The King of the Bean

6 January

No longer kept

On Twelfth Night a large cake was baked with a bean inside, and the family and friends cut it by lot: whoever found the bean was King of the Bean for the night, and in England there was always a queen too, sometimes found by a pea. Later hosts drew tickets for the whole company, who played ministers of state and maids of honour until midnight, and printed Twelfth Night character cards were sold by pastrycooks. The universities and the Inns of Court chose their kings by the bean, and in London the confectioners’ shops were once filled with grand Twelfth cakes. Chambers notes the fashion was much declined by his day.

The family and friends being assembled, the cake was divided by lot, and whoever got the piece containing the bean was accepted as king for the day, and called King of the Bean.

From Chambers's Book of Days, vol. 1, pp. 62-64. Read the original

Get a copy: Amazon · Bookshop.org · AbeBooks

We may earn a small commission if you buy through these links.

Also on this day

Folklore from the old calendars

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh Still kept LondonOn Twelfth Day the king used to go in procession with heralds and the knights of the Garter, Thistle and Bath to the Chapel Royal at St James's, and offer gold, frankincense and myrrh in imitation of the Magi.
Cutting Off the Fiddler’s Head No longer kept Isle of ManWaldron's history of the Isle of Man says that through the twelve days of Christmas every barn was in use and every parish hired fiddlers at the public charge.
The Hobby Horse of Paget’s Bromley No longer kept StaffordshirePlot's Natural History of Staffordshire records a Twelfth Day custom at Paget's Bromley, now Abbots Bromley, which had gone out by the seventeenth century.
The Twelfth Night Wassail at Court No longer kept EnglandThe Royalle Book of Henry VII's household laid down how the king kept Twelfth Day, going crowned in his robes and offering gold, myrrh and incense.
Lobscouse and Ponsondie No longer kept CumberlandIn Cumberland and other northern parts of England, Twelfth Night ended the Christmas holidays with a dance in a large room from seven o'clock until twelve.
Hazard for the groom-porter No longer kept LondonThe Gentleman's Magazine for January 1731 reported that on Twelfth Day the king and the Prince of Wales made their offerings of gold, frankincense and myrrh at the Chapel Royal, and that at night the royal family played at hazard for the benefit of the groom-porter.
Presents from the Twelfth Day king and queen No longer kept EnglandWhoever was chosen king and queen on Twelfth Day was once expected to give each other handsome presents and to entertain the whole company.
Stang and swill on Old Christmas Day No longer kept CumberlandIn Cumberland it was a regular Old Christmas Day custom to catch every man in reach, carry him to a public-house on a pole, and fine him a pint of beer.
The Piddle Hinton Old Christmas dole No longer kept DorsetOn Old Christmas Day the rector of Piddle Hinton handed every poor parishioner a pound of bread, a pint of ale and a mince pie.
Yule straw in Aberdeenshire No longer kept AberdeenshireIn parts of Aberdeenshire nobody worked during the three days of Old Style Christmas.
Aderyn bee y llwyd on Old Christmas Day No longer kept WalesOn Old Christmas Day a party in Wales went from house to house with the Aderyn bee y llwyd, the bird with the grey beak, made from the skull of a horse with false eyes and ears, ribbons and coloured paper.
Buying fire with a pin Lore and belief HerefordshireOn Old Christmas Day in Herefordshire nobody might borrow fire from a neighbour; it had to be bought with some trifle, such as a pin.
The Lady Mary’s Twelfth Night banquet No longer kept GloucestershireIn November of about 1525 the council of the young Princess Mary's household wrote from Tewkesbury to Cardinal Wolsey asking how she should keep the coming Christmas.
The Chapel gentlemen’s Twelfth Night play No longer kept EnglandAt the court of Henry VII the Christmas plays were acted by the gentlemen of the King's Chapel, who were well rewarded for playing on Twelfth Night.
Regan the trumpeter and the King of the Bean No longer kept EnglandEdward III's court had its King of the Bean on Twelfth Day.
A bean, a pea and a forked stick on board ship No longer kept EnglandHenry Teonge, chaplain of an English warship, recorded Twelfth Day 1676 at sea in rough weather past Zante.
The golden mountain at Richmond No longer kept SurreyOn Twelfth Night in the second year of Henry VIII a pageant like a glittering golden mountain, with a golden tree of roses and pomegranates on top, was wheeled up to the King in the hall at Richmond.
The first maske in England No longer kept EnglandOn the night of the Epiphany in the third year of his reign, Henry VIII and eleven others came in disguised after the manner of Italy, in long gold garments with visors and caps of gold.
The Lord Mayor’s Twelfth Day sermon at St Paul’s No longer kept LondonOn the afternoon of Twelfth Day the Lord Mayor, the aldermen, all the crafts of London and the bachelors of the Mayor's company went in procession to St Paul's to hear a sermon, after the old custom.
The king’s gold, frankincense and myrrh Still kept EnglandEnglish kings made an offering at the high altar on the Epiphany of gold, frankincense and myrrh, in memory of the gifts of the three kings.
Maidens with the wassel-bowl on Twelfth Night No longer kept EnglandOn Twelfth Night poor maidens carried a wassail bowl of spiced ale with apples from door to door, singing to be let in and hoping for a gift.
The fond-plough on Twelfth Day No longer kept EnglandOn Twelfth Day the youths of each parish or township dragged a plough from village to village, begging money to make merry with that evening.
A Twelfth-tide King chosen at Whitehall No longer kept LondonFor Twelfth-tide at the court of Charles I, Herrick's Star-Song turned the old game of choosing a Twelfth Night king and queen to the Epiphany, with the singers promising to wassail the Christ child at nightfall, choose Him king and make His mother queen.
The riche mount on Twelfth Night No longer kept Kent, LondonOn Twelfth Night in the fifth year of Henry VIII, while the court kept Christmas at Greenwich, a pageant mountain called the riche mount was drawn into the great hall by four wild men.
The Devon carol-singers’ Twelfth Day feast No longer kept DevonCarol singing on Christmas Eve was very general in Devonshire, and the singers pooled the money they were given at the houses.
Nailing coat-tails at the Twelfth-cake shops No longer kept LondonOn Twelfth Night London boys crowded round the pastrycooks' windows, full of iced Twelfth-cakes, and nailed the coat-tails of onlookers to the window frames.
The Anti-Gregorians’ Old Christmas at Worcester No longer kept WorcestershireWhen the calendar changed in 1752, many country people round Worcester went on keeping Christmas by the old reckoning, which now fell on Twelfth Day.
Turning shirts on the night of Epiphany Lore and belief WalesWelsh girls who wanted to see their future husbands washed linen after the household had gone to bed, set it before the fire to dry and watched to see who came at midnight to turn it.

The King of the Bean

Also on this day

Questions and comments

Image credits