Christmas Carols and Their Stories
Puzzle 05 · Carols of the Middle Ages · Page 17 in print
The Boar's Head Carol
William Sandys wrote in 1833 that the boar’s head, with a lemon in its mouth, long remained the first dish at Christmas in great houses, though by his day brawn usually took its place.
Jump to a word
The words
Bays
Bay leaves that dress the boar’s head at Queen’s.
Caput Apri
Latin for ‘the boar’s head’, opening the carol’s burden.
Husk, Songs of the Nativity (opens a new tab) · Sandys, Christmas Carols (opens a new tab)
Colophon
The closing note that dates de Worde’s carol book to 1521.
Garlands
With which the boar’s head is decked in the carol and at Queen’s.
High Table
Where the boar’s head is set before the Provost.
Lemon
Set in the boar’s mouth when it was served.
Mustard
Served with the boar’s head in the 1521 carol.
Oxford
The university city of the boar’s head custom.
Husk, Songs of the Nativity (opens a new tab) · Sandys, Christmas Carols (opens a new tab)
Procession
The march that carries the boar’s head into Hall.
Provost
The Provost of Queen’s College, before whom the boar’s head is set.
Queen's College
The Oxford college where the carol is still sung.
Husk, Songs of the Nativity (opens a new tab) · Sandys, Christmas Carols (opens a new tab)
Rosemary
The herb that dresses the boar’s head.
Steward
The household officer who provides the boar’s head in the carol.
Thomas Hearne
The antiquary who once owned the surviving leaf.
Wynkyn de Worde
The London printer of the 1521 Christmasse Carolles.
Husk, Songs of the Nativity (opens a new tab) · Sandys, Christmas Carols (opens a new tab)
Sources
- William Henry Husk, ed., Songs of the Nativity: Being Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (London: John Camden Hotten, n.d. [1868]); archive.org scan songsofnativityb00huskInternet Archive
- William Sandys, Christmas Carols, Ancient and Modern (London: Richard Beckley, 1833); archive.org scan christmascarolsa00sandrichInternet Archive