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In the same pageant one of the prophets says—
" Novellis, novellis of wondrfull mrvellys, Were 'hy and defuce vnto the heryng, Asse scripture tellis these strange novellis to you I bryng."
One of the earliest known carols, however, in our island, is the Anglo-Norman one, of the thirteenth century, first printed in Douce's f Illustrations of Shakespeare,' with a free translation, which is not only of a cheerful, but of a festive nature,
giving the
" . . . . host's command, And Christmas joins him hand in hand, To drain the brimming bowl."
It is in effect a Christmas drinking song.
Edward the Fourth had regulations for the singing of songs
before him at Christmas, by the clerks and children of his
chapel, and the custom of singing songs had now become
general. In some of the early ones, scraps of Latin were
introduced, probably from the Christmas hymns, which they
were intended in a great measure to supersede; as, for
example, from additional MS., 5665, British Museum, about
the time of Henry the Eighth, which contains several others.
" Now make us ioye in this feste, In quo xpus natus est, A patre unigenitus, iij zong maydens cam till us, Syng we to hym and say well come, Veni Redemptor gentium.
Agnoscat omne seculum, A bryzth sterre iij kyngs made come, A solis ortus cardine, So myzthi a lord ys non as he, Veni Redemptur omniu gentium." Others, again, were in a simple, familiar style, adapted to |
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