Monthly Blog Post - December

Here we are already in December, in Old English Ærra Gēola "Before Yule", or "First Yule".

This year 1st December falls on a Sunday, or in Old English, Sunnandæg. I don't think any of this really requires a translation, especially when we remember that often-times a 'g' is soft, like a 'y' and so it's easy to see how Gēola becomes Yule, and dæg becomes day.

Christmas, too, is easy enough: Cristes Mæsse.

There's not a great deal of information about how Christmas was celebrated, but one thought always makes me smile - imagine if the Anglo-Saxons had a similar routine to that of modern times, where offspring and their partners take it in turns to visit parents for the festive period. I'm thinking in particular about the families of Penda of Mercia and Oswiu of Northumbria in the seventh century. It really would have been the perfect set up (let's leave aside the fact that of the extended families, Penda alone was a pagan) as three of Penda's children married into Oswiu's family.

His daughter Cyneburh married Alhfrith of Northumbria, while his son Peada married Alhfrith's sister Alhflæd, and then at some point their half-sister Osthryth married Penda's youngest son, Æthelred. On the face of it you'd think these two families would get along tremendously well but no, sadly not. If you've read my novels about Penda's family, Cometh the Hour and The Sins of the Father, you'll know that this was not the case at all and that two of those marriages ended when one partner was murdered. In case you haven't read them, I'll not give any spoilers here!

Of course while I'm mentioning my books, I should also add that you can read more about the lives of Penda and his family in my history of Mercia, Mercia: The Rise and Fall of a Kingdom and those murders are discussed in greater detail in my new book, Murder in Anglo-Saxon England: Justice, Wergild, Revenge, which will be out in February.

The new book does feature one particularly brutal incident which took place just around Christmas-time: in 780, two ealdormen burnt the king’s patrician, Beorn, in Seletun on 24 December. Was Beorn in his hall, gathered with his family and sitting down at a feast? He was accused by one chronicler of 'unjust severity' but we are not told the exact nature of his perceived crimes.

Of course, December isn't just about Christmas, which let's face it seems to begin in October or November these days. We can still sometimes experience snow, although it seems to happen less often these days. The Old English word for snow was snaw so again, not a huge difference. 

December 13th is St Lucy's or St Lucia's Day and, according to the Old English Martyrology, she was threatened that if she did not renounce her Christian faith, she would be sent to a house of ill-repute and dishonoured until she was dead. But she refused to move and though she was pushed and pulled, stood her ground. She was eventually then bound with ropes and the order was give for her to be stabbed in the stomach with a sword. Still she did not waver, and prophesied that the governor would die that day, and indeed he was led to Rome and sentenced to death by the senate. Lucy herself did not die before a priest had arrived to give her the Eucharist. In some later accounts, her eyes were gouged out before she was executed but were miraculously restored before she was buried.

14th-Century Image of St Lucia/Lucy

A grim story. One wonders how the Romans must have shaken their heads at such obstinate and staunch unwavering faith. Before the Gregorian calendar reform in 1752, her feast day occurred on the shortest day of the year (hence the saying “Lucy light, Lucy light, shortest day and longest night”) *

In December we also have the Winter Solstice, or Midwinter, which was also another term for Christmas. 

There is limited information concerning how Christmas was celebrated. We can surmise by the lack of daylight that 'indoors' started calling and when working days were shorter then more pleasant activities - feasting, drinking, story-telling - would be more prevalent. How much was available to eat though?

Food was seasonal, so much would be dried or preserved and there would be no fresh dairy produce as such animals were 'dry' throughout the winter months. We might imagine that at such special feasts, there was fresh meat - hunted wild boar perhaps. There is evidence that wine was produced and drunk in 'England' at the time, along with ale and of course, mead. (I like to be authentic, but I've tried mead numerous times and still don't like it much!) 

We could also picture the scop (pronounced shop) playing tunes on a lyre, singing songs, or reciting poetry. A sense of belonging was important to the culture, where hearth really did mean home. Such gatherings would emphasise this sense of community.

In a recent online lecture, Professor John Blair made the point that a culture which produced such items as the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Staffordshire Hoard would not have lived in plain, timber buildings. Yes, they were made of wood, but we must surely imagine those buildings with carvings and paintings and wall-hangings (which would help to insulate) and so more than likely greenery would be brought inside to decorate the hall at this time of year.

Candlelight was not a choice back then, of course, and those candles might have been made of smelly tallow or sweeter beeswax.

Obviously the Anglo-Saxon era straddles the conversion to Christianity, but the assumed differences between pagan and Christian 'yule' celebrations would provide too much content for a short blog post.

And that just leads me to say that whether or not you celebrate Christmas, or any other midwinter festival or festival of light, I hope that at some point during the dark days you can draw near the fire and gather with friends and/or family.

*https://www.almanac.com/content/month-of-december-holidays-facts-folklore