That's my boy-bishop

Held in high esteem and lavished with furs, velvet and precious stones, young male choristers-turned-bishops were all the rage at Christmas in the Middle Ages, says Matthew Dennison

- Matthew Dennison

In England's medieval cathedrals and parish churches, discovered 17th-century scholar-cleric John Gregorie, the Christmas custom of the boy-bishop—a young chorister who briefly took the bishop's place—was more than a piece of festive dressing up. Granted, each year the boy in question must 'bear the name and hold up the state of a bishop, answerably habited, with a crosier or pastoral staff in his hand, and a mitre upon his head'. More importantly, however, with the exception of celebrating Mass, he must also officiate at whatever service 'the verie bishop himself... was to have performed'—'the verie same,' according to Gregorie, 'was done by the chorister-bishop'.

His period in office began on December 6. It was the feast day of St Nicholas, the patron saint of children, and boy-bishops were sometimes called 'Nicholas bishops'. For three weeks, the boy-bishop exercised sway, his tenure spanning many of the celebrations of Advent and Christmastide. On his final day, he preached a sermon and processed through surrounding streets, blessing all he encountered. It was Holy Innocents' Day—December 28—another child-focused festival of the church, sometimes called 'Childermas'.