or at least of a close connection with the French models.* Hence the plays in this collection, even if they were subsequently expanded and altered in various ways, in their earliest elements most probably extend back to the first half of the fourteenth century, perhaps as far as the thirteenth. Now these plays cannot possibly have been exhibited in the church, for, in the first place, according to the MSS. in which they are preserved (though belonging to the sixteenth century), they had evidently long been in the possession of the trading companies of Chester. But in the next place, and this is the main point, they have throughout such a secular, popular stamp that they cannot possibly have originated out of ecclesiastical Mysteries by mere expansion and remodelling, but must have been newly composed at a later period; in which case, however, the French verses would be inexplicable. In addition to this, according to two perfectly trustworthy testimonies of contemporaries,† as early as the thirteenth century, Miracula or Miracles were played outside the church, on meadows, public streets and in churchyards, before the mass of the people; and, moreover, plays of a very popular character, for it is expressly remarked that the assembled multitude sometimes burst out into peals of laughter.

We may,

therefore, suppose that in England, by means of French influence, the religious play had become a popular amusement as early as the thirteenth century, although for a long time (as late as 1492), together with these-as is evident from the investigations of Sharp §-there were also ecclesiastical plays which, no doubt, adhered more strictly to the old clerical style of Mystery; of these, however, unfortunately, no examples have as yet been discovered.

Be that as it may, at all events the three great collections of Miracle Plays, in which English literature possesses the first beginnings of her drama, bear distinct traces-from internal and external indications-that, for *Wright, l.c., p. xiv. + Wright, l.c., p. ix. f.

In France we pretty constantly find a distinction made between the expressions Miracles and Mystères, that is, between plays which treat of the life and miracles of saints, and such as represent Bible stories. In England, however, a Miracle Play is the general term

given to both species.

§ Sharp, l.c., 6 ff., and Collier, ii. 141 f.

VOL. I.

the most part, at least, they were originally produced beyond the confines of the church. It is only in regard to the collection bearing the title of 'Ludi Coventriæ,' and published by Halliwell, that there can be any doubt on this point. In Coventry, at all events, since the year 1392, and with few interruptions down to 1591, there were annual exhibitions of religious plays by the guilds and trading companies, plays which, as it seems, included the whole history of the New Testament (of subjects from the Old Testament there is not a trace), and concluded with a representation of the Last Judgment, as Sharp has pointed out. But the Grey Friars were also in the habit of performing Mysteries there, and these were so far-famed that in 1492 Henry VII. came expressly to Coventry to see these plays.* This gives rise to the question:-Were the plays in the collection referred to-if Coventry was their birth-place, which, moreover, may be regarded as certain from the language with the regularly recurring provincialisms, for instance, for sh-acted by the trading companies or by the Grey Friars? The old MS. belongs to the year 1468, and was formerly in the possession of Sir Robert Cotton.† If we agree with the remark which Cotton's Librarian, Dr. Richard James, made upon it, there can be no doubt that the plays, as James says, were: scenice expressa et actitata olim per monachos sive fratres mendicantes; hence, originally of ecclesiastical origin. Besides this there is the fact that the only pageant preserved in the books of the trading companies of Coventry, and which has been published by Sharp,§ represents the Birth of Christ, the Salutations of the Shepherds, the Adoration of the Magi, and the Flight to Egypt; it was played by the Shearmen and Tailors' Company, and differs completely from the plays (Nos. xii. and xv.) of the Ludi Coventriæ,' which treat of the same subject. The Leet-books of the companies, moreover, occasionally give the names of the persons who

* Sharp, l.c., p. 6.

† Halliwell, p. vi.

Pageant is the old English and popular name given to these Miracle Plays which were acted upon temporary stages. The word is probably a corruption of Pegma (from Thyvμ), and originally applied only to the scaffold or échafaud, upon which the pieces were played on § Sharp, l.c., p. 3.

in the streets.

took part in the pageants, for instance, those of the Cappers' Company,* but these do not agree with the characters in the corresponding plays of our collection.

