Deep the darkness where we stray

I think it's not possible to write a bad Epiphany hymn. The feast comes ready-made with superbly beautiful imagery - most of all, the star - and the metaphors for the Christian life write themselves. This is a lovely example, a translation of a Welsh carol by the Rev. W. Lloyd. The Oxford Book of Carols has it with a tune by Canon Owen Jones, entitled 'Seren Bethlehem' ('The Star of Bethlehem').


Dark the night lay, wild and dreary
Moaned the wind by Melchior’s tower,
Sad the sage, while pondering weary
O’er the doom of Judah’s power:
When behold, the clouds are parted,
Westward, lo, a light gleams far!
Now his heart’s true quest has started,
For his eyes have seen the star.

Now, Lord Jesus, hear our calling,
Deep the darkness where we stray;
How shall we, mid boulders falling,
Know for thine the rough-hewn way?
Lo, a light shines down to guide us
Where thy saints and angels are!
Now we know thy love beside us,
For our eyes have seen the star.

In Mary mild his pennon pight

Another carol from the Selden MS, from c.1450. This carol is worth reading for verse 4 alone, and you don't have to know what any of it means to hear what a pleasant sound the rhyme-words make: lysse/gysse/blysse and alight/bright/pight. But a translation follows anyway ;)

"Both all and some" is an odd expression but it just means "all of us".

Refrain: Nowell syng we, both all and some,
Now Rex pacificus ys ycome.

1. Exortum est in love and lysse.
Now Cryst hys gree he gan us gysse,
And with hys body us bought to blysse,
Both all and some.

2. De Fructu ventris of Mary bryht,
Bothe God and man in her alyht,
Out of dysese he dyde us dyht,
Both all and some.

3. Puer natus to us was sent,
To blysse us bouht, fro bale us blent,
And ellys to wo we hadde ywent,
Both all and some.

4. Lux fulgebit with love and lyht,
In Mary milde hys pennon pyht,
In her toke kynde with manly myht,
Both all and some.

5. Gloria Tibi ay and blysse,
God unto hys grace he us wysse,
The rent of heven that we not mysse,
Both all and some.


Translation:
Let us all sing 'Nowell', now that the King of Peace is come.

1. Love and joy have risen up for us, and now Christ has begun to clothe us with his favour. With his body he won heaven for us all.

2. He is the fruit of the womb of Mary bright: God and man together alighted on her, and brought us all out of misery.

3. A boy was born, sent to us; he won bliss for us, and brought us out of sorrow, otherwise we would all have been condemned to misery.

4. The light will shine out with love and brightness. He pitched his pennant [a knight's colours] in Mary mild, and in her body took on the strength of manhood.

5. Glory and blessing to God for ever. May God guide us with his grace, that we may not lose the right to live in heaven.

This Dear Day

A seventeenth-century carol by the English Seneca, Bishop Joseph Hall (1574-1656).

'Cratch' in verse 2 means 'manger, cradle'; cf. creche.

1. Immortal Babe, who this dear day
Didst change thine Heaven for our clay,
And didst with flesh thy godhead veil,
Eternal Son of God, all hail!

2. Shine, happy star; ye angels, sing
Glory on high to Heaven's King:
Run, shepherds, leave your nightly watch,
See Heaven come down to Bethlehem's cratch.

3. Worship, ye sages of the east,
The King of gods in meanness dress'd.
O blessed maid, smile and adore
The God thy womb and arms have bore.

4. Star, angels, shepherds, and wise sages,
Thou virgin glory of all ages,
Restored frame of Heaven and Earth,
Joy in your dear Redeemer's birth!

Now man is brighter than the sun

Despite what we all pretended at the Mass I've just been to, today is not the Feast of the Epiphany. I refuse to be robbed of four days of Christmas! So here is, not an Epiphany carol, but a Christmas carol:

Refrain: Nowel, nowel, nowel,
Nowel, nowel, nowel!

1. Out of youre slepe arise and wake,
For God mankind now hathe i-take
All of a maide without any make.
Of all women she berethe the belle.

2. And throwe a maide faire and wis
Now man is made of full grete pris;
Now angeles knelen to manes servis;
And at this time all this bifel.

3. Now man is brighter than the sonne;
Now man in heven an hie shall wonne;
Blessed be God this game is begonne
And his moder emperesse of helle.

4. That ever was thralle, now is he free;
That ever was smalle, now grete is she;
Now shall God deme bothe thee and me
Unto his blisse, if we do well.

