By an Act of Common Council (1555) the city expenses of the Lords of Misrule were severely curtailed. In Henry VIII.'s reign an order for a fool's coat is signed by six of the Privy Council. In Tudor times their reign was marked by much display and expense.

In Scotland they were known as 'Abbots of Unreason,' and in 1555 a special act suppressing them was passed. The origins of the ‘Lord of Misrule’ lie in the Roman midwinter festivals of Kalends and Saturnalia when for a short while masters and slaves changed places and a mock-king ruled over a topsy-turvy world. These mock-monarchs began their reign on Allhallows Eve, and misruled till Candlemas. Stow ( Survey) writes: 'In the feast of Christmas there was in the King's House, wheresoever he lodged, a Lord of Misrule or Master of merry disports, and the like had ye in the house of every nobleman of honour or good worship, were he spiritual or temporal.' The mayor and sheriffs of London also had Lords of Misrule. He was appointed by lot, and has been compared to the medieval Lord of Misrule at the Feast of Fools. Compare, too, the burlesque figure at the carnival, which is finally destroyed. Imperial sources refer to a Saturnalicius princeps (Ruler of the Saturnalia), who ruled as master of ceremonies for the proceedings. In particular, the historical western European Christmas custom of electing a 'Lord of Misrule' may have its roots in Saturnalia celebrations. Frazer ( Golden Bough III.) is right in suggesting that the lord or abbot of misrule is the successor of the king of the ancient Roman Saturnalia, who personated Saturn and suffered martyrdom at the end of the revels. Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honor of the god Saturn. What felt like a lot of running around and bumping into trees in the pitch dark resulted in these stunning shots.LORD OF MISRULE, in medieval times the master of the Christmas revels. Using flash and long exposure Proud Fox managed to create the eerie ghost-like quality of this mischievous character. Working with Scott Hall Mills resident Proud Fox, we found ourselves in the woods on Halloween night no less. It was originally celebrated just one day, to honour Saturn. They have adopted the banner of ‘freedom of speech’ and used it to spread hate and lies, and to make any sort of public discourse impossible. In our modern Gregorian calendar, the start of the Roman holiday of Saturnalia now falls on 17th December. It goes back to the feast that is probably at the heart of most of our Christmas customs: the Roman Saturnalia, a winter solstice celebration that predates. We had loads of fun making the imagery for the can. This account sets in a new and lurid light the office of the King of the Saturnalia, the ancient Lord of Misrule, who presided over the winter revels at. The false Lords of Misrule have managed to hack into the energy once associated with democratic movements and have turned it into an instrument of oppression. A couple of these will leave a twinkle of mischief in your eye.

In this case donkey represents sexuality, instincts, sensuality, ignorance. He rides the donkey facing backwards as a symbol of ‘inversion’ at this time of year. Strong, sweet and malt-forward it features oat, orange and Sri-Lankan cinnamon to keep you cosy and feeling festive. The Lord of Misrule is placed on an Ass (or depicted as one) as a symbol of the King of Saturnalia. The team at Northern Monk have outdone themselves with this wassail inspired rich and warming 13% (woah) oat wine. Making topsy turvy of the social order, the Lord of Misrule led celebrations of pranking, prancing, drink and dancing – all of which are things we are fully onboard with at Lord Whitney. The Church held a similar festival involving a Boy Bishop. Inspired by old traditions around the Feast of Fools, Twelfth Night and Saturnalia, the Lord of Misrule was an appointed false clergyman to lead festive revelry and winter devilry. The Lord of Misrule was generally a peasant or sub-deacon appointed to be in charge of Christmas revelries, which often included drunkenness and wild partying, in the pagan tradition of Saturnalia.

Lord of misrule saturnalia