ives us in "Henry VIII."{3} an example of a simpler impromptu
form: the king and a party dressed up as shepherds break in upon a
banquet of Wolsey's.

In this volume we are more concerned with the popular Christmas than with
the festivities of kings and courts and grandees. Mention must, however,
be made of a personage who played an important part in the Christmas of
the Tudor court and appeared also in colleges, Inns of Court, and the
houses of the nobility--the "Lord of Misrule."{4} He was annually
elected to preside over the revels, had a retinue of courtiers, and was
surrounded by elaborate ceremonial. He seems to be the equivalent and was
probably the direct descendant of the "Abbot" or "Bishop" of the Feast of
Fools, who will be noticed later in this chapter. Sometimes indeed he is
actually called "Abbot of Misrule." A parallel to him is the Twelfth
Night "king," and he appears to be a courtly example of the temporary
monarch of folk-custom, though his name is sometimes extended to "kings"
of quite vulgar origin elected not by court or gentry but by the common
people. The "Lord of Misrule" was among the relics of paganism most
violently attacked by Puritan writers like Stubbes and Prynne, and the
Great Rebellion seems to have been the death of him.

MUMMERS' PLAYS AND MORRIS DANCES.

Let us turn now to the rustic Christmas mummers, to-day fast
disappearing, but common enough in the mid-nineteenth century. Their
goings-on are really far more interesting, because more traditional, than
the elaborate shows and dressings-up of the court. Their names vary:
"mummers" and "guisers" are the commonest; in Sussex they are
"tipteerers," perhaps because of |299| the perquisites they collect, in
Cornwall "geese-dancers" ("geese" no doubt comes from "disguise"), in
Shropshire "morris"--or "merry"--"dancers."{5} It is to be noted that
they are unbidden guests, and enter your house as of right.{6} Sometimes
they merely dance, sing, and feast, but commonly they perform a rude
drama.{7}

The plays acted by the mummers{8} vary so much that it is difficult to
describe them in general terms. There is no reason to suppose that the
words are of great antiquity--the earliest form may perhaps date from the
seventeenth century; they appear to be the result of a crude dramatic and
literary instinct working upon the remains of traditional ritual, and
manipulating it for purposes of entertainment. The central figure is St.
George (occas