Play 38, The Resurrection

The Carpenteres
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195 200 205 210 215 220 225 230 235 240 245 250 255 260 265 270 275 280 285 290 295 300 305 310 315 320 325 330 335 340 345 350 355 360 365 370 375 380 385 390 395 400 405 410 415 420 425 430 435 440 445 450 455	PILATUS Lordingis, listenys nowe unto me: I comaunde you in ilke degré Als domesman chiffe in this contré For counsaill kende, Atte my bidding you awe to be And baynly bende. And Sir Cayphas, chiffe of clergye, Of youre counsaill late here in hye, By oure assente sen we dyd dye Jesus this day, That we mayntayne and stande therby That werke allway. CAYPHAS Yis, sir, that dede schall we mayntayne; By lawe it was done all bedene, Ye wotte youreselve, withouten wene, Als wele as we. His sawes are nowe uppon hym sene, And ay schall be. ANNA The pepull, sirs, in this same steede, Before you saide with a hole hede That he was worthy to be dede And therto sware. Sen all was rewlid by rightis rede, Nevyn it no more. PILATUS To nevyn me thinketh it nedfull thyng. Sen he was hadde to beriyng Herde we nowthir of olde ne ying Thithynges betwene. CAYPHAS Centurio, sir, will bringe thidings Of all bedene. We lefte hym there for man moste wise; If any rebelles wolde ought rise Oure rightwise dome for to dispise Or it offende, To sese thame till the nexte assise And than make ende. CENTURIO A, blissed Lorde, Adonay, What may thes mervayles signifie That her was schewed so oppinly Unto oure sight, This day whanne that the man gune dye That Jesus highte? Itt is a misty thyng to mene; So selcouth a sight was nevere sene That oure princes and prestis bedene Of this affray I woll go weten withouten wene, What thei can saye. God save you, sirs, on ilke a side, Worschippe and welthe in worldis wide. With mekill mirthe myght ye abide Boght day and nyght. PILATUS Centurio, welcome this tide, Oure comely knyght. Ye have bene miste us here among. CENTURIO God giffe you grace grathely to gang. PILATUS Centurio, oure frende full lang, What is your will? CENTURIO I drede me that ye have done wrang And wondir ill. CAYPHAS Wondir ill, I pray thee, why? Declare it to this company. CENTURIO So schall I, sirs, telle you trewly Withowten trayne. The rightwise mane thanne mene I by That ye have slayne. PILATUS Centurio, sesse of such sawe. Thou arte a lered man in the lawe, And if we schulde any witnes drawe Us to excuse, To mayntayne us evermore thee awe, And noght reffuse. CENTURIO To mayntayne trouthe is wele worthi. I saide you, whanne I sawe hym dy, That he was Goddis Sone almyghty That hangeth thore. Yitt saie I soo, and stande therby For evermore. CAYPHAS Ya, sir, such reasouns may ye rewe; Ye schulde noght neveyn such note enewe, But ye couthe any tokenyngis trewe Unto us tell. CENTURIO Such woundirfull cas nevere yitt ye knewe As now befell. ANNA We praye thee telle us of what thyng. CENTURIO All elementis, both olde and ying, In ther maneres thai made mornyng In ilke a stede, And knewe be countenaunce that ther Kyng Was done to dede. The sonne for woo he waxed all wanne, The mone and sterres of schynyng blanne, The erthe tremeled, and also manne Began to speke; The stones that never was stered or thanne Gune asondir breke, And dede men rose, both grete and small. PILATUS Centurio, beware withall, Ye wote oure clerkis the clipsis thei call Such sodayne sight, Both sonne and mone that sesoune schall Lak of ther light. CAYPHAS Ya, and if dede men rose bodily, That myght be done thurgh socery; Therfore we sette nothyng therby To be abaiste. CENTURIO All that I tell for trewthe schall I Evermore traste. In this ilke werke that ye did wirke Nought allone the sonne was mirke, But howe youre vaile raffe in youre kirke, That witte I wolde. PILATUS Swilke tales full sone will make us irke And thei be talde. ANNA Centurio, such speche withdrawe; Of all thes wordes we have none awe. CENTURIO Nowe sen ye sette noght be my sawe, Sirs, have gode day. God graunte you grace that ye may knawe The soth alway. ANNA Withdrawe thee faste, sen thou thee dredis, For we schall wele mayntayne oure dedis. PILATUS Such wondir reasouns as he redis Was nevere beforne. CAIPHAS To neven this noote no more us nedis, Nowthere even ne morne. Therfore loke no manne make ille chere; All this doyng may do no dere, But to beware yitt of