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293 10 0 1592

 

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

COMMERCIALISM IN THE FIFTEENTH
CENTURY ENGLISH CYCLE PLAYS

presented by

Kenneth Arthur Howe

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph.D. , English
degree in

 

 

(102,49le

/ Major profw
Date May 15, 1979

 

 

 

[yum :% gag” ‘E‘Q‘F‘

OVERDUE FINES ARE 25¢ PER DAY
PER ITEM

Return to book drop to remove
this checkout from your record

 

 

 

COMMERCIALISM IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH CYCLE PLAYS

By

Kenneth Arthur Howe

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of English

1979

 

 

ABSTRACT

COMMERCIALISM IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH CYCLE PLAYS

BY

Kenneth Arthur Howe

Traditionally, the English cycle plays have been viewed for their
artistry or their place in literary history. Until recently, little has
been done to determine how these plays may have functioned in medieval
society, especially in a commercial sense. This dissertation analyzes the
fifteenth century English cycle plays, and the circumstances of their
production, to see what commercial advantages the cycles could have
afforded their producers, the craft guilds.

Although the mystery plays were outrightly religious dramas, other
motives also apparently prompted their production. The world around the
cycle plays was.increasingly a commercial one. The number of people in-
volved in commerce and trade in fifteenth century England increased sub-
stantially; markets and fairs spread throughout England; the towns were
filled with artisans, tradesmen and peddlers who hawked their goods to
passers-by on the streets. Even religion became a business. Rome com-
mercialized the Catholic faith, while the pilgrimage routes throughout
England and the Continent became ”tourist traps." The trade guildsmen of
medieval England stood at the center of this growing commercialism, and

their involvement in guild activities, whether civic processions, charitable

 

 

Kenneth Arthur Howe

rounds, or the cycle plays, often manifested their commercial proclivi-

ties. In fact, at Worcester, the town proclamation announcing the cycle
plays declared that the plays were being presented for the "profite and

encrese of seid city, and also all craftis that ben contributory to the

same."

This study suggests the craft guilds would have seen a commercial
potential in their cycle plays for several reasons. For one thing, the
plays were usually perfbrmed during the Corpus Christi festival, a time
when great crowds (a "market," in modern terms) visited the towns.
Secondly, those tradesmen who could not afford the time or expense of
traveling to the large commercial fairs would welcome a convenient and
economical medium such as the plays for promoting their goods. In addi-
tion, records from London show that trade guilds in that city sometimes
used their involvement in public processions and pageants to display their
products and distribute samples to onlookers. This practice could be com-
mercially advantageous; it could also be adopted easily by guildsmen in
other English towns. Finally, many trade guilds suffered from low public
opinion in the Middle Ages, and putting on a successful Corpus Christi
play could help the public standing of these guilds.

Examination of the major cycles indicates that commercial advantages
for the craft guilds producing the plays could occur in three ways. In
their own plays, the guilds could often manipulate or utilize dramatic
text to allow promotion of craft goods or services to the viewing public.
The most outstanding example of this occurs in the York couchers and

tapiters' Dream of Pilate's Wife where lines have been added to the tradi-

 

tional text to direct audience attention to guild products, in effect to

advertise those products to the public attending the dramas.

 

Kenneth Arthur Howe

A second type of commercial promotion which the craft guilds could
find in the plays occurred in the plays produced by one guild, but in-
corporating products supplied by another guild. The tailors could exhi—
bit their skills in many of the productions, displaying their newest
styles and creations, especially in the plays which included courtiers
or the aristocratic class; the shoemakers could use almost any of the
dramas to display their products for various levels of society also;
the glovers and girdlers could do the same. Examples in this category
pervade the cycles.

Finally, through their cycle plays, the craft guilds could develop
what we would call a public relations campaign. The bakers present a

good example. Their association with the Last Supper provided them a

 

dual opportunity for commercial gain. First, the bakers could, and
apparently did at times, distribute samples of their breads to the
audience at the plays. This gesture could enhance the bakers' public
standing, possibly their sales. However, the bakers' presentation of
the central play of the Corpus Christi festival could benefit them
further. In effect, the bakers created a ”service advertisement" by
allying themselves with a profoundly important part of peoples' religious
convictions, and presenting the genesis of this belief dramatically; a
proper enactment of this "service ad" could definitely enhance the
bakers in their customers' eyes. Examination of the cycles shows that
any other guilds who suffered from sinking public esteem and who were
associated with particularly important plays in the religious cycles
could benefit similarly.

Because the records regarding production of the cycle plays are

scant, and because medieval terminology did not include the convenient

 

 

Kenneth Arthur Howe

jargon we possess for commercial advertising and public relations work,
much of this study rests on inference and hypothetical analyses. How-
ever, certain elements of commercialism in the cycle plays are identi-
fiable and provide a provocative View of one further way the cycle plays

could function in medieval England.

 

 

To Donna, Mark and Kendall

ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My special thanks go to John Yunck who, as both my first professor
in graduate school and director of my dissertation, managed to be con—
stantly supportive. I am also very grateful to Pat D'Itri and Ben

Hickok for their continuous encouragement.

iii

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES .
CHAPTER I: THE LITERATURE OF MEDIEVAL DRAMA

English Cycle Plays: The Traditional Views
Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER II: COMMERCIALISM IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
Footnotes

CHAPTER III: GUILD COMMERCIAL AIMS IN RELATION TO THE CYCLE
PLAYS .

