What Child Is This?

"What Child Is This?" sets a Victorian Nativity poem to "Greensleeves," a melody so old it turns up in Shakespeare. William Chatterton Dix wrote the words in 1865 while recovering from a grave illness; an editor paired them with the Tudor tune six years later, and the wistful match has lasted.

Who was William Chatterton Dix?

William Chatterton Dix (1837 to 1898) was an English hymn writer who worked by day as the manager of a marine insurance company in Glasgow. Despite his commercial career, he was a prolific and gifted hymn writer whose works are still sung in churches around the world. His other well-known hymns include "Alleluia! Sing to Jesus" and "As with Gladness Men of Old."

Dix wrote the lyrics of "What Child Is This?" as part of a longer poem titled "The Manger Throne," composed during a period of recovery from a severe illness. The experience of confronting mortality led to a spiritual renewal that infused his writing with deep devotional feeling. The poem imagines a visitor approaching the manger where the infant Jesus lies and asking the question that gives the carol its title.

How did it become paired with Greensleeves?

Dix wrote the words, but he did not compose the melody. The lyrics were not paired with the traditional "Greensleeves" tune until 1871, when they appeared in the influential collection "Christmas Carols New and Old," edited by Henry Ramsden Bramley and John Stainer. This collection was enormously important in establishing the canon of English Christmas carols, and the decision to set Dix's words to "Greensleeves" proved inspired, as the haunting, melancholic melody perfectly complements the wondering, worshipful tone of the lyrics.

What is the history of Greensleeves?

"Greensleeves" is one of the most famous melodies in English music, dating back to at least 1580 when it was registered at the London Stationers' Company. A popular legend attributes the tune to King Henry VIII, who supposedly wrote it for Anne Boleyn, but there is no historical evidence for this claim. The melody is mentioned twice by Shakespeare in "The Merry Wives of Windsor," confirming its popularity in Elizabethan England.

The tune has been used for numerous songs over the centuries, but its association with "What Child Is This?" has become its most widely known setting outside of the original secular love song.

Why is the carol still popular?

The carol endures because of the perfect marriage between words and music. The "Greensleeves" melody carries an emotional weight (being both wistful and searching) that elevates Dix's lyrics beyond a simple nativity scene into something more contemplative. The repeated question "What child is this?" invites listeners into the scene, making them participants rather than observers.