Haxey Hood
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| First played | 14th century, Haxey, Lincolnshire |
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| Characteristics | |
| Contact | Contact |
The Haxey Hood is a traditional event throughout the civil parish of Haxey that focuses on a contest at the village of Haxey in North Lincolnshire, England, on the afternoon of 6 January, the Twelfth Day of Christmas (though if this falls on a Sunday, it is held on 5 January).
It is a kind of large rugby football scrum (called the "sway"), which pushes a leather tube (called the "hood") to 1 of 4 pubs, where it remains until the following year's game.
Haxey and Westwoodside lie in an area of North Lincolnshire known as the Isle of Axholme. The official story is that in the 14th century, Lady de Mowbray, wife of an Isle landowner, John De Mowbray, was out riding towards Westwoodside on the hill that separates it from Haxey. As she went over the hill her silk riding hood was blown away by the wind. Thirteen farm workers in the field rushed to help and chased the hood all over the field. It was finally caught by one of the farm workers, but being too shy to hand it back to the lady, he gave it to one of the others to hand back to her. She thanked the farm worker who had returned the hood and said that he had acted like a Lord, whereas the worker who had actually caught the hood was a Fool. So amused was she by this act of chivalry and the resulting chase, that she donated 13 acres (53,000 m²) of land on condition that the chase for the hood would be re-enacted each year. This re-enactment over the centuries has become known as "The Haxey Hood"
In folklore, when a custom is too old for its origins to be remembered, a story is often devised to rationalise what would otherwise be baffling. However the ‘official’ story of the Hood's origins are not that unlikely. There are parallels between the Hood and bog burials in Europe. The game takes place on the border of bogs where naturally-preserved mummies of prehistoric sacrifices have been found.
The nobles mentioned in the story did exist. Records show that John De Mowbray (29 November 1310 - 4 October 1361), the 3rd Baron Mowbray of Axholme, would be the most likely candidate for the husband of the lady. This would date the Hood to about 1359 when a deed granting land to commoners was enacted by the baron. This would make the Hood around 650 years old, making it likely to be the oldest surviving tradition in England.
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