Trying to identify the roots of the stained glass and
illuminated Jesse Trees is problematic within the traditions of liturgical
dramas whether presented as part of the Mass or separately as a skit or play on
the steps of a church or on the rolling carts of a street festival. The earliest liturgical “drama” we have is
the movements and words of the priest presenting the sacrifice of the Eucharist
for the congregation. This is not
entertainment and not teaching the illiterate or marginally literate about the
Scriptures. By the Middle Ages, Latin
was the lingua franca of monks and scholars but becoming far from the spoken
vernacular. Even so, the antiphonal
recitation of psalms that can be in a question and answer form begins to mimic
the spoken or sung words of actors. The
addition of tropes to standard sections of the Mass to make the liturgy
seasonally appropriate allowed the addition of verses and music and
consequently new voices. These could
intensify the inherent drama of the Mass.
The first three Ordo Prophetarum that I discussed in Part 1 were all in
Latin verse, and therefore, would have been understood by the clergy and some
of the congregation. Unfortunately, the
surviving manuscripts all date from the same time period that Jesse Tree
stained glass windows were being made.
So one can logically ask if the profusion of prophets in the Rouen Ordo
Prophetarum influenced the specific identification of prophets in Jesse
Tree windows that came later in the 13th century. Or did the profusion of unidentified generic
prophets (and kings) in the 11th and 12th century French
Jesse Tree windows result in familiarity of the designers and glaziers with the
various procession of the prophets plays, and therefore encourage the inclusion
and identification of the prophets in Jesse Trees. I do not know if enough evidence will ever be
found to answer the question as to which elements of the various prophet
procession plays influenced Jesse Tree design or what elements of Jesse Tree
design impacted the development of Latin and vernacular drama. All the can be said is that the literary root
for Jesse Trees seems to be the sermon of Quodvultdeus, Contra Judæos,
Paganos, et Arianos: Sermo de Symbolo.
The instructional value of stained glass windows including
Jesse Trees and the so-called “Poor Man’s Bible windows” cannot be doubted. Pope Gregory the Great (pope from 590-604) wrote
a letter to Serenus, bishop of Marseilles, commenting on the value of graphic
presentation. In translation:
It is one
thing to adore a picture, another to learn from narrative pictures
what should be adored. For what scripture is to those who can read, a picture
offers to the illiterate who look at it, for in it the ignorant see what should be
imitated and those who do not understand writing read from it. For this
reason painting is above all a substitute for reading to the ordinary people.[1]
what should be adored. For what scripture is to those who can read, a picture
offers to the illiterate who look at it, for in it the ignorant see what should be
imitated and those who do not understand writing read from it. For this
reason painting is above all a substitute for reading to the ordinary people.[1]
Despite their instructional value, most of the French Jesse
Tree windows already mentioned are placed in the choir or chapels where their
predominate audience would have been monks and clergy and not the congregation
or those lay persons who gathered within the nave of the church building for
other reasons.
Probably the earliest liturgical drama was the recitation of
Quem quaeritis in sepulchro, o Christicolae? (Whom do you seek in the
grave, O Christians?) which is an adaption of John 18.4 when Jesus asks the
Roman soldiers sent to arrest him, “Whom do you seek?” The Quem quaeritis
verses preceded the opening Introit for Easter Resurrexi et adhuc tecum sum,
alleluia: (I am risen and am still with you, Alleluia). This developed further in the Matins service
to include a series of recitations called the Visit to the Tomb or Visitatio
sepulchri. These seemed to include verses
for three Maries at the tomb, Peter and John running to the tomb, and Mary Magdalene
and the gardener at the tomb. Short
dramas were written for the Supper at Emmaus as well.
The liturgical recitations expended into short plays. For Christmas there were Shepherds’ Play, Officium
Pastorum; the killing of the boys of Bethlehem (Holy Innocents), Ordo Rachelis
and Ludus Innocentium; and the play of the Magi (Officium Stellæ)
for Epiphany. (Perhaps some reader will remember struggling through The Second Shephers' Play in high school English class. I know I do.) For Holy Week, Passion
plays developed. Some plays developed
from New Testament stories such as the parable of the wise and foolish virgins,
the resurrection of Lazarus, and the Conversion of St. Paul from Acts. Other plays include apocryphal sources, Catholic legend, and pious fables. Another favorite was the Play of Daniel with
surviving music and text.
