The New International Encyclopædia/Abbot of Joy

ABBOT OF JOY (Abbé de Liesse). The title bestowed upon the chief of a brotherhood founded at Lille. Accompanied by a suite of officers and servants who bore before him a standard of red silk, he presided over the games which were held at Arras and the neighboring towns during the period of the carnival, coming under the general title of “Feast of the Ass” (q.v.). See also Misrule, Lord of.