The chair of my department recently volunteered me to talk to a local TV
station about the traditional song, "The 12 Days of Christmas," and other
than remembering it as a catechetical text (partridge = Christ, 2 turtle
doves = the Old and New Testament, 3 French hens = faith, hope, and love,
etc), I seem to remember that the song itself is 16th century rather than
medieval, though the feast days extend much farther back, of course.
I'm the only medievalist in the state, I think, and so I get all the
queries about anything "in the olde days," which could mean anything prior
to the 20th century.
Please respond privately, if you like. I also recently lost my hard drive,
so if somebody could post the URL to the medieval-relgion archive, I'd
much appreciate it.
Daniel T. Kline
Assistant Professor of English
University of Alaska Anchorage
Anchorage, AK 99508
email: [log in to unmask]
phone: 907/786-4364
fax: 907/786-4383
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