San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-12-19
The Sunday Light.
ANcIENr CHRIsrMAs cARoLs.
BY Lady Cook, nee Tennessee c. Olaf
lin, for the Sunday Light

lin, for the Sunday Light
In former article on Christmas we
allude to the old carols which for so
many centuries have stirred the hearts
of generations of our cOuntrymen with
love and good will toward each other.
We have them in Latin, Norman
French and old English, and some
times in two of these languages com
bined. Numbers have doubtless been
lost, but, owing to the researches of a
few scholars, many apcient manu-
scripts that might have otherwise shar-
ed the same fate have been published
for the general reader. We are chief
ly indebted to the learning and labors
of Thomas Wright, Esq, and 10 the
public spirit of the Percy society for the
opportunity of making the few eX
tracts which follow, and which may
interest our readers sufficiently TO i'll
duce many of them 10 become further
acquainted with our national carol.
Such a study is TO be by no means
despised. 1t gives an insight into the
religious feelings and piety of the Eng
lish in past times. Their simplicity of
openness of speech and heartiness of
sentiment, are laid bare 10 us. and in
dictate a generous and frank people.
We see that then as now, they Loyalty
endeavOred to be orthodox, although
the doctrines of the Trinity and the I'M
maculate Conception occasionally stag
gered them somewhat. But there is
scarcely any sign of these erotic feel
ings. which find such frequent and viO-
lent expression in modern hymnology.
And, Notwithstanding the blunt, coarse
ness of the times, there is little, except
here and there that should shock a faS-
tidious propriety. Many of them are
POLITICALLY rendered and set TO tunes of
older productions.
THE earliest carol known to have
been written is an Anglo-NOrman one,
and commences:
SeignOrS. ore entendeZ Il nus.
And ends with the unintentiOnal re-
minder of VOrtigern and ROwena:
81 il vus di trestoz, "WeSSeyl"
Dehaiz cit qui ne dirra Drincheyl,
One written about the time of Henry
VI. draws the bow at a venture by
stating that Jesus was born in the
morning and begins
WOlcum be thu, hevene Kyng,
Wolcum, born in on MOrwening,
Wolcum, for HON we Xal syng,
WOlcum, gOl.
Considerable sympathy is often
shown for the natural surprises of Jo-
seph at the state of Mary, as the first
stanZa of another carol illustrates:
Mervele nogt JOSEF, on Mary mylde;
FOrsake hyr not, they she be WITH
chylde.
l, Josep, wonder how thys may be,
That Mary weX greet when and she
Ever have lived YIN chastyte;
Yf she be with chylde, Vt VS. not by me.
Marvele not, Josep.
The precocity of the child, who CON
verses with his mother as soon as he is
born. is shown in numerous carols
One goes:
This lovely lady sat and sang. and TO
hyr chylde sayd.
My some, my brOder. my fader der.
why lyeSt thou thus yn hayd?
My swete byrd,
Thus vt VS. betyde.
ThOw thou be Kyng veray:
But nevertheless
wyll not Ses
TO Syng. by by, lulllay.
The chylde than spak in his taIkyng,
and TO hyS mOder Sayd,
Ibekydde am Kyng in cribbe thar | be
layd. etc.
She answers:
Now. swete son. syn thou art Kyng.
why art thou layd in stall?
Why ne thou ordende thi beddyng In
sum gret KyngeS hall?
Me thynkyth il is ryght.
That Kyng or Knight
Should ly in good array:
And than among
Ii We're no wrong
To syng. by by. lullay,
He replies:
Mary mOder. am thi chylde. thOw |
he layd in stall.
Lortles and dukes shall Worship me
and so shall KyngeS all.
We shall well So
That KyngeS thre
Slal come the xii day.
For this beheSt
Gcfc me thi brcSt.
And Syng. by by. luIlay.
Another carol begins:
Lullay. my chylde. and wepe no more
Slepe and be now styll:
The Kyng of blyS thy fader VS.,
AS it waS hyS wyll.
4 former intpryipVy-thp Annuncia 10