more were That folke may fele, We praye you, sirs, of these sawes sere Avise you wele. And to this tale takes hede in hye, For Jesu saide even opynly A thyng that greves all this Jury, And righte so may: That he schulde rise uppe bodily Within the thirde day. And be it so, als motte I spede, His lattar deede is more to drede Than is the firste, if we take hede Or tente therto. To nevyn this noote methynke moste nede And beste to do. ANNA Ya, sir, if all that he saide soo, He has no myght to rise and goo But if his menne stele hym us froo And bere away. That were tille us and other moo A foule fraye, For thanne wolde thei saie, evere ilkone, That he roose by hymselffe allone; Therfore latte hym be kepte anone With knyghtes hende Unto thre daies be comen and gone And broght till ende. PILATUS In certayne, sirs, right wele ye saie, For this ilke poynte nowe to purvaye I schall ordayne if I may. He schall not ryse, Nor none schalle wynne hym thens away On nokyns wise. Sir knyghtis, that are in dedis dowty, Chosen for chiffe of chevalrye, As we ay in youre force affie Bothe day and nyght, Wendis and kepis Jesu body With all youre myghte. And for thyng that evere be maye Kepis hym wele to the thirde day And latis no man takis hym away Oute of that stede; For and thei do, suthly I saie, Ye schall be dede. I MILES Lordingis, we saie you for certayne, We schall kepe hym with myghtis and mayne; Ther schall no traitoures with no trayne Stele hym us froo. Sir knyghtis, takis gere that moste may gayne And lates us goo. II MILES Yis, certis, we are all redy bowne, We schall hym kepe till oure rennowne. On ilke a side latte us sitte doune Nowe all in fere, And sone we schall crake his croune Whoso comes here. Tunc Jhesu resurgente. Tunc angelus cantat Resurgens. I MARIA Allas, to dede I wolde be dight, So woo in werke was nevere wight; Mi sorowe is all for that sight That I gune see, Howe Criste my maistir, moste of myght, Is dede fro me. Allas, that I schulde se his pyne, Or yit that I his liffe schulde tyne; Of ilke a myscheve he is medicyne And bote of all, Helpe and halde to ilke a hyne That hym on wolde call. II MARIA Allas, who schall my balis bete Whanne I thynke on his woundes wete? Jesu, that was of love so swete And nevere did ill, Es dede and graven under the grete Withouten skill. III MARIA Withowten skill the Jewes ilkone That lovely Lorde has newly slayne, And trespasse did he nevere none In nokyn steede. To whome nowe schall I make my mone Sen he is dede? I MARIA Sen he is dede, my sisteres dere, Wende we will on mylde manere With oure anoynementis faire and clere That we have broght To noynte his wondis on sides sere That Jewes hym wroght. II MARIA Goo we same my sisteres free. Full faire us longis his corse to see, But I wotte noght howe beste may be, Helpe have we none. And who schall nowe here of us thre Remove the stone? III MARIA That do we noght but we wer moo, For it is huge and hevy also. I MARIA Sistirs, a yonge childe as we goo Makand mornyng, I see it sitte wher we wende to In white clothyng. II MARIA Sistirs, sertis, it is noght to hide: The hevy stone is putte beside. III MARIA Sertis, for thyng that may betyde Nere will we wende, To layte that luffely and with hym bide That was oure frende. ANGELUS Ye mournand women in youre thought, Here in this place whome have ye sought? I MARIA Jesu, that to dede is brought, Oure Lorde so free. ANGELUS Women, certayne here is he noght, Come nere and see. He is noght here, the soth to saie, The place is voide that he in laye. The sudary here se ye may Was on hym laide. He is resen and wente his way, As he you saide. Even as he saide so done has hee: He is resen thurgh grete poostee. He schall be foune in Galilé In flesshe and fell. To his discipilis nowe wende ye And thus thame tell. I MARIA Mi sisteres dere, sen it is soo That he is resen dede thus froo As the aungell tolde me and yow too, Oure Lorde so fre, Hens will I never goo Or I hym see. II MARIA Marie, us thare no lenger lende, To Galilé nowe late us wende. I MARIA Nought tille I see that faithfull frende, Mi Lorde and leche; Therfore all this, my sisteres hende, That ye forth preche. III MARIA As we have herde, so schall we saie, Marie oure sistir, have goode daye. I MARIA Nowe, verray God as he wele maye, Man moste of myght, He wisse you, sisteres, wele in youre