The English Carol
Carols and Christmas seem inseparable today, yet the tradition of singing them has a complicated history
The English Carol has two distinct roots – one secular, one sacred. The word carol is thought to come from the Old French carole, meaning a ring dance accompanied by singing. In other words, the first carols may have been lively songs for dancing, not hymns for holy days.
It was St Francis of Assisi (c. 1181–1226), the same saint who introduced the first Nativity crib, who also helped shape the carol into something more spiritual. His Nativity plays encouraged ordinary people to sing songs – or canticles – telling the story of Christ’s birth. Many of these early songs were passed down orally and are now sadly lost, with only a few surviving in manuscripts.
One of the oldest examples we still have is The Boar’s Head, a song celebrating the presentation of a boar’s head at a festive feast. Others, like I Saw Three Ships and The Holly and the Ivy, began life as folk ballads before being rediscovered in the 19th century. Some, such as The Coventry Carol, emerged from medieval mystery plays performed in towns across England.
The tradition of carol singing survived the Reformation and in 1626, the writer Nicholas Breton declared in his Fantasticks that “not a cup of drink must pass without a carol.” Yet when the Puritans took power after the Civil War it virtually ceased. Parliament’s victory in 1645 brought a ban on Christmas celebrations altogether. The diarist John Evelyn found himself prosecuted for attending a church service on Christmas Day.
With the Restoration of the monarchy, Christmas returned, though celebrated in a much more subdued manner. The singing of carols appears to have then slowly disappeared in the 17th and 18th centuries and had almost died out by the early 19th century.
The Victorian era brought a joyous revival. Regular churchgoing, renewed interest in medieval traditions, and the festive influence of Prince Albert and Queen Victoria all helped restore Christmas to the heart of family life. With the publication of Christmas Carols, Old and New in 1860 by the Rev. H. R. Bramley and composer John Stainer, there was a rekindled enthusiasm for singing in church and at home.
Many carols now sung are of relatively recent origin. Once in Royal David’s City, for example, was written in 1845 by Cecil Frances Alexander. These ‘modern’ carols – together with their medieval ancestors – have become part of a continuous, centuries-long tradition that still brings warmth and community to the festive season.
Words: John Moses, Local Historian
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