Boy Bishop

A name given in medieval times to the leader of choirboys' revels, elected on St. Nicholas' Day (6 December), who executed the functions of the bishop until Holy Innocents' Day (28 December). Originating in cathedrals, the custom spread to larger monastic and scholastic establishments. In England it proved more popular and enduring than the Feast of Fools*; it was not finally abolished until the reign of Elizabeth I.