at great 
 request at carousals. 
 
 After the song, a bucket of hot 
 cider, with toast floating on the top, 
 was sent out by the owner of the 
 orchard, squire or farmer; the toast 
 was placed in the apple tree for 
 robins to eat, while the cider was 
 sprinkled around the roots of the 
 tree, and some, no doubt the major 
 part, lubricated the throats of the 
 singers. 
 
 All of which must have presented 
 a picturesque and curious sight. It 
 is only necessary to imagine the 
 snow on the ground, frost on the 
 trees, and the moon shining down 
 through their rugged branches onto 
 the faces of these men, and see the 
 enactment of a custom clearly de^ 
 scended from the Druids. 
 
 Brink 
 
 Beer was then, as now, the drink 
 most indulged in by the English 
 masses ^ the grape and apple always 
 forming a poor second; and in Eng^ 
 land at this date there was more corn 
 malted than eaten for food. Despite 
 laws which prohibited the adulter^ 
 ation of this beverage, frequent re^ 
 sort was made to the functions of 
 peony seed, garlic, salt, and other 
 provocatives to thirst, leading us to 
 assume that those who had the 
 selling of this commodity feared no 
 shortage in its supply. Alehouses 
 were nearly as plentiful in a village 
 as other houses. In these the ale^ 
 wives were allowed to make as well 
 as sell their product, though not 
 until it had been inspected and 
 tasted by the official aletaster. 
 
 Were the occupation of this latter 
 worthy character in vogue today, any 
 auxiliary forces needed for the carry 
 ing out of his duties would not be at 
 a disadvantage for need of help made 
 necessary through the demands of 
 the Christmas season, and there are 
 undoubtedly many today who would 
 just as willingly assist in so agreeable 
 a procedure. The age, as well as 
 the purity of the ale or beer, had to 
 be passed on by him before its sale 
 was permitted. The usual price at 
 these houses was one halfpenny per 
 gallon for ordinary ale, whilst London 
 ale, when kept in stock, which was 
 considered better, commanded a 
 
higher price. Hot cider, mead and 
 metheglin came into due consider^ 
 ation, and native and imported 
 wines by those better off. 
 
 Of all the provisions made for 
 his enjoyment and partaken of by 
 the visitor, the cup that cheers, no 
 doubt, was plied with the most 
 frequency. Such drinking vessels 
 
 that were then in use we know to 
 have been made for liberal portions, 
 and if our guest came from some 
 Italian city he might know of the 
 custom of most of his fellow/citi2;ens, 
 and on his road to his inn in the 
 small hours of the night accept the 
 logic of Cellinfs advice and “Turn 
 the corners wide/’ 
 
 IVchvmc bcYC that an hen', 
 ^Pclcome be all, and make a^oob cheer 
 IVchvmc all. imochcrycar, 
 '^Vclcomc^uic 
 

The Caxton Company 
 At Cleveland 
 
 
«