Lully, Lullay: The History of Coventry Carol

The history of the haunting Christmas carol that honours the Holy Innocents.

Several weeks ago on the Substack mobile app, I asked readers what your favourite religious Christmas carols are. It was very difficult to choose just one out of the many beautiful carols everyone mentioned. Special thanks to

Scoot

for suggesting “Coventry Carol” and to everyone who participated! The Christmas season doesn’t traditionally end until Candlemas (February 2), so enjoy!

During the Middle Ages, merchant guilds in the city of Coventry, England, would put on a biblical play each summer for the feast of Corpus Christi. Different guilds were responsible for certain scenes, and the shearmen (those who sheared sheep) and tailors were in charge of the Nativity. Like all medieval biblical plays, the Coventry play included special songs to accompany each scene. “Coventry Carol” was written for the Nativity scene, which began with the Annunciation and ended with the Massacre of the Holy Innocents. The carol was only performed in the early to mid-16th century, as the reign of Queen Elizabeth I soon outlawed Catholicism in favour of the new Church of England. In the play, three women from Bethlehem sang the carol to mourn the deaths of the children whom Herod killed.

“Massacre of the Innocents,” by Guido Reni

“Coventry Carol” has a very haunting melody, which is in a minor key. The original melody has long been lost but was likely set to a medieval mode. These modes were the precursors to our modern musical scales, and medieval musicians used them extensively. In the Middle Ages, they did not associate minor chord patterns with sadness as we do now. We may never know who composed the modern melody for “Coventry Carol,” but the minor key certainly adds to the plaintive meaning of the words.

The carol itself almost met a tragic and untimely death. Only two of the Coventry plays survived a devastating fire in 1879. Robert Croo’s original manuscript from 1534 was destroyed, and for a time, it appeared that “Coventry Carol” would be sung no more. Thanks to the efforts of scholars, however, notes and copies of original manuscripts were found just over a decade after the fire, and the future of the carol was secured.

In America, the hymn is far from widely known, and even in England it remains a lesser-known Christmas carol. A very moving event gained the carol some popularity in 1940. The city of Coventry was bombed during World War II, with the Coventry Cathedral being reduced to ruins. The provost of the cathedral gave a speech that was broadcast on BBC on Christmas Day, 1940, forgiving those who had bombed his cathedral. After his speech, a choir sang “Coventry Carol” amidst the ruins of the cathedral. 

This sparked a renewed interest in the carol, which is now sung by some choirs at carol services in both England and America each Christmas. The following is a beautiful performance of this haunting yet deeply moving carol:

If you would like to join in on the conversation and have a chance for your suggestions to be featured in future articles, I encourage you to download the free Substack app for your smartphone!

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Bibliography:

Jennings, Rebecca. “How ‘Coventry Carol,’ a Lullaby About Killing Babies, Became a Christmas Song.” At Vox, 19 December 2018, at www.vox.com.

Matthews, Diana Leagh. “Behind the Christmas Carol: The Coventry Carol.” At Diana Leagh Matthews, 2 December 2018, at www.dianaleaghmatthews.com.

“Notes to The Coventry Carol.” At The Hymns and Carols of Christmas, www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com.

“What Are the Lyrics to the ‘Coventry Carol’?” At Classical Music, 13 December 2021, at www.classical-music.com.

“What Are the Lyrics to Coventry Carol, and What Are They Really About?” At Classic FM, 23 November 2021, at classicfm.com.