The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall

First published: 1959 (in Great Britain as The Minnipins, 1960); illustrated

Type of work: Allegory

Themes: Social issues

Time of work: In the year of Gammage 880

Recommended Ages: 10-15

Locale: Slipper-on-the-Water in the Land Between the Mountains

Principal Characters:

• Walter the Earl, a historian who spends his time studying old documents and digging up artifacts, a useless activity in the opinion of most Minnipins
• The Periods, descendants of Fooley the Magnificent, to whom the Periods owe their prestige
• Gummy, a dreamer and poet, usually referred to as one of Them because he does not create proper poems
• Muggles, a sometime nonconformist who wears bright orange sashes and keeps her house in a muddle
• Curley Green, a painter whose paintings are referred to as “blobs” by all proper Minnipins because they do not resemble the painting brought back by Fooley
• Mingy, the village money-keeper, who wants to save money for emergencies instead of spending it to beautify the village

The Story

In The Gammage Cup, Carol Kendall blends realism and fantasy in a story about the dangers of social conformity and complacency. In the mythical village of Slipper-on-the-Water, the Minnipins, a humanlike race of small people, live out their lives in comfort and peace. Led by their great leader Gammage into the Land Between the Mountains eight hundred years before, the Minnipins lead tranquil and uneventful lives interrupted only by the disruptive presence of a small group of nonconformists who are called Them by the villagers. One of Them, Walter the Earl, digs around the foundation of his house in search of ancient artifacts even though the villagers regard it as a waste of time. Another, Gummy, writes poems that are not even cast in a traditional form, like the one Fooley the Magnificent found 450 years ago. Curley Green paints what the villagers call “blobs.” These three are joined by Muggles, whose sash is the wrong color for a proper Minnipin, and by Mingy, the village money-keeper, who grumbles about the use of tax money for prettifying Slipper-on-the-Water rather than an emergency fund for serious problems. When the inhabitants of Slipper-on-the-Water discover that there is going to be a contest to judge which is the prettiest and happiest village in the Land Between the Mountains, they decide that the nonconformists must go because their presence and outlandish behavior will reduce their chances of winning the prize, the Gammage Cup. The five, in disgust, decide to leave before they are outlawed.

The outcasts make their way to the stone house that Gummy has built near the Sunset Mountains, and there they begin the difficult process of providing for all of their needs. Muggles emerges as the organizer who ensures that clothes will be washed, that food is raised, gathered, or cooked, and that chores are completed. Meanwhile, their suspicions about the fires and movement observed on the side of the mountain that faces Slipper-on-the-Water are confirmed. Descendants of their ancient enemy, the feared Mushrooms—small, foul-smelling, hairless creatures— have found a way through the mountain that has been a barrier to invasion for eight hundred years.

With the advantage of early detection and with the armor which Walter the Earl found in a hiding place under his house in Slipper-on-the-Water, the five are able to ward off the advances of the Mushrooms until Walter the Earl can raise an army in Slipper-on-the-Water. In spite of the reluctance of the Periods, the most respected people in the village, to believe that they are being threatened, Walter the Earl is finally able to convince the Minnipins that they must fight to preserve their homes, lives, and comfortable way of life. When the Mushrooms are defeated, the five are regarded as heroes, and they return to their former homes. Their acceptance by their fellow villagers is symbolic of the importance of recognizing that courage and independent thought, characteristic of nonconformists, are vital to the life of a community.

Context

The Gammage Cup is the first book of a two-part series about the mythical Land Between the Mountains. Published twenty-one years after J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937), to which it has been compared, The Gammage Cup reflects the concern with conformity in a period of relative peace and stability in the United States. In addition, the book’s characters, like Tolkien’s hobbits, reflect concern with the effects of becoming accustomed to comfort and security. Its sequel, A Whisper of Glocken (1965), explores another dimension of human and social import: What is a hero? In this latter story, the five heroes of the earlier book pass on their will and knowledge to their fellow Minnipins, who stumble into the responsibility of saving the village of Water Gap. Taken together, the two stories reflect Kendall’s concern for social issues that remain timely.

Though acclaimed by children’s literature specialists for its originality and characterization, The Gammage Cup has not been very popular with children, who prefer stories that deal with their own developmental concerns and experiences. Those who are able to understand the allegorical nature of Kendall’s work, however, will find it richly rewarding.