mistletoe

   The reputation of mistletoe was created by Pliny in his Natural History (AD 77). He wrote that in Gaul the *Druids thought it sacred if it grew on an oak (which it rarely does); they believed it protected against injury by fire or water, made farm animals and women fertile, was an antidote to poison, and cured epilepsy. Virtually every herbalist and folklorist to mention mistletoe, from the 16th century to the present, has repeated this information, assuming it to be equally true of Ancient Britons. Many also claim it as the 'origin' of the very different English custom of using mistletoe as *Christmas decoration.

   Yet it is not till 1648 that mistletoe is first listed (by *Herrick, in Hesperides, no. 893) among the many * evergreens decking churches and homes at Christmas, whereas *holly and *ivy are well attested in the Middle Ages. In 1656 William Coles noted in The Art of Simpling (p. 41) that it was 'carried many miles to set up in houses about Christmas time'. It became important in the late 18th century as part - soon, the most valued part - of the elaborate kissing boughs/bushes hung up in farmhouses and kitchens. There were rules as to when it must be taken down, which varied regionally; in some districts (e.g. Staffordshire and Warwickshire) it was given exceptional treatment, being kept till the following year to protect the house from lightning and fire (Drury, 1987: 195-6).

   Early antiquaries thought all types of Christmas foliage came from that used by ancient Romans at the Saturnalia; however, once mistletoe became especially popular, the more picturesque theory of Druidic origin gained ground. The very influential John

   * Brand claimed it was never used to decorate churches (Brand, 1849: i. 523-4), but recent research has shown he was wrong, at any rate for some regions such as Staffordshire, where churchwardens' accounts record repeated purchases of mistletoe (Hutton, 1996: 37; Drury, 1987: 195).

   ■ Susan Drury, Folklore 98 (1987), 194-9; Opie and Tatem, 1989: 253-6; Vickery, 1995: 240-3.