Medieval Gift-Giving at Christmas. Plus 2 Sweet Medieval Historical Romances

During the Middle Ages, Christmas was seen as a sacred time, the time for the three Christ-Masses. Charitable giving to the poor was encouraged on Saint Stephen's day, December 26, which we know as Boxing Day.  On Boxing Day in the middle ages, the poor received money in hollow clay pots with a slit in the top, nicknamed 'piggies'. Unlike modern piggy banks, these clay pots had to be broken to extract the cash.

A page from the Bedford Hours.

What about gift-giving among other classes?

Sacred gifts - of prayer books and so on - were seen as being appropriate for the holy Christmas period. Anne of Burgundy presented the Bedford Hours to Henry VI, her eight-year-old nephew, in 1430. The book is now at the British Library.

Gifts were sometimes given at the New Year. New Year's day, known at the time as the étrenne, a word derived from the Latin strena,  (used to mean both the gifts and the ritual exchange) was the traditional time to do so. Gifts might be food -Christmas was a time of feasting and, for example, it was considered bad luck to refuse a Christmas mince pie given by a host. A Christmas kiss of peace might be given under the green kissing bough of holly and other green-stuff and mistletoe, the plant of peace. Sometimes the 'gift' might be a joke, such as the 'book' given by the illuminators of Les Tres Riches Heures to the Duke de Berry, which turned out to be a block of wood. 

At times the gifts were part of very formal processions and ceremonies. At the courts of Henry Tudor and Richard II the king rose on the day of the New Year and seated himself in his chamber ready to give and receive presents, given and received in strict order or rank. Sometimes the heralds and messengers bringing such gifts could also find themselves rewarded, as happened in the court of Richard II when the carver of the King was given a gold cup by the French King Charles. Kings and Queens could exchange gifts, often of rich jewels, as a public show of respect and affection. Rulers were expected to be generous but at the same time the size and value of gifts were ranged in order of class - kings and queens, their families, nobles, servants, right down to laundresses and cleaning-women. In some years, certain symbols might be used in gifts. In 1422 at the court of Charles VI, small jewels shaped like peacocks were given out to courtiers -  the peacock being one of Charles's badges. 

In medieval England, such gift-giving also went on. People gave New Year’s gifts to those above and below them in the social hierarchy. For example, peasants who worked on landed estates brought gifts of farm produce to the local lord during the Twelve Days of Christmas. Custom dictated that the lord respond by inviting them to a Christmas feast. Personal gifts between people of equal status might have taken place but there are few records of such. In the records and for many kings and nobles, gift-giving meant ostentation and display.

Christmas and gift-giving features in several of my books. In my latest medieval romance, "Sir Conrad and the Christmas Treasure" I show my hero and heroine taking part in several medieval Christmas customs, including winter hunts, gathering and displaying Christmas greenery, Christmas fairs and dancing carols.






In the dark time of the year and the winter solstice, there might also be spirits and ghosts. My Christmas novella "Sir Baldwin and the Christmas Ghosts"
have Sir Baldwin and Sofia seeking to placate the restless dead in time for Christmas.



Lindsay Townsend

The 12 Days of Christmas isn't just a song

I have a confession. I've started this blog about a dozen times (maybe more) but holiday festivities keep getting in my way. If it's not a house filled with friends and family, it's an all-day baking extravaganza or a napping session after over-indulging in all those baked goods.

But I'm working on a story that begins shortly after the Christmas season, so Medieval merrymaking is very much on my mind this year (although I couldn't find anyone who wanted to try a figgy pudding). Medieval Christmas celebrations were very different and yet very much the same as ours.

Most of the festivities centered on feasting and friends, with gift giving and worship rounding out the corners.

Rather than a month-long build up to Dec. 25, however, most of the holiday mirth and merrymaking began Christmas Day and ended Jan. 5, the beginning of Epiphany, which celebrates the Wise Men's arrival to present gifts to the baby Jesus.

During the early Middle Ages, Epiphany was the primary winter holiday with no fixed date to celebrate Christ's birth. However, in the 4th century, Pope Julius I set Dec. 25 as the day to celebrate the Nativity. Over time, various pagan customs associated with the Winter Solstice were incorporated into the seasonal celebrations until Yuletide became the time for feasting, socializing and praying.

Christmas courts were opulent affairs, marked by music, feasts and remnants of pagan rites. Nobles competed with each other to put on the biggest and most varied feasts. Lavish celebrations weren't just for the elite. Minor nobles invited servants and retainers to the castle, and leftovers were given to the poor.

Twelfth Night celebrations included more food and friends. Gifts were usually exchanged on Twelfth Night rather than Christmas eve or day, and Christmas decorations were taken down.

Today, most of the holiday season happens between Christmas and New Year's. We hear very little about Epiphany outside of church services, but I know many people who still take down their tree by Jan. 5 without realizing it's part of the medieval holiday tradition.