Footnotes
CHAPTER IV: COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES IN THE CYCLE PLAYS

The Tanners of Chester and York

The Plasterers' Play of the Creation .

The Shipwrights and the Ark

The Roofers and the Nativity . . . .
The York Girdlers and the Massacre of the Innocents
The Cordwainers (Shoemakers) and Their "Casts of Thousands"
Costuming and the Tailors

Costuming and the Glovers

Costuming and the Armourers .

Stage Properties and the Chester Deluge Play .

Stage Properties and the Nailers . . . .

Stage Properties and the Armourers .

The Bakers and the Last Supper .

Conclusion . . . . .

Footnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . .

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . .

iv

Page

15

30

38
61
69

78
80
84
90
93
95
101
103

. 106

109

. 110

113
116
122
127

. 154

 

 

 

Figure

10.
11.
12.
13.
14.

15.

LIST OF FIGURES

One of the Magi
Interior of a goldsmith's shop, c. 1460
External parge decoration, York, c. 1557 .

Fruit and leaf parge-work

Noah building the Ark, Carpenters Hall mural .

The Shipwrights' Arms

Knightly girdles .

Late fourteenth century shoes
Alabaster carving of the Nativity

Eleanor of Aquitaine (by Cybis)

Effigy of Earl of Warwick in armour, c. 1454 .

Alabaster carvings of the Betrayal .
Bakers' trademarks, sixteenth century
The Bakers' Ordinary (partial)

Service advertisement on the Seder .

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CHAPTER I

THE LITERATURE OF MEDIEVAL DRAMA

Traditionally, the English cycle plays have been studied for their

artistry or their place in literary history. More recent scholars have

 

gone beyond these approaches to determine how the plays may have func—
tioned in medieval society.1 This latter approach has generated a new
and provocative view of the cycle plays, one which sees possible com-

mercial elements in their production. However, this possibility has

 

been only minimally explored.2 In this dissertation, therefore, I in-
tend to examine closely the English cycle plays and the world around
them, to explore this new view and determine whether the plays may have

functioned commercially for their producers, the craft guilds.

English Cycle Plays: The Traditional Views

 

The cycle plays have only recently been examined for commercial
elements in part because of the previous concern for establishing the
plays' proper place in literary history. The scholars engaged in this
work generally fall into three groups. Some, like Chambers and Salter,
feel medieval drama is important primarily for its contributions to the
Elizabethan stage.3 Others, however, view the cycle plays as important
extensions of the literary and theatrical traditions which preceded
them.4 Finally, scholars like Craig and Cargill reject the evolutionist
view of the cycle plays to stress the unique, inherent value of these

plays regardless of what preceded or followed them.5

1

 

 

 

 

I\)

Another major reason why the cycle plays have not been studied for
their commercial potential has been the extensive scholarship devoted to
artistry and reproduction of the plays. Ever since scholars like Matthews
asserted that the medieval dramas lacked skilled playwrights, effective
acting and dramatic unity,6 numerous other scholars have attempted to
disprove this view.

Arnold Williams has used guild records, civic ordinances, play texts
and staging practices to show that the medieval dramas were actually
very stageworthy pieces rather than ponderous renditions<xfreligious
doctrine.7 The craft guilds that produced the plays spent extensive sums
to put them on; play texts show how emblematic movement and dress were
used to overcome the physical limitations of pageant wagons no larger
than eight by eighteen feet as stages for the cycle plays; many towns
fined guilds and actors for unsuitable productions.

The stageworthiness of these plays also appears through the elements
of struggle, contrast and suspense which characterize many of the religi-
ous dramas. Williams selects the Chester healing of the blind man epi-
sode to show how dialogue, stage directions and timing were used to create
gripping drama in the mystery plays. The dramatic unity of this Chester
example is one illustration of Williams' contention that the English
cycle plays were carefully selected and produced for their dramatic
worth.

M. James Young, trying to counter the earlier dramatists, literary
historians and philologists who, he says, have done ”an excellent job
of destroying the English mystery cycles," shows how a definite unity
exists among the major cycles based on their scope, the conflicts their

. . . . . 8
protagon1sts face, and the 1nten51ty of their central action. Because

 

 

 

 

tn

the cycles deal with the Creation to Doomsday span, contain distinct
conflicts between pairings of adversaries like God-Satan, Cain-Abel,
Christ-Pilate, and depict the depth of despair in man's fall and the
magnitude of God's love in the redemption, Young sees a pervasive unity
within the cycles and says they should be viewed as coherent works
rather than as fragmented or semi—detached dramatic pieces.

R. T. Davies also takes a comparative look at the English cycles
to show the principles of structure and organization which unify them.

Davies uses the Ludus Coventriae as a sample cycle to show the breadth

 

of the cycle dramas. He then examines all extant versions of the

Abraham and Isaac plays to show the diversity possible in these dramas.

 

Based on these examples, Davies finds that strict chronology and the
use of comprehensive themes were the two principles which gave the cycles
unity and structure and solidified their impact on medieval audiences.

John Gardner relies on a literary analysis to demonstrate how the
Wakefield cycle is one particular example of unity in the Corpus Christi
productions.10 Using analyses of stanza form, language patterns, verbal
repetition, imagery patterns, trasitional devices and the inclusion of
social criticism, Gardner details a comprehensive unity in the Wakefield
plays and concludes the "Wakefield master” may have played a larger role
in the creation of the cycle than previously supposed.

