Jack o' Lent

Jack o' Lent was a tradition in England in the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries involving the abuse and burning of a straw effigy during the season of Lent, ending with its burning on Palm Sunday.

The effigy, made of straw or stuffed clothes, ^[1] was abused and stoned on Ash Wednesday while being dragged about the parish. In addition to being beaten, he could be incorporated into pageants and used as a figure to be mocked. ^[2] The figure was kept until Palm Sunday, when it was burnt. Its burning was often believed to be a symbolic revenge on Judas Iscariot, who had betrayed Christ. It is equally likely that the figure represented the hated winter and its destruction prepares the way for spring. ^[3]

Having the tradition of Jack o'Lent being creating an effigy for beatings and mockery, Jack o'Lent became a metaphor used in plays. Jack o' Lent is mentioned in Thomas Heywood's The Four Prentices of London , ^[1] Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, Anthony Burgess' Nothing Like the Sun , Henry Fielding's Joseph Andrews as well as in the 1640s pamphlet, The Arraignment Conviction and Imprisonment of Christmas . In these shows, the Jack o'Lent metaphors were used as jokes.

Footnotes

1. Brand p.101
2. "The Diary of Henry Machyn | British History Online". www.british-history.ac.uk. Retrieved 13 September 2025.
3. Frood & Graves p.10

References

• Brand, John (1849). Observations on the popular antiquities of Great Britain: chiefly illustrating the origin of our vulgar and provincial customs, ceremonies, and superstitions. Vol. 1. Bohn.
• Frood, J.D. & Graves, M.A.R. Seasons And Ceremonies: Tudor-Stuart England 1558-1667. Elizabethan Promotions, 1992