THE subjects of the offerings at the Epiphany, with the accompanying
legend of the Three Kings or Magi, and that of carol singing, require
so much space that it has been thought preferable to devote particular
chapters to them, rather than interrupt the narrative of Christmas
festivities.
The offerings on the day of the Epiphany were in remembrance of the
Manifestation of our Saviour to the Gentiles, and of the gifts made to
Him by the Magi, or Wise Men of the East; when “the kings of Tarshish
and of the isles brought presents; the kings of Sheba and Saba offered
gifts,” or, as the ‘Bee Hive,’ of the Romish Church, states it, “Kings
came out of the Moor’s land to worship Christ.”
The king of the bean was the forerunner of our Twelfth-Day King; in the
Saturnalia a king was elected, and as some say by beans, by way of lot,
and he was invested with full power over the guests, and from him the
lord of Misrule, under his various names, may take his origin; but the
king of the bean and Twelfth-Day king were strictly confined to Twelfth
Day, and ephemeral in their rule.
At the time of our Saviour’s birth, there was an expectation of his
appearance among many of the heathen nations; it is said even that the
initiated in the religious mysteries of the Persians, possessed as a
secret handed down from the time of Zoroaster, that a divine prophet
should be born of a virgin, whose birth should be proclaimed by the
appearance of a bright star. The celebrated prophecy of Balaam, also
made an impression on the surrounding nations; “I shall see him, but
not now; I shall behold him, but not nigh; there shall come a star out
of Jacob, and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the
corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth.” When the star
eventually appeared, the Magi, or Three Kings, as they are commonly
called, eagerly followed it to the cradle of our Saviour to pay their
adorations,—
“See how from far upon the eastern road,
The star-led wizards haste with odours sweet.”
According to old legends, which are always fond of embellishment,
this star was an eagle flying and beating the air with his wings, and
had within it the form and likeness of a young child, and above him
the sign of a cross. D’Israeli mentions some rays of this star, in a
collection of relics.
There are numerous histories of the magi or kings themselves, all
agreeing as to their number having been three, but some of them
differing entirely in name. We may, however, consider Melchior, Jasper,
and Balthasar, to be the genuine ones, and certainly more euphonious
than Galagalath, Magalath, and Tharath; but even the legends that
agree in the names, differ in the description of their persons, or in
the appropriation of the presents given by them; but as Bede, in the
seventh century, was the first writer in this country who has given
a description of them, which he, no doubt, took from some earlier
account, we may adopt, in the main, his history. According to this,
Melchior was old, with gray hair and long beard, and offered gold to
our Saviour in acknowledgment of his sovereignty; Jasper was young,
without any beard, and offered frankincense in recognition of the
divinity; and Balthasar was of a dark complexion, as a Moor, with a
large spreading beard, and offered myrrh to our Saviour’s humanity; or
as one of my family, Sandys the traveller, translates the description
from ‘Festa Anglo-Romana,’—
“Three kings the King of kings three gifts did bring,
Myrrh, incense, gold, as to man, God, a king.
Three holy gifts be likewise given by thee
To Christ, even such as acceptable be
For myrrha tears; for frankincense impart
Submissive prayers; for pure gold a pure heart.”
Many of the ancient ecclesiastical writers endeavoured to find out
mystical meanings in every sacred subject, in which, however, they
have followers in the present day; so that the variety in appearance
of the Three Kings may be supposed to have some reference to the three
races of man, where, according to the Armenian tradition, Shem had
the region of the tawny, Japhet that of the ruddy, and Ham that of the
blacks.
The early heralds, who considered that none could be ennobled, or good,
or great, without the aid of their science, little anticipating that,
in after times, any one might have “arms found” for him, with crest
and motto, according to order and price, and having some vague notions
of the early origin of the same, emblazoned coats of arms for all the
great characters in the Bible, commencing with Adam—giving one even
to our Saviour. It may, therefore, be readily supposed that the Three
Kings had theirs. Their journey lasted twelve days, during which they
required no refreshment, it seeming to them as one day. After they had
presented their gifts, the Virgin Mary gave them in return one of our
Saviour’s swaddling clothes, which they took as a most noble gift. In
after days they were baptised by St. Thomas, and some time subsequent
to their deaths, their bodies were taken by the Empress Helena, in
the fourth century, to Constantinople; from thence they were moved to
Milan; and when this city was taken by the Emperor Frederick, in 1164,
he gave these relics to Reinaldus, Archbishop of Cologne, whence they
are commonly called the Three Kings of Cologne. There is some story
of Louis the Eleventh having moved some of the bones from Cologne,
as they were considered to be of sovereign virtue in royal ailments.
