Mummers Play
Encyclopedia
Mummers Plays are seasonal folk play
Folk play
Folk plays such as Hoodening, Guising, Mumming and Soul Caking are generally verse sketches performed in countryside pubs in European countries, private houses or the open air, at set times of the year such as the Winter or Summer solstices or Christmas and New Year...

s performed by troupes of actors known as mummers or guisers (or by local names such as rhymers, pace-eggers, soulers, tipteerers, galoshins, guysers, and so on), originally from England (see wrenboys), but later in other parts of the world. They are sometimes performed in the street but more usually as house-to-house visits and in public houses.
Although the term "mummers" has been used since medieval times, no play scripts or performance details survive from that era, and the term may have been used loosely to describe performers of several different kinds. Mumming may have precedents in German and French carnival
Carnival
Carnaval is a festive season which occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February. Carnaval typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus, mask and public street party...

 customs, with rare but close parallels also in late medieval England (see below).

The earliest evidence of mummers' plays as they are known today (usually involving a magical cure by a quack doctor
Quackery
Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe the promotion of unproven or fraudulent medical practices. Random House Dictionary describes a "quack" as a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or publicly, to have skill, knowledge, or...

) is from the mid to late 18th century. Mumming plays should not be confused with the earlier mystery play
Mystery play
Mystery plays and miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...

s.

Mummers' and guisers' plays

Mummers' and guisers' plays were formerly performed throughout most of Irish-speaking Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

 and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, as well as in other English-speaking parts of the world including Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

 and Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis
The Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis , located in the Leeward Islands, is a federal two-island nation in the West Indies. It is the smallest sovereign state in the Americas, in both area and population....

. In England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, there are a few surviving traditional teams, but there have been many revivals of mumming, often associated nowadays with morris
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...

 and sword dance
Sword dance
Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...

 groups.

Mummers and "guisers" (performers in disguise) can be traced back at least to the Middle Ages, though when the term "mummer" appears in medieval manuscripts it is rarely clear what sort of performance was involved. A key element was visiting people in disguise at Christmas. At one time, in the royal courts, special allegorical plays were written for the mummers each year — for instance at the court of Edward III, as shown in a 14th century manuscript, now in the Bodleian Library
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library , the main research library of the University of Oxford, is one of the oldest libraries in Europe, and in Britain is second in size only to the British Library...

, Oxford. However, apart from being in rhyme, these plays were nothing like the current traditional plays, whose documented history only goes back as far as the mid-18th century.

Although usually broadly comic performances, the plays seem to be based on underlying themes of duality
Dualism
Dualism denotes a state of two parts. The term 'dualism' was originally coined to denote co-eternal binary opposition, a meaning that is preserved in metaphysical and philosophical duality discourse but has been diluted in general or common usages. Dualism can refer to moral dualism, Dualism (from...

 and resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...

 and generally involve a battle between two or more characters, perhaps representing good against evil
Evil
Evil is the violation of, or intent to violate, some moral code. Evil is usually seen as the dualistic opposite of good. Definitions of evil vary along with analysis of its root motive causes, however general actions commonly considered evil include: conscious and deliberate wrongdoing,...

. Usually they feature a doctor who has a magic
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...

 potion
Potion
A potion is a consumable medicine or poison.In mythology and literature, a potion is usually made by a magician, sorcerer, dragon, fairy or witch and has magical properties. It might be used to heal, bewitch or poison people...

 which is able to resuscitate a slain character. Early scholars of folk drama, influenced by James Frazer
James Frazer
Sir James George Frazer , was a Scottish social anthropologist influential in the early stages of the modern studies of mythology and comparative religion...

's The Golden Bough
The Golden Bough
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer . It first was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes...

, tended to view these plays as debased versions of a pre-Christian fertility ritual, but this view is discounted by modern researchers.

In mummers’ plays, the central incident is the killing and restoring to life of one of the characters. The characters may be introduced in a series of short speeches (usually in rhyming couplets) in which each personage has his own introductory announcement, or they may introduce themselves in the course of the play's action. The principal characters, presented in a wide variety of manner and style, are a Hero, his chief opponent, the Fool, and a quack Doctor; the defining feature of mumming plays is the Doctor, and the main purpose of the fight is to provide him with a patient to cure. The hero sometimes kills and sometimes is killed by his opponent; in either case, the Doctor comes to restore the dead man to life.

