Medieval monk, Matthew Paris, took over writing the history of England kept by his monastery, St. Alban's Abbey, and the task of rewriting and illustrating it, on the death of Roger of Wendover in 1235. Some years Paris noted all the Christmas gifts the king received and gave, being often literally received in one hand and passed on to a recipient with the other.
Christmas, being the beginning of the new Christian year at that time, was deemed worthy of mention every year, and was also when Paris wrote a summary of notable occurrences in the year then ending. The King's Christmas gift giving and receiving was often worthy of note.
Swift Giving of Silver, Gold and Silk Christmas Gifts
As Kjær notes from researching other records than Paris, as a young king, in the 1230s, Henry was generous and followed the then admired Christian practice of 'swift giving'. It was necessary to keep records of the value of the gifts he received, but often the silver, gold, silk or imported goods were not even weighed (for valuation) before being passed straight on from the king's hand to another noble or a bishop or church. Hence elaborate belts, gold or silver cups or plates became Christmas presents twice over.
Within a few years of his marriage and becoming a father, Henry became more reluctant to give out as rapidly as he received. By 1253 the country, and the king, had become impoverished under the weight of levies being exacted by papal officers and lived in an uneasy relationship with the higher echelons of the church. Paris observed this with a certain sense of righteousness, but also of humour.
Matthew Paris on the King and Christmas 1253
By the end of 1253, Matthew Paris sums up an England disturbed by wars and the demands of the church in Rome, and despised by an indifferent and aging king. "England, trampled underfoot by foreigners, bowing the neck to many masters, and deprived of the sincere affection of its king." He also describes King Henry Third's churlish response to Christmas gifts from the people at Winchester.
The king held a great nativity feast at Winchester that Christmas, "with great magnificence" Paris reports, yet he found much to criticize: "As the king was about to partake of a repast at the festival of Christmas, the citizens of Winchester sent him a most handsome present of eatables and drinkables, which excited the admiration of all beholders; and the king, by way of thanks, obliged them to pay him two hundred marks in a brief space of time, although he was born in that place; and thus the festivities of Christmas were turned into sorrow and lament for them."
This was followed by a year in which the king stayed abroad in various parts of France, fulfilling his familial and political obligations.
King Henry Third Christmas in Gascony 1254
How the King passed the winter in Gascony. "At Christmas, Anno Domini 1254, which was the thirty-eighth year of the reign of King Henry the Third . . . not far from La Reole, and there in company with his nobles he celebrated the anniversary of the Nativity with great splendour and solemnity; and he also made some rich presents of garments and other costly articles to the Gascons, who had a keen smell of his money.
"The queen, too, who had risen safely from childbed, gave a most splendid feast, to commemorate her purification on St Edward's day, which was the eve of the Epiphany. . . Just about this time, too, the queen sent, as a new year's gift to the king, five hundred marks out of the royal revenues received, to enable him to carry on the war, and to acquit himself of his pledges."
Christmas Lights and Portents in the Sky
The monks of St Albans had a long culture of excellence in the keeping of records, in the writing of history. The great Benedictine abbey flourished beside the busy Roman road known as Watling Street, just north of London, so was in touch with what was going on at the centre of government. Paris saw it as his duty to record matters that impacted on the abbey with the same sense of importance as national events.
Hence he wrote about the excitement when his fellow monks on vigil saw the ship in the sky. "About midnight of our Lord's circumcision [New Year's Eve] the moon being about eight days old, and the firmament studded with stars, and the air completely calm, there appeared in the sky, wonderful to relate, the form of a large ship, well-shaped and of remarkable design and colour. . . The vessel appeared for a very long time, as if it were painted, and really built with planks; but at length it began by degrees to dissolve and disappear, wherefore it was believed to have been a cloud, but a wonderful and extraordinary one."
This wondrous vision was first diagnosed as a portent of bad weather and, retrospectively, as a harbinger. It saw the start of many weeks of severe frost during which almost half of many sheep flocks (the main source of wealth in England) died of disease, and many wild animals too. Matters only got worse, with cold winds destroying the blossom and torrential rain and hailstones crushing crops in July. In mid- August the spire of St. Alban's Abbey was struck by lightning and badly damaged.
King Henry spent Christmas not in giving gifts and feasting, but awaiting finer weather to sail home to England.
More about Thirteenth Century history of England A Norman History for Samlesbury Lancashire to 1212 and more about Matthew Paris's chronicle with a link to view the original Anglo-Saxon Treasures Accessible to all at Parker Library Digital
Sources
Rev. J.A. Giles (translator) (1854) Matthew Paris’s English History Vol 3 from the year 1252 to 1257
Lars Kjær (2010) 'Reading Rituals in Records and Narratives: Gift Giving in Thirteenth-Century England' Fitwilliam College Cambridge
Valerie Williamson - Dr. Val Williamson is a freelance journalist and academic specialising in historical and popular culture topics.
Join the Conversation