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610 MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
ribald office, its riot of song and dance, of eating and drinking,
and dicing on the altar, it was hardly an edifying example to
the laymen. Somewhat similar to the celebration ofthe Feast of
Fools were the ludi tbeatrales or masked shows (spectacula lar
at Wells and
varuni) which are found in the fourteenth century
Exeter and the custom prevalent
in many cathedrals from quite
early times when in the days following Christmas, especially
on the feast of the Innocents (28 December) a choir boy was
appointed bishop for thefestumpueromm. These *boy bishops*
both preached and sang the mass; and on these occasions ac/
cording to the royal ordinance which abolished them in 1541
'children be strangelye decked and apparelid to counterfaite
priestes, bysshopps, and women* and there is much singing
and dancing *to the derision of the glory of God*. 1 If the
Church countenanced foolery within their own circle, they
could scarcely adopt a very stern attitude towards the amuse-
ments of laymen.
By the close of the middle ages society had wearied of the
recitation oflong romances. Those who could appreciate these
romances could now read at least some ofthem in print. This
form ofentertainment died a natural death with the invention
ofprinting and the development ofthe theatre. With the bu&
foonery it was otherwise. There were fools at the court of Henry
VII, and payments are also made from the Privy Purse to *one
that joculed before the king* and *to a Spaynyard that tumbled*.
These amusements, in spite ofthe renaissance, in spite of
Tudor legislation which classed wandering minstrels and the
like with rogues and vagabonds, in spite ofthe strictures ofthe
Puritans, survived. Thomas More kept a fool in his household
and Erasmus wrote In Praise ofFolly. It is the stock-in-trade of
the sideshows at fairs and ofthe music halls of today.
2. Board Games
When books were scarce and reading the accomplishment of
the few it was customary to pass the long winter evenings by
playing indoor games. At once the most ancient and the most
1
Wilkins, GwaTw, iii, p. 860, quoted by Chambers, op. cit. i, p. 366, n.