Monday, August 30, 2021

The season and the year in medieval English churches

 Nicholas Orme, Going to Church, p259, a picture shows people's dogs following them to church 

Lengths of candle and wick might be stretched around the church to represent the church - similarly people could be measured with wax and the wax offered at a shrine for a sick person

Wax images of animals might be burnt to invoke a blessing on them

The Saturday before Ash Wednesday was sometimes known as Egg Saturday, as people used up their eggs before Lent 

Palm Sunday processions might include boy singers in wigs and beards to represent the prophets

After each verse of Gloria, laus, at honor cakes or breads with flowers might be thrown down from a gallery, scaffolding, tower or other high place in the church with the boys scrambling for them 

Men would be shorn or shaved before Easter Communion 

Margery Kempe gained written permission from the Archbishop of Canterbury to communicate every Sunday  

Two clerks or boys held a houseling trowel under each communicant's mouth to catch any crumbs. Wafers were placed directly into the mouth and a Londoner who took it in his hands was reported for disobedience. The wafer was washed down with unconsecrated wine. 

From Anglo-Saxon times it was customary to take one's Easter fare of meat, cheese, milk or eggs to church to be blessed and sprinkled with holy water. 

Church fundraising medieval style: from 1200 in Hocktide, on the Monday after Easter the women of the parish would capture the men and charge them a fee to be released. The next day the men did the same to the women. Proceeds to church funds.

The holidays of Rogationtide and Pentecost were a great time for a riot / protest. Food was running short. Roads were relatively dry (see p296)

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