A hearty welcome to our feast!
I am Sir Geoffrey Luttrell. I lived in Lincoln in the first half
of the thirteenth century. The pictures that you will see of the
food being grown, cooked and eaten are derived from a few of the
many illustrations that were made for a book of psalms and prayers
that I had made.
At that time there were no televisions or recorded music. At Yuletide we had to make our own entertainment. We loved carols. In those days a carol was a ring dance. One singer sang the verse and everyone joined in the choruses. We all held hands and danced in a circle as we sang the chorus. What fun we had!
Another amusement was the telling of riddles. We had to rack our brains trying to work out the answers. Everyone admired someone who could make up a good riddle.
In this Advent feature you will meet lots of people who lived or worked in my household. Each of them will ask you a riddle. Don’t worry if you can’t work out the answer – they’ll tell you if you ask politely. Each of the answers is accompanied by an appropriate picture. Each of the pictures is a detail from a larger picture which will be revealed at the end. See if you can guess what it is?
So – good luck – and have a very jolly Yuletide!
Now you can find out more about the Luttrell Psalter, about the history of riddles, or you can test your wits in the Advent quiz.