[HN Gopher] Christmas with the Tudors
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Christmas with the Tudors
Author : pepys
Score : 19 points
Date : 2022-12-30 05:56 UTC (17 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.historytoday.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.historytoday.com)
| [deleted]
| vonpissmarck wrote:
| the house of tudor is illegitimate
|
| plantagenets will rise again
| throwyawayyyy wrote:
| I was in Westminster Abbey a few weeks ago. It's arranged, in
| so far as it's planned at all, to lead you to the tomb of Henry
| Tudor, who (in sharp distinction to the other kings) is locked
| away in what resembles a giant iron cage -- presumably owing to
| his own paranoia.
|
| Anyway, I like the idea of saying that _this_ dynasty which won
| the throne through vast acts of violence is legitimate, and any
| subsequent wresting of the throne through the sword is
| illegitimate. Wasn't legendarily Briton originally settled by
| refugees from Troy? I wonder if we can determine which of us is
| the closest male patrilineal descendant of Brutus. Make them
| king.
|
| Edit: got my ancestors and descendants confused :).
| unity1001 wrote:
| Your passion and dedication are impressive.
| yetanotherloser wrote:
| Ah, a Ricardian! Splendid!
| ogogmad wrote:
| A crucial Christmas entertainment was the temporary government of
| the Lord of Misrule. At the royal court, in noble houses, Inns of
| Court and university colleges, Misrule presided, mocking and
| turning the world upside down. He even had a gibbet for mock
| executions. Similarly, in cathedrals and churches, boys from the
| choir were 'appointed' as bishops. Such inversion of the norms
| was fun and necessary.
|
| This is really strange. Did Manorialism exist at this time, and
| did the peasants do this with their Lord?
| sgt101 wrote:
| Yes, and yes... But of course, if they went too far the rest of
| the year was fit for regrets!
| hprotagonist wrote:
| it's also exactly on-brand for the holiday: what starker
| example of "Freaky Friday" inversion of social order is there
| than the Incarnation, and as the child of an itinerant nobody
| at the ass-end of the world, to boot? And this, proclaimed as
| good news.
|
| I feel like we've lost something important in the loss of this
| yearly moment of re-enactment of incarnation's radical
| _weirdness_ and challenge to establishment; the 14th century
| cleric's remarks in the article seem pretty wise.
|
| _Don't wine skins and barrels burst very often if the air-hole
| is not opened from time to time? We too are old barrels._
| sorokod wrote:
| In the illustration at the top of the article, the man in the
| foreground looks like he is a news reporter being filmed by the
| man on his left.
| cbfrench wrote:
| Here is bit more information on the lovely custom of the "boy
| bishop," which has made a return in some places, both Roman
| Catholic and Anglican:
| https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2022/12/the-feast-of-c...
| (Under the "Customs" heading.)
|
| An amusing detail from the article: "Originally the custom was
| meant to foster vocations to the priesthood by giving youngsters
| a taste of liturgical officiating, but once it moved to within
| the Twelve Days of Christmas, it became linked with more riotous
| topsy-turvy customs like the Feast of the Ass or the Lord of
| Misrule. In an effort to put an end to this nonsense, Church
| authorities decided to move the custom to the feast of St.
| Nicholas on December 6, safely out of the way of the Christmas
| mayhem. The plan, however, backfired. Instead of stemming abuses,
| it prolonged them: the Boy Bishop would now preside from December
| 6 to December 28."
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(page generated 2022-12-30 23:01 UTC)