Virtual Grub Street: New Year’s Gifts through the Ages.

The god Janus.

In this series:

The Wild Boar from Valhalla to Christmas Kitchen.
Catering the Medieval and Tudor Christmas Feasts.
Ordering the Medieval and Tudor Household for Christmas.
Feasting in the Great Hall on Christmas Day!
Celebrating the Days of Christmas Before the New Year.
New Year’s Gifts through the Ages.

In Plautus’ play Stichus, of about 184 B.C.(E.), we are said to find the first reference to giving gifts to one’s lord in hopes of good fortune. The character giving the gifts — Sangarinus — is disparaged as a parasite. The gift seems a common ploy and offensive to honest men.

The gift being referred to as “strena,”it has been suggested that an already archaic goddess of the New Year, Strenua, was the source of the name. If that is true, Plautus may be alluding to a far more ancient practice directed toward the goddess’s priests in her name. By his time it seems to have been redirected to refer to any offering to an exalted person.

In his Fasti, almost 200 years later, Ovid questions the god Janus as to why he must be given presents of sweets on New Year’s Day (the Kalends of January). The gifts (not called strenae) mentioned are undiluted wine (merum), dates (data), purest honey (sub niveo Candida mella cado) and figs (carica). In an amusing exchange, he asks the god, at last, why he prefers cash. The reply is because cash is the sweetest offering of all.[1]

In Ovid’s experience the gifts may have been left at an temple to Janus. Or it may already have been properly given to the Emperor Augustus in the god’s name. Regardless, Janus’s argument continues to make the point: sweet offerings promise a sweet year ahead. The less sweet the offering, the less sweet the year.

By the reign of Caligula all pretense of leaving the gift at the temple has been cast aside. By decree, all gifts for the Kalends of January were to be left at the porch to his palace.[2]

The Romans having occupied Europe and Britain for some hundreds of years, the tradition of giving the ruler of the province New Year’s gifts arrived with them. In Medieval Latin strena first indicated New Year’s gifts of sweet meats.

For all the folk wisdom often claims otherwise, those who remained behind to rule when the Romans left had no desire to return to the old ways. They remained Romanized. It was a mark of high distinction. Among the many habits of rule that stayed behind was the tradition of giving the ruler gifts, strenae. Thus, in modern Romance languages we still use Fr. étrennes and Italian strenne for New Year’s gifts.

While the historical records of the earliest Middle Ages are fraught with gaps, we can feel confident that all Germanic peoples kept the tradition of giving out presents to their lords on the New Years. The Medieval historian Matthew Paris informs us that Henry III “shamelessly”[3] extended the gift tradition to each of the citizens of London in 1249. No such exaction is mentioned in subsequent years.

During the reign of Henry VIII the customary gift was a purse of gold. Bishop Latimer is said to have given him “a New Testament, with a leaf conspicuously doubled down at Hebrews xiii. 4”.[4]

Henry’s daughter, the Princess Elizabeth, gave as well as received gifts on New Year’s day. Her older sister Mary also gave gifts to favorites though we lack the details of when and on what basis. Elizabeth gave gifts of plate — a valued status symbol and convenient pawn during hard times — to those who gifted her. Presumably, it cut down on shopping. It remained a habit throughout her life.

We learn of the gifts she received, each year, upon becoming Queen. They were far more lavish, of course. “The New-year's Gifts s regularly presented were immense; and in each year an exact Inventory was made, on a Roll signed by the Queen, and attested by the proper Officers.”[5]

The list of 1561/2 is the first I have available. In it we find the following sample:

· By the Duke of Norfolke, in a purse of purple silke and golde knit, in sundry coynes of golde 20 0 0

· By the Earle of Oxforde, in a red silk purse, in dimy sovereigns 10 0 0

· By the Archbusshop of Caunterbury, in a red silk purse, in dimy sovereigns 40 0 0

· By the Duchess of Norfolke, in a purse of crymsen silk and gold knyt, in angels 20 0 0

The figures after each gift give the value in pounds, shillings and pence. From lesser Lords and Ladies she received less:

· By the Lorde Keeper of the Great Scale, [Nicholas] Bacon, in a purse of silver knytt, in angels 13 6 8

· By Lorde John Graye, a haunce pott of allablaster garnished with silver gilt.

· By the Lady Dakers, a warming ball of gold, per oz. 3 oz. dim.

· By the Lady Shefilde, a paire of sleeves wrought with fringe of blak silk and lozeng of gold.

· By the Lady Raclyef, a peire of sleeves of cameryk, all over sett with purle, and two sweet bags.

From the knights, gentlemen and gentlewomen she generally (but not always) received less still.

· By Sir William Cycell, Secretary, a standishe garneshed with silver gilt and mother of pearle, with an inke-pott of like silver gilt, and a glass of chrystall in the cover, the base plated with like silver guilt, containing therein two boxes for duste, and 24 counters of silver guilt; a pen-knife, thafte of silver guilt ; and a seale of bone typped with silver guilt.

· By Sir Christopher Hatton, in a red silke purse, in angels 10 0 0

· By Mysteris Astley, Chief Gentlewoman of the Pryvy Chamber, twelve handkercheves edged with gold and silver.

The higher level servants and tradespersons might also give gifts. We are told by Mr. Howell that the Queen “was presented with a pair of black silk knit stockings, by her silk-woman Mrs. Montague, and thenceforth she never wore cloth hose any more."[6]

Gift giving would not be rescheduled to Christmas, in the English world, until late in the 18^th century.

[1] Ovid, Naso, Publius. I Fasti. I.171-87.

[2] Tille, Alexander. Yule and Christmas Their Place in the Germanic Year (1899). 84.

[3] Paris, Matthew. English History from the Year 1235-1273 (1853). Giles transl. II.287.

[4] Hone, William. The Every Day Book: Or, A Guide to the Year (1866). I.8.

[5] Nichols, John. The Progresses and Public Processions of Queen Elizabeth ..., Volume 1 (1832). xxxiv.

[6] Ibid. xlii.

Also at Virtual Grub Street:

Zombie Apocalypse & Trick-or-Treating: Halloween through History. October 30, 2019. “Looking closely, however, we see that this Shakespeare quote has moved the “puling” (which it was actually called) back one day to Hallowmas, All Hallows Day, rather than All Souls. Far more important, he has actually referred to puling as a special kind of speech spoken by beggars on Hallowmas Day.”
A Thousand Years of English Terms. June 2, 2019. ‘One person did not say to another, “Meet you at three o’clock”. There was no clock to be o’. But the church bell rang the hour of Nones and you arranged to meet “upon the Nones bell”.’
Feast of St. Michael, September 29: Beginning of the English Year. September 29, 2019. "Those who have read my “Thousand Years of English Terms” may recall that the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels (a.k.a. “Michaelmas”), on September 29, marked the beginning to the English legal and business year."
A Most Curious Account of the Funeral of Queen Elizabeth I: April 28, 1603. April 28, 2019. “Once it was clear that James I would face no serious challenges, Cecil and the others could begin to give attention to the matter of the Queen’s funeral.”
Check out the English Renaissance Article Index for many more articles and reviews about this fascinating time and about the Shakespeare Authorship Question.
Check out the Medieval Topics Article Index for many more articles about this fascinating time.