5. Now man may to heven wende;
Now heven and erthe to him they bende;
He that was fo now is oure frende.
This is no nay that I you telle.

6. Now blessed brother, graunte us grace,
A domes day to see thy face,
And in thy court to have a place,
That we mow there singe nowel.

This is from the fifteen-century Selden MS, now in the Bodleian Library. Click on the picture above and you can read this very carol! Note the lovely illuminated capital, and see how the red ink rubrics indicate when the refrain is to be sung.

'Beareth the bell' is one of my favourite Middle English expressions. It means 'win the prize', really, though the OED distinguishes between two phrases: "to bear the bell 'to take the first place, to have foremost rank or position, to be the best' and to bear or carry away the bell 'to carry off the prize'. The former phrase refers to the bell worn by the leading cow or sheep (cf. bell-wether) of a drove or flock; the latter, perhaps, to a golden or silver bell sometimes given as the prize in races and other contests; but the two have been confused." It's the first we have in this carol, but the second seems more appropriately chivalric with relation to the Virgin Mary. Think of winning first prize in a beauty contest, or carrying off the prize in a jousting tournament!

The other feature I like is this carol is the emphatic repetition of 'now', twelve times in six verses, and echoed in the refrain 'Nowell'; it really underlines the point of verse 2, that it was at this time that all this happened.


An utterly unpoetic translation into Modern English:

1. Arise and wake out of your sleep, for God has now taken human form of a maiden without any equal [although 'without any make' also means 'without a mate' and thus also 'a virgin']; among all women she wins the prize.

2. And through this fair and wise maiden, mankind now becomes highly valued (/of great worth); now angels kneel at the service of man; and all this happened at this season.

3. Now man is brighter than the sun, now man shall dwell in heaven on high. Blessed be God and His mother, the Empress of Hell, because this joy has begun.

4. Whoever was a slave is now made free; whoever was small and unimportant is now made great. If we act well, God will now judge both you and me worthy of a place in heaven.

5. Now man is able to go to heaven; now heaven and earth bend before God (or before man? I'm not sure). Enemies become friends. There is no contradicting the truth of what I tell you.

6. Now, blessed Brother, grant us the grace to see thy face on Judgement Day, and to have a place in thy court, where we may sing to thee 'Noel'.

A New Year's Day Carol

From some seventeenth-century verses, to be sung to the tune of 'Greensleeves'.

The old year now away is fled,
The new year it is enterèd;
Then let us now our sins downtread,
And joyfully all appear.
Let’s merry be this day,
And let us now both sport and play.
Hang grief, cast care away!
God send you a happy new year.

The name-day now of Christ we keep,
Who for our sins did often weep.
His hands and feet were wounded deep,
And his blessèd side with a spear.
His head they crowned with thorn,
And at him they did laugh and scorn,
Who for our good was born.
God send us a happy New Year.

And now with New Year’s gifts each friend
Unto each other they do send;
God grant we may all our lives amend,
And that the truth may appear.
Now, like the snake, your skin
Cast off, of evil thoughts and sin,
And so the year begin:
God send you a happy new year!


Verse 2 refers to the fact that long before it was New Year's Day, January 1 was the Feast of the Circumcision of Jesus, also known as the Feast of the Holy Name, because it's the eighth day after Christmas. The Anglo-Saxon homilist Ælfric (c.955-c.1010) wrote a homily for January 1, in which he discusses Christian and pagan practices of keeping the New Year. Here are some extracts, in my translation (from this book).

We have often heard that people call this day 'year’s day', as the first day in the course of the year, but we do not find any explanation in Christian books as to why this day should be appointed the beginning of the year. The ancient Romans, in heathen days, began the calendar of the year on this day; the Hebrew people began at the spring equinox, the Greeks at the summer solstice, and the Egyptians began the calendar of their year at harvest. Now our calendar begins on this day, according to the Roman practice, not for any holy reason, but because of ancient custom. Some of our service books begin at the Advent of the Lord. However, that is not the beginning of our year; there is no reason for it being this day, although our calendars continue to put it in this place.

