May Queen
Encyclopedia
The May Queen or Queen of May is a term which has two distinct but related meanings, as a mythical figure and as a holiday personification.

Festivals

The May Queen is a girl
Girl
A girl is any female human from birth through childhood and adolescence to attainment of adulthood. The term may also be used to mean a young woman.-Etymology:...

 (usually a teenage
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...

 girl from a specific school year) who is selected to ride or walk at the front of a parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...

 for May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....

 celebrations. She wears a white gown
Gown
A gown is a loose outer garment from knee- to full-length worn by men and women in Europe from the early Middle Ages to the 17th century ; later, gown was applied to any woman's garment consisting of a bodice and attached skirt.A long, loosely-fitted gown called a Banyan was worn by men in the 18th...

 to symbolise purity and usually a tiara
Tiara
A tiara is a form of crown. There are two possible types of crown that this word can refer to.Traditionally, the word "tiara" refers to a high crown, often with the shape of a cylinder narrowed at its top, made of fabric or leather, and richly ornamented. It was used by the kings and emperors of...

 or crown
Crown (headgear)
A crown is the traditional symbolic form of headgear worn by a monarch or by a deity, for whom the crown traditionally represents power, legitimacy, immortality, righteousness, victory, triumph, resurrection, honour and glory of life after death. In art, the crown may be shown being offered to...

. Her duty is to begin the May Day
May Day
May Day on May 1 is an ancient northern hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures....

 celebrations. She is generally crowned by flowers and makes a speech before the dancing begins. Certain age groups dance round a Maypole
Maypole
A maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer...

 celebrating youth and the spring time.

According to popular British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...

, the tradition once had a sinister twist, in that the May Queen was put to death once the festivities were over. The veracity of this belief is difficult to establish, but while in truth it might just be an example of anti-pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....

 propaganda, frequent associations between May Day rituals, the occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...

 and human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...

 are still to be found in popular culture today. The Wicker Man, a cult horror film
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...

 starring Christopher Lee
Christopher Lee
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ is an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films...

, is a prominent example of these associations.

An Elizabethan account

In 1557, a diarist called Henry Machyn
Henry Machyn
Henry Machyn was an English clothier and diarist in 16th century London.Machyn's Chronicle, which was written between 1550 and 1563, is primarily concerned with public events: changes on the throne, state visits, insurrections, executions and festivities...

 wrote:

"The xxx day of May was a goly May-gam in Fanch-chyrchestrett with drumes and gunes and pykes, and ix wordes dyd ryd; and thay had speches evere man, and the morris dansse and the sauden, and an elevant with the castyll, and the sauden and yonge morens with targattes and darttes, and the lord and the lade of the Maye".


Translation: On the 30th May was a jolly May-game in Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street
Fenchurch Street is a street in the City of London home to a number of shops, pubs and offices. It links Aldgate at its eastern end with Lombard Street and Gracechurch Street to the west. To the south of Fenchurch Street and towards its eastern end is Fenchurch Street railway station...

 (London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

) with drums and guns and pikes
Pike (weapon)
A pike is a pole weapon, a very long thrusting spear used extensively by infantry both for attacks on enemy foot soldiers and as a counter-measure against cavalry assaults. Unlike many similar weapons, the pike is not intended to be thrown. Pikes were used regularly in European warfare from the...

, The Nine Worthies
Nine Worthies
The Nine Worthies are nine historical, scriptural and legendary personages who personify the ideals of chivalry as were established in the Middle Ages. All are commonly referred to as 'Princes' in their own right, despite whatever true titles each man may have held...

 did ride; and they all had speeches, and the morris dance
Morris dance
Morris dance is a form of English folk dance usually accompanied by music. It is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers. Implements such as sticks, swords, handkerchiefs and bells may also be wielded by the dancers...

 and sultan and an elephant with a castle (saddle in the shape of a castle) and the sultan and young moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...

 with shields and arrows, and the lord and lady of the May".

Maintaining the tradition

Many areas keep this tradition alive today. The oldest unbroken tradition is found in Hayfield, Derbyshire based on a much older May Fair. Another notable event includes the one in the Brentham Garden Suburb
Brentham Garden Suburb
Brentham Garden Suburb near Pitshanger in Ealing was the first garden suburb in London to be built in cooperative principles, predating the larger and better-known Hampstead Garden Suburb by some years...

, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 which hosts it annually. It has the second oldest unbroken tradition although the May Queen of All London Festival at Hayes Common
Hayes, Bromley
Hayes is a place in the London Borough of Bromley, south-east London, England. It has two main areas of activity: the ancient village and suburban Hayes.-The ancient village of Nimrods :...

 in Bromley
Bromley
Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...

 is a close contender. A May Day festival is held on the village green at Aldborough, North Yorkshire
Aldborough, North Yorkshire
Aldborough is a village in the civil parish of Boroughbridge, part of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England.Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, what is now known as Aldborough was built on the site of a major Romano-British town, Isurium Brigantum...

 on a site that dates back to Roman times and the settlement of Isurium Brigantum
Isurium Brigantum
Isurium Brigantum was a town in the Roman province of Britannia. Today it is known as Aldborough, in North Yorkshire, England.-Possible Roman fort:...

. A May queen is selected from a group of 13 upward girls by the young dancers. She returns the next year to crown the new May Queen and stays in the procession.

A May Day celebration held annually in New Westminster
New Westminster, British Columbia
New Westminster is an historically important city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and is a member municipality of the Greater Vancouver Regional District. It was founded as the capital of the Colony of British Columbia ....

, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 has the distinction of being the longest running May Day celebration of its kind in the British Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...

. This May Day celebration began in 1870 and is one hundred and forty years of age. Archival film footage of New Westminster's May Day celebrations from 1932-1962 can be seen online at Quest for the Queens.

Cultural references to the May Queen

  • "The May Queen" is an early poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson. (It is quoted in a scene in the 1938 movie The Dawn Patrol
    The Dawn Patrol (1938 film)
    The Dawn Patrol is a 1938 American war film, a remake of the pre-Code 1930 film of the same name. Both were based on the short story "The Flight Commander" by John Monk Saunders, an American writer said to have been haunted by his inability to get into combat as a flyer with the U.S...

    .)
  • "May Queen" is the name of a poem by occultist Aleister Crowley
    Aleister Crowley
    Aleister Crowley , born Edward Alexander Crowley, and also known as both Frater Perdurabo and The Great Beast, was an influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician, responsible for founding the religious philosophy of Thelema. He was also successful in various other...

    .
  • A May Queen is mentioned in the Led Zeppelin
    Led Zeppelin
    Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...

     song "Stairway to Heaven
    Stairway to Heaven
    "Stairway to Heaven" is a song by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released in late 1971. It was composed by guitarist Jimmy Page and vocalist Robert Plant for the band's untitled fourth studio album . The song, running eight minutes and two seconds, is composed of several sections, which...

    ". Anti-rock music Baptist preacher Michael Mills believes it is a reference to Crowley's poem, and he also believes it is in the middle of a Satanic backwards section.
  • May Queen is the name of a ketch-rigged trading vessel built in 1867 at Franklin, Tasmania
    Franklin, Tasmania
    Franklin is a small township on the western side of the Huon River in the south-east of Tasmania, between Huonville and Geeveston. At the 2006 census, Franklin had a population of 453....

    . She had a 106-year working life and is the oldest boat of her type afloat in the world. She is on the International Register of Significant Ships.
  • "May Queen" is the title of a song on singer-songwriter
    Singer-songwriter
    Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

     Liz Phair
    Liz Phair
    Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there...

    's second album Whip-Smart
    Whip-Smart
    Critical reception was generally favorable. Richie Unterberger of Allmusic states that "if there are flaws in this generally first-rate follow-up, they mostly arise in comparison with Guyville, a record of such unexpected impact that most anything Phair could have done may have been found lacking"...

    .
  • "May Queen" is the title of a song by Inkubus Sukkubus
    Inkubus Sukkubus
    Inkubus Sukkubus are a British goth and pagan band formed in 1989 by Candia Ridley, Tony McKormack, and Adam Henderson.-History:Inkubus Sukkubus are a British goth and pagan band who have been releasing albums and touring since their formation as Incubus Succubus in 1989.-Incubus Succubus:Before...

    .
  • "May Queen" is the title of a song by Black Box Recorder on their 2000 album The Facts of Life
  • In the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode, "Out of Mind, Out of Sight
    Out of Mind, Out of Sight
    "Out of Mind, Out of Sight", also known as "Invisible Girl", is the 11th episode of season one of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer....

    ", Cordelia Chase
    Cordelia Chase
    Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...

     becomes May Queen.
  • A May Queen is mentioned in the Decemberists song "Angel, Won't You Call Me?"
  • Benjamin Britten
    Benjamin Britten
    Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...

    's chamber opera Albert Herring
    Albert Herring
    Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...

    concerns the unsuccessful search for a suitable May Queen, culminating in the selection of a May King instead.
  • The Queen of the May is featured as a sacrificial offering in the book Cowboys for Christ.
  • For the May Queen is the title of a novel by Kate Evans
    Kate Evans
    Kate Evans is an award-winning poet and prose writer. Her debut novel, For the May Queen, was released in 2008 by Vanilla Heart Publishing. Her second novel, Complementary Colors, will be released in 2009....

    .
  • The May Queen is the subject of Edward German
    Edward German
    Sir Edward German was an English musician and composer of Welsh descent, best remembered for his extensive output of incidental music for the stage and as a successor to Arthur Sullivan in the field of English comic opera.As a youth, German played the violin and led the town orchestra, also...

    's opera Merrie England.
  • The May Queen is the title of an anthology of women's writings about being in their thirties edited by Andrea N. Richesin.
  • The May Queen is the title of a gesso panel designed by Margaret MacDonald Mackintosh for the Scottish Section at the Vienna Secession Exhibition 1900. It was exhibited in the room designed by the architect (and her husband) Charles Rennie Mackintosh
    Charles Rennie Mackintosh
    Charles Rennie Mackintosh was a Scottish architect, designer, watercolourist and artist. He was a designer in the Arts and Crafts movement and also the main representative of Art Nouveau in the United Kingdom. He had a considerable influence on European design...

    .
  • In the 1984 Doctor Who
    Doctor Who
    Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...

     serial The Awakening
    The Awakening (Doctor Who)
    The Awakening is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was originally broadcast in two parts on 19 and 20 January 1984.-Synopsis:...

    , the Fifth Doctor
    Fifth Doctor
    The Fifth Doctor is the fifth incarnation of the protagonist of the long-running BBC television science-fiction series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Peter Davison....

    's companion Tegan Jovanka
    Tegan Jovanka
    Tegan Jovanka is a fictional character played by Janet Fielding in the long-running British science fiction television series Doctor Who. An Australian airline stewardess and a native of Brisbane who was a companion of the Fourth and Fifth Doctors, she was a regular in the programme from 1981 to...

    becomes 'The Queen of the May' during a war game gone awry.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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