Other individual cycles have also been analyzed for their artistry
and unity. Richard Daniels contends the N-town cycle was actually
designed to honor the Virgin.11 Its unity derives from this purpose;
even the Old Testament plays in this cycle emphasize the Virgin. In
addition, the image of the kiss, one which appears seventeen times in the

forty-two plays, reinforces the unity of the N-town cycle in Daniels' view.

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Travis feels that the Chester cycle is carefully designed to
illustrate the Apostles' Creed.12 Like Kolve and Prosser, Travis be—
lieves the cycle plays were meant to be didactic, to educate their
audiences and involve them dramatically in Christian doctrine. The
Chester cycle achieves this through its dramatization of the components
of the Creed. To illustrate this, Travis has formulated a chart which
breaks down the creed item by item and then shows what play(s) correspond
to each portion of the creed, e.g. "Credo in Deum...” = the Creation
play.

In an effort to show that the cycle plays were well-managed and
efficiently produced, current scholars have also attempted to determine
the exact methods used for staging the plays. How the cycle plays were
staged has long puzzled scholars, some believing processional staging
was the prevalent method, others seeing stationary staging as the more
common practice. Perhaps the most important contribution to understand-

ing staging and the cycle plays comes from Alan Nelson‘s Medieval English

 

Stage.13 Using a thorough time and motion study of the York plays which
allows for one thousand lines spoken per hour and twelve stops each for
the various pageants, Nelson concludes processional staging would have
been impossible at York within the confines of the one day presentation
time allotted for the plays. Even though the plays were scheduled to
begin at 4:30 a.m. and were acknowledged in town clerk Burton's records
to require artificial light for their completion after dark, Nelson
calculates the whole cycle would have taken thirty-eight hours to com—
plete. In his view this obviates the possibility that the York cycle
was staged processionally. Nelson feels that there was in fact a pro—

cession of the plays through York's streets, but one used only to present

 

a very brief two or three stanza exposition of the pageants, after which
the total cycle was performed in the common hall for city and visiting
dignitaries. Nelson cites city records which establish that the mayor
of York and his contingent watched the cycle plays from inside the hall
at times. He also points out that the York cycle contains no references
to riders on horseback as further proof that the plays were performed
indoors rather than out.14

Nelson applies a similar analysis to Wakefield to show how proces-
sional staging was not characteristic of that cycle either.15 Pointing
out that Wakefield's records are very sparse, Nelson says we can piece
together information about staging techniques at Wakefield by using York
records since the plays of the two cycles in many cases are very similar,
and the towns are not distant from one another. Based on these correla-
tions, Nelson concludes the staging arrangements at Wakefield must have
been similar to those at York except that the stationary performance of
the Wakefield cycle took place out of doors on a common area rather than
inside the hall as at York.

As a result of the work of Nelson and these numerous other scholars,
the belief that processional staging of the cycle plays was the norm in
medieval England has dwindled substantially. Margaret Dorrell remains
as one of the few who still support the idea of processional staging at
York.16 She presents town records which she feels show the York plays
were done processionally. A 1475 ordinance dictates that the craft
masters be present at eagh_performance of their guild's play; a 1476
item prohibits hiring any actor for more than two parts, a time saving
requirement in Dorrell's view. Several sixteenth century entries include

"leases of places to hear Corpus Christi Play,” which show the plays were

 

 

 

performed at several locations and_were spoken, not just presented in
tableau or dumb show fashion.

Dorrell also tries to show that the city of York adopted other
measures to control the length of the cycle for processional staging.
Some plays were consolidated; the number of places where the pageants
would be presented was limited in 1398-99 to twelve. Each ordinance
governing the location or presentation of the pageants contained heavy
fines for holding up the performance and orderly procession of the
pageants.

Finally, Dorrell maintains Nelson failed to take into account the
topography of the pageants' route and the variation in distances between
stops for the pageants in his calculations. Whereas Nelson assigned
a flat six minute period for each pageant to get from one station to
the next, Dorrell says the more realistic figure is from three to five
minutes depending on the pageant and locations involved. Based on these
figures, Dorrell concludes the York cycle began at 4:30 a.m. Thursday
and proceeded processionally until it ended at 12:19 Friday morning.

Despite the York controversy, most scholars still feel that pro-
cessional staging was used at Chester. Like Gaede, Ruth Davis has sub-
jected the Chester cycle to a rigid time and motion study to test the
traditional view.17 Assuming the plays stopped at seven locations in
Chester, and at the ”Roodee" outside town, Davis concludes that proces—
sional staging in Chester would have gone as smoothly as staging in the
round, so long as pageants one and two were begun simultaneously to
avoid initial delay in progress of the procession. Her figures indicate
the first day's presentation of nine plays would require a total running

time of twelve hours, forty—five minutes (five hours and fbrty-five minutes

 

 

 

