{"id":17772,"date":"2014-12-23T00:32:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-23T05:32:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitright.pmss.net\/?page_id=17772"},"modified":"2020-08-18T22:21:14","modified_gmt":"2020-08-19T02:21:14","slug":"mummers-play","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/staging.pinemountainsettlement.net\/?page_id=17772","title":{"rendered":"CHRISTMAS Mummers Play"},"content":{"rendered":"
Pine Mountain Settlement School
\nSeries 16: Special and Annual Events
\n(See also: BY TOPIC: CELEBRATIONS \u2013 CHRISTMAS)<\/h5>\n

CHRISTMAS MUMMER’S PLAY<\/strong><\/h2>\n

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Mummer’s Play in Laurel House living room c. 1940s. Photograph by Arthur Dodd. [nace_1_024a.jpg]<\/p><\/div>The Mummer’s Play is a frolicking and fast-moving folk play that brought an Old English tradition to the mountains. It was one of the events that many students looked forward to as it allowed considerable over-acting and great choreographed acrobatics. It also held tales that some found familiar from the ancient ballads that had persisted in the Southern Appalachians.<\/p>\n

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Mummer’s Play performed in New Laurel House. Photograph by Arthur Dodd. early 1940s. [christmas_1006.jpg]<\/p><\/div>A Mummer’s Play was generally a group or troupe effort. Comprised of actors, generally male, the play allowed considerable room for theatrics. The characters — and there were many — had very specific roles to fulfill. Old Father Christmas was one of the most important but all characters, such as St. George, the various Kings, especially Old King Cole, figured prominently in the plot.<\/p>\n

Morris dancers and Sword Dancers were also found frequently in the play as were villains or the Devil or Beelzebub and generally a Fool with a series of Fool sons. The sons of the Fool had such catchy names as “Pickle Herring”, “Blue Britches”, “Ginger Britches”, “Pepper Britches”, and “Mr. Allspice”. The play is a fast-moving romp that combines the best of Morris Dancing with mountain humor. At Pine Mountain Settlement School the favorite play had two versions. Both are included in the GALLERY below.<\/p>\n

Also known as “Mummering”, the play was meant to be performed in the street or at least in various locations. As a movable stage, the play was ideal to transport\u00a0about the campus from one location to another. Most frequently, however, the play was performed in Laurel House — both old Laurel House and the new Laurel House<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The roots of the play go back to medieval times and apparently began in\u00a0various carnivals and church fairs in many different countries, say many definitive sources for “Mummering”. Evelyn K. Wells<\/a>, a long-time staff worker at Pine Mountain, seems closer to the truth in her well-researched book, The Ballad Tree (1950). <\/em>She\u00a0<\/em>reminds us that the origins of the Mummer’s Plays are probably an outgrowth of the pagan rites surrounding the solstice or other pagan rituals associated with agricultural cycles. She links the plays to the Robin Hood tale and to the heathen calendar between winter solstice and spring solstice. The Robin Hood character went on to become its own story and the dancers, she tells us, developed the sword dancing to a fine art in the north of England and handkerchief and stick dancing in the midlands. [Wells, p. 20]<\/p>\n

Whatever the origins, the play is firmly associated with the Christmas season and became a favorite of the School.<\/p>\n

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1928 Version of the Mummer’s Play. [christmas_1004a.jpg]<\/p><\/div>The origins of the Pine Mountain plays clearly pull their characters right out of the Old English, Scotch, and Irish versions of the troupe plays and retain many of the same characters and “plots”. Generally, the plots revolve around some form of miraculous healing by a quack. Part poetry, part ballad, part mountain vernacular humor, the Pine Mountain Mummer’s Plays were a favorite at the School during the Christmas season.<\/p>\n

Though many in the audience may have found threads to the stories and ballads they had heard in their homes, the play needed an introduction and a Herald was assigned this task. At the beginning of the second version of the play, the\u00a0Herald announces the play and unrolls a scroll that describes the origin of the Mummer’s Play for the audience:<\/p>\n

The Mummer’s Play comes from an old custom carried on in middle ages and later times, of the country people of England, France and Germany. They went about at Christmas time to the homes of rich lords and ladies, who were banqueting and feasting, and joined in the festivities, or else gave their little play, and then were given food and money by the household which they entered. In order to conceal their identity, and to make the play more amusing, they wore masks representing different animals, characters from familiar stories, and historic heroes.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In England the St. George play was most familiar, and in this play the masks permitted so much riotous action that Henry VIII forbade the wearing of masks. But the play at its simplest was an amusing entertainment of masked men representing some popular heroes — famous kings, Jack the Giant Killer and the Giant, St. George and the Dragon and finally, Father Christmas.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

It is this play which will be presented tonight. (blows trumpet) …<\/em><\/p>\n

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Georgia Ayers as the Dragon in a 1930s version of the Mummer’s Play [Overdrawn]. [christmas_1004.jpg]<\/p><\/div>\n

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Mummer’s Play, c. 1940s<\/p><\/div>\n

In many ways the plays are early forms of Rap, as the rhyming poetry often suggests an underlying moral tale beneath all the frolicking. For example, when the Devil and Little Devil Dout enter they declare,<\/p>\n

BEELZEBUB<\/em>
\nIn come I, old Beelzebub<\/em>
\nOn my shoulder I carry a club<\/em>
\nIn my hand a dripping pan<\/em>
\nDon’t you think I’m a jolly old man?<\/em><\/p>\n

