Category: University Collections

December 11th – Away in a manger

Taken from a medieval source, this carol transcribed by Thomas Wright has many of the hallmarks of the seasonal songs we still sing today: In wynter quan the frost hym fres, A power beddyng our Lord hym ches; Betwyin…

December 10th – None but the howlets

We’ve all heard of “The Holly and the Ivy”, but what about “The Ivy and the Holly”? Pay closer attention to the version of this popular carol we hear most often, and you will begin to notice a theme – it’s all holly…

December 9th – A semely song

This medieval song takes us into a flourishing springtime garden, to hear the Christmas story. Our narrator leads us through lush greenery to a scene of trees filled with singing doves. Here we meet a dazzling woman,…

December 7th – Singing like a bird

Perusing popular lyrics of bygone decades suggests that, unlike the carols with which we are more familiar today, many traditional carols eschewed wintery scenes and snow for verdant abundance and tropical colour. The…

December 5th – It’s snow joke

Here’s a wee verse from a book of children’s rhymes by Hamish Hendry, from 1897, with illustrations by Alice. B. Woodward. “We made a man all by ourselves; we made him jolly fat; We stuck a pipe into his face and on…

December 3rd – Nautical or nice…

Today’s choice is taken from the charmingly titled “The poets’ Christmas: a collection of carols, poems, and plays for Christmastide. With a plea for a village drama”, by W. T. Stead (1890). Seemingly on a mission to…

December 2nd – Carolling at St Andrews

The St Andrews student newspaper “College Echoes” from December 1925 provides what is simply described as a “traditional carol”: “Carol, carol, merrily, Christ is born for us today Christ is come on earth to stay.…

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