"{5} It is to be noted that
they are unbidden guests, and enter your house as of right.{6} Sometimes
they merely dance, sing, and feast, but commonly they perform a rude
drama.{7}
The plays acted by the mummers{8} vary so much that it is difficult to
describe them in general terms. There is no reason to suppose that the
words are of great antiquity--the earliest form may perhaps date from the
seventeenth century; they appear to be the result of a crude dramatic and
literary instinct working upon the remains of traditional ritual, and
manipulating it for purposes of entertainment. The central figure is St.
George (occasionally he is called Sir, King, or Prince George), and the
main dramatic substance, after a prologue and introduction of the
characters, is a fight and the arrival of a doctor to bring back the
slain to life. At the close comes a _quete_ for money. The name George is
found in all the Christmas plays, but the other characters have a
bewildering variety of names ranging from Hector and Alexander to
Bonaparte and Nelson.
Mr. Chambers in two very interesting and elaborately documented chapters
has traced a connection between these St. George players and the
sword-dancers found at Christmas or other festivals in Germany, Spain,
France, Italy, Sweden, and Great Britain.
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