It is a frosty winter evening, and the Baron, watching the snow fall through the window, is bored and fretful. It will soon be Christmas, and yet the household is subdued. Even the dogs are dozing. What can he do to cheer up the family and bring excitement into the manor?

He is at a loss - until his wife, the Baroness, has an idea: he can appoint a Lord of Misrule; a peasant to be in charge of Christmas revelries.

For twelve days, chaotic merriment ensues - schools are closed, wives drink in taverns, priests are dressed in petticoats, monkeys sit at the head of the table and general festive bacchanalia fills the manor - all culminating in a giant, happy feast on Christmas Day.