Their names even were thought of great efficacy in falling-sickness
and madness, if written on parchment, and hung about the patient’s
neck, with the sign of the cross; and, as it is to be presumed in all
these cases, with a good deal of faith. Another charm is rather more
extensive in its benefits:—
“Sancti Tres Reges
Gaspar, Melchior, Belthazar,
Orate pro nobis, nunc et en hora
Mortis nostræ.
“Ces billets ont touché aux trois têtes de S.S. Rois à
Cologne.
Ils sont pour des voyageurs, contre les malheurs de chemins,
maux de tête, mal caduque, fièvres, sorcellerie, toute sorte
de malefice, et mort subite.“
It was found in the purse of Jackson, a celebrated smuggler, convicted
of murder, in 1749, but did not prove efficacious with him, as he died,
struck with horror, just after being measured for his irons. Another
charm is to write their names in virgin wax, with a cross against each,
and place it under the head of one who has had any thing stolen from
him, and he will dream of what has become of the stolen article. If he
does not remember his dream, it must be his own fault, of course. The
names of the Three Kings, together with those of the four shepherds,
who went to our Lord in Bethlehem—Misael, Achael, Cyrianus, and
Stephanus—(in the Chester mysteries they have the more humble names of
Harvey, Tudd, and Hancken), form a charm against the bite of serpents,
and other venomous reptiles and beasts. One John Aprilius, when he
was hung, having implored their assistance, was more successful than
Jackson; for, after having been suspended for three days, he was found
to be alive, and being taken down, he went to Cologne, half naked,
with the halter about his neck, to return thanks, and, probably, to
request that next time he might be taken down a little sooner. One
Roprecht, a robber, was hung for certain crimes against society, but
his body disappeared from the gibbet, whether by the intervention of
the Three Kings or not, was unknown. In a short time, however, it was
found hanging again, with the addition of a pair of boots and spurs.
As he was now really dead, and could tell no tales, this freak of his
absconding for a short time, for the purpose, apparently, of being hung
over again in boots and spurs, could not be explained by the people;
but the fact was, that some passer-by had, in the first instance, found
him still living, and compassionately maintained him for some time;
but, like the warmed viper, he returned to his old knavish practices,
and stole his benefactor’s horse, when, being pursued and taken, he
was, after some trouble, replaced in his old noose, and left to his
fate.
According to Picart, the Feast of the Epiphany was established in the
fourth century, though Brady says it was first made a separate feast
in 813. It became, however, one of the most popular of the Christmas
festivals, and some of the most splendid entertainments were given
on this day; and in our times it is probably the most popular day
throughout the Christmas, thanks to the Twelfth Cake, and drawing for
characters, with other amusements. It was a very early custom to choose
a Twelfth day king, or king of the bean, as he was formerly called;
and this was originally a case of election, although afterwards, as at
present, taken by lot; but, at the same time, the practice of election
was also continued, even to recent times; the French court choosing one
of the courtiers for king, who was then waited on by the other nobles,
as late as the time of the revolution, when, amongst other vagaries,
the ruling citizens, for the time being, changed “La fête de Rois,” to
“La fête de Sans-culottes.” The students and citizens in the various
cities and universities in Germany, also, used to choose one of their
companions for king; and this practice would appear preferable to our
practice of drawing for characters, and would probably ensure the
election of the person best calculated to promote the wit and enjoyment
of the evening, instead of taking the chance of the least adapted, or
who may be called the “slowest” of the party drawing the lucky card.
Even now, however, occasionally an election is made, and the fortunate
elect then chooses his court for the evening.
In the last century, the Twelfth Night cards represented ministers,
maids of honour, and other attendants of a court, and the characters
were to be supported throughout the night. At present they are in
general grotesque, and seldom possess much wit or humour. Many early
notices may be met with of the antiquity of the custom. In “Les
Crieries de Paris,” of the thirteenth century, the “Gastel à fève
orroiz” is mentioned, which is described as a cake, with a bean for
the “Fête de Rois,” and we shall find a present given to the court
minstrels on the Epiphany, in the name of the king of the bean, in the
time of Edward the Third. Down to the time of the civil wars, the feast
was observed with great splendour, not only at court, but at the Inns
of Court, and the universities (where it was an old custom to choose
the king by the bean in a cake), and in private mansions and houses.
The lord mayor and aldermen, and the crafts of London also, used to go
to St. Paul’s on Twelfth Day, to hear a sermon, which is mentioned as
an old custom, in the early part of Elizabeth’s reign.
