Today, The Queen once again
celebrated the wonderful English tradition of the Sovereign distributing the
Maundy. This year it occurred at
Leicester Cathedral. The Daily Mail has the usual abundance of photos and some interesting history.
The 90-year-old monarch traditionally hands two
purses - one white and one red - to each person during the service. The red
purse contains a £5 coin, commemorating the Centenary of the House of Windsor
and a 50p coin commemorating Sir Isaac Newton.
The white purse will contain uniquely minted Maundy
coins, equating in pence to her age, as Her Majesty prepares to celebrate her
91st birthday on April 21. The coins, a ceremonial gift from the Sovereign, are
legal tender but recipients normally prefer to retain them as a keepsake.
I imagine they do! I’ve wondered what a special occasion
it must be for those few who get to receive the Maundy.
The first monarch to take part in a Maundy Thursday
service was King John, of Magna Carta and Robin Hood fame, who distributed
gifts of clothes and money to the poor in Knaresborough in 1210. John was also
the first to present the poor with silver coins and is recorded as having done
so in Rochester in 1213.
There’s much more
interesting history at the link.
Do go read and gaze for yourself.
And have blessed Maundy Thursday.
And until relatively recently (1701), the ceremony included washing the old peoples' feet as well. It's not just a quaint ceremony, it's an attempt at demonstrating the principles of John 13, and not allowing the monarch to get carried away with human notions of power. Queen Elizabeth 1 did it; QE 2 has managed to avoid it.
ReplyDelete