About Celebrations
Do
you remember the big deal about the Millennium, the year 2000? Chaucer
lovers
made very special memories in London that year. It was the 600th
anniversary of the death of Geoffrey Chaucer. The date October 25th
is inscribed on his tomb in the Poet’s Corner of Westminster
Abbey. (I discovered the
Internet that year; that’s why my screen name is Chaucer600.)
The New Chaucer Society, a worldwide organization, had a competition. The question, to be answered in 500 words or less, was: “Why, after 600 years, are we still studying the works of Chaucer?” Scholars as well as students were encouraged to compete for a prize—appropriately enough—of $600. A Yale graduate student was the winner. (If you’d like a copy of his winning essay, click here.)
The prize was awarded at the Society’s Congress in London the summer of 2000. The closing ceremony took place at the poet’s tomb in Westminster Abbey and was a Choral Evensong in celebration of his life.
Our local celebration took place on the actual anniversary date, Wednesday, October 25th. In the ages-old Catholic tradition, we had a Mass said on the anniversary of Chaucer’s death. That’s all there was to the plan when we started—an evening Mass at the local church. But good ideas kept coming, and the pastor, who is a Chaucer fan, encouraged us.
Wouldn’t
it be great to have medieval music at the Mass?
An Early Music group here in town was delighted to join in. Next
we thought about food. Where could we get 14th century food?
That’s easy, if you like to cook. We borrowed a book of medieval
recipes from the nearby college library and chose several recipes
that looked doable. We would have a green salad, mushroom and cheese
pasties, pork tarts, and a choice of two desserts—either cheese
custard or apple almond pudding.
What kind of beverage should we serve? I e-mailed the author of the cookbook and she suggested apple cider. We also had a limited supply of mead so that all those attending had a taste of the medieval libation as we drank a toast to Chaucer.
Invitations
were sent to the English Departments of the colleges in
the area. The Mass was introduced with a brief reading (in Middle
English and then Modern English) from Chaucer’s Retraction,
where he asks his readers to pray for him. The music lent a proper
ambiance. The homily was filled with recollections and considerations
of Chaucer’s life. All those who had time joined us to partake
of the foods we’d prepared. It was a splendid evening.
Someone suggested—I guess it was to be expected—that we do this every year! Well, it wouldn’t seem right to go through that amount of effort for year 601 or 602. We’ll save that for the big 700. But, in the meantime it has turned into a small yearly celebration of a Mass and a gathering afterward.
What if YOU wanted to have a special Chaucer commemoration? It doesn’t have to be in October. You might plan for “Aprill” with its sweet showers, or any other time of year that lends itself to festivities.
Food might be the place to start. But when you’re planning, keep in mind there was NO CHOCOLATE, COFFEE, TOMATOES, POTATOES, VANILLA or ICEBERG LETTUCE. The book we used is Pleyn Delit: Medieval Cookery for Modern Cooks by Constance Hieatt and Sharon Butler. It contains a great variety of recipes that will please modern palates.
Mead called “Chaucer’s Mead” is available, but it may take a bit of looking to locate a shop that carries it.
Medieval music could be provided with cassettes or CDs. If you want to be independent, try looking for Medieval Music.
If you look
for “composers” try:
Guillaume de Machaut, Hildegard
von Bingen, or Gregorian Chant.
For artists,
try:
Anonymous Four, Sequentia, the Hilliard Ensemble, or Emma Kirkby.
I found all of the above on Amazon.com. If you aren’t familiar with this music—Welcome to a new and wonderful world!
Costumes might
interest you. Nancy Bradfield’s Historical Costumes of
England: from the 11th to the 20th Century has many illustrations
of 14th century garb that could be adapted by an enterprising seamstress.
One last thought is Steve Ellis’ new book Chaucer at Large: The Poet in the Modern Imagination. Steve tells of the many ways people through the centuries have looked at, and used, Chaucer and his writings. The book might inspire you with even more ideas for Celebrating Chaucer.
Claremont Events
On Wednesday, Oct. 25 we celebrated Chaucer's anniversary 605 at Our Lady of the Assumption Church. It began at 5:30 Mass featuring medieval music and was followed by a reception with medieval delights of various kinds including the reading of a scene from three of his tales. Here are some pictures. This year we had better movies of the events but fewer pictures. Here are the prior years: 2006 and 2005 pages.
Questions? E-mail at Chaucer600@aol.com.
Come and lat us myrie make!
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