W.Irving (1835)
Source:
*[Washington Irving] (Auth.)
*Miscellanies: Abbotsford and Newstead Abbey
*London: Murray, 1835, pp.162-165
This is a somewhat florid yet brief description of Plough Monday at
Newstead Abbey, Notts., and Christmas at Barlborough Hall, Derbys. It is
prominent in that it has been much reprinted and cited by later authors.
The Plough Monday "antics" included some sort of play, involving the recitation
of "...the old ballad of St. George and the Dragon..." This was followed by
"...a set of morrice dancers..." with Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Beelzebub, and
Bessy. The trailing of a "fool plough" is mentioned by way of background
information, but does not appear to be ascribed to any particular location.
The description of Christmas at Barlborough Hall mentions the "Yule Clog" being
put on the fire on Christmas Eve, the wassail bowl and the singing of carols.
"We had mummers and mimers, too, with ballads and traditional dialogues, and the
famous old interlude of the Hobby Horse..." There were also sword dancers.
According to his published letters, Irving stayed at Barlborough Hall at the end
of 1831, making a day trip to Newstead Abbey on the 29th Oct.1831. This was
followed in Jan.1832 with a stay of several weeks at Newstead Abbey. Irving
returned to the U.S.A. in April 1832, and the miscellanies were first published
in 1835.
Variant: c
Scans/Images
Variant: external-resource
Index Terms:
| Locations: |
Newstead Abbey, Notts. (SK5453); Barlborough Hall, Derbys. (SK4778)
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| Years: |
Publ. 1835; Perf. 1831; Perf. 1832
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| Subjects: |
Plough Monday; Christmas; Play; Ballads; St. George and the Dragon; Morrice Dancers; Robin Hood; Maid Marian; Beelzebub; Bessy; Plough Trailing; Fool Plough; Yule Clog; Christmas Eve; Wassail Bowl; Carol Singing; Mummers; Mimers; Hobby Horse; Sword Dancers
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| Archives: |
TDRG Archive, Ref. TD00064;
Project Gutenberg, http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7948, Accessed 15th Feb.2018
|
* indicates data that has not yet been validated against the original source and/or has yet to be completely indexed.
Last Updated Sep 1990 by Peter Millington.
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