 

actual performance time before an audience); the remaining two days
would require even less time since eight plays were performed on Tuesday
and seven were done the last day. Thus, Davis upholds the traditional
view of processional staging at Chester, a conclusion which Lawrence
Clopper makes more feasible with his argument that the Chester pageants
actually only stopped at four or five stations and therefore took even
less time for processional performance than Davis estimated.18
The Chester cycle, though, has not totally escaped the ”Revisionist”
view of processional staging. Leonard Powlick has detailed an alterna-
tive theory of how the Chester cycle was staged.19. Powlick indicates
that if we did not have Rogers' breviary - a document of questionable
accuracy in some scholars' minds - we would not so automatically accept
processional staging at Chester. Other considerations also rule against
station-to-station staging in Powlick's view. The need for elaborate

Heaven and Hell mansions in the cycle would seemingly preclude proces-

sional staging; the scope of certain plays, such as the Last Judgment

 

with its numerous characters and diverse activities, would be very diffi-
cult to accommodate to a single wagon moving from site to site; and
finally, the practical consideration of moving pageant wagons approxi-
mately ten feet wide, twenty feet long and twenty feet high (Powlick's
figures vary somewhat from Williams') through narrow streets filled with
people, bumpy surfaces and drainage sloPes would make processional stag-
ing seem impossible. Powlick suggests that for convenience and economy
the Chester plays would have been better presented at the "Roodee." Here
the ten acre site could accommodate large audiences; only three palaces
would be needed for the entire cycle in contrast to the eight required
for processional staging; only two temples would be needed instead of

the five used in processional staging.

 

Our knowledge of the cycle plays' literary merits, stageworthiness
and didactic functions has greatly expanded because of the exhaustive
scholarship directed toward these concerns. To date, however, any know-
ledge we have of commercialism in the cycle plays has come solely from
abbreviated references in books dealing with some other aspect of the
plays, or from scattered journal articles. Gardner's major concern, for
example, in The Construction of the Wakefield Cycle is to examine the
dramatic elements and sources which unify the plays. He also incidental-
ly hints, however, at possible commercial aspects of the plays in his
statement that all cycles could have had economic value for their parti-
‘cipant/producers since the pageants were mounted by guilds whose orienta-
tion was often more economic than pious.

Donald McClure has closely examined the York cycle for possible
commercial elements. As a result, he labels several of the York plays
"the ancestors of a 'modern' phenomenon, the commercial" because their
content related so closely to the skills of the producing craft guilds
that advertising was inherent. McClure also labels the shipwrights' pre-
sentation of their ark plays ”perhaps the earliest and most audacious
public relations campaign in English" because of the way the lines in the
play extol the shipwrights' skills and trade.20

J. W. Robinson notes that the York Nativity contains references to
the rundown roof of the shed Mary and Jesus occupy, references not found
in other nativity plays. These references, he believes, are made
especially suspicious by the fact that the York roofers produced this
play. The result is realism in the production, and promotion of the

roofers' skills and services.

 

 

Finally, Robert Wright examines records in towns as remote as
Dunmow, East Anglia, to show not only how widespread the Corpus Christi
plays were, but also how this dramatic activity was actually a money—
making venture for the towns and organizations that hosted and produced
the plays. Wright shows that financial return was a definite motive
behind many of these productions; profits and piety were both considera-
tions behind these activities.

Examination of the cycle plays for possible commercial elements
has gone only as far as the above examples indicate. No one has yet

attempted a comprehensive examination of the cycle plays to determine

 

what commercial advantages those plays may have offered the craft guilds
that produced them, and for good reason: there is a discouraging lack
of direct evidence for such a study. Guild records carefully detail the
expenses of producing plays but give no indication of any commercial
aims which may have prompted those expenditures. In some instances,
town proclamations state that the plays "profite" the locale, but this
wording is often so vague or so tied to religious sanction of the plays
that it constitutes less than clear-cut evidence of commercialism in
the plays. Even church records, the most extensively kept during the
Middle Ages, provide few insights into possible commercialism in the
plays. By the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries control of the reli-

gious dramas had passed to the secular hands of the guilds, and church

 

records dealt only incidentally with the plays. Church loan of a gar-
ment or vessel for a play might appear in church records; otherwise

little or no mention of the plays appears in church records from the

later Middle Ages.

 

 

 

10

A second obstacle to any study of commercialism in the cycle plays
has been the matter of modern versus medieval terminology. Modern com-
mercial promotions such as advertising use a jargon unique to the pro—
fession. They attempt to market diverse products through techniques
ranging from comprehensive ”saturation campaigns” to highly specialized
"direct—action ads."21 Middle English obviously contained no such terms.
It is unlikely that medieval guildsmen, though already reacting to the
competitive demands of a new, ”capitalistic” money economy, were in
fact self-conscious about this reaction and its implications. Even
though many of them may have understood that they needed to create more
demand for their products, they did not sit around discussing whether
”demand expansibility" for their products could be best achieved through
"perferred positioning,” "primary demand activity,” or "pull advertis-
ing."22 At least we have no records to indicate they did. "Public
relations campaign” is another set of terms clearly not part of the
fifteenth century English guildsman's vocabulary. The guildsmen were
very aware of their "public image" and they took extensive steps to main-
tain a positive image in their community. However, no records have come
down to us which concretely and specifically document the motivation
behind such actions as corresponding to the modern advertising concept.

These deficiencies obviously constitute major obstacles to a clear
understanding of whether commercialism was, in part, characteristic of
the cycle plays. Nevertheless, the recent scholarship which offers
fragmentary suggestions of this possibility, together with additional
items from several cycle plays which seem to indicate commercial usage

of those plays, suggests that this matter should be investigated as

thoroughly as possible to assess whether commercialism was, in fact,

 

 

 

 

 

11

present in the cycle plays, to discover what forms that commercialism

may have taken, and to determine whether commercialism was an isolated

or pervasive phenomenon in the cycle plays.