The name of the hero in the English tradition is most commonly Saint George, King George, or Prince George. His principal opponents are the Turkish Knight (in southern England), or a valiant soldier named Slasher (elsewhere). Other characters include: Old Father Christmas
Father Christmas
Father Christmas is the name used in many English-speaking countries for a figure associated with Christmas. A similar figure with the same name exists in several other countries, including France , Spain , Brazil , Portugal , Italy , Armenia , India...

 (who introduces some plays), Beelzebub
Beelzebub
Beelzebub -Religious meaning:Ba‘al Zəbûb is variously understood to mean "lord of flies", or "lord of the dwelling". Originally the name of a Philistine god, Beelzebub is also identified in the New Testament as Satan, the "prince of the demons". In Arabic the name is retained as Ba‘al dhubaab /...

, Little Devil Doubt (who demands money from the audience), Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....

 (an alternative hero in the Cotswolds
Cotswolds
The Cotswolds are a range of hills in west-central England, sometimes called the Heart of England, an area across and long. The area has been designated as the Cotswold Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

), Galoshin (a hero in Scotland), etc. Despite the frequent presence of Saint George
Saint George
Saint George was, according to tradition, a Roman soldier from Syria Palaestina and a priest in the Guard of Diocletian, who is venerated as a Christian martyr. In hagiography Saint George is one of the most venerated saints in the Catholic , Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, and the Oriental Orthodox...

, the Dragon
Dragon
A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures. There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Greek and Middle Eastern...

 rarely appears in these plays, though it is often mentioned; a dragon seems to have appeared in the Revesby
Revesby
-England:*Revesby, Lincolnshire, a civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire**Revesby Abbey, a Cistercian monastery located near the village...

 Ploughboys' Play in 1779, along with a "wild worm" (possibly mechanical), but it had no words to say. In the few instances where the dragon appears and speaks, its words can be traced back to a Cornish script published by William Sandys in 1833.

It is thought the tradition of the mummers came to Ireland through the arrival of the Normans although some scholars have argued that the ancient Irish had similar ceremonial activities to mumming that can be traced back as far as two millennia B.C.. Irish custom and tradition have permeated mumming ceremony in Ireland and there mumming often centres around famous characters from Irish history - Colmcille, Brian Boru, Art MacMorrough, Owen Roe O'Neill, Sarsfield and Wolfe Tone.

Occasionally, the performers will wear face-obscuring hats or other kinds of headgear, which create the impression of being mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...

ed. Some mummers' faces are blackened or painted red by way of disguise. Many mummers and guisers, however, have no facial disguise at all.

Mumming, at any rate in the South of England, had its heyday at the end of the 19th century and the earliest years of the 20th century. Most traditional mummers groups (known as "sides") stopped with the onset of the first World War. To most groups, mumming was a way of raising extra money for Christmas and the play was taken round the big houses. Most Southern English versions end with the entrance of "Little Johnny Jack his wife and family on his back". Johnny, traditionally played by the youngest mummer in the group, first asks for food and then more urgently for money. Johnny Jack's wife and family were either dolls in a model house or sometimes a picture.

Those involved with mumming groups were often unwilling to admit to it as they did not like to confess to begging. However it seems that it could be quite lucrative, it is said that three nights of mumming often raised as much as a whole month's wages for the agricultural labourers who mostly made up the groups.

Some groups continued after the first World War and even beyond the second, but most did not. The groups were normally based in a village and each village had a slightly different version of the play. In the second half of the twentieth century many groups were revived, mostly by folk music and dance enthusiasts. The revived plays are frequently taken around inns and public houses around Christmas time and the begging done for some charity rather than for the mummers themselves.

Early examples

Although there are earlier hints (such as a fragmentary speech by St George from Exeter
Exeter
Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

, Devon, which may date from 1737, although published in 1770), the earliest complete text appears to be an undated chapbook
Chapbook
A chapbook is a pocket-sized booklet. The term chap-book was formalized by bibliophiles of the 19th century, as a variety of ephemera , popular or folk literature. It includes many kinds of printed material such as pamphlets, political and religious tracts, nursery rhymes, poetry, folk tales,...

 of Alexander and the King of Egypt, published by John White (d. 1769) in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...

 between 1746 and 1769.

