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Medieval Celebrations in the Month of SeptemberFestivals centred on the Autumn Equinox
Medieval celebrations would rotate around feast days that had pagan origins. Before the Reformation there were ninety-five Feast Days and thirty Saints' Eves.
Afte the Reformation there were twenty-seven Holidays. Many celebrations were based on ancient agricultural celebrations that marked when crops should be planted or harvested. September would witness the end of Harvesting Time and the ushering in of autumn. The Full Moon nearest the Autumn Equinox was called the Harvest Moon as for several nights it would appear large and bright in the evenings assisting farmers’ to gather in their harvest. The Harvest Festival was the second festival of the harvest season and for medieval farmers, this marked a time of preparing for the future and of gathering in the fruits of the harvest against the winter ahead. Summer was coming to an end and medieval folk would use this Festival to reflect on the past season and celebrate nature’s bounty. Harvest Home was a time of rest after all the work had been done; a ritual of thanksgiving for the bounteousness of nature. Calling the MareIt was something of a contest in medieval times to get in the last of the harvest and each farmer wanted to prove they had the best reapers. One medieval ritual was called Calling the Mare and as the last of the crops was gathered in, the final sheaf was shaped into a mare. This would be thrown into the field of a neighbouring farm where reapers were still working to serve as a message for them to get a move on otherwise wild horses would be after their crops. Farmers would work quickly until their work was done before throwing the mare to another farm where reapers could be seen working in the fields. The last farmer to finish had to keep the mare all year and have it on display as a trophy of having been the slowest farm to harvest, that year! In the Isle of Skye the last sheaf was sent in the shape of a crippled goat (a Goabbir Bhacagh) to the next farmer still harvesting and those who delivered it had to be quick to escape the consequences of embarrassing their neighbour! The Harvest HomeIn Scotland the Feast of the Ingathering was known as Kirn, in the north of England it was called Mell-Supper and competitions were held for the best harvesters. The last sheaf was laid down flat and cut by the “bonniest lass”, the Harvest Queen for a Corn Baby or Corn Doll. This would be the centrepiece of festivities at the table that night and then it would be kept in the farmer’s parlour during the coming year. In Southern England the last grain cut would be taken home in a wagon called the Hock Cart on which was a sheaf shaped with festive dressings in the shape of the goddess Ceres. Musicians played and there would be singing and dancing as folk accompanied the cart back home. Harvest CelebrationsIn Ancient times people would offer fruits of the harvest to the gods in thanks for that year’s yield. In medieval times the early Christian Church tried to replace many ancient pagan customs including the harvest celebrations with ceremonies to honour Christian beliefs. Even so, in the autumn, after the harvest had been gathered in farmers would continue to host a Harvest Home feast for their community. SourcesKidd Judith, Rees Rosemary, Tudor Ruth Life in Medieval Times (Heinemann Educational Publishers (2000)) Further Reading
The copyright of the article Medieval Celebrations in the Month of September in Medieval History is owned by Carole Somerville. Permission to republish Medieval Celebrations in the Month of September in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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