The usual course, of choosing by the bean, was to insert it in the
cake, though sometimes a piece of money was put in instead. The cake
was then cut up, and the person to whom the piece with the bean fell
was the king for the evening. Sometimes pieces were allotted to our
Saviour, and the Virgin Mary, and the Three Kings, which were given
to the poor; and if the bean should be in either of these portions,
the king was chosen by pulling straws. Baby-cake, in the mask of
‘Christmas,’ was attended by an usher, bearing a great cake, with a
bean and pea. The king elect chose his queen, or occasionally a pea was
inserted in the cake for the purpose, and they chose their officers;
and in France, when either of them drank, the company were to cry out,
on pain of forfeit, “Le Roi (ou la Reine) boit.”
Louis the Fourteenth, on one occasion, in his youth, was king of the
bean, but would not undertake the office, handing it over to his
governor, De Souvre.
Herrick, in the seventeenth century, refers to the practice of choosing
by the bean and pea:—
“Now, now the mirth comes,
With the cake full of plums,
Where beane’s the king of the sport here;
Beside we must know,
The pea also
Must revell as queene in the court here.
Begin then to chuse,
This night as ye use,
Who shall for the present delight here;
Be a king by the lot,
And who shall not
Be Twelfth-Day queene for the night heere.“
The French twelfth-cake is still plain in appearance, containing a
bean: it was composed, about 250 years since, of flour, honey, ginger
and pepper; what it is made of now, Monsieur Verey can no doubt tell,
if he will; they are however far exceeded in appearance by the rich
frosted, almond-pasted, festooned, bedizened, and carefully-ornamented
cakes of the English pattern, gladdening the eyes of joyful holiday
young people, and through them the hearts of their parents. The eager
grouping of passers-by, to see the shop-windows crowded with these
elegant productions of confectionary science, causes stoppages in
our highways and thoroughfares, with reiterated “Move-ons” from our
policemen. About twenty-five years ago there was one exhibited, said
to weigh one ton, but it might have weighed any given number, being
simply several large wedges of cake, all plastered together, at the
top and sides, with one uniform coat of sugar-frost. Speaking from
memory, and with a taste somewhat blunted to these enjoyments, the
flavour was somewhat below the average, and curiosity was rewarded by
ascertaining—to use a bad pun, which it is hoped may be excused—that
it really was [Greek: mega hkakon] (mega cakon).
The adoration of the Magi was a favourite subject in the early
mysteries. The celebrated Marguerite de Valois, Queen of Navarre, wrote
one on it as well as on the Nativity, the Massacre of the Innocents,
and the Flight into Egypt, which were all published in 1547, in the
collection of her works, called ‘Marguerites de la Marguerite des
princesses, très-illustre Reyne de Navarre.’
There are said indeed to have been representations in the French
churches of the Three Magi as early as the fifth century; and there are
French mysteries relating to them in the eleventh century, and also a
Latin one mentioned by Lebeuf, wherein Virgil accompanies the kings on
their journey; and at the end of the Adoration joins them very piously
in the benedicamus.
The first feast of the Three Kings was celebrated at Milan in 1336, by
the friar preachers, and was called the Feast of the Star. A golden
star was exhibited, as if in the sky, preceding them; the Three Kings
appeared on horseback, crowned and richly clad, with a large retinue,
and bearing golden cups filled with myrrh, frankincense, and gold.
They asked Herod where Christ should be born, and having been answered
in Bethlehem, proceeded to the church of St. Eustorgius, preceded by
trumpets, horns, apes, baboons, &c. In the church, on one side of the
altar, was the representation of a manger, with an ox and an ass; and
the infant Saviour in the arms of his mother, to whom the kings then
made their offerings. It forms a favourite subject in our early English
Mysteries, which were suppressed early in the time of James the First;
but it was introduced as a puppet-show at Bartholomew fair as late as
the time of Queen Anne. In ‘Dives and Pauper,’ 1496, it is stated, “For
to represente in playnge at Crystmasse Herodes and the Thre Kynges and
other processes of the gospelles both than and at Ester, and other
times also, it is lefull and com̄endable.”
Several provincial French collections of Carols, published within
these few years, contain a Mystery or Scripture play of the Adoration.
The Feast of the Star, just mentioned, was retained to some extent in
Germany up to the end of the last century; and Hoffman, in his ‘Horæ
Belgicæ,’ contains the Star-song used on the occasion, as old perhaps
as the fifteenth century, of which a nearly literal translation is
given hereafter. The history of these kings was a favourite subject for
tapestry and illuminations for books, of which numerous examples might
be given; also for paintings on church and monastic walls, as Barclay,
in his Egloges, says,
“. . the Thre Kinges, with all their company,
Their crownes glistning bright and oriently,
With their presentes and giftes misticall.
All this behelde I in picture on the wall.”
The offerings by our sovereigns of gold, frankincense, and myrrh,
continued down to the present time, is referred to elsewhere in this
work. Melchior was said to have presented a golden apple, formerly
belonging to Alexander the Great,—made from the tribute of the
world—and thirty pieces of gold.
