The New International Encyclopædia/Misrule, Lord of

MISRULE, Lord of. A mock dignitary who presided over the Christmas revels of the Middle Ages. He was assisted by a staff of from twenty to sixty officials, and furnished with musicians, dragons, hobby-horses, and other paraphernalia of fun. In Scotland he was sometimes known as the Abbot of Unreason, in France as l'Abbé de Liesse. See Abbot of Joy.