waye And rewle you right. Allas, what schall nowe worthe on me? Mi kaytiffe herte will breke in three Whenne I thynke on that body free How it was spilte. Both feete and handes nayled tille a tre Withouten gilte. Withouten gilte the trewe was tane, For trespas did he nevere none. The woundes he suffered many one Was for my misse. It was my dede he was for slayne And nothyng his. How might I but I loved that swete, That for my love tholed woundes wete And sithen be graven undir the grete, Such kyndnes kithe? There is nothing to that we mete May make me blithe. I MILES What, oute allas! What schall I saie? Where is the corse that herein laye? II MILES What ayles thee, man? Is he awaye That we schulde tent? I MILES Rise uppe and see. II MILES Harrowe! For ay, I telle us schente. III MILES What devill is this, what aylis you twoo, Such noyse and crye thus for to make too? II MILES Why, is he gone? III MILES Allas, whare is he that here laye? IV MILES Whe, harrowe! Devill, whare is he away? III MILES What, is he thusgatis fro us wente, That fals traitour that here was lente? And we trewly here for to tente Had undirtane. Sekirlie, I telle us schente, Holy ilkane. I MILES Allas, what schall we do this day That thus this warlowe is wente his waye? And savely, sirs, I dare wele saie He rose allone. II MILES Witte Sir Pilate of this affraye, We mon be slone. III MILES Why, canne none of us no bettir rede? IV MILES Ther is not ellis, but we be dede. II MILES Whanne that he stered oute of this steede None couthe it kenne. I MILES Allas, harde happe was on my hede, Amonge all menne. Fro Sir Pilate witte of this dede, That we were slepande whanne he yede, He will forfette withouten drede All that we have. II MILES Us muste make lies, for that is nede Oureselve to save. III MILES Ya, that rede I wele, also motte I goo. IV MILES And I assente therto alsoo. II MILES An hundereth, schall I saie, and moo Armed ilkone Come and toke his corse us froo, And us nere slayne. I MILES Nay, certis, I halde there none so goode As saie the soth even as it stoode: Howe that he rose with mayne and mode And wente his way. To Sir Pilate if he be wode, This dar I saie. II MILES Why, dare thou to Sir Pilate goo With thes tydingis and saie hym soo? I MILES So rede I, if he us sloo We dye but onys. III MILES Nowe, he that wrought us all this woo, Woo worthe his bonys. IV MILES Go we thanne, sir knyghtis hende, Sen that we schall to Sir Pilate wende; I trowe that we schall parte no frendes Or that we passe. I MILES And I schall hym saie ilke worde tille ende, Even as it was. Sir Pilate, prince withouten pere, Sir Cayphas and Anna in fere And all ye lordyngis that are here To neven by name, God save you all, on sidis sere, Fro synne and schame. PILATUS Ye are welcome, oure knyghtis kene, Of mekill mirthe nowe may ye mene; Therfore some tales telle us betwene Howe ye have wroght. I MILES Oure wakyng, lorde, withouten wene, Is worthed to noght. CAYPHAS To noght? Allas, sesse of such sawe. II MILES The prophete Jesu that ye wele knawe Is resen and gone, for all oure awe, With mayne and myght. PILATUS Therfore the devill hymselffe thee drawe, Fals recrayed knyght. Combered cowardis I you call; Have ye latten hym goo fro you all? III MILES Sir, ther was none that did but small When that he yede. IV MILES We wer so ferde downe ganne we falle, And dared for drede. ANNA Hadde ye no strenghe hym to gaynestande? Traitoures, ye myght have boune in bande Bothe hym and thame that ye ther fande And sessid thame sone. I MILES That dede all erthely men levand Myght noght have done. II MILES We wer so radde ever ilkone Whanne that he putte beside the stone, We wer so stonyed we durste stirre none And so abasshed. PILATUS What, rose he by hymselfe allone? I MILES Ya, sir, that be ye traste. IV MILES We herde never sen we were borne, Nor all oure faderes us beforne, Suche melodie, mydday ne morne As was made there. CAYPHAS Allas, thanne is oure lawes lorne For everemare. II MILES What tyme he rose good tente I toke. The erthe that tyme tremylled and quoke, All kyndely force than me forsoke Tille he was gone. III MILES I was aferde, I durste not loke, Ne myght had none, I myght not stande, so was I starke. PILATUS Sir Cayphas, ye are a connyng clerke; If we amysse have tane oure merke, I trowe same faile; Therfore what schalle worthe