Boars Head Carol

Home
To Relate Many Stories
A Garland of Carols
Shepherds Arise
Down in Yon Forest
The Coventry Carol
As I Sat On a Sunny Bank
While Shepherds Watched [Lyngham]
Nowell and Nowell
In Bethlehem City
Christmas is Now Drawing Near at Hand
The Carnal and the Crane
Boars Head Carol
The Dunstan Lullaby (The Christmas Lullaby)
While Shepherds Watched [Pentonville]

Boars Head Carol

The boar’s head in hand bring
Bedeck'd with bays and rosemary.
I pray you, my masters, be merry
Quot estis in convivio
 
Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino
 
The boar's head, as I understand,
Is the rarest dish in all this land,
Which thus bedeck'd with a gay garland
Let us servire cantico
 
Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino
 
Our steward hath provided this
In honor of the King of Bliss;
Which, on this day to be served is
In Reginensi atrio
 
Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino
 
[traditional]

In perhaps the ultimate tribute to
the Boar's Head, William Henry Husk
reproduced all seven Boar's Head Carols
of which he had knowledge. The general
introduction is reproduced immediately
below, and thereupon links to each of
these treasures, each with its own notes,
together with other versions from other
collectors

a garland of carols is
© 2006/2007 sam-and-lizzie
all rights reserved