LITTLE DEVIL DOUT<\/em>
\nIn come I, little Devil Dout<\/em>
\nIf you don’t give me money, I’ll sweep you out<\/em>
\nMoney I want, and money I crave,<\/em>
\nIf you don’t give me money,\u00a0I’ll sweep you to the grave.<\/em><\/p>\n

Like buskers on the streets of old, the troupe at the end of the play demand money from the on-lookers but then gentle the demand by allowing all to keep their gold if they will but give up their silver — a Christmas gift from the merry troupe.<\/p>\n

God All mighty bless you hearth and fold,<\/em>
\n Shut out the wolf, and keep out the cold.<\/em>
\n You give us silver, keep you the gold,<\/em>
\n For ’tis money in your pocket, hold, men, hold!<\/em><\/p>\n

The song, “Hold, Men, Hold” is central to both versions of the Mummer’s Play at Pine Mountain as are most of the same characters in both plays.<\/p>\n

In the second play version someone has added a note about one performance where\u00a0the over-zealous audience threw their offerings (pieces of broken glass, a drilled coin and other objects) a little too forcefully and there were injuries. Yet, better the Fools and the Dragons than the guns and the liquor that often accompanied the Christmases of the past.<\/p>\n

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Mummer’s Play, c. 1940s. Photograph by Arthur Dodd. [christmas_1005a.jpg]<\/p><\/div>On another note, the second play script has a very detailed inventory of costuming requirements for the play and until the boarding school ended, the costumes were used from year to year. The elaborate costuming follows the history of the School through the years when fetes and small plays were given for many occasions. Thanksgiving skits, Pilgrims and Indians, the white linen of May Day, the homespun of the Nativity Play, and the many renditions of Robin Hood, all required costuming.<\/p>\n

The Mummer’s Play troupe had ample room for creative costuming. The Morris Dancers, however, wore the traditional white pants and white shirts with red sashes that crossed the chests of the dancers and often bells at the ankles. These costumes were the\u00a0common\u00a0costumes of the Morris Dancer and Sword Dancer and were also brought out for May Day dancing on The Green<\/a> and for other occasions.<\/p>\n

The Mummer’s Play was performed until the end of the Boarding School year and this abbreviated account from the 1948-49 Pine Cone by student Carlos Banks captures the action and fun of this play for both the students watching the play and those performing.<\/p>\n

“It is one of the customs at Pine Mountain for the boys at Far House to dramatize a Mummers’ Play as a part of the unique Christmas celebration at the school. This year the boys were fortunate to have Richard Chase with them to lend a hand in making the performance all the more successful.<\/em><\/p>\n

Everybody had finished supper\u00a0and had pushed his chair back to find a better position for himself about the stage which was formed by the moving of tables back to the pillars where the food is served in the dining room. All of a sudden there was a noise at the back door, and, when one of the girls seated there opened it, in came the fool, asking first if he might. Following the fool, there were Father Christmas, King Alfred with his bride on his arm, Big Head (his head being nothing more or less than a bushel basket properly draped), and then Devil Dout. started to speak but was pushed aside and thus silenced by the fool that Pickle Herring could recite his part. Pickle Herring was \u00a0in the process of introducing his sons before he fully realized that they were nowhere to be seen. He called them each by name, whereupon they came in, one by one, tumbling and turning somersaults. Once on the stage they lined up rigidly and bowed together, to the delight of the audience.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Saint George was the next to speak and he called for the Morris Men. The Morris dancers entered, bells on their feet and batons in their hands, to do the difficult steps of their dance.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

At the conclusion of the dance the silence was broken by the roar of the dragon, and the mummers trembled with fear. The Dragon stuck his head in where the rest of the entertainers were and roared and sniffed ferociously. He interrupted this roaring and sniffling long enough to make a speech about his claws and jaws. When he resumed his sniffing, the queen fainted dead away. Alarmed, King Alfred caught her in his arms and fanned frantically in an effort to revive her. The dragon continued his talking about “meat for the eat”, sniffed the shoes of the fool who was literally shaking in them. Heroically, Saint George stepped forward and with a few swift blows slew the dragon with his sword, and the clowns dragged the body away.<\/em><\/p>\n

After the clowns had taken care of the dragon, they rushed over to revive the queen. In came the helpful fool with a bucket of water, which he promptly poured upon the prostrate body of the queen. With a gasp she came to, as the clowns dried her with towels. She regained her composure then and curtsied in thanks.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“In come I, Old Bet, ugly as can be, and every man in the house must be kissed by me.” And in she did come and made straight for Mr. Dodd who shied away from her advances. Old Bet by the way, with all her unusual charm, nearly stole the show.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Barleycorn was the next mummer to appear. After some deliberation the clown decided to do away with him. This they did and then found themselves remorseful. They called in the doctor, an obvious quack, to try to bring Barleycorn back to life. Then followed one of the most unusual operations ever witnessed anywhere. At length Barleycorn did come to life and was raised by the mummers on their swords.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

With a song by all that begged for money the pennies were showered to the stage in appreciation for a few moments of hearty laughter that added much to the gayety of the Christmas festivities. Then after the scrambling to pick up the last coin was over, out trooped the mummers to devour a belated meal that was their just reward for job well done.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Carlos Bank, Senior<\/em><\/p>\n

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GALLERY I – PHOTOGRAPHS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t