The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-12-19
NORMAN CHRISTMAS.
CUSTOMS AND FEASTS OF ENGLAND's
rs, ANCIENT RULERS.

80, ANCIENT RULERS.
CeIts and 6axons Were the Servants Of
Their Conquerors stewed Lamprcys
From the severn-Drinks of the Early
Br,tons-Peaoocks and Bears Heads.
Celtic snnperstitions and traditions pre-
vail In England, the land Of the mistletoe;
the romance Of Arthur and his knights
fingers around Avalon; Roman luxury Is
with US in Bath and Cirencester; Somer-
set recalls the scenes Of Athelney and
Glastonbury, and In the magnificent piles
of Worcester, Gloucester and Hereford we
still gaze In admiration on these wonders
of Norman generosity,
But what have these Normans bequeath-
ed to us Of Christmas customs? Nothing
distinctive, for their ancestors, the sea
kings, were but offshoots Of the same
Scandinavian forefathers Of the Saxons,
and thus we had already received through
Dane and Saxon the ~observances Of north
ern Yule. But a greater luxury n love
Of display In every form entered English
life. Quality, no longer quantity, was the
fashion Of the board. The OK and calf
flesh, sheep and swine flesh, appear as beef,
veal, mutton and pork; huge horns OF
home brewed ale give place to wines;
spiced and highly seasoned dishes first ap-
pear. But at heart the Norman Is no more
refined than the Saxon. Where the Saxon
Is simple minded, trustworthy and faith
full, the Norman Is crafty, cunning ind de-
ceitful. His fair words may sound sweet.
ar, It's all. r. .
Many and varied now are the dishes at
feasts. Our terrapin and ~oanvasback duck
had their prototype In the crane, tndis-
pensable at all aristocratic feasts, and
In Booklets days, for King Henry was a
yeritable gormand, we find such dishes
as "dillegrout," "karumpie" and "mau.
~pigyrnun."
Dillegrout required great skill on the
,ook's part, for 1t was composed OF almond
milk, the Drawn Of capons, sugar and
kspices, chicken parboiled and chopped and
Is often known as "le messe de gyron." II
fat were added to 1t, then it became "mau.
~pigyrnun."
The tenant Of the manor Of Addington
In Surrey held his lands in return for a
mess of ~dillegrout on the day Of the kings
coronation.
The Norman kings had learned to ap-
preciate the stewed lampreys Of the Severn,
and the loyalty Of Gloucester was tested
every year by the preparation OF a huge
lamprey pie for the sovereign.
So fond was Henry II Of this rich dish
that his gluttony overcame his prudence,
and his last illness and death resulted
from the same. John, too, fined the citt-
zens Of Gloucester for not sending him
their usual tribute. rlBut when lampreys
cost 30 cents apiece and a whole sleeps
carcass could be bought for the same sum,
need we wonder at the economical tend
encies displayed toward the worthless
king9
The Christmas lamprey pie, which
Gloucester sends to the reigning king OF
queen, Is we'll worth notice. Last year
the custom, fallen into allegiance, was re-
vived, and q pie weighing 81 pounds was
dispatched to Windsor and gratefully ac.
knowledged by her majesty. According to
an ancient recipe, "take out ye backe bone,
season YIN with cloves, mace, nutmeg, pep
per and allspice, stew YIN in beef. gravy,
port wine and wine Of Madeira, put YIN In
q pie, with chopped anchoyies, -four and
butter; eat vt with lemon juice, mustard
and horse radish."
Accompanying this gift are silver skew
ers bearing the city arms, engraved OF
raised in relief. The English had long ere
this time been celebrated for, their drink
Ing capabilities.
Iago says, "Your Dane, your German
and your swag bellied Hollander are moth
Ing to your English"
The mead, cider, ale, pigment and morat
Of the Celts and Sa1ons have, Norman sue
cessors in claret or CLAIRE, garhioflac and
hippocras. The Saxon morat was made OF
honey and mulberries, and the Norman
hippooras, Indispensable at all high feasts,
was sweetened wine mixed with spices.
The garhioflac was q white wine spiced
with girofe or cloves, and we can still read
an order of Henry III directing the keeper
of his wines to get ready for Christmas
two tuns Of white wine to make garhioflac
and one tun Of red w'fAr-solaret.
The same king 81 Sy,--seacocks
and boars' heads bowtng
how luxury vas and
more. It was SsrS aation
az Gloucester; he
cathedral window
ma spent there
bles left HIM 70
boot coata M