The fullest early version of a mummers' play text is probably the 1779 "Morrice Dancers'" play from Revesby, Lincolnshire. The full text ("A petygree of the Plouboys or modes dancers songs") is available online. Although performed at Christmas, this text is a forerunner of the local East Midlands variants usually performed on or around Plough Monday (see below) and often known as Plough Plays.

A text from Islip, Oxfordshire
Islip, Oxfordshire
Islip is a village and civil parish on the River Ray, just above its confluence with the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England. It is about east of Kidlington and about north of Oxford. This village in Oxfordshire is not related to Islip, New York...

, dates back to 1780.

A play text which had, until recently, been attributed to Mylor in Cornwall (much quoted in early studies of folk plays, such as The Mummers Play by R. J. E. Tiddy – published posthumously in 1923 – and The English Folk-Play (1933) by E. K. Chambers) has now been shown, by genealogical and other research, to have originated in Truro
Truro
Truro is a city and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The city is the centre for administration, leisure and retail in Cornwall, with a population recorded in the 2001 census of 17,431. Truro urban statistical area, which includes parts of surrounding parishes, has a 2001 census...

, Cornwall, around 1780.

A play from an unknown locality in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

, close to the border with Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, dates from before 1788.

Chapbook versions of The Christmas Rhime or The Mummer's Own Book were published in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

, c.1803-1818. A mummers' play from Ballybrennan, County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...

, Ireland, dating from around 1817-18, was published in 1863.

Thomas Hardy's novel The Return of the Native
The Return of the Native
The Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878...

 (1878) has a fictional depiction of a mummers' play on Edgon Heath. It was based on experience from his childhood.

Local seasonal variants

Although the main season for mumming throughout Britain was around Christmas, some parts of England had plays performed around All Souls' Day (known as Souling or soul-caking) or Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

 (Pace-egging or Peace-egging). In north-eastern England the plays are traditionally associated with Sword dance
Sword dance
Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...

s or Rapper dances.

In the village of Ynysmeudwy in the Swansea Valley, the play was performed by four young boys who dressed as Crumpin John, Indian Dart, Robin Hood and a Doctor. The play was taken from house to house on Guy Fawkes evening; the performers being rewarded with money.

In the performances on the doorsteps there was always a sword-fight between Robin Hood and Indian Dart which ended with a death. The Doctor was called and the dead man was brought back to life and all ended happily.

This custom probably ended in the 1950s or 1960s

In some parts of Britain and Ireland, the plays are traditionally performed on or near Plough Monday
Plough Monday
Plough Monday is the traditional start of the English agricultural year. While local practices may vary, Plough Monday is generally the first Monday after Twelfth Day , 6 January. References to Plough Monday date back to the late 15th century...

 and are therefore known as Plough plays. The performers were known by various names, according to area, such as Plough-jags, Plough-jacks, Plough-bullocks, Plough-stots or Plough witches. The Plough plays of the East Midlands
East Midlands
The East Midlands is one of the regions of England, consisting of most of the eastern half of the traditional region of the Midlands. It encompasses the combined area of Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and most of Lincolnshire...

 of England (principally Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...

 and Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

) usually have a different plot from the Christmastime "St. George" type of play and feature several different stock characters (including a Recruiting Sergeant, Tom Fool, Dame Jane and the "Lady bright and gay"). Tradition has it that plough boys would take their plays from house to house and perform in exchange for money or gifts, in a similar way to the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 custom of Trick-or-treat; some teams pulled a plough and threatened to plough up people's front gardens or path if they did not pay up. Examples of the play have been found in Denmark since the late 1940s.

The Derby Tup

There are other traditional English folk plays which do not involve a quack doctor. Around Sheffield
Sheffield
Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

 and in nearby parts of northern Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 and Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire
Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 a dramatised version of the well-known Derby Ram folksong, known as the Derby Tup ("tup" is another word for ram), has been performed, since at least 1895, by teams of boys. The brief play is usually introduced by two characters, an old man and an old woman ("Me and our owd lass"). The Tup was usually represented by a boy, bent over forwards, covered with a sack, and carrying a broomstick with a rough, wooden sheep's head attached. The Tup was killed by a Butcher, and sometimes another boy held a basin to catch the "blood". There is a Sheffield version where the Tup is killed and then brought back to life by the Doctor. This is the main play performed by the Northstow Mummers based in Cambridge
Cambridge
The city of Cambridge is a university town and the administrative centre of the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It lies in East Anglia about north of London. Cambridge is at the heart of the high-technology centre known as Silicon Fen – a play on Silicon Valley and the fens surrounding the...