nowe of this werke, Sais your counsaille? CAYPHAS To saie the beste forsothe I schall, That schall be prophete to us all; Yone knyghtis behoves there wordis agayne call Howe he is miste. We nolde for thyng that myght befall That no man wiste. ANNA Now, Sir Pilate, sen that it is soo That he is resynne dede us froo, Comaundis youre knyghtis to saie wher thei goo That he was tane With twenty thousand men and mo, And thame nere slayne. And therto of oure tresorie Giffe to thame a rewarde forthy. PILATUS Nowe of this purpose wele plesed am I, And forther thus; Sir knyghtis, that are in dedis dowty, Takes tente to us, And herkenes what that ye schall saie To ilke a man both nyght and daye, That ten thousand men in goode araye Come you untill, With forse of armys bare hym awaye Agaynst your will. Thus schall ye saie in ilke a lande, And therto on that same comenaunde A thousande pounde have in youre hande To your rewarde; And frenschippe, sirs, ye undirstande Schall not be spared. CAIPHAS Ilkone youre state we schall amende, And loke ye saie as we you kende. I MILES In what contré so ye us sende, Be nyght or daye, Wherso we come, wherso we wende, So schall we saie. PILATUS Ya, and whereso ye tarie in ilke contré, Of oure doyng in no degré Dois that no manne the wiser be, Ne freyne beforne, Ne of the sight that ye gonne see Nevynnes it nowthere even ne morne. For we schall mayntayne you alwaye, And to the pepull schall we saie It is gretely agaynste oure lay To trowe such thing. So schall thei deme, both nyght and day, All is lesyng. Thus schall the sothe be bought and solde, And treasoune schall for trewthe be tolde. Therfore ay in youre hartis ye holde This counsaile clene, And fares nowe wele, both yonge and olde, Haly bedene.	(see note); (t-note) each rank judge chief; country known ought without delay oblige quickly cause to die accordingly a doubt (i.e., come back upon him) place (i.e., without any dissent) reason Say speak burying neither seize; court session did was named portent; mention wondrous forthwith reveal; doubt Both; (t-note) missed worthily to go long deception just man; mean cease; words learned; (t-note) ought refuse truth rue say (raise); matter anew signs (see note) ways; lamenting dark stopped (t-note) moved ere then Did eclipse sudden season sorcery abashed trust veil was rent asunder; church angry If; told no respect truth you are afraid wondrous; tells; (see note) speak of; matter; need evening harm suspicion Advise quickly Jewry attend mention; matter steal; (t-note) bear [him] disturbance let; anon worthy arrange; (t-note) In no wise deeds bold; (t-note) always; trust let place (grave) (t-note) trickery equipment; be helpful bound (prepared) for our reputation (see note) all together Then Jesus being risen; (see note); (t-note) Then the angel sings “[Christ] is arisen” (see note) [experienced by] a person; (t-note) have seen pain suffer (the loss of) (see note) remedy hold (support); person (t-note) sorrows lessen buried; earth; (see note) (i.e., anywhere) (see note) together; (t-note) we desire; body Making mourning (see note) for whatever seek; loved one (see note) (see note) risen; (t-note) power found (i.e., physically present) (t-note) (t-note) Ere [need] there; stay; (t-note) (see note) healer gracious (see note) (t-note) direct miserable (unhappy) heart guilt true one; taken sins deed; (t-note) suffered buried; earth revealed except that; meet happy body attend believe we are destroyed ails in this way placed watch Entirely (t-note) warlock certainly [If] learns; (see note) slain advise otherwise stirred could sleeping; went [away] advise; go (prosper) more; (t-note) each one (i.e., supernatural power) even if; angered slay once; (see note) (i.e., Woe upon him) Ere (t-note) (see note) identify tell watching; doubt Comes to naught cease; words awe (fear) recreant Encumbered (Miserable) allowed little went forth stupefied; fear withstand bound; bonds (ropes) found seized terrified astonished may you trust; (t-note) attention (heed) quaked natural strength strength stiff (with fear) intelligent; (t-note) taken; mark (aim) [we] together shall become profitable must; call back would not knows risen more nearly slain treasury bold harken arms agreement (t-note) we instructed you Allow ask have seen Speak law believe lying (see note) Wholly indeed

