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Month: December 2009
Home ish
After an almighty kerfuffle (I'm not sure I've every written that word before, so it may be wrong) and quite a degree of consternation/anxiety/all the rest, Maria & I made it back to Britain last Friday. Her visa arrived (or, more accurately, I went and collected it from the UPS van) 2 hours before we left for the airport – cutting it a bit fine for my tastes. But we are here.
And of course, still without a home. Plenty of temporary ones, or places to visit, present themselves, but it's a bit wearying really; we could do with a bit of space we can call our own. All prayers, as ever, much appreciated.
But it is good to be here once more. Just need to avoid sneezles and wheezles now.
Tolling the Devil’s Knell
HISTORY
“The Devil`s Knell will be tolled on Christmas Eve, to finish on the stroke of midnight.” – Dewsbury Minster Church Bulletin
In the Western world, the history of bell-ringing is inextricably linked to the development and spread of Christianity. There are no records at all of bells in the pre-Christian era, and the earliest references to them come from the second century, being used in a Christian context. Bell-ringing can take many forms, but the solemn ringing of the Passing Bell traditionally denoted the death of some significant person, and for all society to take note. In 1624, John Donne warned against sending ‘to know for whom the bell tolls’, since every human death brings the diminishment of humanity as a whole. But there is one funereal peel to which Donne would not have applied this rule, since on Christmas Eve in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, the bells record the demise not of any human, but of Satan himself.
In 1434, a local knight, Thomas de Soothill, flew into a rage upon hearing that a servant boy had failed to attend church that week. He grabbed the boy and, lifting him up, threw him into a mill pond, where the boy drowned. Overwhelmed by remorse at the murder, and as an act of penance, de Soothill paid for a new 1300-weight tenor bell for the parish church (now Dewsbury Minster), asking for it to be tolled at his funeral as people prayed for his soul. Sir Thomas also instituted the practice that the bell (named Black Tom after its benefactor) should be to be rung on Christmas Eve, with one toll for each year of the Christian Era, to proclaim the defeat of evil and the forgiveness of all sins, not just his own. At the time of writing, we are in anno domini (‘year of our Lord’) two thousand and nine, this being, in Christian understanding, the two thousand and ninth Year of Grace since the birth of Jesus.
EVENT DETAILS
Dewsbury Minster, like many congregations in the Church of England, celebrates Midnight Mass as the clock ticks from Christmas Eve to the Christ-Mass itself. “The first eucharist of Christmas declares the defeat of evil,” as the church rector says. With this understanding, Tolling the Devil’s Knell should not be seen as a separate ritual but as an extended drum-roll, leading up to the taking of the sacrament. The final toll is timed to take place on the stroke of midnight.
Since Black Tom now has to be rung well over two thousand times before twelve o’clock, the Tolling of the Devil’s Knell has to begin at 10:15pm, with the bell being struck (on average) every three seconds. The Midnight Mass service begins at 11:15pm, but the Knell continues. A scorer keeps tally of the rising number tolled, as seen below in a picture from the 1950s.
OTHER FEATURES
The tenor bell, Black Tom, was featured on a 31p stamp in the 1980s, as part of a Royal Mail set called Traditions of England.
Although Christian views on Satan vary, few would suggest that the Devil was actually killed when God was incarnated as a human (in the Nativity – ‘birth’), but that by this event his future defeat was sealed. In this sense, the Tolling of the Devil’s Knell at Dewsbury can be seen as a kind of exercise in goading; reminding Lucifer of his defeat and ultimate doom.
Alternatively, since the ringing of bells (and other assorted noise-making) was often used in Mediaeval times to cleanse a locality of evil spirits, the Dewsbury ritual may well have included such a function, although the alternate name for the ritual – Old Lad’s Passing – seems to indicate the former understanding.
The Knell is not participatory – the bells are rung by the Minster’s own regular team – and is far from a crowd-pleasing spectacle, since there are no accompanying rituals until the service starts.
