William Stanley Braithwaite, ed. The Book of Elizabethan Verse. 1907. Two Carols Anonymous
Caput Apri Defero, Reddens Laudes Domino!
HE BOAR’S HEAD 1 in hand bring I,With garlands gay and rosemary! I pray you all, sing merrily, Qui estis in convivio. The Boar’s Head, I understand, 5 Is the chief Service in this land! Look, wherever it be found, Servite cum cantico! Be glad, Lordes, both more and less! For this hath ordained our Steward, 10 To cheer you all this Christmas, The Boar’s Head with mustard!
Note 1. Ancient Songs, where it is said to be from Wynkyn de Worde’s Christmasse Carolles, 1521. In Mr. Bullen’s Carols and Poems, p. 171, he prints “a modern version of the previous Carol (The Boar’s Head, etc.) from Dibdin’s Typog. Antiq. ii. 252,” which I give below: The Boar’s Head Carol
(Sung at Queen’s College, Oxford.)
The Boar’s head in hand bear I, Bedecked with bays and rosemary; And I pray you, my masters, be merry, Quot estis in convivio. Caput apri defero Reddens laudes domino. The Boar’s head, as I understand, Is the rarest dish in all the land, Which thus bedecked with a garland Let us servire cantico. Caput apri defero Reddens laudes domino. Our steward hath provided this, In honour of the King of bliss; Which on this day to be served is In Reginensi atrio. Caput apri defero Reddens laudes domino.