Play 38, THE RESURRECTION: EXPLANATORY NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: AV: Authorized (“King James”) Version; Meditations: Meditations on the Life of Christ, trans. Ragusa and Green; MED: Middle English Dictionary; OED: Oxford English Dictionary; RB: Richard Beadle, ed., York Plays; REED: Records of Early English Drama; YA: Davidson and O’Connor, York Art; York Breviary: Breviarium ad usum insignis ecclesie Eboracensis; York Missal: Missale ad usum insignis ecclesiae Eboracensis.

References to the Ordo paginarum are to REED: York, 1:16–27.

The York pageant, mounted by the Carpenters who are known to have supported their own religious guild devoted to the Resurrection,1 incorporates material typically associated with the liturgical Visitato Sepulchri but embeds it in the story of the four knights chosen by Pilate to guard the sepulcher. Their narrative may be read elsewhere, as, for example, in the Northern Passion, and they emerge as nearly necessary depictions on representations of the Resurrection.2 There is a strong connection in this pageant with image devotion, with a focus on seeing the rising of Jesus out of the tomb to the accompaniment of liturgical music, identified by Rastall as Christus resurgens, shared with the York Elevatio ceremony performed on Easter morning.3 The Harleian text of the Northern Passion indicates that anyone who “heres or redes” (line 20) the narrative will be given Christ’s blessing and a hundred days of pardon in Purgatory granted by Pope Innocent,4 and one would imagine that a similar blessing could likely have been expected from seeing and hearing the story as staged at Corpus Christi. At some point a copy of the York Resurrection was borrowed by a compiler of the Towneley collection, formerly thought to be the Wakefield cycle, and the two texts even share, as Beadle has noticed, a corrupt passage (York, lines 294–98; Towneley, lines 452–58).5 The Towneley version, which was derived from an independent copy of the play that is now lost, confirms the expected character designations for the Marys, with the first being Mary Magdalen, the second Mary the mother of James, and the third Mary Salome, and it also provides some readings that correct mistakes by the scribe who entered the play into the York Register. The York Resurrection, which in some ways is the climax of the York cycle, uses a six-line stanza.

