The 17th Century Almanac for January
The 17th Century almanac for January – when ‘withering and keen the Winter comes, while comfort flies to close-shut rooms.’ It is January and a new year. It is 2025.
But this was not always the case. The 17th Century was an extraordinary period of change and upheaval. It saw the birth of modern science, philosophy and war, as well as a new calendar.
17th Century New Year – 25 December, 25 March or 1 January?
In the 1640s, for most people in England, Ireland, Wales and the colonies, the new year started on the 25th of March. Although Scotland and many in Europe celebrated on the 1st of January, Britain did not officially adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752. However, it was increasingly used from 1660.
To confuse matters further, the Catholic Church clung to the very old idea of the new year starting on Christmas Day, until 1910. In Cwm Gwaun, Pembrokeshire, Wales, they still celebrate Hen Galan on 13 January – the 1st of January in the old Julian calendar!
Today, we mark historical dates between the 25th of December and the 25th of March with both years – OTD 380 years ago it was the 1st of January 1644/45.
Twelfth Night – misrule, wassail & the last day of Christmas
For most in the 17th Century, 5 January (modern Gregorian calendar) saw the end of the twelve days of feasting at Christmas. Twelfth Night was marked by misrule and mummers. The night included tricks and practical jokes such as live birds hidden in a pie case.
A Twelfth Night cake included a bean for the king or queen, a clove for a villain, a twig for a fool and a rag for a saucy maid. Roles might be reversed, with masters serving commoners. In the British Army, this continues with officers serving Christmas lunch to their soldiers.
In the West Country, the evening included wassailing and ashen faggots. Everyone trooped outside to the orchards to anoint the fruit trees with a mixture of cider, apple pulp and honey, accompanied by chants, raucous noise and gunshots.
Twelfth Day – Epiphany, Three Kings & Christmas decorations
January the 6th dawned as Twelfth Day. This was the last day of Christmas. It was Epiphany, an Elizabethan holy day when all had to attend church. It was also a day to sober up. Distaff Day, Plough Monday and the return to winter work followed.
Today, 6 January is marked in Spain and Portugal as Three Kings. It is a commemoration of the visit of the Magi and baptism of Jesus. The kings parade through the streets scattering sweets for children to catch.
In UK, 6 January is the day many believe Christmas decorations should be gone. However, in the 17th Century, holly, ivy, bay, rosemary and mistletoe decked halls until Candlemas on 2 February. It was then that the greenery and the spirits within it had to be removed from houses lest ‘so many goblins you shall see’.
Medieval & Early Modern Time – sunset, eve, night & day
Today, we forget that in the 17th Century the day still ended at sunset, not at midnight. Despite the advent of clocks and their division of time into twenty-four equal hours, the day started and ended with the setting sun. The new day began with the evening, followed by its night and then day. The Islamic day still starts with the maghrib, or first prayer, at sunset.
We still talk of Christmas Eve and Christmas Night preceding Christmas Day. Similarly, New Year’s Day follows New Year’s Eve. These are the last vestiges of the way we used to mark the day before mechanical time replaced an older, natural rhythm.
17th Century – age of change, concept & cosmos
The concept of time was only one aspect of change in the 17th Century. This was a period of extraordinary transformation and upheaval. When we think about it, the 17th Century is a dichotomy.
We know the 17th Century to be Europe’s ‘Golden Age’ of art, science and culture. And yet, we also know it to be an absolutely black age. It was a time of persecution and destruction. A time when the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse ran loose. A time of war, famine and plague.
Perhaps more than anything else, the 17th Century was a time of change. It was one riven by the effects of Climate Change. The Little Ice Age devastated crops and the agrarian based economy. In response, people sought political and social change. They turned to God in ever more extreme religious zeal. And a military revolution turned warfare into a professional science of destruction.
Early Modern science, philosophy & medicine
During the 17th Century, people’s concept of the cosmos and earth’s place within it changed. At its start, most still believed in a geocentric cosmos with the sun and stars moving around the earth on crystal spheres. It was an ordered, finite construct of hierarchies. By its end, this dogma was shaken by the idea of a heliocentric universe within an infinite space built by chance out of chaos. Some turned back to the Bible and blind faith in a creation of Genesis.
At the start of the 17th Century there was no real concept of science. By its end, we had Newton’s mathematical calculations that still govern our universe today. The ideas of William Gilbert (1544-1603), Kepler (1571-1630), Galileo (1564-1646), Descartes (1596-1650), Newton (1642-1726) and John Locke (1632-1704) irrevocably changed our perceptions of the world and cosmos.
Man’s position within this world order also changed. Ideas of humanism valued the individual and critical thinking. It challenged traditional ideas of patronage, government and trade. Slowly, medicine moved from Galen’s four humours, based on Aristotle’s classical ideas, to an understanding of human anatomy. Key to this was William Harvey’s explanation of the circulation of blood in 1628. Nicholas Culpeper (a Civil War surgeon) strove to make medical knowledge available to all, writing in English rather than Latin.