The inscription on the bell is:
I shall be here if treated just
When they are mouldering in the dust
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Wassailing
HISTORY
Often mentioned, rarely understood, wassailing is a midwinter ritual, primarily performed in England. Apple tree wassailing, such as is practiced at the Whimple Wassail, is a ceremony which involves drinking to and singing the health of the apple trees.
In pre-Norman days, the phrase Wæs (þu) hal! – meaning ‘be (thou) hale’ – was an everyday greeting, and it eventually wore down into the single word wassail. The Saxon and Norse English both shared this phrase, along with the accompanying practice of welcoming a visitor with a cup of ale or mead, which allowed wassail! to develop as an all-purpose toast to good health. Since ‘hal’ is the ancestor of our modern ‘whole’, ‘heal’, and ‘holy’, this toast can be seen as more holistic than wishing simple soundness of body. It is not known whether the wassailing of trees is as ancient as the phrase itself, or whether one practice grew out of the other, but it is in this midwinter ritual that the term has principally endured and remains in use today.
Wassailing is widespread throughout England, and especially in cider-producing regions such as the Westcountry, Kent, and Herefordshire. Its traditional date is Twelfth Night, January 6th, although many prefer ‘Old Twelvey Night’, January 17th, which would have been Twelfth Night but for the loss of eleven days after England’s adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in 1752. This is the practice at Whimple in Devon, where the village’s historic festivities (which had ceased during the Second World War) were restarted in 1993. Fortunately for Whimple, the fifty year cessation of wassailing in the village had not dimmed the memories of its oldest residents, and the present practices and songs are a continuation of the age-old.
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EVENT DETAILS
On the evening of Old Twelfth Night, participants gather at the Fountain Inn in Whimple to meet, practice the songs, and show off their costumes. The Mayor (appointed for the occasion, since Whimple no longer has one) leads proceedings, ably assisted by the Princess and the Wassailing Queen, who lead the wassailers out of the pub to the first orchard.
The Princess carries lightly-toasted bread in a flasket, which the Queen dips in Wassail (spiced cider made from the self-same orchard) and is hoisted aloft so that she can hang it in the branches of the oldest tree, while reciting the traditional verse:
Here’s to thee, old apple tree,
That blooms well, bears well.
Hats full,caps full,
Three bushel bags full,
An’ all under one tree.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
That blooms well, bears well.
Hats full,caps full,
Three bushel bags full,
An’ all under one tree.
Hurrah! Hurrah!
Having done so, the participants (who bring a variety of homespun percussion instruments and noisemakers) sing the Whimple Wassail Song and dance around the tree, before toasting it with Cider from the communal Wassail Cup. The ceremony concludes with shots being fired through the branches and the villagers making as much noise as possible; shouting and screaming and banging their instruments. The soaked toast is seen as reminding the tree of last year’s goodness, while the noisemaking is used to ‘re-wake’ the trees for the new year, as well as being a variation on old cleansing rituals whereby evil spirits were chased from the vicinity.
Three separate orchards require three ceremonies, interspersed with processional music and a pause of remembrance to John Shepherd (who led the reestablishment of the ritual and taught the villagers all the old songs), before concluding with more cider and merrymaking at the village cricket club.
OTHER FEATURES
Wassailing rituals vary from place to place, with a variety of blessings, toasts and songs dependent on the locality. In Herefordshire and Wales, wassailing is often combined with midwinter rituals of spiritual-cleansing by fire, with flaming torches placed in tree branches and bonfires lit.
The fact that pieces of toast are used as part of a ‘toast’ may not be a coincidence. In former years, toasted breads and cakes were often used as a flavouring in mulled wine and cider, hence ‘drinking a toast’. The pieces of toast first used in wassailing probably were these flavourings.
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Whilst sitting in a foreign land, waiting to come home, this helps to put things in perspective
This is Stackridge, with North Street Grande. Merry Christmas.
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the evolution of Darwinism
I think I'm going to start getting into Tom Wright from now on – partly because I agree with him, and partly because, even when I don't (or I'm not sure if I do), there's something about his tone of voice that makes me feel that he doesn't mind too much. Maybe that's what Anglicans bring to the world – an accepting tone of voice.