The only medieval play that we now have for which the author
and composer is known is Hildegard von Bingen’s Ordo Virtutum composed
about 1151. The sung drama in plainchant
is about the struggle for Anima (Soul), between the Virtues and the Devil. The drama begins when the Virtues are
introduced to Patriarchs and Prophets, not specified. The embodied souls sing about being pilgrims
and the struggles and temptations of the world.
Anima admits she does not fit into a celestial gown instead wanting to
enjoy the world as the Devil enters and tells Anima to “Look to the world.” Anima goes to live in the world. The Virtues including Humility argue with the
“ancient dragon.” Then the Virtues
individually contend with the Devil by describing how each is a defender of the
Soul/Anima and a dweller in Paradise.
The Virtues are: Humility, Love, Fear of God, Obedience, Faith, Hope,
Chastity, Innocence, Contempt for the World, Celestial Love, Discipline,
Modesty, Victory, Discretion, and Patience.
In the meantime, Anima is now in woe from her sins and calls upon the
Virtues. Anima is afraid and the Virtues
comfort her. The Anima confesses that
she is an exiled pilgrim who needs “the blood of the son of God” to raise her
up. The Devil is angry with Anima for
forsaking him. The Devil goes on to
taunt Chastity. The Devil is vanquished
as the Virtues sing a hymn in praise of God and to His son who stretches his
hand out to all sinners.[2]
One particular collection of plays that is usually given
special attention is the Fleury Playbook.
The Fleury play book is just one part of a larger manuscript that
includes sermons and hymns that was assembled at the Abbey of Saint Benedict
(Saint-Benoît) at Fleury on the Loire River in France. The manuscripts dating from the late 12th
century contains ten liturgical drama including three on the life of Saint
Nicholas. The manuscript is housed at
the Bibliothèque de la Ville Orleans (MS 201).
A play that is hard to categorize is Orde representacionis
Ade that goes by titles such as Le Mystère d'Adam, Jeu D’Adam or Play of
Adam.[3] A 12th century Anglo-Norman mystery play
presents the stories of Adam and Eve and Cain and Abel from Genesis in the
first act. This mystery play has a
second act with the prophets being called upon to speak about the coming
Messiah. The play is now
incomplete. It is written in a
vernacular Anglo-Norman interspersed with Latin. It was transcribed by someone who spoke a
southern dialect (since bits of langue d’oc creep in). The play is not liturgical drama but was
presented outside on the west steps of the church with the church doors
standing in for the gates of Heaven. There are simple props such as a bench and
chair, with more elaborate costumes and hand-held props. The steps served as a separation of Heaven
from Hell. This play is based upon
liturgical text used at Christmas and Easter, though it might have been presented
just before or during Lent.[4] The procession of the prophets that
concludes the Play of Adam includes different prophets and different
texts than the Play of the
Prophets(Ordo Prophetarum). In any case, this mystery play may reflect the 1210
edict from Pope Innocent III forbidding clergy and monks from acting in
public. This undoubted led to the
secularization of theatre.
The Play of Adam opens with Abraham who has a very long beard. After his speech, Abraham is taken to Hell by
devils. Abraham is followed by Moses and
then Aaron who is holding a staff with flowers and fruit (nuts?), and then
David enters dressed as a king with ornate crown. They do not recite words from their
respective books of the Bible but focus on the fruit of Salvation (Aaron) or
the king of the earth that brings peace and destroys war (David). Solomon speaks about the son of God who was
slain at the hands of the master of the law (a not so oblique reference to
Jews). Balaam then arrives seated on an
ass, speaking first in Latin the lines from Numbers 24.17, “A star shall rise out
of Jacob and a scepter shall spring up from Israel: and shall strike the chiefs
of Moab, and shall waste all the children of Seth.” (Douay-Rheims). In the vernacular he speaks of how Christ is
a bright star that shines over the earth.