1–36 The high priests have gone to Pilate and argue with him about the Crucifixion, which they claim was justified and reasonable. The Centurion will, however, contradict their assertions about its justice and even insist that Jesus “was Goddis Sone almyghty” (line 75).

86–97 In answer to Caiphas’ request for some “tokenyngis trewe” (line 81), the Centurion rehearses a list of remarkable signs, including an eclipse, that occurred at the Crucifixion. These are based on Matthew 27:51–54, and represent something “outside nature” that will be accepted as such by the audience (see Twycross, “Playing ‘The Resurrection,'” p. 279). Lines 93–94 are confused but refer to the arising of men from their graves in Matthew 27:52–53. Pilate, however, will dismiss the eclipse as a natural phenomenon (line 99), but more ominously Caiphas renews his charge of sorcery, for that is the only way he believes dead men could rise and walk (lines 103–04).

123–24 Such wondir reasouns as he redis / Was nevere beforne. Sharply distinguishing the York Pilate from the more hostile high priests. Thereafter Caiphas and Anna will launch into a rehearsal of their charges, now including their fear that Jesus’ body will be stolen from the grave (lines 147–48). Pilate agrees to guard the tomb and will appoint soldiers to do so.

183 On ilke a side latte us sitte doune. Embedded stage direction. The soldiers have arrived at the tomb and are taking their places at its four corners. They will sit, a convenient posture from which to show them sleeping. They are sometimes shown thus in iconography, and not infrequently take their places in niches in the tomb.

186 s.d. Tunc Jhesu resurgente. Rastall points out that this stage direction, by the main scribe, refers ahead to the speech by the first Mary as “warning her not to speak until Christ has risen from the tomb and left the playing area” (Minstrels Playing, p. 9n14). The silence of Jesus is striking when, if the usual iconography is maintained, he steps out of the coffer tomb, perhaps onto the back of one of the sleeping soldiers. As Sheingorn notes, this involved “a significant change in content from the Latin plays” and “underscored the theme of triumph which is an inseparable part of the celebration” (“Moment of the Resurrection,” p. 111). For further discussion, see C. Davidson, "Memory, the Resurrection, and Early Drama," pp. 3–37, and Twycross, “Playing ‘The Resurrection’.” Whether Jesus’ rising is accompanied by a “gret erthe dyn” or earthquake as the angel descends to roll back the stone (see Matthew 28:2, and the Pepysian Gospel Harmony, p. 102) we do not know, but it was feasible and would have been a stunning introduction to the action and the singing of the angel. The Coventry plays are known to have had a “baryll for the yerthe quake” (REED: Coventry, p. 474), but not for the Resurrection pageant.
Tunc angelus cantat Resurgens. This is added in a later hand, but likely represents long-standing practice. As noted above, the item must be Christus resurgens, of which several possibilities are available, the most likely of which is perhaps the antiphon (see Rastall, Minstrels Playing, pp. 35–36). Dutka translates: “Christ having risen from the dead dies now no more: death shall have no more dominion over him. [For the life he lives, he lives with God. Alleluia, Alleluia]” (Music, p. 115). The first soldier, who has heard the singing in his sleep, will report that they “herde never sen we were borne / . . . Suche melodie” (lines 384–86). The angel traditionally wears an alb, taking the description in Mark 16:5 of a white garment as a prescription. The Pepysian Gospel Harmony describes the angel as wearing “clothes als white as snow” and having a “visage als rede as fyre” (p. 102).

