Halloween in Tudor Times

Somerset witches tree

Halloween in Tudor Times

Today it is all about dreadful costumes, kids demanding sweets, little horrors at the door threatening to ‘give us a sweet or we’ll trick you.’  When I last asked what they meant I was told it meant my windows being smashed. Nice!

But in the England of Margaretta and John Dee, All Hallows Eve was a very different affair. The origins of the day were far back in time – in the Samhain festival of the ancestors, the Celts. It was believed that on this day, the veil which separated the living and spirit worlds was thin and the dead could walk the earth to view their descendants.  But the Christian Church, notably Pope Gregory, being clever at incorporating pagan rituals and festivals into their calendar, had made the day part of Allhallowstide – a three day festival of remembrance.  October 31st was All Hallows Eve when the dead were remembered, November 1st became All Saint’s Day when people attended mass to remember the dead and then on November the 2nd they feasted in remembrance of souls in purgatory on All Souls Day.  

The first day – All Hallows Eve – was still a day of magic. Many of the old rituals were retained in some way in keeping with the mystical beliefs of the time. So it would have been a day of remembrance. Church bells would ring across the land, many people would have worn masks to trick any roaming souls and the very concerned would be sure to have their houses and barns blessed against any marauding spirits who had come through the veil with mischief in mind. It is thought that apple bobbing in which people tried to bite apples hung from a beam with candles on both ends was a popular game on this day.

Margaretta would also have expected to open the door to the begging poor in a Tudor form of trick or treating. The ritual was souling – beggars would knock on the door and ask for money or food but would also be given a soul cake in return for a solemn promise that they would pray for the soul of anyone of the household who had died and might still be stuck in purgatory. Soul cakes were small, spiced yeast risen cakes flavoured with spices, saffron, and sometimes dried fruits. The recipe still exists from a cook book written in 1604 and if you want a guide to making them go to watch Claire Ridgway make them on your tube: https://www.tudorsociety.com/halloween-hallows-eve-soul-cakes/

Having given out her soul cakes and prayed for her departed relatives, one of which would certainly be her beloved father, Margaretta would prepare for the second day – All Saints Day. She would be making or buying candles and preparing her better clothes to go to Church where masses would be held for loved ones. It was a day of prayer and contemplation. In the evening the bells would ring again - this time to comfort the souls in purgatory who would be remembered on the third day.

Prayers said and bells rung, the third day dawned – All Souls day – a day of feasting and celebration in which cakes were baked and consumed in memory of souls still in purgatory.

So was Halloween so very different in Tudor England? Well there was the basic belief that it was a night of the dead, there were masks, rituals and knocking on doors for money and food. But Tudor Halloween was very much a religious festival – a ritual of remembering and comforting the souls of the departed. Today it is a huge commercial enterprise and maybe the spirit has gone out of it.

Further reading

Medieval Lives. Terry Jones and Alan Ereira. A comprehensive look at the lives of different people and classes in medieval Englande.