The history of these pieces of gold is curious, showing how ingeniously
these legends were dovetailed together. They were first coined by
Terah, the father of Abraham, and taken by the latter, when he left the
land of the Chaldees. They were by him paid away to Ephron as part of
the purchase money for the field and cave of Machpelah. The Ismaelites
then, according to one account, paid them back as the price of Joseph
to his brethren; and as, according to our version of the Scriptures,
the price of Joseph was but twenty pieces, we may imagine the remainder
were given for some other purpose; though Adam Davie, who wrote in
1312, referring to this event, says—“Ffor thritti pens thei sold that
childe.” The money was afterwards paid to Joseph by his brethren during
the time of scarcity; and on the death of Jacob, his son paid them to
the royal treasury of Sheba for spices to embalm him. The celebrated
Queen of Sheba, on her visit to Solomon, presented them to him with
many other gifts. In the time of his son Rehoboam, when the King of
Egypt spoiled the temple, the King of Arabia, who accompanied him,
received these pieces of money in his share of the plunder, and in his
kingdom they remained until the time of Melchior, who presented them
to our Saviour. On the flight into Egypt, the holy family were closely
pursued by Herod’s soldiers, and coming to a field where a man was
sowing asked the way: when they had passed on, the corn miraculously
sprang up; just afterwards Herod’s soldiers arrived and inquired of the
sower if he had seen our Saviour and his parents, but he told them that
no one had passed since his corn was sown, on which the soldiers turned
back and gave up the pursuit.
This legend is mentioned in the carol of the Carnal and the Crane. In
the hurry of the flight the Virgin Mary dropped these pieces of money
and the other gifts. They were found by a shepherd, who kept them by
him, and in after years, being afflicted by some disease incurable by
mortal aid, applied to our Saviour, who healed him, and he then offered
these gifts at the high altar. They were subsequently paid to Judas by
the priests as the reward of his perfidy. There are two reasons given
for his requiring thirty pieces of money: one that he considered he had
lost thirty pieces by the box of precious ointment not having been sold
for 300 pence, of which he would have purloined the tenth part; and the
other, that having been sent by our Saviour, on Holy Thursday, with
this amount of money, to provide for the last supper, he fell asleep in
the way and was robbed. In the midst of his distress the rich _Jew_,
Pilate, met him, and he then agreed to betray his master for the amount
he had lost.
In one of our ancient chronicles there is a legend of the life of
Judas, before he became an apostle, very similar, in many respects,
to the well-known history of Œdipus, which need not be repeated here.
When, smitten by remorse, he returned the money to the priests, and
destroyed himself: they applied half in purchase of the potter’s
field, and with the other half bribed the soldiers who guarded the
sepulchre to say that the disciples came by night and stole the body
of our Saviour. After this, having performed their mission, they were
dispersed, and all traces of them lost. They were made of the purest
gold, the term pieces of silver used in some parts of our translation
with reference to them, being, according to the history, merely a
common or generic name for money, like _argent_ in French; on one
side was a king’s head crowned, and on the other some unintelligible
Chaldaic characters, and they were said to have been worth three
florins each.
There are many old manuscript histories of these kings in existence,
at the Museum and elsewhere, one of which resolves the whole story
into alchemy; and early printed histories, as by Güldenschaiff, in
1477, and Wynkyn de Worde, in the beginning of the sixteenth century.
Some account of particularly splendid feasts on Twelfth Day have been
mentioned in the foregoing pages.
Their names were occasionally used as a term of adjuration, which, in
former times, whatever may be case now, was a mark of respect. Diccon,
in that quaint production ‘Gammer Gurton’s Needle,’ of which the plot
and catastrophe would rather astonish a modern audience, says to Dame
Chat,—
“There I will have you swear by oure dere lady of Bullaine,
Saint Dunstone and Saint Donnyke, with the Three Kings of Kullain,
That ye shall keep it secret.”
I will now conclude this chapter with the ‘Star Song,’ before referred
to—
“We come walking with our staves
Wreathed with laurel,
We seek the Lord Jesus, and would wish
To put laurel on his knees;
Are the children of Charles the King,
Pater bonne Franselyn, Jeremie.
We did come before Herod’s door, &c.
Herod, the king, came himself before, &c.
Herod then spake with a false man’s heart, &c.
Why is the youngest of three so swart? &c.
Altho’ he is swart, he is well be known, &c.
In orient land he has a throne, &c.
We all came over the lofty hill, &c.
And there saw we the Star stand still, &c.
Oh, Star! you must not stand still so, &c.
But must with us to Bethlehem go, &c.
To Bethlehem, the lovely town, &c.
Where Mary and her child sit down, &c.
How small the child, and how great the good, &c.
A blessed New Year that gives us God, &c.
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