Then comes Daniel, Habakkuk, Jeremiah, and Isaiah. Isaiah has a book in his hand and wears a
great cloak. Isaiah opens with “egredietur virga de radice Iesse et flos de
radice eius ascendet et requiescet
super eum specie Domini.” Again there is an error that could have
occurred at any number of steps needed to get a 20th century print
edition. The Vulgate reads, “et egredietur virga de radice Iesse et flos
de radice eius ascendet et requiescet super eum spiritus Domini,” translated as “And there shall come forth
a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him…”
Isaiah 11.1-2a. (translation Douay-Rheims)
When Isaiah enters, a discourse between Isaiah and Jew (Judeus) ensues. Isaiah tells the Jew he is sick with
error. Isaiah says he will prophesy but
the Jew calls it soothsaying. Then
Isaiah quotes the verse Isaiah 7.14 and Matthew 1.23 but neither one exactly, “Behold
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel” Isaiah expands on the verse to say that Mary
is that Virgin who will bear the Savior who will bring Adam from suffering into
Paradise. The last character
to come on stage is Nebuchadnezzar who enters with a short Latin dialogue about the
three Jewish boys in the fiery furnace.
The exact Latin is taken from Quodvultdeus’ Sermon and not a Biblical
text. The manuscript ends in the middle
of Nebuchadnezzar’s speech.
Scholars have speculated
as to how the procession of the prophets ended.
It seems likely that the speech of Nebuchadnezzar was followed by a
Sibylline prophesy and then the Benedicamus. On
the other hand if the play ended with Benedictus es, Domine or Benedicite, omnia opera Domini, there would be no need to add a section
for the Sibyl since both fit directly with the story of the three youths in the
furnace and would require nothing further.
I tried a bit of an
experiment to see if I could link a Latin verse spoken by the prophets to a
specific verse in the Vulgate. For
Habakkuk or Habacuc 3.2: Domine
audivi auditionem tuam et timui Domine opus tuum in medio annorum vivifica is
translated “O Lord, I have heard thy hearing, and was afraid. O Lord, thy work in the midst of the years bring it to life …”(Douay-Rheims) In the Play of Adam, the monk has Abacuc
say,:Domine audivi auditum tuum et
timui; et expavi. In medio duum animalium cognosceri. (Lord, I have heard thy speech and was
afraid: I trembled with fear. In the midst of two animals learn [or you shall
be recognized].) Clearly there are lots
of ways a translation can go wrong. The
Author did have not a copy of the Vulgate text or probably even some sort of
service book where the line from the prophet might be written down. He was working from memory. Then the work was written down and
transcribed by several persons who may or may not been fluent in the original
languages. In any case, the language of
Jeu d’Adam was spoken in England and a wide swath of France under the control
of the Plantagenet kings of England. It
seems to fit comfortably between the Ordo
Prophetarum and the Middle English
Mystery play of England.
When thinking about
liturgical drama in England, one remembers cycles of plays from York (47 or 48
plays), Wakefield or Townley (30 or 32 plays), Chester (24 plays), and N-town
or Ludus Coventriæ or Hegge plays(42). To this are added one or two plays from
places such as Coventry (Shearmen and Tailors’play and Weavers’ play), Newcastle,
Norwich, and Northampton, and from Brome in Suffolk. Other towns may have produced plays but no
surviving examples exist. These towns
include Aberdeen, Bath, Beverley, Bristol, Canterbury, Dublin, Ipswich,
Leicester, Worcester, Lincoln, and perhaps London. Plays in Cornish also have survived. It is hard to date these plays. They are written in vernacular Middle English
with some Latin interspersed. The plays
we now have date from the second half of the1400s to the 1600s. Though it is possible that plays were
performed at a much earlier date, but there is no surviving information.
For the Chester cycle
of plays there are five surviving versions in eight different manuscripts with
some significant differences between the versions. One version has the drama of Jesus Christ’s
trial and flagellation as one play, but another version has this same set of
events presented as two plays. Since
there was far from standard orthography, there are spelling differences among
the versions. Also, there are also
differences in the texts with lines and even speeches in one copy but not in
another. Even counting the number of
plays can be problematic since it is not always easy to tell if the verses were
presented as separate plays or scenes from one play. In the case of the N-town plays, among plays
numbered 8-11 and 13, there is a Play of Mary.
There is not much evidence that cycles of medieval mystery
plays that have survived were performed as a complete cycle. Though what evidence there is, suggests that
performance of these plays was from fixed stages or wagon stages outdoors once
they ceased to be liturgical dramas performed within the church. Except for Orde representacionis Ade or Jeu d’Adam, there is not much evidence that
the plays were performed on the steps of churches or cathedrals. Therefore,
presentation during a season of better weather such as Corpus Christi seems
logical.[5] The Feast of Corpus Christi, instituted in
1264, is celebrated on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday or the second Sunday
of Pentecost. The cycle of plays from
the city of York is referred to a Corpus Christi plays and they were performed
from pageant wagons.[6] The plays range from the creation of the
angels and the fall of Lucifer to the creation of Adam and Eve and the
Fall. The Old Testament (and apocryphal
material) plays end with Pharaoh and Moses.
