William Sandys (antiquarian) facts for kids

William Sandys (pronounced "Sands") was an English lawyer and writer. He lived from 1792 to 1874. He was a member of groups that studied old things, like the Society of Antiquaries of London. Sandys is most famous for his book Christmas Carols Ancient and Modern, published in 1833. This book was a collection of Christmas songs he found and some he might have even written himself.

Collecting Old Christmas Songs

Sandys' book was very important for Christmas music. It was the first time many popular English carols appeared in print. These include "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen" and "The First Noel". His work helped to bring back the joy of Christmas during the Victorian era.

Sandys divided his collection into three main parts:

Carols from Long Ago

The first part of his book featured "Ancient Carols and Christmas Songs." These songs dated from the 1400s to the late 1600s. They were written in older forms of English, like Middle English and Early Modern English.

Carols from Western England

The second part of the book was a selection of carols still sung in the West of Cornwall. Sandys said he found over a hundred of these songs. Many were still being used by people at the time. Some were printed on single sheets of paper called "broadside carols." Others had appeared in different collections. However, Sandys believed that many of the most interesting songs had never been printed before.

Some famous carols first appeared in this part of his book. These include "The First Noel", "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen", "I Saw Three Ships", and "Hark the Herald Angels Sing". Some of these songs followed traditional carol styles. Others were clearly written by composers.

At the time, there was a big interest in old English traditions. This included a revival of Christmas celebrations. Charles Dickens' famous story "A Christmas Carol" (1843) also helped this trend. Because of this, the carols Sandys collected quickly became known as very old songs, even if some were more recent.

French Christmas Songs

The third part of Sandys' book included examples of French Christmas songs. These were carols from different parts of France.

Sandys continued his success with another book in 1852. It was called Christmas-tide, Its History, Festivities and Carols, With Their Music. In this book, he reprinted many of the carols he had discovered earlier.