Anyway, this is just an example, but a very good one. I love a bit of historical context.
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You know where you can stick your over-exuberant Christmas Lights, don’t you?
Man vs Horse
HISTORY
Humans have always loved, and often harnessed, the speed and strength of the horse, and the stories of our species are intertwined – indeed, barring a few isolated groups, horses have been an entirely domesticated species for nearly five thousand years.
In 1980, in the mid-Wales town of Llanwrtyd Wells, an argument broke out in the pub concerning an age-old matter. “Yes, we all know that horses can sprint fast,” one man declared, “but, over a real distance, man is its equal.” The pub was the Neuadd Arms and the speaker was the landlord, Gordon Green. To resolve the dispute, Green suggested a full public test: a race. A £1000 prize was put up to attract competitors willing the attempt the feat, and the Man vs Horse Marathon has been staged every year since.
Unwittingly, the event has revived memories of a great Welsh historic precedent. In the early years of the 18th Century, Guto Nyth Bran’s exploits as a runner stretched to near mythological proportions, such as catching hares and birds and going undefeated over a twenty year period. Not least amongst these achievements was the occasion on which he was challenged to race against a horse, coming home the winner over a distance of 12 miles, but collapsing and dying at the moment of triumph.
EVENT DESCRIPTION
Still organised by creator Gordon Green, the Man vs Horse Marathon is run over a rough, cross-country course of 22 miles, and has become the largest horse race in Britain, attracting more riders in recent years than the forty competitors in a Grand National. Numbers of entrants on the side of the runners now usually reach over two hundred and fifty, and are also increasing. Horses have had the upper hand on runners in all bar two of the races to date.
The race is run in a loop in the countryside around Llanwrtyd Wells, with the runners starting 15 minutes before the horses. This protects against the front-runners clashing on the narrow paths along which much of the race is run. The course is specially chosen to provide a close contest between man and beast.
Every year, a £1000 prize is put up as bait for aspiring runners – there is no reward bar satisfaction for the riders – and every year that it remains unclaimed, it rolls over to the next. So it was that the first successful man to win the race – marathon runner Hugh Lobb in 2004 – received twenty-five years’ worth of prize money. When Florian Holginger emulated the feat in 2007, there was only £3000 in the kitty.
OTHER FEATURES
For a period between 1985 and 1993, cyclists were allowed to compete in the race. This included the first victory of man over horse when cyclist Tim Gould won in 1989. However, since mountain bikes are presently not permitted to race on bridleways, this accommodation has had to cease.
Until his death in 1999, Screaming Lord Sutch, founder and leader of the Monster Raving Loony Party, was the official race starter and a staunch supporter of the event.
Llanwrtyd Wells is quite a centre of excellence in the field of quirky sports and traditions. In addition to Man vs Horse, it hosts a variety of competitions and events, including the Bog-Snorkelling World Championships, the Drovers Walk, Mountain Bike Chariot Racing and a celebration of the Roman festival of Saturnalia.
Three Songs
Now, I don't have time to tell you about who John Clare is and just why it's so important that he's recognised as one of the great English poets. That's my Dad's job. All I wanted to say is that since this summer, I have been writing tunes to carry his words. Have a listen, and see what you think.
Download 03 Remember, Dear Mary
There's a possibility that I may get to record some of these properly in the next year or so – I have about a dozen of decent quality. I apologise to anyone who may be instinctively opposed to the singing of folk music.
Quidquid recipitur ad modum recipientis recipitur
Translation: Whatever is received is received according to the manner of the receiver.
Basically, I think this
means that your perception of something is shaped as much by who you are as it is shaped by the thing itself. The antenna determines the signal received.
So, how did you receive that? And does that tell you anything about yourself?
Or, to take it a step further and be practical: How much of my view of Jesus is basically me looking at an idealised version of myself, or at least of my preferences concerning what I would like the incarnated God to be like? Do I walk through Advent purely looking for a Christmas present that suits me, or am I open to whatever I may receive? Am I Christian, or Davidian?
a stone in the road 