For purposes of this study, "commercialism“ will be defined in
accordance with Webster's definition of "commercial" - ”having profit
as the primary aim.” (Third International Unabridged) However, this
definition is a modern one and, in order to bridge the gap between the
modern definition and our medieval subject, we must expand the meaning
of "profit” so it denotes not only monetary gain, but also assumes the

medieval sense of the word as meaning welfare, good will or public

standing.

Footnotes

1Both Prosser and Kolve have established the religious plays' didactic
functions with their analyses of the mystery plays as dramatic sermons.
These scholars call for an "imaginative identification" with the
medieval audiences attending the plays to better understand the plays'
didacticism. This "imaginative identification" realizes that medieval
audiences saw the religious plays as living truths designed to aid
their repentance. Each local embellishment of the plays enhanced that
purpose. Therefore, references to the plays, like the Chester
Expositor's statement that the episodes chosen for presentation were
the "most fruitful,” become indications that the sermon-plays were
selected both for their religious content and for their dramatic im-
pact in order to achieve their didactic purpose. See Eleanor Prosser,
Drama and Religion in the English Mystery Plays (Stanford, 1961) and
V. A. Kolve, The Play CalledICorpus Christi (Stanford, 1966).

2See John Cardner, The Construction of the Wakefield Cycle, (Southern
Illinois University Press, 1974).

Donald McClure, ”Commercialism in the York Mystery Cycle,” Studies in
the Humanities, Vol. 2, No. 2, Summer 1971.

J. W. Robinson, "A Commentary on the York Play of the Birth of Jesus,"
Journal of English and Germanic Philology, Vol. LXX, No. 2, April 1971.
Robert Wright, "Community Theatre in Late Medieval East Anglia,"
Theatre Notebook, Vol. XXVIII, No. l, 1974.

These scholars' ideas will be summarized later in this chapter.

 

 

3E. K. Chambers, The Medieval Stage (Oxford, 1903), pps. V-VI indicates
his major scholarly attraction toward medieval drama grew out of a
desire to explain the "pre-existing conditions which by the latter half

 

 

 

 

12

of the sixteenth-century, made the great Shakespearean stage possible,”
while F. M. Salter, Medieval Drama in Chester (Toronto, 1955), p. 3
categorizes medieval drama as one part of the "three tributary streams”
which "flow into the great river of Elizabethan drama.”

 

4Rosemary Woolf and Stanley Kahrl both present extensive analyses of
the sources from which the cycle plays derived. Woolf feels the in-
fluence of the Latin liturgical drama on the cycle plays was "paradoxi-
cally both important and negligible.” See Rosemary Woolf, The English
Mystery Plays (London, 1972), p. 3. Vernacular religious drama was
impossible without the liturgical drama as a model, yet there is no
evidence of a direct linkage between the two.

Stanley Kahrl points to the twelfth century as the source of many
traditions which later medieval dramatists could draw on. See
Traditions of Medieval English Drama, (London, 1974). In his view,
twelfth century Latin, vernacular "cycle—type" plays all created
models fer the later drama with their acting techniques, machines, and
use of site for expanded theatrics.

Martin Stevens approaches medieval drama to establish the ”native
tradition" that drama reflects. See "The Theatre of the World: A
Study in Medieval Dramatic Form," Chaucer Review, Vol. 7, No. 4,
Spring, 1973. He sees both liturgical and non-liturgical sources as
common to this tradition; their similarity of didactic purpose further
indicates an intellectual alliance among the medieval dramas. Finally,
in a view partially reminiscent of Chambers, Stevens examines the
influence of the medieval tradition in drama on the ensuing Elizabethan
stage, much of which is "functionally medieval" with its use of platea
and sedes in his view.

 

 

 

 

5Hardin Craig uses the cultural historian's approach to establish the
English mystery plays as both complex theatrical ventures and repre-
sentative products of a unique culture. See English Religious Drama
of the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1955). Oscar Cargill counters the evolu-
tionists‘ belief in "parent" cycles, ”lost" plays, and complicated
stanzas growing out of brief Latin phrases to show that the English
medieval dramas were written by definite authors with notable literary
talents. See Drama and Liturgy (New York, 1930).

 

 

 

6Brander Matthews, The Development of the Drama (New York, 1908), pps.
145-146 allows that, in medieval drama, ”There was acting, such as it
was; there were plays, such as they were, not so much dramas as mere
panoramas of successive episodes...” However, he finds literary or
theatrical merit an elusive quality in the drama of the Middle Ages
since it produced no accomplished actors or outstanding playwrights.
”..In medieval drama we seek in vain for a master-craftsman" and,
because of this void, Matthews concludes medieval drama was basically
deficient.

 

7Arnold Williams, in The Drama of Medieval England (E. Lansing, 1961).

 

8M. James Young, ”The Unity of the English Mystery Cycles," The
Quarterly Journal of Speech, Vol. 58, No. 3, Oct. 1972, 327—337.

 

 

 

 

13

9R. T. Davies, The Corpus Christi Play of the English Middle Ages,

(London, 1972).

 

10See The Construction of the Wakefield Cycle.