Still, it is difficult to come to the conclusion that all of these plays in the form in which they appear in our collection-should ever have been represented by priests, even if they were the later and very depraved followers of Saint Francis; at least by far the greater portion of them have too much of a vulgar character for such a supposition. For the collection is divided not merely externally, but also internally, according to spirit and character, into two very unequal parts. At the conclusion of the thirteenth play † the assembled audience is dismissed in a kind of epilogue, spoken by Contemplatio,' and invited to be present at the continuation of the play at Easter. Hence, the first thirteen pieces must be distinct from those following, and must have been performed at a different time. The first thirteen plays, moreover, differ considerably from those following in style and character. In the first place, the treatment is not nearly so dramatic; the subjects (seven from the Old Testament, and six from the life of the Virgin Mary, down to her visit to Elizabeth) are chosen without regard to their scenic and dramatic capabilities, and consequently are, for the most part, merely narratives of what has happened or is to happen, together with long lyric effusions of thanksgiving, praise and glory to God; the dialogues are usually short and disjointed. But, on the other hand, the character of the plays is far more serious, solemn and religious. In the constantly recurring prayers, and the frequent exhortations of the actors one to another to live in a manner pleasing to God, it is distinctly apparent that the object of the plays is to give religious and moral instruction. The musical element, also, which, as we have seen, predominated in the earliest ecclesiastical Mysteries, occupies in this case a far more important part. In almost every play we meet with a couple of Latin hymns, generally lines and verses from the Bible belonging to the * Sharp, pp. 13, 36, 43, 66.

† p. 130.

At the beginning of Nos. viii. and xxix. a fresh opportunity is taken of saluting and exhorting the public by a prologue, but it is less distinctly apparent.

liturgy; in No. viii* it is expressly prescribed: 'Here the sequence is to be sung, Benedicta sit beata Trinitas,' and at the conclusion of No. xiii. we read: 'Let us sing to Our Lady, Ave Maria cœlorum.' In all of the other plays (with the exception of No. xli., which, to judge from the MS., belongs to the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII.) there are only four passages where a hymn has been inserted or prescribed. Lastly, the form of the language, also, seems to support the supposition that the first thirteen plays are older, or rather that they have remained more unchanged and were written by a more cultivated hand: the versification is more accurate, more regular and more rhythmically perfect than in the following pieces; Latin passages occur more frequently, and in a less corrupted form; the expression is more refined, dignified and cultivated. The numerous quotations from the Bible and the adoration of the Virgin Mary, which is prominent throughout, betray that the author was an ecclesiastic of the old Catholic persuasion. I therefore have no hesitation in maintaining that the first thirteen plays are remains of the old ecclesiastical Mysteries, which were originally performed by the Grey Friars, and although they may not have been preserved in their original form, are imitations of the old ecclesiastical drama.

What we have to think of the following plays † depends upon a comparison of them with the collection of Chester Plays and the Towneley Mysteries, which were undoubtedly played by trading companies. When compared with these, even the later plays exhibit a greater earnestness and a more dignified character; some of them appear even to be closely allied to the first thirteen. I therefore conjecture that they also originated in the Capuchin monastery of Coventry, but at a time when either the degenerate Mendicant Friars themselves travelled about the district and exhibited their theatrical arts for money and charitable gifts, or at least had their pageants performed by laymen, perhaps by the young men belonging to the companies, perhaps by jugglers and strolling players.

*

p. 73.

+ Nos. xiv.-xxvii. and Nos. xxviii.-xl. For example, Nos. xxxvi.-xl.

This supposition alone explains how it is that the prologue which enumerates all the separate plays, specifies their actual contents, and yet has the object of announcing the performance to the people several days previously, can end with the words:

'A Sunday next, yf that we may,

At vi. of the belle we gynne our play,
In N. town, wherefore we pray,

That God now be your spede. Amen.'

The N. (nomen) evidently fills the blank in which the name of the town where the representation was about to take place, had, on every occasion, to be inserted by the standard-bearers who recited the prologue. Hence, when this prologue was composed, the collection was meant to serve as an amusement to the inhabitants of various places. It is also evident from the scenic directions, that the plays (at least those from No. xiv. downwards) were acted on platforms or scaffolds, and therefore probably outside the church, for there is no trace of scaffolds having been erected for performances in churches. Lastly, it is very likely that from the time when plays were prohibited in places of worship (and when at the same time the trading companies of Coventry were in the habit of regularly exhibiting their pageants at the feast of Corpus Christi, and on other festivals) that the Grey Friars of Saint Francis looked out for another place for their dramatic performances, and hence may have given representations in other towns in the neighbourhood.

Although the Towneley collection belongs to an older MS., 'I was obliged to speak of the Coventry Plays first, because I am convinced, for reasons stated above, that many of them are older than those of the Towneley and Chester collections, at all events in the form in which the latter now exist. The Towneley Mysteries derive their name from the family Towneley in Lancashire, who were in possession of the MS. from an early date, and into whose hands it has again returned. The MS. is the most ancient of all the three collections, and belongs to the time of Henry VII. From a description of the female dresses given in one of the plays, it may, as Hunter* points out, * p. viii.