The Medieval Christmas

by Sophie Jackson

Medieval Christmas—roaring fires, Yule logs, boar’s head on a platter, and carols. So many of our best-loved traditions have their origins in the medieval period that it would be impossible to imagine the season without holly and ivy, carol singers calling from door to door, and a general sense of celebration in the face of the harshest season. Sophie Jackson investigates the roots of the Christmas celebration, offering guidance for recreating elements of the medieval Christmas at home, tips on decorations, instructions for playing medieval games, and recipes for seasonal dishes. Fascinating facts about some of our most cherished customs, such as the nativity crib, are unearthed, as are some that are less well known—wassailing the apple trees, the ritual beating of children on December 28, and the appointment of a Lord of Misrule and a boy bishop.

Genres: History, Christmas, Nonfiction, Medieval

162 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author with this name on GR

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Learn about who St. Nicholas really was.
Learn about figgy pudding, mince pies, wassail, and other foods of a Medieval feast.
Learn about the traditions of caroling.
Learn about the history of the garland, tree, mistletoe, holly and green symbolism.
Learn about the traditions.
Learn about the unique traditions and origins of the yule log, mummer's plays, and celebratory customs.

A fun unique look into history, all wrapped up in a nice bow for Christmas;

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book, though not good for historical referencing. I was mildly annoyed by the inaccuracy of the dates and lack of footnotes but for a fun broad look at winter traditions this’ll do

[Hannahcomb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The biggest hurdle for me was the lack of accurate dating for specific Christmas traditions. Everything described within is nebulously within the 'medieval' time period, which spanned for about 1000 years. The book is also very focused on British/English customs. Lots of great ideas within the pages but each custom described meant I had to go hunt for sources outside the book to pin down appropriate dates and places and whether they were a good fit for my historical fiction project.

The layout is very nice and it has loads of full-color photos. This is a good coffee table book for the season described. A full bibliography exists in the back and all of the illuminations are tagged with dates and manuscript citations. I guess I was looking for more direct evidence of a lot of these traditions, rather than overviews. I would read this for fun because it's well-executed, but as a strict historical reference it's lacking.

[S.L. Barrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant little book. I enjoyed the illuminations and artwork throughout the book. I have read a couple similar books so this didn't offer anything different in the way of information, however what did set this book apart was the addition of transcribed songs, rules to festive games, recipes and craft project instructions.

I didn't enjoy the shape of the book as it's in landscape, I found it cumbersome to hold and the book ended abruptly. After such a concise and well formatted book with distinct chapters and sections, I was surprised there was no conclusion.

However the book does provide a nice pverview of the main points of medieval christmas, linkinh breifly to ancient and modern ritual. I would recommend this to anyone interested.

[Rachel Rabeneck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a wonderful book full of really great information. I huge source of inspiration and knowledge. Definitely a “101” type of book that doesn’t go into detail about any one topic, but a great starting place.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but poorly written

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Medieval Christmas
By Sophie Jackson
Reviewed January 6, 2024


I read this book in December, and only now realized I never reviewed it…so here goes.

I got this book at one of my favorite online used book sellers because I was working on a project that required some basic info on how Christmas was celebrated, specifically in Medieval England, and this book more than filled the bill.

No, there’s not a lot of “This custom was first recorded (insert where or when here),” but provides a great starting point for more detailed searching online. The chapters cover topics such as mummers and plays, wild boar and wassail, early carols, seasonal saints, boy bishops, St Nicholas (the Medieval Father Christmas), greenery, and more, and the pages are filled with beautiful color reproductions of Medieval artwork.

If you’re looking for a more scholarly work, this probably won’t be what you want (although there is a nice bibliography in the back that might lead you to something more along those lines). If, however, like me, you want a nice overview of how a Medieval Christmas was celebrated, and enjoy pretty pictures along the way, then try to get yourself a copy of this little book.

Including the bibliography, it’s only 122 pages in length and reads fast, its intended audience, obviously the general reader.

By the way, I love the cover, which is a detail from an early-16th century painting. Yes, the gable headdresses on the women tell us this is from the Tudor age, but I like to imagine this is an earlier setting. Perhaps Middleham Castle in the 1470s, and the lordly personage seated in the center is my favorite Plantagenet, Richard of Gloucester. Hey, I can pretend, can’t I? *wink*

All in all, it was a lovely little volume to add to my Christmas library.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Medieval Christmas is a well written but very small generalized book. It mainly looks at English traditions for the Christmas holiday. This being said I learned a fascinating amount from the information inside about the origins of many modern traditions, and about Saint Nicholas. It is well illustrated with period illuminations that add to the interest of the book. It is a good read for the Christmas holiday.

[Nick · Rating 2 out of 5]

Instructive, informative, without overly impressing. Learned a couple of things, things that I'll probably forget after a while. lol