 

llRichard Daniels, "A Study of the Formal and Literary Unity of the

N-town Mystery Cycle," Dissertation Abstracts International, Vol. 33,
No. 11, May 1973, #6304A.

12Peter Travis, "The Credal Design of the Chester Cycle,” Modern
Philology, Vol. 73, No. 3, Feb. 1976, 229-243.

 

13Alan Nelson, Medieval English Stage_(University of Chicago Press,

1974).

 

14The list of those scholars who use methods similar to Nelson's and

agree with his findings is extensive. James Hoy, in "The Stage Time
of the York Cycle of Corpus Christi Plays," Emporia State Research
Studies, Vol. XXI, No. 3, Winter, 1973 adds together the lines of
the plays, reading time, additional time for music and dancing where
they may have occurred, and time for moving the pageant wagons from
site to site to conclude that processional staging was impossible at
York. Hoy argues the plays were actually performed "on the pavement”
in York after the pageant wagons had been wheeled through the streets
for a dumb show preview of their contents.
In her unpublished dissertation, ”The Theatre of the English Pageant
Wagons with Particular Attention to the Cycle Plays or Chester and
York," Ruth Gaede examines both the Chester and York cycles to see if
processional staging was possible. Dissertation Abstracts International,
Vol. 31, No. 6, Dec., 1970, #2876A). Gaede finds the Chester cycle
suitable for processional staging since it was presented on Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday of Whit Week. She also determines the York cycle
could not fit the one day allotted for its production and suggests that
tableaux vivants were presented processionally through the town, while
the full plays were performed only on Corpus Christi Day at a station-
ary location in town.

15Alan Nelson, ”The Wakefield Corpus Christi Play: Pageant Procession
and Dramatic Cycle," Research Opportunities in Renaissance Drama,
XIII-XIV, 1970-71, 221-233.

 

 

 

16See ”Two Studies of the York Corpus Christi Play," Leeds Studies in

English, ns, Vol. VI, 1972, 63-111.

 

17Ruth Davis, "The Scheduling of the Chester Cycle Plays,” Theatre

Notebook, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, Winter 1972-73, 49-66.

18Lawrence Clopper, ”The Staging of the Medieval Plays of Chester: A
Response,” Theatre Notebook, Vol. XXVIII, No. 2, 1974, 65-70.

 

19Leonard Powlick, "The Staging of the Chester Cycle: An Alternative
Theory," Theatre Survey, Vol. 12, No. 2, Nov. 1971, 119-150.

 

 

 

 

 

 

14

20See footnote 2.

21John Wright and David Warner, Advertising (New York, 1962), p. 237
explain ”saturation campaign" as the technique of using frequent
announcements in various media within a prescribed time period to
rapidly create new awareness and markets for the product. ”Direct-

action ads" are those specialized promotions like mail-order selling
which try to induce the consumer to buy the product immediately. p.

132.

22See pp. 190, 129 and 132, respectively, of Warner for definition of
these advertising techniques.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER II

COMMERCIALISM IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

In Religion and the Rise of Capitalism, R. H. Tawney asserts that
behind medieval "canon law and summae and sermons, behind the good
ordinances of borough and guild, behind statutes and proclamations
and prerogative courts, there lurked the immutable appetites of the
economic man." This statement describes a condition central to my
assessment of the cycle plays. Although these plays were religious in
theme and content, sometimes profoundly so, and although they were al-
most certainly clerical in their original authorship, they were never-
theless surrounded, almost saturated, in the circumstances of their
production, by the vigorous commercialism of fourteenth and fifteenth
century England: they were produced by organizations of tradesmen and
craftsmen, -- organizations primarily commercial in purpose; they were
played as parts of religious celebrations at a time when religious
feasts had long been associated with commerce by the trade fairs which
were held throughout England during various festive seasons; and they
were produced in the largest commercial centers of the nation. Clearly,
the craftsman and entrepreneur constituted a substantial portion of the
world which surrounded the cycle plays. It is their attitudes and this
commercial world which I wish to examine and describe in the chapter
which follows. I will not at this point in my discussion attempt to

produce any direct evidence that commercialism influenced the guild

15

 

 

 

 

 

16

plays; rather I am here concerned with describing how "economic appetites”
- the desire for profits tangible or intangible - could easily have led
to such an influence.2

Three general conditions suggest that motives other than religious
or civic could have influenced production of the cycle plays: commera-
cialism pervaded medieval England and the lives of those guildsmen who
ultimately produced the plays; public standing of the craft guilds often
sagged drastically because of some guild members' deceitful practices
and had to be bolstered by other guild activities; and the development
of elitism within the guilds placed control of guild activities in the
hands of select members who used those activities to enhance their own
power and prestige in the community.