The New Testament stories pick up with the Annunciation, Nativity,
Shepherds, Magi, Flight into Egypt, Baptism of Jesus, the Transfiguration,
Entry into Jerusalem, Last Supper, Trial, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Road to
Emmaus, Ascension, and Pentecost. The
play continues with the apocryphal stories about the Death of Mary, the
Assumption of Mary, Coronation of the Virgin and ends with Doomsday. Despite the length of the York cycle, there
is no procession of the prophets included.
There is a reference to Isaiah 11.1 in the play The Annunciation to Mary
and the Visitation (lines 80-80). [7]
This prophett sais
for oure socoure,
Egredietur virga de Jesse, [There shall come forth a rod out of Jesse]
A wande sall brede of Jesse boure.
And of this same also, sais hee,
Upponne that wande sall springe a floure [flower]
Wheron the Haly Gast sall be
To governe it with grete honnoure.
That wande meynes untill us [signifies for us]
This mayden, even and morne,
And the floure is Jesus,
That of that blyst bees borne.
Egredietur virga de Jesse, [There shall come forth a rod out of Jesse]
A wande sall brede of Jesse boure.
And of this same also, sais hee,
Upponne that wande sall springe a floure [flower]
Wheron the Haly Gast sall be
To governe it with grete honnoure.
That wande meynes untill us [signifies for us]
This mayden, even and morne,
And the floure is Jesus,
That of that blyst bees borne.
<http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/users/yorkdoom/249rsm.jpg>
The Chester cycle of plays is incomplete and the surviving
manuscripts date from late 1500s and early 1600s. This cycle does not have a procession of the
prophets among its plays.
The Towneley manuscript plays or the Wakefield cycle, from
the town of Wakefield in the West Riding of Yorkshire, does have a play, The
Prophets, that clearly has its foundation in the Ordo Prophetarum from
France.[8] Instead of the usual few lines that each
character might have in the Ordo Prophetarum plays, the author of the
Wakefield Prophets play has given just four characters much longer
monologues. It opens with Moses speaking
in Latin:
Prophetam excitabit
deus de fratribus vestris;
Omnis anima, que non
audierit prophetam illum,
exterminabitur de
populo suo;
Nemo propheta sine
honore nisi in patriâ suâ.
God shall raise up to
you a prophet of your brothers;
Every soul who does
not listen to that prophet
shall be cut off
from his people.
No prophet is
without honor save in his own country.
These lines seem to be an adaptation of what Peter speaks in Acts
3.22-3:
Moses quidem dixit quia prophetam vobis suscitabit Dominus Deus
veste
de fratribus vestris tamquam me ipsum audietis iuxta omnia quaecumque
locutus fuerit vobis erit autem omnis anima quae non audierit prophetam
illum exterminabitur de plebe.
de fratribus vestris tamquam me ipsum audietis iuxta omnia quaecumque
locutus fuerit vobis erit autem omnis anima quae non audierit prophetam
illum exterminabitur de plebe.
For Moses said: A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you o
your brethren, like unto me: him you shall hear according to all things
whatsoever he shall speak to you.
your brethren, like unto me: him you shall hear according to all things
whatsoever he shall speak to you.
And it shall be, that every soul which will not hear that prophet,
shall be
destroyed from among the people. (Douay-Rheims)
destroyed from among the people. (Douay-Rheims)
The original reference is to Deuteronomy 18.18-19:
I will raise them up a prophet out of the midst of their brethren like
to
thee: and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them
all that I shall command him. And he that will not hear his words,
which he shall speak in my name, I will be the revenger. (Douay-Rheims)
thee: and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them
all that I shall command him. And he that will not hear his words,
which he shall speak in my name, I will be the revenger. (Douay-Rheims)
OR
I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their own people;
I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to
them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words
that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.
(NRSV)
I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet, who shall speak to
them everything that I command. Anyone who does not heed the words
that the prophet shall speak in my name, I myself will hold accountable.
