December 21st – Deck the Halls
Today’s advent door opens onto winters of yesteryear spent in University Hall, the University of St Andrews’ first residence for women students. The records of the “Dinna Forget” club, an informal social group of…
Category: University Collections
December 20th – Blown away by feathers
“It is most remarkable”, declares an aghast J.R. Planché in his ‘Cyclopædia of costume’ (1876 – 1879, rf GT510.P5), “that these most graceful and effective ornaments appeared to have been utterly ignored by all races…
December 19th – Lordlings, Christmas loves good drinking
Reving up at the starting line of the whacky-carol races is this bawdy drinking song, titled simply “Old Norman Carol”. Included in the collection by W.T. Stead, the editor does not give us any further context for…
December 18th – Of a rose, a lovely rose, of a rose is al myn song
Taken from a late-fifteenth century book of hours, this beautiful illustration shows the annunciation, the scene recounted in the gospel of Luke when Mary is visited by an angel and told she would give birth to God…
December 17th – A cautionary carol of feisty feasting
For our next contender in the oddball category, we return, again, to the marvellous world of Sloane ms 2593, and its store of alternative carols. In this instance, that store should perhaps be a grain-store, for…
December 16th – A little sheepish
In Scotland, at least, ‘tis the season of all things wool – woolly sweaters, hats and gloves, to keep the chill at bay, and this carol, “The Shepheards song: a caroll or hymne for Christmas” (author Edmund Bolton,…
December 15th – By the fruits of her labours
Today’s pick is another plucked from the basket of oddball carols. To the modern layperson’s ear, “Mary and the cherries” does not immediately conjure up any of well-known stories of the season. Donkey, oxen and manger…
December 14th – Reflecting on the stars
While at times – especially in the depths of December – the small City of St Andrews can feel very far from the centre of the universe, academic exploration in this corner of Fife has long contributed to our knowledge…
December 13th – All a-buzz with festive spirit
The twelfth-night tradition of wassailing, either awakening orchard trees with singing and cider or roving groups of wassail-singers visiting homes, is a custom associated with the south-west of England. Yet in recent…
December 12th – Has anyone seen this chicken?
Many of us will feast on turkey this festive season, which may even be followed by a family favourite animation featuring a rubber-glove-combed penguin. So, while it doesn’t sound a jot like “Deck the Halls”, this wee…