Examples of how thoroughly commercialized medieval England was be-
coming are numerous. Trade and production increased as part of the
English economy. Income from land rentals decreased, while income from
trade activities increased. The differential between the number of fami-
lies involved in trade operations and those involved in farming also de-
creased.3 In addition, we know that in the towns and cities, trade guilds-
men relied on various forms of commercial promotion to sell their goods
and services. Hawking - shouting out the desirability of manufactured
goods - was one important and widespread way of advertising available
goods in the primarily non—literate medieval society. The example
where live mutton was advertised ”by means of a crier leading a fat
sheep through the town, selling a leg here and leg there until all was
bespoken, when the animal was killed and dressed,” illustrates this
practice.4 Perhaps the most famous literary evidence of this form of

medieval advertising occurs in London Lyckpeney. This satirical verse

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

17

narrative, often attributed to Lydgate, tells of a young man's wander-

ings through the city where
Drapers mutch cloth me offred anone;
Then met I one, cryed 'hot shepes feete;l

One cryde 'makerell;' 'Ryshes grene' an other
gan greete;

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

'Yea, by cockl' 'nay, by cockl' some began crye;S

Medieval merchants were also able to vend their products at the
markets and fairs. The markets, usually held once a week for a desig-
nated number of weeks, gave the local food trades a chance to sell their
wares. The fairs, on the other hand, were more elaborate and festive
occasions. Ranging from two to thirty days, the fairs incorporated large
scale commerce, such as wholesaling and import-export activities, in
addition to sales by the butchers, poulterers, bakers, and other less
pretentious participants who might attend. Sales at the fairs produced
important additions to local revenues. The lordship of a fair often
provided ample revenue from the "stallage" (the fee for setting up or
using an existing stall at a fair) or tolls on goods brought to the
fair to underwrite local expenses.7 The fairs invariably had their own
court system which adjudicated disputes between participants and punished
those who activities caused them to violate the rules of the fair.

The fairs were generally successful because they met a need in
medieval society: they provided a relatively convenient opportunity for
large-scale trade in a world where commerce was an increasingly important
activity. Local trade was stimulated by the fairs. In addition, the

fairs included import-export activities and various fairs often became

 

 

 

 

18

identified with dealings in one category of goods, such as textiles or
spices or gold. Scheduling the fairs in conjunction with the church
calendar also contributed to their success. This gave religious sanc-
tion to the fairs and took advantage of the free time people had because

of the holiday.8

The practice of allying religion, local circumstances and commerce
also appeared in other ways during the Middle Ages. Fair dates along
the pilgrimage routes were often set to coincide with peak travel periods
in order to take advantage of the "tourist trade.” The pilgrimage routes
had long been fertile ground for the growth of oral and written tales.

In France, it appears that the chanson de geste and shorter ballads en-
thralled audiences, incorporating wondrous and alluring descriptions of
the religious itineraries, thereby provoking people's interest in
traveling these routes.9 The same was true in Italy where Sercambi, in
his 1374 Novella, employed a format similar to Chaucer's to describe
that country's most appealing pilgrimage routes.

Chaucer, however, appears to have been the most thorough in publi-
cizing the major pilgrimage routes. The merchant in the Shipman's Tale
(although his purpose apparently is to ”kepen our estaat in privitee"),
lauds the general practice of taking pilgrimages. The Wife of Bath has
traveled many of the continental routes, including the one to Boulogne,
Compostella and Cologne, not to mention Rome and Jerusalem. Chaucer's
pilgrims, of course, travel the most renowned pilgrimage route in England.

Canterbury epitomizes how religion and commercialism could combine
in medieval England. After his death in 1170, Thomas Beckett undoubtedly
attracted substantial clerical traffic to his grave. However, after the

report of several graveside miracles, including one in which a whole

 

 

 

 

 

 

19

cartload of cripples was allegedly healed at the site, Thomas's reputa-
tion as medical healer attracted even more pilgrims. Excepting the
Virgin Mary, Thomas became the most pOpular saint in medieval England,
and this popularity benefitted Canterbury materially. For one thing,
the pilgrims' offerings brought a virtual gold mine of wealth to the
see. These offerings were so numerous and generous that they were used
to finance the rebuilding and enlargement of a portion of the cathedral

when the choir was destroyed by fire in 1174, only four years after

Thomas's death.10

In addition, pilgrim traffic caused dramatic development of the
town at Canterbury. After Thomas's relics were enshrined on July 7,
1220, - “the most successful year in the whole history of pilgrimages"
according to Crouch - numerous facilities were constructed to accommo—
date the ever increasing number of pilgrims.11 Hostels and inns sprang
up to meet the demand; at least seven new hospitals were established to
lodge the poor and ill who sought help from the saint.12

Finally, the economic impact which the saint's popularity had on
Canterbury can be seen in the rental income from town commercial pro-
perty during the years following Thomas's death. Urry's study of these
rents shows that they increased by approximately 150% between 1198 and
1224, the years when the saint's popularity was growing tremendously.13
Since the income from the rentals accounted for only about 5% of the
total income in Canterbury during that period, according to Urry, even
if we assume that this figure is inflated, we can easily see that

Canterbury's commercial sector benefitted sizably from Thomas's death

and canonization.