It is most rightly thought that the beginning of the year should be appointed to the day when the Almighty Creator fixed the sun, moon and stars and the beginning of all time; that is the day on which the Hebrew people begin the calculation of their year, as the leader Moses wrote in the book of the law. Certainly God spoke to Moses about the months; this month is the beginning of the months, and it is the first in the months of the year. Now the Hebrew people observe the first day of the year on the spring equinox, because on that day the time of the year was appointed. The eighteenth day of the month which we call March, which you call ‘Hlyda’, was the first day of this world. On that day God created light and morning and evening. Then three days went by without time being measured, because the stars were not created until the fourth day. On the fourth day the Almighty created all the stars and the seasons of the year, and said they were to mark days and years. Now the Hebrew people begin their year on the day when all times were created, that is on the fourth day after the creation of the world. The teacher Bede calculates with great accuracy that the day is the 12th calend of April [i.e. 21 March]. On that day we celebrate that holy man Benedict to honour his great virtues. Indeed, the earth also shows by the shoots which are then quickened again that it is the time when the year should most rightly begin, when it was created.

Now foolish men practise divination by many kinds of sorcery on this day, in great error, according to heathen customs contrary to their Christian faith, so that they may lengthen their lives or their health; but in doing that they anger the Almighty Creator. Many people are also so greatly wrapped in error that they plan their journeys according to the moon and their deeds by the days, and will not let blood on a Monday because it is the beginning of the week - but Monday is not the beginning of the week, it is the second; Sunday is foremost in order of creation, in order, and in honour.

Some foolish people also say that there are some kinds of cattle which man should not bless, and say that if they are blessed they go wrong, but are made obedient by cursing, and use God’s grace to injure them with the devil’s curses, without blessing. Every blessing comes from God, and curses from the devil. God made all creation, and the devil cannot create anything; he incites to evil and acts falsely, the origin of sin and deceiver of souls. Any part of creation which seems perverse has been brought low by sin. Holy men often lived in the desert among fierce wolves and lions, among all kinds of animal and serpent, and nothing was able to harm them; they tore horned snakes apart with their bare hands and easily killed great dragons without any harm through the power of God.

...

Now you observe the days and months with vain sorcery. However, according to nature every bodily creation which earth brings forth is more full and vigorous at the full moon than at the waning; trees which are cut down at the full moon are harder and last longer as timber, most of all if they are sapless. This is no sorcery, but a natural thing, created. So, also, the sea agrees wonderfully with the course of the moon; they are always fellows in waxing and waning, and when the moon daily rises four prican (= fifth of an hour) later, so also the sea always flows four prican later.

Let us set our hope and happiness in the foreknowledge of the Almighty Creator, who established all creation in three things: that is in measure, number and weight. To him be glory and praise for ever world without end. Amen.

St Thomas Becket

The v day longeth to Sent Thomas,
That as a strong pyllar of brass
Held up the Chyrch, and slayn he was,
For he stod with ryghtwessness.

(From a fifteenth-century carol in Bodleian MS. Eng. Poet. e. 1 which has the refrain Make we myrth / For Chrystes byrth / And syng we Yole tyl Candlemas)

This is the fifth day of the twelve days of Christmas, and since the twelfth century it has belonged to St Thomas Becket, who was killed on this day in 1170. I won't rehearse the whole story; read about it all here. His chaplain's eyewitness account is also worth reading. The martyred Archbishop became one of England's most popular saints, his shrine at Canterbury perhaps the most famous in the country (and not just because of Chaucer's pilgrims!). At Canterbury Cathedral they commemorate his death with an absolutely wonderful celebration of Vespers, during which the death of St Thomas is liturgically re-enacted. The Archbishop was celebrating Vespers when he was interrupted by the four knights acting in the name of Henry II. The service begins in the choir, sung entirely in plainchant, in the presence of the current Archbishop. Then it is interrupted, as on the day of Thomas' death, by a crashing on the doors, and the clerics, choir and congregation process, as Thomas fled, to the site of his martyrdom. Then they go on into the crypt, where his body was taken, and the service concludes with joyful polyphony hailing the martyr's sacrifice.

It's so awesome! I've been for the past two years and am going today as well. For more on the general wonderfulness of Canterbury Cathedral, see this article.

Pictures: two medieval depictions of St Thomas' death, at the top an alabaster altar-piece from the church at Elham, and at the bottom a thirteenth-century wall-painting from the church at Brookland, both in Kent. We like him here in Kent, of course.

Merry Christmas!

To bliss God bring us, all and some,
Christe, Redemptor omnium.

In Bethlehem, that fair city,
Was born a child that was so free,
Lord and prince of high degree,
Jam lucis orto sidere.

Jesu, for the love of thee,
Children were slain in great plenty
In Bethlehem, that fair city,
A solis ortus cardine.

As the sun shineth through the glass,
So Jesu in her body was;
Then him to serve God give us grace,
O lux beata Trinitas.

Now is born our Lord Jesus,
He that made merry all of us;
Then be all merry in this house,
Exultet coelem laudibus.