The holly and the ivy
The holly and the ivy. Traditional English carol, collected and arranged by Cecil Sharp* (1859-1924). This is a carol rather than a hymn, but its appearance in a number of hymnbooks (CP, AHB, the English Hymnal Service Book, ICH5 (2000), and others) justifies its inclusion. Its date is unknown, but certainly before the early 18th century, and it may be medieval (though it is not in Richard Leighton Greene’s The Early English Carols). The most common form in which it is found in hymn books is the version by Cecil Sharp* in The Oxford Book of Carols (1928), collected from a Mrs Clayton at Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire, ca. 1911, supplemented by words from a Mrs Wyatt, East Harptree,...
If you have a valid subscription to Dictionary of Hymnology, please log inlog in to view this content. If you require a subscription, please click here.
Cite this article
MLA style (see MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd Ed.)
. "The holly and the ivy."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press. Web. 16 Jul. 2025.<
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/the-holly-and-the-ivy>.
Chicago style (see The Chicago Manual of Style, 16th Ed.)
. "The holly and the ivy."
The Canterbury Dictionary of Hymnology. Canterbury Press, accessed July 16, 2025,
http://www.hymnology.co.uk/t/the-holly-and-the-ivy.