187 Allas, to dede I wolde be dight. Beginning the laments of the Marys, leading up to their discovery at the tomb.

195–96 he is medicyne / And bote of all. Still the first Mary refers to Jesus as “medicyne,” a medical solution to the problems of guilt and despair; see 1 Peter 2:24, which asserts, referring to Jesus’ Passion and suffering on the cross, “by whose stripes you were healed.” The actor playing Jesus who has just been seen by the audience will still seem to bear the wounds of his suffering, perhaps still wet, as the second Mary remembers them in the next speech.

203 graven under the grete. The grave, however, is almost certainly a coffer tomb, not one that is sunk into the ground.

213 anoynementis faire and clere. Mary I, identified in Towneley as Mary Magdalen, traditionally would have carried a jar containing ointment and spices, iconography in part conflating her (incorrectly) with the reformed prostitute who anointed Jesus’ feet in the house of Simon — an act which, as we have seen, plays a role in Judas’ plot to kill his Master (see Play 36, lines 129–54).

230 The hevy stone is putte aside. Suggesting the cover of the coffer tomb usually seen in depictions in the visual arts (see YA, pp. 91–92) rather than the stone which requires rolling away in Mark 16:3 and Luke 24:2, nor is it a tomb that can be entered, as in John 20:5 and in some liturgical dramas (see especially Ogden, “Visitatio Sepulchri: Public Enactment and Hidden Rite”).

235–40 Ye mournand women . . . . / Here in this place whome have ye sought? . . . Come nere and see. Compare the Quem queritis exchange in the liturgical Easter play, the Visitatio sepulchri, of which, however, there is no evidence in York service books.

243 The sudary. Love explains that the sudary was the head wrap that Jesus wore at his burial, but also indicates that the other “clothes that he was wrapped inne” were found (Mirror, p. 198). The grave clothes were presented as a prime piece of evidence of the Resurrection here as in such liturgical dramas as the well-known Fleury Visitatio (Young, Drama of the Medieval Church, 1:394–95). The sudary will be shown to the audience. While Twycross suggests that the effect, in contrast with the liturgical drama, is “curiously distant” (“Playing ‘The Resurrection,’” p. 293), we can hardly be sure that this was the case. It is not a relic like the Turin shroud, but it represents the actual cloth in which Jesus was buried and hence is likely to have had a devotional role in the drama.

260 To Galilé nowe late us wende. Mary II and Mary III go to inform the disciples of what they have seen.

267–88 Mary I’s lament, continued after the departure of the other Marys. This is made all the more urgent when it is remembered that this is Mary Magdalen, who is represented as the repentant “Sinner” and that this is a saint with whom personal identification was often very strong among some members of the audience. She is the woman who had a special love for Jesus, a point that is exploited tastelessly in the twentieth-century musical Jesus Christ Superstar. When she completes her lament, she must leave the stage, and just then the soldiers, who have been sleeping throughout the previous scene, rouse themselves to find that Jesus is gone from the grave.

310–11 Witte Sir Pilate of this affraye, / We mon be slone. While being witnesses to the Resurrection (note especially line 293a: “Rise uppe and see”), the soldiers are primarily motivated by their fear of being executed for dereliction of duty, here presented as a capital crime. At first they consider lying, but then resolve to tell the truth — that is, that it was a supernatural event; see line 332.

339 We dye but onys. Proverbial. See Whiting and Whiting, Proverbs, D243.

348ff. The soldiers, now back at Pilate’s court, will try to explain their failure. Caiphas and Anna, who are also present, recognize the importance of the event but of course misunderstand its essential character. They will make suggestions for what, in the current jargon, will be a “cover-up.” The knights will be bribed to remain quiet about the event. In Gréban’s Passion the soldiers insist on a large payment “because they are selling something very rare and precious: Truth” (Muir, Biblical Drama, p. 140).