(NRSV)
The last line about the honor of a prophet are the words of Jesus as
written down in Mark 6.4 and Matthew 13.57:… propheta sine honore nisi in
patria sua …(A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country).
Moses in the Wakefield Prophet’s play has a rather long speech of 58
lines. After the Latin introduction, Moses
recalls the fall of Adam and then goes on to speak about the coming Messiah
whom all humankind will follow. The
Messiah will take them, the prophets of old, from Hell, a reference to the
Hallowing of Hell:[9]
Therfor will god, styr
and rayse
A prophete, in som man
dayes,
Of oure brethere kyn [brother]
And all trowes as he
says, [believe or think]
And will walk in his
ways,
ffrom hell he will
theym twyn. [separate]
Moses concludes with a rhymed recitation of the Ten Commandments in
Middle English.
Moses is followed by King David who reminds the audience that he is
Jesse’s son. He is king of Israel and
plays a harp to announce to men that:
ffor god will that
his son down send
That wroght adam
with his hend,
And heuen and erth
mayde.
He will lyght fro
heuen towre, [He will (be) light
from heaven’s tower]
ffor to be mans
saueyoure, … [savior]
David is followed by Sibyl who opens with a quote from the Ordo
Prophetarum:
Iudicii signum
tellus sudore madescit,
E celo rex adueniet
per secla futurus,
Scilicet in carne
presens vt iudicet orbem.
Sign of
judgment-soil drenched with sweat
From Heaven the
King will come throughout the ages
That is to say,
present in the flesh to judge the world.
The Sibyl is followed by Daniel who also opens with a line in Latin
from the Ordo Prophetarum. His speech is short. It seems as though there is material missing
from the play. The script is incomplete.
The N-Town
or Nomen-Town manuscript is a compilation of separate plays in a large
cycle. The authors are unknown though
there has been suggested that the poet John Lydgate may have had something to
do with the authorship of the plays.
Many places have been suggested as the origin of the plays including the
large Benedictine monastery of Bury St. Edmund.[10] For now at least, the consensus of scholars is
East Anglia. The plays range from simple
to quite complex. The assembler of the
texts put them in order from creation of heaven to Judgment Day. So the order of the plays by time of
composition, even the existence of plays such as a Play of Mary, has been
impossible to disentangle except in general outline. The N-town plays are the only set of plays
that includes Play 7, “Root of Jesse” that serves as a procession of the
prophets with noteworthy additions. [11] The N-town plays are connected with Corpus
Christi only by the words “The plaie called Corpus Christi” written across the
top of the first page of the manuscript.[12] The time and manner of performance of the
N-town plays is not known though there is plenty of evidence that individual
plays from the cycle were preformed independently of the cycle and on various
occasions during the year.
N-town
plays are found in British Library MS. Cotton Vespasian D.VIII.[13] The N-town mystery plays date from the
1463-1477, and so are later than most stained glass Jesse Trees. Yet, these plays carry forward the earlier
type of play especially in plays such as “Root of Jesse.”. In the N-town cycle of plays, Play 7 is the
“Root of Jesse.” This play is
unique in English mystery dramas. Though
it is a type of procession of the prophets, the author added a selection of the
kings of Judah . The play uses the old
method of calling prophets to testify for the need of a Savior called Jesus. The author of the N-town Root of Jesse
presents a king and then a prophet, a bit like the kings and prophets in Jesse
Tree windows.
For Jeremiah, one might have expected the lines from
Jeremiah 33.15.
15. in
diebus illis et in tempore illo germinare faciam David germen
iustitiae et faciet iudicium et iustitiam in terra (Vulgate)
iustitiae et faciet iudicium et iustitiam in terra (Vulgate)
15. In those
days, and at that time, I will make the bud of justice
to spring forth unto David, and he shall do judgment and justice
in the earth.(Douay-Rheims)
to spring forth unto David, and he shall do judgment and justice
in the earth.(Douay-Rheims)
15. In those
days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch
to spring up for David; and he execute justice and righteousness
in the land. (NRSV)
to spring up for David; and he execute justice and righteousness
in the land. (NRSV)
Instead, the author of the Root of Jesse gives these lines
to Jeremiah:
Affermynge pleynly beforn this audyens [plainly, audience]
That God of his high benyvolens
Of prest and kynge wyll take lynage
And bye us all from oure offens [buy or redeem]
In hevyn to have his herytage.
