Boy bishop

Boy bishop

Boy bishop was a name given to a custom very widespread in the Middle Ages, whereby a boy was chosen, for example among cathedral choristers, to parody the real Bishop, commonly on the feast of Holy Innocents. This custom was linked with others, such as that of the Feast of Fools and the Feast of Asses.

History

In England the boy bishop was elected on December 6, the feast of Saint Nicholas, the patron of children, and his authority lasted till Holy Innocents' day (December 28). The real Bishop would, symbolically, step down at the "deposuit potentes de sede" of the Magnificat ("he hath put down the mighty from their seat"), and the boy would take his seat at "et exaltavit humiles" ("and hath exalted the humble and meek").

After the election, the boy was dressed in full bishop's robes with mitre and crozier and, attended by comrades dressed as priests, made a circuit of the town blessing the people.

Typically the chosen boy and his colleagues took possession of the cathedral and performed all the ceremonies and offices, except Mass. Originally, it seems, confined to the cathedrals, the custom spread to many parishes.

Notwithstanding the intervention of various Church authorities (see Feast of Fools), the popularity of the custom made it resistant. In England it was abolished by Henry VIII in 1542, revived by Mary in 1552 and finally abolished by Elizabeth. On the continent it survived longest in Germany, in the so-called Gregoriusfest, said to have been founded by Gregory IV.

Revivals

There have been some recent revivals both in the English-speaking world and on the continent. Most famous perhaps is that of Hereford, revived in 1973 for a special children's service, with full and traditional ceremonies following annually since 1982. The Boy Bishop preaches a sermon and leads prayers at various Diocesan Advent services. A single revival took place in 1959 at St. George's Parish Church [http://www.stgeorgestockport.org.uk/stgeorgesheaviley.htm] , Stockport. Such ceremonies are now also found at Westminster Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, and a number of parish churches throughout England, including Claines, Worcestershire. The custom has been likewise revived in Chavagnes International College, a Catholic boarding school in France. In the United States, one of the first revivals of the custom took place in 1979 at the Cathedral of All Saints (Episcopal) in Albany, New York, as part of an annual medieval fair held in the great Gothic church.

Notes

ources

Salisbury Cathedral

Recent works

*A. Ward, "Richard Ramsey's Sermon for a Boy Bishop (Tudor Catholic Sermons 2)", in "Ephemerides Liturgicae" 111 (1997) 476-505.
*A. Ward, "A Sermon for A Boy Bishop by John Alcock, Bishop of Ely (1430-1486-1500)", in "Ephemerides Liturgicae" 112 (1998) 58-81.

Less recent

*John Gough Nichols (ed.), "Two Sermons pronounced by the Boy Bishop at St. Paul's, Temp. Henry VIII, and at Gloucester, Temp. Mary", in "Camden Miscellany", Volume the Seventh, Camden Society, 1875.
*W.C. Meller, "The Boy Bishop and other Essays on Forgotten Customs and Beliefs of the Past", London 1923, pp. 3-18
*A. Gastá‚ "Les Drames liturgiques de la cathédrale de Rouen", in "Revue catholique de Normandie" 2 (1893) 349-372, 477-500, 573-605.
*T.H.V. Motter, "The School Drama in England", London 1929, pp. 6-8, 11-12, 31, 33, 49-50, 229, 252.
*J.P.W. Crawford, "A Note on the Boy Bishop in Spain", in "Romanic Review" 12 (1921) 146-154.
*Madeleine Charles, "Le drame liturgique", in "La Vie et les arts liturgique" 3 (1916-1917) 65-70, 121-134, 169-181, 258-266, 297-307, 403-412, esp. 404-406
*J. M. J. Fletcher, "The Boy Bishop at Salisbury and Elsewhere", Salisbury [1921]

Classic works on religious and liturgical drama

*C.M. Gayley, "Plays of our Forefathers", New York, 1907, pp. 54-61.
*E.K. Chambers, "The Medieval Stage", 1903, vol. 1, pp. 336-371.
*R.B. Donovan, "The Liturgical Drama in Medieval Spain", 1958.
*H. Craig, "English Religious Drama of the Middle Ages", 1955.
*F. Arens (ed.) "Der Liber Ordinarius der Essener Stiftskirche", Paderborn, 1908, p. 213.
*J.P.W. Crawford, "Spanish Drama before Lope de Vega", Philadelphia 1922 (= "Publications of the University of Philadelphia, Extra Series in Languages and Literatures" 7), pp. 15-16.
*V. De Bartholomaeis, "Le Origini della Poesia drammatica italiana", Bologna [1924] , pp. 201-211

References

*1911
*catholic

External links

* [http://www.saintaustin.org/chavagnes/english/boybishop.html Chavagnes ceremony]
* [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=531 Hereford ceremony]
* [http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=534 Salisbury ceremony]
* [http://www.westminstercathedral.org.uk/home/home_boy_bishop.html Westminster ceremony]
* [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02725a.htm "Catholic Encyclopedia" entry]
* [http://fullhomelydivinity.org/boybishopfullpageview.htm Anglican Consortium of Country Churches' entry]
* [http://www.clainesfriends.org.uk Claines Church, Worcester, Boy Bishops]


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  • Boy-Bishop — • The custom of electing a boy bishop on the feast of St. Nicholas dates from very early times, and was in vogue in most Catholic countries, but chiefly in England Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Boy Bishop     Boy Bishop …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Boy bishop — Boy Boy, n. [Cf. D. boef, Fries. boi, boy; akin to G. bube, Icel. bofi rouge.] 1. A male child, from birth to the age of puberty; a lad; hence, a son. [1913 Webster] My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] Note …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • boy bishop — noun A mock bishop formerly elected by choirboys or schoolboys, in office from St Nicholas s to Holy Innocents Day (6–28 December) • • • Main Entry: ↑boy …   Useful english dictionary

  • boy bishop — ▪ medieval custom       boy chosen to act as bishop in connection with the Feast of the Holy Innocents (Holy Innocents, Feast of the) on December 28, in a custom widespread in Europe during the Middle Ages. In England, where the practice was most …   Universalium

  • Boy bishop — In the lead up to the *Feast of Fools, minor clerics and choir boys conducted services and other roles of senior churchmen. The boy bishop was the choir boy who was elected to be bishop on St Nicholas s Day, 6 December …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • BOY BISHOP —    a boy chosen on 6th December, St. Nicholas Day, generally out of the choir, to act as bishop and do all his episcopal duties, except celebrate mass. For the term of his office, which varied, he was treated as bishop, and if he died during his… …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Boy — Boy, n. [Cf. D. boef, Fries. boi, boy; akin to G. bube, Icel. bofi rouge.] 1. A male child, from birth to the age of puberty; a lad; hence, a son. [1913 Webster] My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] Note: Boy …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Boy's love — Boy Boy, n. [Cf. D. boef, Fries. boi, boy; akin to G. bube, Icel. bofi rouge.] 1. A male child, from birth to the age of puberty; a lad; hence, a son. [1913 Webster] My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] Note …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Boy's play — Boy Boy, n. [Cf. D. boef, Fries. boi, boy; akin to G. bube, Icel. bofi rouge.] 1. A male child, from birth to the age of puberty; a lad; hence, a son. [1913 Webster] My only boy fell by the side of great Dundee. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] Note …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Boy — For other uses, see Boy (disambiguation). Boyhood redirects here. For other uses, see Boyhood (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

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