.

The Old Horse

An 'Owd 'Oss play (Old Horse), another dramatised folksong, was also known from roughly the same area, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, around Christmas. The custom persisted until at least 1970, when it was performed in private houses and pubs in Dore
Dore
Dore is a village in South Yorkshire, England. The village lies on a hill above the River Sheaf, and until 1934 was part of Derbyshire, but it is now a suburb of Sheffield. It is served by Dore and Totley railway station on the Hope Valley Line...

 on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

. A group of men accompanied a hobby horse (either a wooden head, with jaws operated by strings, or a real horse's skull, painted black and red, mounted on a wooden pole so that its snapping jaws could be operated by a man stooping under a cloth to represent the horse's body) and sang a version of The Old Horse or Poor Old Horse, which describes a decrepit horse that is close to death.

The Papa Stour Sword Dance

In 1831 Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....

 published a rhyme which had been used as a prelude to the sword dance
Sword dance
Sword dances are recorded from throughout world history. There are various traditions of solo and mock battle sword dances from Greece, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, China, Korea, England, Scotland and Japan...

 in Papa Stour
Papa Stour
Papa Stour is one of the Shetland Islands in Scotland, with a population of under twenty people, some of whom immigrated after an appeal for residents in the 1970s. Located to the west of mainland Shetland and with an area of 828 hectares , Papa Stour is the eighth largest island in Shetland...

, Shetland in around 1788. It features seven characters, Saint George, Saint James, Saint Dennis, Saint David, Saint Patrick, Saint Anthony and Saint Andrew, the Seven Champions of Christendom
Seven Champions of Christendom
The Seven Champions of Christendom is a moniker referring to St. George, St. Andrew, St. Patrick, St. Denis, St. James Boanerges, St. Anthony the Lesser, and St. David...

. All the characters are introduced in turn by the Master, St. George. There is no real interplay between the characters and no combat or cure, so it is more of a "calling-on song" than a play. Some of the characters dance solos as they are introduced, then all dance a longsword dance together, which climaxes with their swords being meshed together to form a "shield". They each dance with the shield upon their head, then it is laid on the floor and they withdraw their swords to finish the dance. St. George makes a short speech to end the performance.

See also: Rapper sword
Rapper sword
Rapper sword is a kind of sword dance associated with the North-East of England.-History:The rapper sword tradition was traditionally performed in the mining villages of the Northumberland and Durham coalfield in North East England, especially in Tyneside...

 and Long Sword dance
Long Sword dance
right|YorkshireThe Long Sword dance is a hilt-and-point sword dance recorded mainly in Yorkshire, England. It is related to the rapper sword dance of Northumbria, but the character is fundamentally different as it uses rigid metal or wooden swords, rather than the flexible spring steel rappers used...

.

Etymology and early precedents

The word mummer is sometimes explained to derive from Middle English
Middle English
Middle English is the stage in the history of the English language during the High and Late Middle Ages, or roughly during the four centuries between the late 11th and the late 15th century....

 mum ("silent") or Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 mommo ("mask"), but is more likely to be associated with Early New High German
Early New High German
Early New High German is a term for the period in the history of the German language, generally defined, following Wilhelm Scherer, as the period 1350 to 1650.Alternative periodisations take the period to begin later; e.g...

 mummer ("disguised person", attested in Johann Fischart
Johann Fischart
Johann Fischart was a German satirist and publicist.-Biography:Fischart was born, probably, at Strasbourg , in or about the year 1545, and was educated at Worms in the house of Kaspar Scheid, whom in the preface to his Eulenspiegel he mentions as his cousin and preceptor...

) and vermummen ("to wrap up, to disguise, to mask ones faces"), which itself is derived from or came to be associated with mummen (first attested already in Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...

 by a prohibition in Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...

, Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....

, 1351) and mum(en)schanz, (Hans Sachs
Hans Sachs
Hans Sachs was a German meistersinger , poet, playwright and shoemaker.-Biography:Hans Sachs was born in Nuremberg . His father was a tailor. He attended Latin school in Nuremberg...

, Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...

, 16th cent.), these latter words originally referring to a game or throw (schanz) of dice.