That God of his high benyvolens
Of prest and kynge wyll take lynage
And bye us all from oure offens [buy or redeem]
In hevyn to have his herytage.
Similarly for Micah, the author gives the prophets lines
that have no Biblical basis though there may be an echo of Micah 5.2:
But you, O Bethlehem of Ephrathah, who are one of the little
clans of Judah,
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. (NRSV)
from you shall come forth for me one who is to rule in Israel,
whose origin is from of old, from ancient days. (NRSV)
Prophet Michaes’ lines from The Root of Jesse (lines 53-56):
And I am a prophete calde Mycheas.
I telle yow pleynly that thus it is: [plainly]
Evyn lyke as Eve modyr of wo was, [Even like as Eve mother of woe was]
So shal a maydyn be modyr of blyss. [So shall a maiden be mother of bliss.]
I telle yow pleynly that thus it is: [plainly]
Evyn lyke as Eve modyr of wo was, [Even like as Eve mother of woe was]
So shal a maydyn be modyr of blyss. [So shall a maiden be mother of bliss.]
The Root of Jesse. has a few lines:
Egredietur virga de radice Jesse A
rod comes forth from Jesse
Et flos de radice eius ascendet. And grows out of his root.
A blyssyd braunch shal sprynge of me A blessed branch shall spring of me
Et flos de radice eius ascendet. And grows out of his root.
A blyssyd braunch shal sprynge of me A blessed branch shall spring of me
That shal be swettere than bawmys breth. That shall be sweeter than balm’s breath
Out of that braunch in Nazareth Out of that branch in
Nazareth
A flowre shal blome of me, Jesse Rote, A flower shall bloom of me, Jesse’s Root
The which by grace shal dystroye deth Which by grace will destroy death
And brynge mankende to blysse most sote. And bring mankind to most sweet scented bliss.
A flowre shal blome of me, Jesse Rote, A flower shall bloom of me, Jesse’s Root
The which by grace shal dystroye deth Which by grace will destroy death
And brynge mankende to blysse most sote. And bring mankind to most sweet scented bliss.
Comparison
of the texts that are used in the “Sermon against Jews, Pagans, and Heretics,” with the Ordo Prophetarum from France,
the Anglo-Norman Jeu d’Adam, the Towneley/Wakefield Prophets play and
the N-Town Root of Jesse and the differences between the surviving manuscripts
is far beyond the scope of this discussion.
For the purposes of understanding which Old Testament figures appear
with regularity in Jesse Tree stained glass windows and illuminations, it is
useful to look at the names of the prophets, kings, and other Biblical and
extra-Biblical personages that appear in these four different sources for the
Jesse Tree. Table 2 is a listing of the dramatis
personæ from the four works. The
list of names is useful since it explains in part why certain kings and
prophets appear with greater frequency in Jesse Tree stained glass windows.[14] The occurrence of these persons in public
performances increases the awareness of them by the persons who designed and
constructed stained glass windows, as well as the monks and artists
illustrating psalters and gospel books. In turn, the awareness of the figures that
make up a Jesse Tree, especially the iconography associated with King David and
King Solomon, would make the audience attending these plays look for certain
characters. For France there is some
evidence that the Jesse Tree stained glass windows developed in parallel with
the production of plays on the topic of the prophecy of the Messiah. In England, the plays that survived until now
all date to after the Jesse Tree windows were already made or being made for
churches and cathedrals.
