422, before he was nine months old, and although the
regency of the two kingdoms to which he was heir had been arranged by
Henry V. before his death, the reign of the third king of the House of
Lancaster saw the undoing of much that had been accomplished in the
reigns of his father and grandfather. It was during the reign of
Henry VI. that Joan of Arc came forward alleging her Divine commission
to rescue France from the English invader. But it is not part of our
subject to describe her heroic career. The troublous times which made
the French heroine a name in history were unfavourable to Christmas
festivities. The Royal Christmases of Henry the Sixth were less costly
than those of his immediate predecessors. But as soon as he was old
enough to do so he observed the festival, as did also his soldiers,
even in time of war. Mills[28] mentions that, "during the memorable
siege of Orleans [1428-9], at the request of the English the
festivities of Christmas suspended the horrors of war, and the
nativity of the Saviour was commemorated to the sound of martial
music. Talbot, Suffolk, and other ornaments of English chivalry made
presents of fruits to the accomplished Dunois, who vied with their
courtesy by presenting to Suffolk some black plush he wished for as a
lining for his dress in the then winter season. The high-spirited
knights of one side challenged the prowest knights of the other, as
their predecessors in chivalry had done. It is observable, however,
that these jousts were not held in honour of the ladies, but the
challenge always declared that if there were in the other host a
knight so generous and loving of his country as to be willing to
combat in her defence, he was invited to present himself."

[Illustration: Henry IV.'s Cradle]

In 1433 Henry kept his Christmas at Bury, and in 1436 at Kenilworth
Castle. Nothing remarkable, however, is recorded respecting these
festivities. But some interesting particulars have been preserved of a

CHRISTMAS PLAY PERFORMED IN 1445

at Middleton Tower, Norfolk, the family seat of Lord Scales, one of
the early owners of Sandringham, which is now a residence of the
Prince of Wales. Mrs. Herbert Jones[29] says:--

"One winter, when he was about forty-six years old, in a quiet
interval soon after Henry the Sixth's marriage to Margaret of Anjou,
Lord Scales and his wife were living at Middleton. In a south-east
direction lay the higher ground where rose the Blackborough Priory