Our December meeting offered a wonderfully festive change of pace, as storyteller and musician Jane Goodall treated members to an evening of medieval tales, music, and merriment.
Jane opened with a vivid retelling of the medieval Christmas story of Sir Cleges and King Uther Pendragon, setting the tone with humour, warmth, and a strong sense of oral tradition. From there, the evening ranged widely across medieval Christmas customs, including wassailing, mumming, the Hobby Horse (or ‘Obby ‘Oss), and the Lord of Misrule — a temporary upending of social order in which a lowly figure was appointed to preside over festive chaos.
We also learned about lesser-known traditions such as when spinning was suspended and tools were decorated with greenery until ‘Distaff Day’ on 7th January, alongside gift-giving, fortune-telling, and seasonal performances. Jane explained how our modern idea of Father Christmas only emerged much later, after eventually merging with traditions surrounding Saint Nicholas.
Throughout the talk, Jane played an array of medieval instruments — including tenor crumhorn and bray harp — and used live looping to recreate the sound of multiple musicians performing together, giving a vivid sense of how music might have filled a medieval court or great hall. A playful quiz invited the audience to guess whether pieces were genuinely medieval and whether they were associated with Christmas, revealing that “carols” originally referred to dances rather than songs, and once marked Easter and summer celebrations as well as winter ones.
Dressed in rich, jewel-toned medieval costume, Jane encouraged audience participation throughout, and the evening ended with members learning a traditional medieval Christmas dance — a first for the Society, and a great deal of fun.
A joyful and memorable way to usher in the festive season.
