English mystery plays English drama

nineteenth-century engraving of performance chester mystery play cycle.

mystery plays , miracle plays (sometimes distinguished 2 different forms, although terms used interchangeably) among earliest formally developed plays in medieval europe. medieval mystery plays focused on representation of bible stories in churches tableaux accompanying antiphonal song. developed 10th 16th century, reaching height of popularity in 15th century before being rendered obsolete rise of professional theatre. name derives mystery used in sense of miracle, quoted derivation misterium, meaning craft, play performed craft guilds.

there 4 complete or complete extant english biblical collections of plays late medieval period; although these collections referred cycles, believed term may attribute these collections more coherence in fact possess. complete york cycle of forty-eight pageants. performed in city of york, middle of fourteenth century until 1569. there towneley plays of thirty-two pageants, once thought have been true cycle of plays , performed around feast of corpus christi in town of wakefield, england during late middle ages until 1576. ludus coventriae (also called n town plays or hegge cycle), agreed redacted compilation of @ least 3 older, unrelated plays, , chester cycle of twenty-four pageants, agreed elizabethan reconstruction of older medieval traditions. extant 2 pageants new testament cycle acted @ coventry , 1 pageant each norwich , newcastle upon tyne. additionally, fifteenth-century play of life of mary magdalene, brome abraham , isaac , sixteenth-century play of conversion of saint paul exist, hailing east anglia. besides middle english drama, there 3 surviving plays in cornish known ordinalia.

these biblical plays differ in content. contain episodes such fall of lucifer, creation , fall of man, cain , abel, noah , flood, abraham , isaac, nativity, raising of lazarus, passion, , resurrection. other pageants included story of moses, procession of prophets, christ s baptism, temptation in wilderness, , assumption , coronation of virgin. in given cycles, plays came sponsored newly emerging medieval craft guilds. york mercers, example, sponsored doomsday pageant. other guilds presented scenes appropriate trade: building of ark carpenters guild; 5 loaves , fishes miracle bakers; , visit of magi, offerings of gold, frankincense , myrrh, goldsmiths. guild associations not, however, understood method of production towns. while chester pageants associated guilds, there no indication n-town plays either associated guilds or performed on pageant wagons. perhaps famous of mystery plays, @ least modern readers , audiences, of wakefield. unfortunately, cannot know whether plays of towneley manuscript plays performed @ wakefield reference in second shepherds play horbery shrogys ([1] line 454) suggestive