Table 2. Comparison of
the Dramatis Personae of Four Plays
Play of the Prophets or Ordo Prophetarum from the Laon
script
|
Play of Adam or Orde representacionis Ade or Jeu
d’Adam
|
The Prophets from the Towneley or Wakefield cycle
|
Root of Jesse from the N-town play cycle
|
Moses
|
Moses
|
Moses
|
|
Aaron
|
|||
David
|
David
|
David
|
David
|
Solomon
|
Solomon
|
||
Rehoboam
|
|||
Abijah
|
|||
Asa
|
|||
Jehoshaphat
|
|||
Joram or Jehoram
|
|||
Uzziah/Azariah
|
|||
Jotham
|
|||
Ahaz
|
|||
Hezekiah
|
|||
Manasseh
|
|||
Amon
|
|||
Balaam & a boy under the ass
|
Balaam
|
||
Isaiah
|
Isaiah
|
Isaiah
|
|
Jeremiah
|
Jeremiah
|
Jeremiah
|
|
Baruch
|
|||
Ezekiel
|
|||
Daniel
|
Daniel
|
Daniel
|
Daniel
|
Hosea
|
|||
Joel
|
|||
Obadiah
|
|||
Jonah
|
|||
Micah
|
|||
Habakkuk
|
Habakkuk
|
Habakkuk
|
|
Zephaniah/Sophonias
|
|||
Haggai
|
|||
Simeon
|
|||
Nebuchadnezzar
|
|||
Elizabeth
|
|||
John the Baptist
|
|||
Sibyl
|
Sibyl
|
||
Virgil
|
|||
Root of Jesse
|
[1]
Barbara C.Raw. Anglo-Saxon Crucifixion Iconography and the Art of the Monastic
Revival (1990) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[2]
<file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/Ordo%20Virtutum%20(2).pdf>
[3]Muir,
Lynette R. Biblical Drama of Medieval
Europe. (2003) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
[4]
Fassler, Margaret. “Representations of Time in Ordo representacionis Ade:
Introduction.”Yale French Studies
Special Issue: Contexts: Style and Values in Medieval
Art and Literature (1991), pp. 97-113.
[5]
For a more complete description of the plays and their presentation, see Davidson,
Clifford, ed. “Introduction” in The York Corpus Christi Plays. Texts are available online. <http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/davidson-york-corpus-christi-plays-introduction>
[6]
The York Corpus Christi plays are unique.
The more than 13,000 lines of verse are found in a manuscript in the
British Library, MS. Add. 35290. Texts
are online at: <http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/publication/davidson-the-york-corpus-christi-plays.>
[7]
<http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/davidson-play-12-the-annunciation-to-mary-and-the-visitation> The east window of the parish church St.
Denys in York contains the fragmented remains of a five lancet Jesse Tree
window. The original Jesse Tree window probably dated from the 14th
century. <http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/york-st-Denys/images/Ew-150914.JPG> St. Michael Spurriergate, York, also has a
fragmented Jesse Tree window, s.4, from the 15th century. <http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/YorkStMSp/images/s4-whole-120354.jpg> York Minster has a late 14th
century Jesse Tree window from New College Chapel, Oxford, and its own Jesse
Tree window from 1310 with later restorations.
It is located on the south side of the nave (window 30 or s.XXXIII) <http://www.therosewindow.com/pilot/Yorkmin/images/York-Min-w30-120916-18.JPG>
[8]
<http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=cme;idno=Towneley>
[9]
The Towneley Plays.(1966) London: Oxford University Press for Early
English Text Society. <http://www.hti.umich.edu/c/cme/> <
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/Towneley/1:7?rgn=div1;view=toc> “The Prophets” in The Towneley Plays <http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/Towneley/1:7?rgn=div1;view=fulltext>
[10]
Gail M. Gibson. Bury St. Edmunds, Lydgate, and the N-Town Cycle. Speculum
(1981) Vol. 56(1) 56-90.
[11]
<http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/sugano-n-town-plays-play-7-root-of-jesse> The name of the community at which the plays
were presented was substituted for Nomen or Name.
[12]
Davidson, Clifford, ed. “Introduction” in
The York Corpus Christi Plays.
<http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/davidson-york-corpus-christi-plays-introduction>
[13]
Sugano, Douglas, ed. N-Town Plays.(2007) Kalamazoo, MI: Medieval
Institute Publications. <http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/publication/sugano-the-n-town-plays> Rosemary Woolf. The English Mystery
Plays.(1980) Berkley and Los Angeles. University of California Press.
[14]
Stone, Edward N. “A Translation of the Pseudo-Augustine Sermon against Jews,
Pagans and Arians concerning the Creed.” University of Washington Publications
in Language and Literature (1928): 4(3). 195-214. Young, Karl. “Ordo Prophetarum” Transactions
of the University of Wisconsin Academy of Science, Art and Letters. (1921)
20:1-82. Sugano, Douglas, ed. “Play 7.
Root of Jesse” from the N-Town Plays. (2007)Kalamazoo: Medieval
Institute Publication. < http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/sugano-n-town-plays-play-7-root-of-jesse> Vaughan, M.F. “The Prophets of the
‘Anglo-Norman ‘Adam’”Traditio (1983) 39: 81-114. <http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=cme;idno=Towneley>
No comments:
Post a Comment