According to German and Austrian sources dating from the 16th century, during carnival persons wearing masks used to make house-to-house visits offering a mum(en)schanz, a game of dice. This custom was practiced not only by commoners, but also by the nobility: on Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday
Shrove Tuesday is a term used in English-speaking countries, especially in Ireland, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Germany, and parts of the United States for the day preceding Ash Wednesday, the first day of the season of fasting and prayer called Lent.The...

 of 1557, Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Albert V, Duke of Bavaria
Albert V was Duke of Bavaria from 1550 until his death. He was born in Munich to William IV and Marie Jacobaea of Baden.-Early life:Albert was educated at Ingolstadt under good Catholic teachers...

 went to visit the archbishop of Salzburg and played a game of dice with him. A similar incident, involving an Englishman, is attested for the French court by the German count and chronicler Froben Christoph von Zimmern: during carnival 1540, while the French king Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

 was residing at Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....

, an Englishman (ain Engellender) wearing a mask and accompanied by other masked persons paid a visit to the king and offered him a momschanz (a game of dice), bringing with him a sum of money which was so high that the king was ashamed not to have a similar sum at hand and had to wait two hours until the money could be lent from local merchants.

While the game mum(en)schanz was played not only by masked persons, and not only during carnival, the German word mummenschanz nevertheless took on the meaning "costume, masquerade" and, by the 18th century, had lost its association with gambling and dice.

The custom attested for early modern Germany and France seems to have parallels also in late medieval England. According to History and the Morris Dance (2005) by John Cutting (page 81), there was a curious event in 1377, where 130 men on horseback went "mumming" to the Prince of Wales (later Richard II
Richard II of England
Richard II was King of England, a member of the House of Plantagenet and the last of its main-line kings. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince, and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...

). They threw some dice, which appear to have been loaded dice, and so lost several gold rings. The rings were effectively presents for the prince. In 1418 a law was passed forbidding "mumming, plays, interludes or any other disguisings with any feigned beards, painted visors, deformed or coloured visages in any wise, upon pain of imprisonment". In the first case the event was on February 2, nine days before Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday
Ash Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...

, and may well have been a carnival practice. In the second case, the law was applied to "the Feast of Christmas" (Cutting page 83), not related to the ordinary period of carnival preceding the Christian fasting
Fasting
Fasting is primarily the act of willingly abstaining from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a defined period, usually a single day , or several days. Other fasts may be only partially restrictive,...

 of Lent
Lent
In the Christian tradition, Lent is the period of the liturgical year from Ash Wednesday to Easter. The traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer – through prayer, repentance, almsgiving and self-denial – for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the Death and...

, yet maybe related to Christmas fasting, which went ordinarily from November 11 to January 6.

It should be pointed out that there is no clear evidence linking these late medieval and early modern customs with English mummers' plays in the late 18th century, nor evidence for proving that the English words mummer and mumming are more likely to be derived from continental roots than vice versa.

Feast Entertainers

Mumming was used as a means of entertaining at feasts and functions, particular mention is made of one feast where 150 torch bearers lead the same number of mummers in, who would do acrobatics in a variety of costumes, including animal costumes.

Social Mumming

At certain feast days (eg saint's days), a lot of the populace would put on masks, and in practices that vary with geography, celebrate the day. One practice in example was for a group to visit a local manor, and 'sing out' the lord. If the lord couldn't match verse for verse the singing group (alternating verses), then that lord would have to provide amenities.

The formation of roving mumming groups became a popular practice so common it became associated with criminal or lewd behaviour, as the use of masks allowed anonymity; and in the time of Henry the 8th, became banned for a period.

Aristocratic Mumming

On documents such as receipts and bills from the late medieval, come details of mumming parties organised by English Monarchs, with Henry VIII being famous for taking his court mumming, as a kind of incognito.

Later, Henry would ban social mumming, and bring the 'masque' form of entertainment to England.

Newfoundland Mummers

"Mummering
Mummering
Mummering is a Christmastime house-visiting tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also known as mumming or janneying, it typically involves a group of friends or family who dress in disguise and visit homes within their community or neighbouring communities during the twelve days of Christmas...

" is a very old Newfoundland custom that dates back to the time of the earliest settlers who came from England and Ireland. It shares common antecedents with the Mummers Play tradition, but in its current form is primarily a house-visiting tradition. Sometime during the Twelve Days of Christmas, usually on the night of the "Old Twelfth" (17 January; equivalent to 6 Jan in the old Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...

