Festum Asinorum

Today, being Januar 14, as I was reminded by a note on The Pillar website, was for several centuries in the medieval era the Feast of the Ass, the Festum Asinorum. This was intended as a commemoration of the Flight into Egypt.

It appears to be particularly associated with northern France, although that may be a reflection of what records survive.

Wikipedia gives an account of the events associated with it at Feast of the Ass

Linked to it is the concept and history of the Feast of Fools which marked the days after Christmas Day itself, with role reversal celebrations in cathedrals. This apparently originated in southern France. The article can be seen at Feast of Fools

Although banned by the Ecumenical Coucil of. Basel in 1431, and by the University of Paris in 1444, the customer was along time a dying, surviving at Amiens until at least 1721. It occurs to me that this was perhaps a consequence of the Pragmatic Sanction of Bourges in 1438.

In England the best recorded evidence for such events is the tradition, now quite frequently revived, or the Boy Bishop.

From the Feast of the Ass there survives in seasonal usage  the familiar music for the hymn Orientis Partibus. The text and recordings of the hymn, arguably an inspiration for Carl Orff in composing Carmina Burana, can be found online at both Festum Asinorum and Orientis Partibus