Description: Ludus Coventriae,or The Plaie Called Corpus ChristiCotton Ms. Vespasian D. VIIIEdited by K.S. BlockPublished by Oxford University Press, London, 1960. Reprint of 1922 edition. Very good hardcover, no dustjacket. Tight binding, solid spine, clean unmarked text. 8vo, blue cloth with gilt titling and design to front board and gilt titling to spine. 402 pages. The N-Town Plays (also called the Ludus Coventriae cycle) are a cycle of 42 medieval Mystery plays from between 1450 and 1500. The manuscript is now housed in the British Library, London (MS Cotton Vespasian D. VIII). As its name might suggest, though, it was once the property of the 17th-century antiquarian Sir Robert Bruce Cotton and was housed in his large library. Cotton's librarian, Richard James, quickly examined the manuscript and erroneously assumed that it contained the Biblical plays performed in Coventry during the 15th and 16th centuries, thus naming them the Ludus Coventriae or “the Play Called Corpus Christi”. He was mistaken in both cases, but that mistake has proven very difficult to correct; the name Ludus Coventriae persists in the secondary and critical literature well into the 20th century. The most common way to refer to these plays now is The N-Town Plays, after the reference in the last stanza of the opening proclamation that the play was to be played at “N-Town”; when the plays toured from town to town, (N meaning nomen, the Latin for name) would be replaced by the name of the town the cycle was playing in at any given time. The plays of the N-Town cycle vary from simple, almost liturgical, recitations of Biblical texts (as in the Moses play of the Ten Commandments, the Jesse play with its kings and prophets, and the Penetecost play) to highly complex and fast moving short dramas on Biblical themes that have a naturalism and liveliness (as in the Death of Herod and the Woman Taken in Adultery) almost unique in early drama. These plays can all be played from a wagon or a single booth stage. On the other hand, the two Mary Plays and the Passion Play were written for what is often called “place and scaffold” production in the round using “scaffolds” or raised stages and also the “platea” or the “place” between the stages.Medieval Literature, Middle English, 15th century, Middle ages, English Literature, history, criticism, study, scholarship, Medieval mystery plays, N-Town plays, Biblical, Christianity. Loc: E13Recycling the Cycle: The City of Chester and Its Whitsun Playsby David MillsPublished by University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1998. First edition. Very good hardcover, no dustjacket as issued. Tight binding, solid spine, clean unmarked text. 8vo, index, 281 pages. A consciousness of the past has been an essential determinant of community in the city of Chester, England. This awareness and fascination has been bolstered by a strong civic tradition of drama. In particular, the city's Whitsun Plays have been a vehicle for communicating the myth of the city's medieval heritage, helping to reinforce the sense of history that is part of Chester's identity. Building up the material in Chester, David Mills has produced a detailed study of Chester's Whitsun Plays in their local, physical, social, political, cultural, and religious context. A continuum has survived between the Middle Ages and the present day, providing not only an understanding of the plays themselves, but a narrative of the ways in which manuscripts survive and the functions that they serve. The continued performance of these plays is significant of modern play revivals as a political and sociological phenomenon, demonstrating the power that these rituals and plays still hold.Recycling the Cycle is not only a look at how medieval and Renaissance cultural traditions developed and were maintained over centuries, but an insight into how those traditions can stay fresh and relevant, even today. LOC: ONE
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Book Title: Recycling the Cycle: The City of Chester and Its Whitsun Plays
Genre: Ancient Literature, Antiquarian & Collectible, Historical, History, Religious & Spiritual, Spirituality, World literature & Classics, PLAYS, BIBLICAL, THEATER
Book Series: NONE
Original Language: English
Country/Region of Manufacture: Canada
Narrative Type: Nonfiction
Edition: First Edition
Signed: No
Intended Audience: Adults, Young Adults
Vintage: No
Ex Libris: No
Inscribed: No
Personalized: No
Personalize: No
Era: 1990s
Number of Pages: 320 Pages
Publication Name: Recycling the Cycle Vol. 4 : the City of Chester and Its Whitsun Plays
Language: English
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Subject: Drama, General, Europe / Medieval, European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh
Publication Year: 1998
Item Height: 1 in
Features: Revised
Type: Textbook
Item Weight: 20.5 Oz
Author: David Mills
Item Length: 9.2 in
Subject Area: Literary Criticism, Drama, History
Series: Studies in Early English Drama Ser.
Item Width: 6.2 in
Format: Hardcover