), people would disguise themselves with old articles of clothing and visit the homes of their friends and neighbours. They would at times cover their faces with a hood, scarf, mask or pillowcase to keep their identity hidden. In keeping with the theme of an inversion of rules, and of disguise, crossdressing was a common strategy, and men would sometimes dress as women and women as men. Travelling from house to house, some mummers would carry their own musical instruments to play, sing and dance in the houses they visited. The host and hostess of these 'mummers parties' would serve a small lunch which could consist of Christmas cake with a glass of syrup or blueberry or dogberry wine. Some mummers would drink a Christmas "grog" before they leave each house, a drink of an alcoholic beverage such as rum or whiskey. One important part of the custom was a guessing game to determine the identity of the visitors. As each mummers was identified, they would uncover their faces, but if their true identity is not guessed they did not have to unmask. The custom has recently enjoyed a revival, with a Mummers Festival taking place throughout December 2009 which even included workshops on how to make hobby horse
Hobby horse
The term hobby horse is used, principally by folklorists, to refer to the costumed characters that feature in some traditional seasonal customs, processions and similar observances around the world. They are particularly associated with May Day celebrations, Mummers Plays and the Morris dance in...

s and wren sticks
Wren Day
Wren day also known as Wren's day, Hunt the Wren Day or The Hunting of the Wrens celebrated on 26 December, St. Stephen's Day, in the Isle of Man, Ireland, Wales and Newfoundland. The tradition consists of "hunting" a fake wren, and putting it on top of a decorated pole...

.

Philadelphia Mummers

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, USA, has its own tradition of mummer
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...

s marching on New Year's Day
New Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...

. About 15,000 mummers perform in the parade each year. They are organized into four distinct types of troupes: Comics, Fancies, String Bands, and Fancy Comic. All dress in elaborate costumes. There is a Mummers Museum dedicated to the history of Philadelphia Mummers.

Music

There are several traditional songs associated with mumming plays; the "calling-on" songs of sword dance teams are related:
  • The Singing of the Travels by the Symondsbury
    Symondsbury
    Symondsbury is a village in south west Dorset, England, west of Bridport and west of Dorchester. The village is located just to the north of the A35 trunk road, which runs between Southampton and Honiton. The village has a pub , a pottery and a primary school...

     Mummers, appears on SayDisc CD-SDL425 English Customs and Traditions (1997) along with an extract from the Antrobus, Cheshire
    Cheshire
    Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

    , Soulcakers' Play
    • It also appears on the World Library of Folk and Primitive Music. Vol 1. England, Rounder 1741, CD (1998/reis), cut#16b
  • The Singing of the Travels was also recorded by the Silly Sisters (Maddy Prior
    Maddy Prior
    Maddy Prior is an English folk singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span.-Early life:...

     and June Tabor
    June Tabor
    June Tabor is an English folk singer.- Early years :June Tabor was inspired to sing by hearing Anne Briggs' EP Hazards of Love in 1965. "I went and locked myself in the bathroom for a fortnight and drove my mother mad. I learned the songs on that EP note for note, twiddle for twiddle. That's how I...

    ). Silly Sisters, Takoma TAK 7077, LP (1977), cut# 6 (Singing the Travels)
  • A Calling-on Song by Steeleye Span
    Steeleye Span
    Steeleye Span are an English folk-rock band, formed in 1969 and remaining active today. Along with Fairport Convention they are amongst the best known acts of the British folk revival, and were among the most commercially successful, thanks to their hit singles "Gaudete" and "All Around My Hat"....

     from their first album Hark! The Village Wait is based on a sword-dance or pace-egg play calling-on song, in which the characters are introduced one by one
  • "The Mummers' Dance
    The Mummers' Dance
    "The Mummers' Dance" is a single by Canadian Celtic Singer Loreena McKennitt from the album The Book of Secrets in 1997. The song was a surprise hit in the United States, reaching #3 in Adult Top 40, #17 on the Hot Modern Rock Tracks chart and #18 on The Billboard Hot 100.The song is the theme song...

    ," a song from the album The Book of Secrets
    The Book of Secrets
    The Book of Secrets is an album by Loreena McKennitt released in 1997. It reached #17 on the Billboard 200. Its single "The Mummers' Dance," remixed by DNA, was released during the winter of 1997–98, and peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #17 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.The album is...

     by Loreena McKennitt
    Loreena McKennitt
    Loreena Isabel Irene McKennitt, CM, OM, is a Canadian singer, composer, harpist, accordionist and pianist who writes, records and performs world music with Celtic and Middle Eastern themes. McKennitt is known for her refined, clear soprano vocals...

