St Martins Day, Martinmas or Martlemas was one of the great feast days in the traditional English calendar.
Its something I’m sure those great enthusiasts for English traditions, Farage, GB News, the Telegraph and so on will be marking and celebrating.
11th November marks the time when autumn passes into winter. Animals that were not being kept for the winter months were slain- in Medieval and early Modern times there was of course no refridgeration- The meat was salted or cured but some was eaten on 11th November, together with the black pudding and sausages that were the by-product of that.
As ever in such festivals alcohol was also consumed. In Medieval times England had occupied part of France and Martinmas marked the time when new seasons wine arrived. Beaujolais Nouveau Day is not quite entirely made up. Special Ales were also brewed, as they were on all feast days.
The start of November marks the beginning of the season of the Lords of Misrule and although I havent been able to find a specific connection with Martinmas, the festival is mentioned in Shakespeare in connection with the quintessential Lord of Misrule Toby Belch.
After Martinmas through to Christmas Day, times for the poor were hard indeed..
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