Hocktide
Hocktide (also Hock tide or Hoke Day) is the Monday and Tuesday in the second week after Easter.
History
Hock-Tuesday was an important
George C. Homans notices the parallel pattern as at Christmastide, of a solemn feast of the Church, that of Christmas itself, followed by a festive holiday, with the agricultural round beginning anew after Epiphany, with the folk customs of Plow Monday. Until the 19th century in England, Plow Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany, occasioned the antics of the gang of young plowmen, calling themselves the "plow-bullocks", who went door to door with the caparisoned "white plow", collecting pennies; when these were withheld they might plow up the dooryard.[5]
At
Until the 16th century, Hocktide was widely celebrated in England after Easter, although the massacre of the Danes in 1002, by order of King
By the 19th century the festivities consisted of the men of the parish binding the women on the Monday and demanding a kiss for their release. On the Tuesday, the actual Hock-day, the women would tie up the men and demand a payment before setting them free. The monies collected would then be donated to the parish funds. The origins of the name Hocktide are unknown.
In 1910 the celebration at Hungerford began with a watercress supper at the "John o' Gaunt" (he being the patron of the place) where his wonderful horn, the town's most treasured possession, is kept. The supper consisted of black broth, Welsh rarebit, macaroni, and salad, with bowls of punch.[1]
Hocktide today
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Hungerford_Town_Hall.jpg/220px-Hungerford_Town_Hall.jpg)
In England as of 2017[update] the tradition survives only in
Although the Hocktide celebrations take place over several days, the main festivities occur on the Tuesday, which is also known as Tutti Day. The Hocktide Council, which is elected on the previous Friday, appoints two Tutti Men whose job it is to visit the properties attracting Commoner's Rights. Formerly they collected rents, and they accompanied the Bellman (or Town crier) to summon commoners to attend the Hocktide Court in the Town Hall, and to fine those who were unable to attend one penny, in lieu of the loss of their rights. The Tutti Men carry Tutti Poles: wooden staffs topped with bunches of flowers and a cloved orange. These are thought to have derived from nosegays which would have mitigated the smell of some of the less salubrious parts of the town in times past. The Tutti Men are accompanied by the Orange Man (or Orange Scrambler) – who wears a hat decorated with feathers and carries a white sack filled with oranges – and Tutti Wenches who give out oranges and sweets to the crowds in return for pennies or kisses.
The proceedings start at 8 am with the sounding of the horn from the Town Hall steps. This summons all the commoners to the attend the Court at 9 am, after which the Tutti Men visit each of the 102 houses in turn. They no longer collect rents, but demand a penny or a kiss from the lady of the house when they visit. In return the Orange Man gives the owner an orange.
After the parade of the Tutti Men through the streets the Hocktide Lunch takes place for the Hocktide Council, commoners and guests, at which the traditional "Plantagenet Punch" is served. After the meal, an initiation ceremony, known as Shoeing the Colts is held, in which all first-time attendees are shod by the blacksmith. Their legs are held and a nail is driven into their shoe. They are not released until they shout "Punch". Oranges and heated coins are then thrown from the Town Hall steps to the children gathered outside.
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Knowlson, T. Sharper. "Hocktide -or Hoke Day", The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs, T. Werner Laurie, Ltd., London (1910)
- ^ Noted by George C. Homans, English Villagers of the Thirteenth Century, 2nd ed. 1991:365.
- ^ a b c Chisholm 1911, p. 556.
- ^ Katherine French, 'Women in the Late Medieval English Parish', in M. C. Erler, and M Kowaleski (ed.), Gendering the Master Narratative. Woman and Power in the Middle Ages, (Ithaca, 2003), p. 166.
- ^ George C. Homans, English Villagers of the Thirteenth Century, 2nd ed. 1991:360f, 365.
- ^ The derivation of the word is disputed, any analogy with Ger. hoch, "high", being generally denied.(Chisholm 1911, p. 556)
References
- Dr. Hugh Pihlens (1992). Hungerford, A Pictorial History. Chichester, Sussex: Phillimore and Co. Ltd. ISBN 0-85033-835-2.
- "A Countryman's Diary: This now-rare herald of Spring is a mischief-making parasite". Darlington and Stockton Times. 13 April 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
- "Tutti Day (Hocktide) at Hungerford". West Berkshire Council. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
- C. Payne and S. Radford (17 April 2007). "Top Tutti hits the streets". Newbury Today. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
- Howard, Angela (22 December 2004). "Live like common people". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 19 December 2005. Retrieved 9 May 2007.
Attribution:
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Hock-tide". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 556. This article incorporates text from a publication now in the
External links
- "HocktideH—or Hocke Day" Internet Sacred Text Archive