    , refers to traditional mummers' play as performed in Ireland
    Ireland
    Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

    .
  • England in Ribbons, a song by Hugh Lupton
    Hugh Lupton
    Hugh Lupton is one of the most prominent figures in the Oral Storytelling Tradition. He co-founded the Company of Storytellers in 1985, and for a while ran a branch of The Crick Crack Club in Norfolk...

     and Chris Wood
    Chris Wood (folk musician)
    Chris Wood is an English folk musician and composer who plays fiddle, viola and guitar, and sings. He is an ardent enthusiast for traditional English dance music , including Morris and other rituals and ceremonies, but his repertoire also includes much French folk music and traditional Québécois...

     is based around the characters of a traditional English mummers' play. It gave its name to a two hour programme of traditional and traditionally-rooted English music, broadcast by BBC Radio 3
    BBC Radio 3
    BBC Radio 3 is a national radio station operated by the BBC within the United Kingdom. Its output centres on classical music and opera, but jazz, world music, drama, culture and the arts also feature. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music, and its New Generation...

     as the culmination of a whole day of English music, on St George's Day
    St George's Day
    St George's Day is celebrated by the several nations, kingdoms, countries, and cities of which Saint George is the patron saint. St George's Day is celebrated on 23 April, the traditionally accepted date of Saint George's death in AD 303...

     2006
  • The Mummer's Song, performed by the Canadian folk group Great Big Sea
    Great Big Sea
    Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...

    , but originally written by the Newfoundland folk band Simani
    Simani
    Simani is a Newfoundland and Labrador musical duet and considered the cornerstone of traditional Newfoundland music. Formed in 1977 by Bud Davidge and Sim Savory , their music keeps Newfoundland’s unique heritage alive by putting old stories to song and by their recording of local jigs and reels...

    , is an arrangement of the traditional song The Mummer's Carol, which details the mummering
    Mummering
    Mummering is a Christmastime house-visiting tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador. Also known as mumming or janneying, it typically involves a group of friends or family who dress in disguise and visit homes within their community or neighbouring communities during the twelve days of Christmas...

     tradition in Newfoundland and Labrador
    Newfoundland and Labrador
    Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...



Also XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...

 released an album entitled 'Mummer' in 1983.

See also

  • Adidam Mummery Sacred Theatre
    Adidam Mummery Sacred Theatre
    Adidam Mummery Sacred Theatre is a contemporary sacred use of the mummery theatre concept that has arisen within a small New Religious Movement named Adidam....

  • Balliol rhyme
    Balliol rhyme
    A Balliol rhyme is a doggerel verse form with a distinctive meter. They are quatrains consisting of two pairs of rhyming couplets, each line having four beats. The first couplet contains the name of a particular individual, and the second couplet usually elaborates on that person's character or...

  • Căluşari
    Calusari
    The Căluşari were the members of a Romanian fraternal secret society who practiced a ritual acrobatic dance known as the căluş. According to the Romanian historian Mircea Eliade, the Calusari were known for "their ability to create the impression of flying in the air" which he believed represented...

     Dancers of Romania
  • Clown
    Clown
    Clowns are comic performers stereotypically characterized by the grotesque image of the circus clown's colored wigs, stylistic makeup, outlandish costumes, unusually large footwear, and red nose, which evolved to project their actions to large audiences. Other less grotesque styles have also...

  • Commedia dell'arte
    Commedia dell'arte
    Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...

  • Jester
  • Marshfield Mummers
  • Mystery play
    Mystery play
    Mystery plays and miracle plays are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song...

  • Pantomime
    Pantomime
    Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...

  • Revels
    Revels
    Revels is a contemporary series of American seasonal stage performances, initially given at Christmas time as the Christmas Revels at Town Hall in New York City in 1957, which involve singing, dancing, recitals, theatrics , and usually some audience participation, all appropriate to the season...

  • St George's Day in England
    St George's Day in England
    Saint George is the patron saint of England and as such is celebrated on his death each 23 April. This is also celebrated as the day of birth and death of William Shakespeare...

  • Wrenboys

External links

Mummers' Plays proper

Other related customs
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