Richard Leighton Greene (1904–1983)

"The Red Book of Ossory." Sounds like one of those grand old collections of medieval writing, doesn't it: "The White Book of Rhydderch." "The Black Book of Carmarthen." "The Red Book of Westmarch." Great books, all, at least if you ignore the fact that the last one existed only in the mind of J. R. R. Tolkien....

The Red Book of Ossory isn't in that league. Yes, it's a book of old writings, named for the color of its binding. But it isn't a collection of great old stories and poems like the other books I mentioned. Rather, it's a side effect of a tyrannous old bishop having his own way. Richard de Ledrede was Bishop of Ossory (i.e. Kilkenny) in the fourteenth century, and he was a crank. (In fact, it has been suggested that he eventually lost his mind.) He didn't like the musicians around him playing secular music. So he, like Martin Luther two centuries later, seems to have asked why the Devil should have all the good tunes, and decided to do something about it -- but no vernacular words for him, nosiree. He proceeded to write a lot of Latin lyrics and set them to the popular melodies of the day. These lyrics were set down in the Red Book.

As an attempt to show Bishop Richard's power over the lesser clergy, it apparently worked. As an attempt to take over those old tunes... well, no one seems to recognize the melodies by the title Ossory used, but nobody is singing Ossory's lyrics, either. Both forms have been utterly forgotten. So this is just a set of dusty old Latin lyrics. Some are thought to be decent in their way, but none are so great as to inspire aspiring musicians to do something with them.

So why did someone reprint the text when so many more important manuscripts remain unpublished? One might suspect that Richard Leighton Green, who was about seventy at the time this was published, wanted a relatively easy project.... The bigger question is why anyone would read it.

And the answer to that, arguably, lies in the introduction rather than the Latin lyrics themselves. Because lyric #11 appears to say that it is to be sung to the tune of "Maiden in the Moor Lay."

"Maiden in the Moor Lay" is one of the great Middle English poems, which you may well have encountered in a college English class. (I did.) It is a great mystery: What is this beautiful but inexplicable poem about? We have only one copy of it, in the "Rawlinson Lyrics" in the Bodleian, a transcript entirely without context. Is it a religious poem (about the Virgin Mary)? A secular poem? Even, as one scholar suggested (one suspects after a rather-too-long drinking bout) about a water sprite? Barring the discovery of further information, we simply can't know. But, because we would so much like to know, any clue is welcome -- even if it's only the clue that the cranky Bishop of Ossory didn't approve of it. So, if you want to work on "Maiden in the Moor Lay," you need this book. Otherwise -- it's not easy on the eyes, having been typed rather than typeset, and of course there is the language of the original texts. Don't bother unless you like slogging through some very, very Catholic church Latin.… (meer)

Be warned: If you're looking for a volume of songs for your Christmas party, this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you want a very good overview of the early history of English caroling, you've found what you need.

It is one of those linguistic oddities that carol, which originally meant a song suitable for dancing, and which (while typically religious) could be specific to any holiday, now means a Christmas song. This is a book of carols of the old sort, mostly in Middle English. A few of the chapter headings will tell you how diverse they are: There are sections "Of the New Year," "Of the Epiphany," "Of the Purificatoin," "Of Christ's Passion." There are also some on specific topics: "Of the Shepherds," "Of the Boar's Head," "Of Holly and Ivy," "Of the Joys of Mary" -- even "Satirical Carols."

The source of each carol is listed at its head, along with its estimated date. Variant readings are listed at the foot of the text, and extensive notes at the end discuss its meaning, history, and significance, as well as listing other printings (such as those with music).

You probably won't be able to sing most of these. There is no music (in most cases, the music is lost; all we have is the text), and odds are that you won't want to go around singing in Middle English anyway. (Although it really is fun to do so. Really. Truly.) But there is no better short collection of early English carol literature. It's a great book -- as long as you don't buy it for the wrong reasons.… (meer)