Podcast Summary

Stuff You Missed in History Class: William Sandys & English Christmas Carols

Date: December 24, 2025
Hosts: Tracy V. Wilson & Holly Frey
Podcast: iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

This Christmas Eve episode explores the history of English Christmas carols, focusing on their origins, evolution, cultural impact, and the pivotal role played by antiquarian William Sandys in preserving traditional carols. While the hosts originally intended a biographical deep dive on Sandys, most of the episode examines the broader, fascinating development of carols in the British Isles, touching on etymology, medieval festivities, religious shifts, ceremonial traditions like the Boar's Head, and the Victorian Christmas revival.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Origins and Meaning of “Carol”

• Definition:
  • By 1300, ‘carol’ in English described ring dances with songs, the songs themselves, and generally any kind of merry dance or festivity (05:48).
  • Etymology traces to Old French carole. Could link back to Greek/Latin "chorus."
• Structure:
  • Medieval carols were composed of unique stanzas sung by a leader ("cantor") with recurring refrains ("burdens") sung/danced by the group (06:48).

2. Early Flourishing & Religious Influence

• St. Francis of Assisi and Religious Carols:

  • St. Francis promoted nativity plays and songs in native tongues in the 13th century, giving rise to religiously themed carols (07:29).
  • “Some call St. Francis the father of the Christmas carol—but that’s a bit overstated” (08:02).

• Lay & Clergy Involvement:

  • Carols, even when written by religious figures, were typically sung in secular venues: homes, squares, inns (08:02).
  • Example: Priest John Ottley’s carols intended for community singing.

• Surviving Manuscripts:

  • Trinity Carol Roll, Selden Carol Book, Ritson Manuscript—major sources of early carol lyrics, often in English/Latin mix (09:00).

• Christmas Connection:

  • During the medieval period, “carol” wasn’t Christmas-specific, but half of the surviving ones are Christmas-related, sung mainly during the 12 days from Christmas Eve to Twelfth Night (09:24).

Memorable Quote:

“About half of the medieval carols that have survived…are connected to Christmas in some way. These were usually sung on Christmas Eve, not before, and continued through the 12 days.”
—Tracy (09:24)

3. Caroling, Wassailing, and Festivals

• Paid Carolers:

  • Royals like Elizabeth of York paid poets/composers like William Cornish for carols (09:55).
  • Street carolers performed for tips or food/money.

• Blending Traditions:

  • Medieval Christmas incorporated Saturnalia, Yule, and especially ‘wassailing’—going house to house or orchard to orchard singing, to ensure good harvests and celebrate (10:39).

4. Renaissance to Reformation Changes

• Dance Declines, Song Remains:
  • By the Renaissance (1500s), ring dances mostly disappeared—“carol” increasingly meant only the song, often processional in nature (11:46).
  • "Christmas carol" as a phrase first appears only in the 16th century.

Notable Moment:

“While the word carol has been around for hundreds of years, the term ‘Christmas carol’ specifically had not appeared in English language writing yet.”
—Tracy (12:24)

• First “Christmas Carols” Collection:
  • Wynkyn de Worde published the first titled collection in 1521; only a fragment survives (15:20).
  • Included the famous Boar’s Head Carol.

5. The Boar’s Head Tradition

• Origins and Rituals:
  • Boar’s head feasts symbolize victory over evil; associated with both pagan and Christian symbolism.
  • Detailed processions at Oxford with carols sung during the presentation (17:35–20:13).
• Ceremony Today:
  • Queen’s College, Oxford, still hosts an annual Boar’s Head ceremony—the head “looks like I want to pet it, though!” jokes Tracy (20:13).

Notable Quote:

“There is a fun but apocryphal story about a student who was attacked by a wild boar while studying his Aristotle... and defended himself by shoving his book down the boar’s throat!”
—Tracy (19:19)

6. Impact of the Reformation and Puritanism

• Carols Survive Change:
  • Protestant splits altered church music (less Latin, more new hymns), but secular caroling persisted.
• Christmas Banned:
  • 17th-century Puritan (Cromwell’s) laws banned Christmas and caroling in England for a time (23:36–24:39).
  • After the Restoration under Charles II, festivities resumed, but with less raucousness.

