In theBritish Islesand parts of theCommonwealth,theMay QueenorQueen of Mayis apersonificationof theMay Dayholiday of 1 May, and ofspringtimeand the coming growing season. The May Queen is a girl who rides or walks at the front of aparadeforMay Daycelebrations. She wears a whitegownto symbolise purity and usually atiaraorcrown.Her duty is to begin the May Day celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age-groups dance around aMaypolecelebrating youth and springtime.
History
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In 1922James George Frazerspeculated that the figure of the May Queen was linked to ancient tree worship.[1]
In theHigh Middle Agesin England the May Queen was also known as the "Summer Queen".George C. Homanspoints out: "The time fromHocktide,afterEaster Week,toLammas(1 August) was summer (estas). "[2]
In 1557, a London diarist calledHenry Machynwrote:
"The xxx day of May was a goly May-gam in Fanch-chyrchestrett with drumes and gunes and pykes, and ix wordes dyd ryd; and thay had speches evere man, and the morris dansse and the sauden, and an elevant with the castyll, and the sauden and yonge morens with targattes and darttes, and the lord and the lade of the Maye".
Modern English: On the 30 May was a jolly May-game inFenchurch Street(London) with drums and guns andpikes,TheNine Worthiesdid ride; and they all had speeches, and themorris danceand sultan and anelephant with a castleand the sultan and youngmoorswith shields and arrows, and the lord and lady of the May ".[3]
Maintaining the tradition
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Many areas keep this tradition alive today. The town ofHayfield, Derbyshire,claims to have the oldest unbroken tradition[4][dubious–discuss]based on a much older May Fair. Another notable event includes the one in theBrentham Garden Suburb,England, which hosts it annually.[5]It has the second oldest unbroken tradition although the May Queen of All London Festival atHayes CommoninBromleyis a close contender having been in existence since 1912. A May Day festival is held on the village green atAldborough, North Yorkshireon a site that dates back to Roman times and the settlement ofIsurium Brigantum.A May queen is selected from a group of 13 upward girls by the young dancers. She returns the next year to crown the new May Queen and stays in the procession. The largest event in this tradition in modern Britain is theBeltane Fire Festivalin Edinburgh, Scotland.
YOU must wake and call me early, call me early,
mother dear;
To-morrow 'll be the happiest time of all the glad
new-year, -
Of all the glad new-year, mother, the maddest,
merriest day;
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to
be Queen o' the May.
I sleep so sound all night, mother, that I shall
never wake,
If you do not call me loud when the day begins
to break;
But I must gather knots of flowers and buds,
and garlands gay;
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to
be Queen o' the May.
Little Effie shall go with me to-morrow to the
green,
And you'll be there, too, mother, to see me made
the Queen;
For the shepherd lads on every side 'll come from
far away;
And I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to
be Queen o' the May.
The night-winds come and go, mother, upon the
meadow-grass,
And the happy stars above them seem to brighten
as they pass;
There will not be a drop of rain the whole of the
livelong day;
And I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to
be Queen o' the May.
All the valley, mother, 'll be fresh and green and
still,
And the cowslip and the crowfoot are over all the
hill,
And the rivulet in the flowery dale 'll merrily
glance and play,
For I'm to be Queen o' the May, mother, I'm to
be Queen o' the May.
A May Day celebration held annually since 1870 inNew Westminster,British Columbia,Canada, has the distinction of being the longest running May Day celebration of its kind in theBritish Commonwealth.[7]
Related personifications
editMale companions to the May Queen, sometimes associated with May Day customs inGreat Britain,include personifications known as Father May, King of the May, May King, Garland King,Green Man,orJack in the Green.[8][9]As part of this folk custom, some villages would choose a man to act as consort for the May Queen. This man, the May King, would dress in greenery to symbolise springtime.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Frazer (1922),The Golden Bough,ch. 10 "Relics of tree worship in modern Europe";Frazer quotes Mannhardt: "The names May, Father May, May Lady, Queen of the May, by which the anthropomorphic spirit of vegetation is often denoted, show that the idea of the spirit of vegetation is blent with a personification of the season at which his powers are most strikingly manifested."
- ^Homans,English Villagers of the Thirteenth Century,2nd ed. 1991:354.
- ^Nichols, J. G.(ed). (1848).The Diary of Henry Machyn: Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London (1550-1563).Retrieved 11 February 2007.
- ^Hayfield.uk.net,Archived2010-07-10 at theWayback Machine
- ^"May Day".2 March 2014.Retrieved14 November2014.
- ^A Library of Poetry and Song: Being Choice Selections from The Best Poets. With An Introduction by William Cullen Bryant,New York, J.B. Ford and Company, 1871, pp. 239-242.
- ^New Westminster Hyack Festival Association (2004)."Hyack Festival Events".Archived fromthe originalon 2005-08-25.Retrieved2006-01-03.
- ^"May Folklore: May Day, Maypoles and May Queens in Britain".folklorethursday.com.FolkloreThursday Ltd. 3 May 2018.Retrieved4 September2020.
- ^Frazer, James George (1922)."Relics of Tree Worship in Modern Europe".The Golden Bough.
a May-tree is erected in the midst of the village [..] The girls dance round it, and at the same time a lad wrapt in leaves and called Father May is led about
- ^"May Day history and folklore".bbc.co.uk.BBC News. 30 April 1998.Retrieved21 August2020.
Sometimes she [the May Queen] was accompanied by a May King, who dressed in green to symbolise springtime and fertility
External links
edit- A translation of Grimm's Saga No. 365 about Hertha, Mother Earth, and a web essay on how she became the May Queen
- Freya, May Queen[usurped]with references, songs and customs