Today is Michaelmas, the autumnal feast of the mighty St Michael the Archangel - in medieval tradition the guardian of high places, weigher of souls after death, heavenly warrior against the forces of evil, and defender against the dark. aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-sele… In medieval art St Michael is often shown holding scales, with which he weighs the souls of the dead. This imagery links him to the autumn equinox, when day and night are balanced, the scales of Libra, and the traditional settling of accounts at Michaelmas patreon.com/posts/high-and…

Today is the feast of St Barnabas, which (before the Gregorian calendar reform) used to be the date of the summer solstice, and the longest day in the year. There was an old rhyme:

'Barnaby bright,
The longest day and the shortest night.' Image from a 15th-century manuscript digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/644538…

'The heavens' helm wanted to demolish and destroy
the walls of hell, to carry off the people from the city,
most righteous of all kings.'

An Anglo-Saxon poem about the Harrowing of Hell, when Christ descends into the underworld and sets its captives free aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2015/04/open-w… Easteræfen, 'Easter Eve', was the Anglo-Saxon name for Holy Saturday. A beautiful description of what happened on the day 'when Christ rested dead in the tomb for us', from the 9th-century Old English Martyrology:

Today is the feast of the Annunciation to the Virgin Mary, 'Lady Day'. In England it was once the spring quarter-day, when accounts were settled and servants took new jobs; until 1752 it was also the start of the New Year. A day for new beginnings, new life in more ways than one. For the medieval church, March 25 was the most important date in history: not only the day of Christ's conception, but also the historical date of the Crucifixion. From the eighth day of Creation to the downfall of Sauron - it all happens today. aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2017/03/our-la…

Today is the start of Shrovetide, the days leading up to Ash Wednesday - traditionally a time for letting off steam with riotous games, feasting and carnival before the Lenten fast began.

An Anglo-Saxon sermon for Quinquagesima, the Sunday before Lent: aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2015/02/now-pu… In Anglo-Saxon England, the week of Ash Wednesday seems to have been known as 'Cheese Week' (cyswuce), because it was the last time cheese could be eaten before the start of Lent. A great lost holiday...

patreon.com/posts/carnival…

'We have often heard that people call today ‘Year’s Day’... Our calendar begins on this day according to the Roman practice, not for any holy reason, but because of ancient custom.' (Ælfric)

How New Year became part of the medieval English Christmastide: engelsbergideas.com/notebook/new-y… A New Year's Day carol from 1642 (sung to the tune of 'Greensleeves')

musicanet.org/robokopp/engli…

Today is Childermas Day, the feast of the Holy Innocents, on the fourth day of Christmas. It's an appropriate day for the Coventry Carol and other medieval lullaby-laments, which give voice to the grief that lies near the heart of the Christmas season aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2014/12/lullay…
The English name Childermas (like Candlemas, Christmas, Lammas etc.) dates back to the Anglo-Saxon period: 'cilda mæssedæg' was the 'feast-day of the children', the Holy Innocents. This Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry says Westminster Abbey was consecrated 'on cilda mæssedæg', 1065.

Today is Childermas Day, the feast of the Holy Innocents, on the fourth day of Christmas. It's an appropriate day for the Coventry Carol and other medieval lullaby-laments, which give voice to the grief that lies near the heart of the Christmas season: aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2014/12/lullay… There was an old tradition that Childermas was a very unlucky day, when no important undertaking should be started and no washing or cleaning should be done. Whichever day of the week it fell upon would be unlucky throughout the coming year. archive.org/details/agloss…

Today is the feast of St Wulfric of Haselbury, Somerset anchorite, who died on 20 February 1154. His miraculous abilities included cutting through a metal hauberk with scissors, and the power to make someone bilingual... aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-mira… This is the story of Wulfric's bilingualism miracle. Wulfric and William (who could both speak French) treat Brihtric's frustration as a bit of a joke, but it's hard not to have sympathy with him - so much here about future English class divides.

from google.co.uk/books/edition/…

Candlemas, the Feast of the Presentation, has traditionally been seen as marking the transition from winter to early spring. Over the centuries of its history, the festival and its name have been entwined with many different aspects of daily life - here are some examples.

https://twitter.com/ClerkofOxford/status/1488777083291684868

The feast of the Presentation dates back to the 4th century, and in English it's been called 'Candlemas' for over 1000 years (from Anglo-Saxon 'Candelmæsse'). The name comes from the custom of processing with candles on this day, as seen in this image from Bodleian MS. Douce 12.

'You are the door in the wall; through you the All-wielding Lord
once only journeyed out into this world...
Intercede for us now, bold in your words,
that he may not allow us any longer
to go astray in this deadly valley.'

aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-an… 'O joy of women, beyond the glory of heaven,
most noble virgin through all the corners of the earth
of whom sea-dwellers ever heard tell,
explain to us the mystery which came to you from the skies...'
aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2013/12/the-an…

Today is All Souls' Day. This day developed in the Middle Ages as a time for comfort and connection between the living and the dead: a day to ensure no one was left alone in death, and to reassure the living of their place within a vast community of souls. unherd.com/2020/11/how-we… 'For all Cristen saulys pray we:
Requiem eternam dona eis, Domine.'

Some medieval prayers for All Souls aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2013/11/a-song…

Alongside the many merry medieval carols, there's another sadder, darker strain - a genre of melancholy lullabies. Mary tries to soothe her crying baby, but he explains he's crying for us, for the sorrows of the 'weeping world', which he has come to share. aclerkofoxford.blogspot.com/2018/12/mary-h… These poignant medieval lullabies feel particularly fitting in this year of solitude and grief. Here's a beautiful example for Christmas night: 'As I lay on Yule's Night / Alone in my longing...' corymbus.co.uk/as-i-lay-on-yu…

St Catherine and her wheel, in medieval glass from Christ Church, Oxford. Today is her feast, once known as 'Catterns Day'.

Catherine was a very popular saint, patron of young women and anyone who works with books or wheels: librarians, students, philosophers, wheelwrights... St Catherine was especially associated with learning: her legend said that as a young girl she devoted herself to study, and when challenged to debate against 50 philosophers, her arguments won the dispute. She's often shown with a book.

(BL Add.35313 & 18851; Westhall, Suffolk)