7. Modernization & Decline/Revival of Caroling

• Changing Songbooks:
  • 18th-century carols like “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” became established, with newer hymns edging out old carols (28:44–30:25).
  • By late 1700s, traditional caroling survived mainly in Cornwall (30:25).

8. William Sandys: Biography & Influence

• Background:

  • Born 1792. Solicitor, folklorist, writer of many books (32:12–33:12).
  • Notable works: "Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern" (1833); drew from manuscripts, oral histories, and folk performance (33:34).

• Preservation Efforts:

  • Sandys and contemporaries (like Davies Gilbert) believed they were saving traditions from extinction.
  • Sandys’s book included both lyrics and (rare at the time) musical notation. His scores were “considered accurate, though his harmonizations are sometimes clumsy” (34:23).

• Content of Sandys’ Book:

  • The book begins with an expansive (sometimes digressive) introduction on the origins of Christmas observance, not all directly music-related (35:12).
  • Actual carols, in both archaic and modern English, include:
    • “The First Noel”—first known appearance in its modern English version (38:05)
    • “God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen”
    • “I Saw Three Ships”
  • Some lyrics differ subtly from modern versions (38:48).

Notable Moment:

“I really enjoyed the slight differences between the way a lot of these songs are in this book and how I personally sang them as a child.”
—Tracy (38:48)

9. Victorian Revival and Later Developments

• Unexpected Resurgence:

  • Sandys feared caroling would disappear, but Queen Victoria’s reign revived and reinvented Christmas, including trees and carol singing, influencing both Britain and America (39:57–41:18).

• New Carols and Collections:

  • Notable carols like “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “Good King Wenceslas,” and others were published or translated in the Victorian era (41:53–42:34).
  • The “Oxford Book of Carols” was first published in 1928 (42:34).

• Evolution Continues:

  • Modern “carols” now include many 20th-century songs, e.g., Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” (43:17).

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the Medieval Caroling Season:
  “About half of the medieval carols that have survived…are connected to Christmas in some way. These were usually sung on Christmas Eve, not before, and continued through the 12 days.”
  —Tracy (09:24)

• Humorous Boar’s Head Anecdote:
  “There is a fun but apocryphal story about a student who was attacked by a wild boar while studying his Aristotle... and defended himself by shoving his book down the boar’s throat!”
  —Tracy (19:19)

• Victorian Revival’s Surprise:
  “Sandys really had not anticipated the way that celebration of Christmas would change in Britain and by extension in the United States and other predominantly English speaking parts of the world during the Victorian era, especially among the middle class.”
  —Tracy (39:57)

• Nostalgia for Caroling Differences:
  “I really enjoyed the slight differences between the way a lot of these songs are in this book and how I personally sang them as a child.”
  —Tracy (38:48)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment/Topic | Timestamp | |----------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Episode theme/setup | 04:22–05:48 | | Etymology/early carols | 05:48–07:29 | | Medieval & religious tradition | 07:29–09:24 | | 15th c. carol preservation/payments | 09:55–10:39 | | Influence of other festivals/wassailing | 10:39–11:46 | | Transition: Renaissance, word “carol” usage | 11:46–12:24 | | “Christmas carol” first appears | 15:20–16:38 | | The Boar’s Head tradition | 16:38–20:13 | | Reformation, Puritans, banning Christmas | 22:15–25:57 | | Hymn/carol modernization | 28:44–31:23 | | William Sandys biography & works | 32:12–34:23 | | Analysis of Sandys’s book | 35:12–38:05 | | Victorian revival and cultural shift | 39:57–41:53 |

Tone & Style

The hosts maintain their signature friendly, lively, and at times humorous tone, combining thorough research with candid asides and storytelling. They regularly express fascination with peculiar historical details (“I want to pet it, though!” re: the boar’s head model), openly share curiosities and frustrations, and connect historic practices to modern traditions.

Conclusion

This episode offers an entertaining yet insightful journey through the history of English Christmas carols, rooting them in broader traditions, religious changes, and cultural transformations. William Sandys’ work emerges as a keystone in preserving carols that might otherwise have faded, laying ground for the Victorian renaissance of Christmas observance. Both history buffs and fans of holiday music will come away with new appreciation for the enduring, evolving Christmas carol.