The Feast of Christmas by Joseph F. Kelly

Author:Joseph F. Kelly
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 978-0-8146-3932-0
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Published: 2010-02-28T16:00:00+00:00

Literary artists wrote more than plays; they also wrote poetry. Most of it focuses on the Nativity, but toward the end of the Middle Ages (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries) we begin to find poems that relate to the Christmas feast. Many were written in Latin by educated clergy, but some survive in the vernaculars, including English.

Not surprisingly, given Medieval Marian piety, many poets emphasized Mary’s role, such as a fifteenth-century lyric, “I sing of a Maiden,” which interweaves Mary’s virginity and motherhood. A fourteenth-century poem compares Mary to a rose and her son to a flower who would “break the Devil’s chain of woes,” maintaining the centuries-old emphasis linking the Nativity with the redemption. Another anonymous poem portrayed Mary weeping because Jesus’ cradle reminded her of a bier, that is, the frame on which a coffin was placed. Babies often bring out sentiment in people, so we find poems lamenting the impoverished situation of the baby Jesus, sharing a stable with animals. Finally, one poem, urging people to gather together to rejoice in their friendship with Jesus, brings in a communal note. (The texts of English Christmas poems can be found in Stone, Medieval English Verse, 25–31.)

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