Joseph Ritson
Ancient Songs and Ballads From The Reign of King Henry the Second To The Revolution. 1790.
W. Carew Hazlitt, ed., Third Edition. London: Reeves And Turner, 1877
Editor's Note: This volume
contains much more than just Christmas songs. However, as this web site is limited
to that genre, I have only included such songs. For your perusal, however, there is a
PDF of
The Full
Contents
Mr. Hazlitt's
Preface
Class I. Comprising the Reigns of Henry II, Richard I, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II, Edward III, Richard II
Class II. Comprising the Reigns of Henry IV, Henry V, and Henry VI.
X. The Contest of the Ivy and the Holly, p. 113
XIII. Wolcum Be Thu, Hevene Kyng, A Christmas Carol, p. 120
XIV. Carol For saint Stephens day: Saint Stephen Was A Clerk, p. 121
Class III. Comprising the Reigns of Edward IV. and Henry VIII.
VI. A carol on bringing up a boars head to the table on Christmas-day: The Bores Heed In Hand Bring I, p. 158
VII. In die nativitatis. [a Christmas carol]: The Borys Hede That We Bryng Here, p. 160
VIII. In die nativitatis. [Another Christmas carol]: I Am Here, Syre Christmasse, p. 161
Class IV. Comprising the Reigns of Edward VI., Queen Mary, And Queen Elizabeth.
Class V. The Reigns of James I., Charles I., Charles II., and James II.
II. A carol for presenting the wassel-bowl: A Jolly Wassel-Bowl, p. 351
III. A Christmas Carol (God bless the master of this house), p. 354
Editor's Note: In his preface, Mr. Hazlitt wrote that "... the Glossary has been specially prepared for this edition by Mr. Sidney Herrtage, to whom I beg to express my obligation for his kindness."
I profess no expertise in Middle English and therefore can offer neither endorsement nor criticism of this glossary. If you can provide a link to another resource, please feel free to contact me. This PDF link opens in a new window.
Please note that Mr. Ritson, in his edition of 1826, also included a glossary at pages 297-326:
Two additional essays by Mr. Ritson (from the 1877 edition) have been scanned and are included in PDF format. Both open in new windows.
Observations on the Ancient English Minstrels
Dissertation on the Songs, Music, and Instrumental Performance, of the Ancient English
Editor's Note: The edition of Mr. Hazlitt did not differ from than published in 1829 (except the glossary and the note in A Jolly Wassel-Bowl). Neither contained any musical settings.
Please note that the correct title for the 1790 edition is: Ancient Songs From The Time of King Henry The Third To The Revolution. It was printed in London by J. Johnson; this carol occurs on pp. 304-306.
| English
musician, composer and scholar,
Tamsin Lewis, has created two delicious collections of
English music and song from the 16th and 17th Centuries for
Christmas and Winter. From Advent through Candlemas, these
books contain a selection of carols, hymns and ballads that
celebrate both the birth of Christ, as well as the
festivities of the Christmas-tide.
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For the accompanying CD please see Winter's Sadness
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