medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
There's a lot of traditional songs using the scale of numbers, -- I remember
one, in Quebec, which numbers effectively a lot of christian traditions,
ending with "il n'ya qu'un seul dieu / qui règne dans les cieux". Does the
one of the twelve days of Christmas have an esoteric signification ? I
wonder: have any of the articles of the hidden faith to be hidden ?
1) Jesus Christ.
2) the Old and New Testaments.
3)faith, hope and love.
4)the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John.
5)the first five books of the Old Testament. and so on...
I think whatever the prosecutions against roman catholic have been, the had
not to hide the things everybody believed in.
forgive my english, cordially
***********************
N'en sai plus dire
***********************
Denis Hüe,
responsable du Master Lettres Langues Communication
Centre d'Etude des Textes Médiévaux, (CETM-CELAM)
Université de Haute Bretagne
http://www.uhb.fr/alc/medieval
䐼> Can anyone confirm or deny the truth of this theory? Several people I
know have received an email with the following explanation for the song, The
Twelve Days of Christmas.
>
>
> > There is one Christmas Carol that has always baffled me. Have you ever
> > wondered about THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS? What in the world do
> leaping
> > lords, French hens, swimming swans, and especially the partridge who
> won't
> > come out of the pear tree have to do with Christmas?
> >
> > Today, I found out. From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England
> were
> > not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era
> wrote
> > this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels
> of
> > meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to
> members of
> > their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious
>
> > reality, which the children could remember.
> >
> > 1) The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
> >
> > 2) Two turtledoves were the Old and New Testaments.
> >
> >
> > 3) Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
> >
> >
> > 4) The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke
> &
> > John.
> >
> > 5) The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five
> books of
> > the Old Testament.
> >
> > 6) The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
> >
> >
> > 7) Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy
> > Spirit: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution,
> Leadership,
> > and Mercy.
> >
> > 8) The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
> >
> > 9) Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit:Love,
> Joy,
> > Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self
>
> > Control.
> >
> > 10) The ten lords a-leaping were the Ten Commandments.
> >
> >
> > 11) The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
> >
> > 12) The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief
> in
> > The Apostles' Creed.
> >
> > So there is your history for today. This knowledge was shared with me
> and I
> > found it interesting and enlightening and now I know how that strange
> song
> > became a Christmas Carol... so pass it on if you wish.
> >
> >
>
>
>
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