17th Century Life & Agricultural Labour in January
Perhaps most importantly for almost all in the 17th Century, January marked a return to hard, laborious work. January the 7th was always Saint Distaff’s Day, when women retuned to the spinning wheel or distaff. It marked the end of festivities and a return to work in the house and cottage alike.
Plough Monday – mucking out, clearing, pollarding & gelding
The first Monday after Twelfth Day was Plough Monday. It marked a return to labouring in the fields. January was the time to muck out and dung the fields. This was done whilst the frosted ground was hard enough to support cartwheels. With this went clearing the fields of stones, clods and weeds.
It was also a time to lop or pollard trees. Hewers, spindlers and bodgers turned the fresh cut wood into frames for building, staves and spindles for implements.
The kept cattle were fed and bedded in barns. They were let out to exercise and scratch in the yard or croft once per day. This was also a time to geld young bull calves and rams.
Moon, Stars & Humours – Old Moon, Saturn & sanguine Aquarius
Even in the depths of winter, the moon and planets dictated farming, fishing, medicine and so much more in the 17thCentury. The Old Moon, or Moon after Yule, that rose on 30 December will be full on 13 January. A new Wolf Moon will rise on 29 January. This may sound like a native American name for a moon. But it is the medieval term used in England in the 17th Century. Don’t forget to pay it your respects.
This January, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus and Mars will all be visible in the night sky. This is the time of Aquarius. Those born under its airy influence were thought to have a sanguine temperament. Of a warm and moist humour, they tended to be cheerful, pleasure-loving and rebellious in nature.
Five Members & Martyrdom – Charles I, coup d’état & execution
Finally, we should perhaps also remember January as marking the beginning and end of the first English Civil War. On 4 January 1642, King Charles I entered the House of Commons with an armed guard and attempted to arrest five of its most rebellious leaders. Forewarned of the attempted coup, John Pym, John Hampden, Denzil Holles, Arthur Hesilrigge and William Strode escaped to the City of London.
Declaring that his ‘birds’ had flown, the King left Parliament to shouts of “privilege!” He marched to Guildhall to demand that the City surrender the ‘Five Members’. However, London rose in uproar. Six thousand citizens poured onto the streets, erecting barricades against tyranny.
Six days later, on 10 January 1642, Charles I left his palace at Whitehall. Fearing for his and the queen’s safety, he fled to Hampton Court and then York. Civil War followed. It was to be the bloodiest conflict in British history.
The King did not return to the capital for seven years. When he did, it was as a prisoner facing trial for tyranny and treason in Westminster Hall. On 30 January 1649, Charles I was executed by beheading outside his Banqueting House. His execution and ‘martyrdom’ are remembered each year with a mass and parade by the English Civil War Society.
Follow & Read More of the 17th Century Almanac
I hope your Christmas and New Year were both calm and restful. I hope you feel ready to face Distaff Day, Plough Monday and the months ahead. Whether you are spinning woollen thread, mucking out your barns or contemplating the cosmos, I wish you a happy and prosperous 2025.
I am hugely grateful for all the support, fantastic reviews and brilliant memories over the last twelve months. It has been another extraordinary year. Thank you, one and all!
I will post more of the 17th Century Almanac and Early Modern year next month. If you would like to receive an email notification of the next post, click the button to follow.
News, Events & 17th Century history
You can also find a series of posts on this website about life in Early Modern Britain. There are also posts on the British Civil Wars and Living History, as well as my Author Blog posts. The latter include posts on Author Life & Writing Historical Fiction and Book Publishing. Alternatively, check out the Divided Kingdom News posts for book offers and updates.
If you would like to meet, please do check out the Author Talks & Book Signings or History Talks & Battlefield Walks I give at Charles Cordell Events. If one of these events will be near you, please do come along, join me and say hello.
Finally, this website includes articles and pages about life in 17th Century Britain, Europe and the Americas at Historical Notes and Maps. These include articles on the impact of the Little Ice Age and The General Crisis of the 17th Century. They also include historical notes from my research on the English Revolution and Great Rebellion, as well as English Civil War battles.
Divided Kingdom – English Civil War historical fiction
This 17th Century Almanac post aims to offer a little of the backstory to my writing and the Divided Kingdom books. This historical fiction series is set in Early Modern Britain during the English Civil War. I hope you enjoy the books.
The Divided Kingdom novels take a fresh approach. They are not based on a single hero. They do not take sides. Their voices – ordinary men and women – face each other in the chaos of Britain in civil war. They are both relatable and sharply relevant today. They are also as historically accurate as possible.
Please do check out some of the writing at Divided Kingdom Books, including book tasters and a FREE ebook short story.
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