The Coventry Carol - English Christmas Carol

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The "Coventry Carol" is an English Christmas carol dating from the 16th century. The carol was traditionally performed in Coventry in England as part of a mystery play called The Pageant of the Shearmen and Tailors. The play depicts the Christmas story from chapter two in the Gospel of Matthew: the carol itself refers to the Massacre of the Innocents, in which Herod ordered all male infants under the age of two in Bethlehem to be killed, and takes the form of a lullaby sung by mothers of the doomed children. The author is unknown; the oldest known text was written down by Robert Croo in 1534.

The Massacre of the Innocents is a story recounted in the Nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great, king of Judea, orders the execution of all male children who are two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
King Herod does this because of the news brought by the Magi that a boy would be born in Bethlehem who would become king of the Jews. Herod feared that this child would take his kingdom, so he ordered the killing of all male children in the area.

Sung by Maddy Prior.

All the paintings are titles as "The Massacre of the Innocents". The artist in order are: Léon Cogniet, 1824, Giotto di Bondone, 1310s, François Joseph Navez, 1824.