British Popular Customs Present And Past - online book

A calendar of the traditional customs, practices & rituals of the British Isles.

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182                                      LADY DAY.                           [MARCH 25.
must be a mistake, since the term relates to merry pranks, or pleasure gambols only, and has no connection with marl as a manure.
These gyst-ales, or guisings, once ranked amongst the principal festivals of Lancashire, and large sums of money were subscribed by all ranks of society in order that they might be celebrated with becoming splendour. The lord of the manor, the vicar of the parish, the farmer, and the operative, severally announced the sums they intended to give, and when the treasurer exclaimed " A largesse," the crowd demanded " from whom ?" and then due proclamation was made of the sum subscribed. The real amount, however, was seldom named, but it was announced that " Lord John­son," or some other equally distinguished person had con­tributed "a portion of ten thousand pounds" towards the expenses of the feast.
After the subscription lists were closed an immense garland was prepared, which contained abundance of every flower in season, interspersed with a profusion of evergreens and ribbons of every shade and pattern. The framework of this garland was made of wood, to which hooks were affixed, and on these were suspended a large collection of watches, jewels, and silver articles borrowed from the richer residents in the town. On the day of the gyst this garland was borne through the principal streets and thoroughfares, attended by crowds of townspeople dressed in their best attire. These were formed into a procession by a master of the ceremonies, locally termed the king. Another principal attendant was the Fool, dressed in a grotesque cap, a hideous grinning mask, a long tail hanging behind him, and a bell with which he commanded attention when announcements were to be made. In an early period of these guisings the fool was usually mounted on a hobby-horse, and indulged in grotesque pranks as he passed along—hence we obtained the term " hob-riding," and more recently the proverbial expression of "riding one's hobby to death."—Harland and Wilkinson, Legends and Traditions of Lancashire, 1873, p. 86.
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