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Boy bishop was a name given to a custom very widespread in the Middle Ages, whereby a boy was chosen, for example among cathedral choristers, to parody the real bishop, commonly on the feast of Holy Innocents. This custom was linked with others, such as that of the Feast of Fools and the Feast of Asses.
Contents
History
In England the boy bishop was elected on 6 December, the feast of Saint Nicholas, the patron of children, and his authority lasted till Holy Innocents' day (28 December). The real Bishop would, symbolically, step down at the deposuit potentes de sede of the Magnificat ("he hath put down the mighty from their seat"), and the boy would take his seat at et exaltavit humiles ("and hath exalted the humble and meek").
After the election, the boy was dressed in full bishop's robes with mitre and crozier and, attended by comrades dressed as priests, made a circuit of the town blessing the people. Typically the chosen boy and his colleagues took possession of the cathedral and performed all the ceremonies and offices, except Mass. Originally, it seems, confined to the cathedrals, the custom spread to many parishes.
Notwithstanding the intervention of various Church authorities (see Feast of Fools), the popularity of the custom made it resilient. In England it was abolished by Henry VIII in 1542, revived by Mary I in 1552 and finally abolished by Elizabeth I. On the continent of Europe it survived longest in Germany, in the so-called Gregoriusfest, said to have been founded by Gregory IV. The custom has given rise to some popular misconceptions, however, one of which is the traditional misidentification of a miniature episcopal tomb effigy at Salisbury as a boy bishop: this is more likely to commemorate a secondary burial (heart or viscera) of a real bishop.
Revivals
There have been some recent revivals both in the English-speaking world and on the continent. Most famous perhaps is that of Hereford, revived in 1973 for a special children's service, with full and traditional ceremonies following annually since 1982. The Boy Bishop preaches a sermon and leads prayers at various Diocesan Advent services. A single revival took place in 1959 at St. George's Parish Church, Stockport. Such ceremonies are now also found at Westminster Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, and a number of parish churches throughout England, including All Saints' Church, Northampton, Claines, Worcestershire, and also St Christopher's Parish Church, Bournemouth, (early 1950s), where the Boy Bishop was installed on St Christopher's Day, (July 25), and 'reigned' for one year, preaching and 'presiding' at youth events.
The custom was likewise revived in Burgos, Spain, where the boy-bishop feast had been extremely popular before the cathedral choir was closed in the 1930s. After its re-establishment, the boy bishop was revived in 1987, and has since been celebrated every year. Other Spanish cities such as Palencia also hold the ceremony, and that carried on in the Monastery of Montserrat by L'Escolania is especially renowned. The festival was also revived in Chavagnes International College, a Catholic boarding school in France.
In the United States, one of the first adoptions of the custom took place in 1979 at the Cathedral of All Saints (Episcopal) in Albany, New York, as part of an annual medieval fair held in the great Gothic-revival style church.
In December 2009, a teenage girl from Wellingborough England was appointed Britain's first girl bishop at All Saints Church in the town.
In July 2016 the festival will be revived in Durham, which uniquely used to appoint two boy bishops who officiated in spring rather than winter.