In the movie, the Lion in Winter, set in 1183, a large tree with ornaments was set up for Christmas. Would a single decorated tree be appropriate or a Hollywood invention?

by NumberMuncher

Apologies if "is the movie accurate" post are too common. I'm watching the movie now and I'm only wiki-level familiar with the history. Greenery has pagan roots adopted by Christians, but would a single large decorated tree be accurate for the period?

y_sengaku

Just checked 1968 film version.
I wrote a (actually not so) relevant comment for this following post, Origin of Christmas tree and Christmas lights, so I adds some points also here (though I'm not a specialist of this kind of tradition):

  • There are three contenders for the origin of Christmas tree, namely two Baltic countries (Latvia, Estonia), and Germany. The former two claim that the practice of erecting trees in the festival dates back to the 15th centiry when the merchant guild celebrated their seasonal festivals in the cities in each country.
  • The records of such festivals are in fact extant in both countries, but the expert in medieval Baltic history dare not to support either of their claims, for there was not so exclusive association between the tree and Christmas.
  • The first, more concrete evidence of Christmas tree can be found in the third candidate, post-reformation Germany. While the first two candidades may have affected German case, we don't have enough evidence to accept or to deny this connection.

In short, there was at least no Christmas Tree in 1183, as decorated in the film.