450–51 Thus schall the sothe be bought and solde, / And treasoune schall for trewthe be tolde. Pilate emerges as a politician, one more interested in himself and in public relations affecting him, than in the truth. These words are followed by a mock benediction in which the audience is urged to hold this advice “ay in youre hartis,” a lesson quite at variance with the meaning of the Resurrection that the audience has just seen in representation.

Play 38, THE RESURRECTION: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: Bevington: David Bevington, ed., Medieval Drama (1975); Köbling: E. Köbling, “Beiträge zur Erklärung und Textkritik der York Plays”; LTS: Lucy Toulmin Smith, ed., The York Plays (1885); RB: Richard Beadle, ed., The York Plays (1972) (incorporating numerous emendations from other sources); RB²: Richard Beadle, “Corrections to The York Plays,” in Gerald Byron Kinneavy, A Concordance to the York Plays (1986), pp. xxxi–xxxii; s.d.: stage direction; Sykes: A. C. Cawley, ed., “The Sykes MS of the York Scriveners’ Play”; Towneley: Martin Stevens and A. C. Cawley, eds., The Towneley Plays.

The base text for this edition is London, British Library, MS. Add. 35290, called the “Register” in the York civic records and here identified by the abbreviation Reg. Some variations in lineation from the manuscript are not noted here; see RB and Beadle and Meredith’s The York Play: A Facsimile. In most cases the line numbering in the present text is consistent with RB. Lineation of alliterative verse throughout is based on Reg, with line numbering adjusted accordingly to account for half lines. Scribes are identified as follows: Scribe A; Scribe B: main scribe; JC: John Clerke; LH: later scribal hand (unidentified).

1 PILATUS. Reg: entered by LH.

52 Reg: line omitted by Scribe B, inserted at right by LH.

68 At left in Reg, by LH: Hic deficit.

93 tremeled, and also manne. Compare Towneley: tremlyd as a man.

147 menne. Compare Towneley: dyscyplys.

158 to. So LTS, RB, after Towneley; Reg omits.

163 Reg adds, interlined in LH after knightis: Lorde.

175 I MILES. Added by LH in Reg.

186, s.d. Tunc Jhesu resurgente. Reg: stage direction by Scribe B, in red, and, at right, JC’s addition Tunc angelus cantat Resurgens.

188 werke. Compare Towneley: warlde.

198 hym on. This edition; Reg, LTS: on hym on; RB: on hym.

217 II MARIA. So LTS, RB; Reg: I Maria; compare Towneley: Maria Jacobi.

245 his. So LTS, RB; Reg: his his.

254 Reg: at left, by LH: Et hic deficit (deleted).

257 will. Reg: partially obscured by ink blot.

259 lende. So RB; Reg: layne; so too LTS who, however, notes lende must have been intended (p. 410n).

268 Man most of myght. This line, inserted by LTS from Towneley, replaces JC’s addition in Reg: A weryd wight. Regarded as extra-metrical by RB.

281 Compare Towneley: my gylt he was fortayn.

306 I MILES. So RB, after Towneley; Reg, LTS: III Miles.

326 Compare Towneley: thousand.

346 I MILES. By LH in Reg.

383 I MILES. By LH in Reg.

397 PILATUS. Canceled but marked stet in Reg by LH.

432 CAIPHAS. Added and ruled off in Reg by JC.

Play 38, THE RESURRECTION: EXPLANATORY NOTE FOOTNOTES

Footnote 1 York Memorandum Book B/Y, p. 254.

Footnote 2 See YA, pp. 91–95.

Footnote 3 Rastall, Minstrels Playing, p. 35; Sheingorn, Easter Sepulchre in England, p. 365; and see the discussion by King, York Mystery Cycle, pp. 158–61.

Footnote 4 Northern Passion, 1:249.

Footnote 5 See RB, p. 453.