 

 

 

20

 

 

 

Walsingham is another example of how religious devotion could
generate commercial prosperity. The town's remote northern location
may have deterred some pilgrims.l4 Nevertheless, the shrine attracted
numerous visitors to view the jewelled statue of the Virgin and the
relic of her milk. Several royal visits added to the prestige and re-
nown of the shrine. The shrine also garnered literary attention, notably
from Langland, whose Avarice vows a trip to Walsingham to rid himself of
deceit. Folk ballads of the times testify to the confluence of visitors
the shrine attracted,15 and these visitors with their "tourist money"
benefitted Walsingham in the same manner as they did at Canterbury.
The road to Walsingham was dotted with hostels, inns and other facilities
constructed to house the tourist trade. When the town was ravaged by
pestilence and fire early in the fifteenth century, it was quickly re-
built so the pilgrim trade could be accommodated.16
The preceding examples provide only a glimpse of the various aspects
of commercialism found in medieval England. They do, however, evidence
the widespread nature of commercial activities. They also demonstrate

how religion and commercialism could mingle unabashedly during the Middle

Ages, an important consideration in any discussion of possible commercial-

ism in the cycle plays.17

The second factor which could have favored the use of the cycle
plays for commercial purposes was public opinion. Whether in medieval
or modern times, favorable public opinion of a manufacturer is essential
to sales of that manufacturer's products. Today the giant oil companies
spend millions in advertising each year to persuade the public that
these companies do not endanger the environment with their operations.
Through commercial advertising, these companies attempt to create a public

image that will aid sales, not undermine them.

 

 

 

 

 

21

Public opinion was also important to medieval tradesmen.18 They
controlled the quality and quantity of the goods they produced; they
were readily identifiable by a public with complaints about those pro—
ducts. As long as those complaints were minimal, public Opinion pre-
sumably favored the craft guilds and town guild records document the
many positive contributions the guilds may to town life. However,
complaints about the craft guild's trade activities surface regularly
and favorable public Opinion of the craft guilds seemed the exception,
rather than the rule, at times in medieval England.

The fOOd guilds were the object of widespread, sometimes violent,
scorn. As early as 1281, a writ from Edward I demanded corporal
punishment for all bakers, brewers and millers who broke the rules of
their trade.19 A special pillory was even set up in London to punish
the bakers and millers who cheated in their work.20 Langland singles
out the bakers, brewers, butchers and cooks as the craftsmen who do
most harm to the common people.21 The mayor's oath at Bristol included
allegiance to the King, and a vow to ”keep truly correction on all bakers
and brewers and taverners and cooks and such like people” so they would

not cheat the public.22 Chaucer's cook in the Canterbury Tales has a

 

"mormal" on his shin (an inflamed sore akin to leprosy); he also has
received many a ”Christes curs” from the pilgrims who ate his warmed over
food and fared the worse as a result.

The citizens of late fourteenth century Coventry were especially
bitter and demonstrative in their denunciations of the bakers in that
town who did not keep the assize.23 To emphasize public dissatisfaction,
during a civic procession the bystanders threw loaves of bread at the

major, since he was one of the bakers' guild and did not punish his

 

 

offending brethren.24 These bakers also faced later problems with both
the citizens and municipal officials of Coventry, to the point that in
1484 the bakers rioted and departed the town, thus leaving the populace
of Coventry without bread for several days. When the bakers returned,

they were fined the sizable sum of twenty pounds for their acts against

the commonwealth.25

Besides the bakers, the beverage trades also stood out for the
public mistrust and scorn they garnered. The London Vintners were not
above selling unwholesome wine to their customers, and the standard
punishment for this breach was to force the offending vinter to drink a
draught of his wine and then to douse him with the remainder.

In 1544 the brewers of Coventry were accused of regrating and fore—
stalling barley in that city, and selling ale for excessive prices and
profits.27 This represents but one instance of what Harris calls the
"universal detestation" for this group during the Middle Ages.28 The
alewives of that same town were known for the short measure and unsealed
(i.e. cups not filled in accordance with a standard measure) cups they
used.29 Public opinion of those involved in this trade was at one point
so low that the alewives achieved the distinction of being immortalized
by the Ludlow artist in his bench carving which depicts a deceitful ale-
wife being carried away by the devil, her headadress and false measure
appropriately in hand.30 The Chester Descent into Hell play dramatizes
the same theme in its final sixty lines which present the eternal damna-
tion of the alewife who had spent her life dealing in false measure,
and ”deceavinge manye a creature.”

This lack of public esteem was not limited to the food and beverage

trades, however. Public opinion of the Chandlers throughout England was

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

23

so adverse that they were forbidden by statute from taking advantage of
peOple's ”good intent and devotion" by means of high prices.31 Langland
tells us in Pier's how Avarice learned false measure from a draper. In-
structions in how "To stretch the stuff till it looked the longer/ .../
To pierce them with a needle and piece them together/.../Till ten yards
or twelve were turned to thirteen,” reflect the image many people held of
the drapers.32 At Coventry, the clothmakers were accused of stretching
out broadcloth to the "high displeasure of God and deceit of the wearer.”
Further indication of how all-encompassing this antagonism toward
craftsmen could be during the Middle Ages comes from sources as diverse
as the poetry of the period and the court records. Gower expresses out-

right hatred for the crafts in his Mirour De L'Ome.34 He focuses on

 

 

 

London tradesmen and presents a running catalogue of the many deceits
and tricks these men were capable of. The mercer physically coerces
passers-by into his shop to sell them unwanted goods; the draper sells
in a dark shop to hide flawed or inferior merchandise: the goldsmith
substitutes base alloy for gold or silver in the customer's vessel; the
druggist overcharges for simple remedies; furriers mismatch cloth and
fur; the baker deserves to be hung; the butcher also. The list goes on
and on. An equally damaging indication of public contempt for the
medieval tradesmen appears in the 1395 Nottingham jury's indictment of
all bakers, butchers, fishers, taverners, poulterers, chandlers, tanners,
shoemakers, cooks, hostelers, weavers and fullers for asking too high
prices and selling bad goods.35

From the townsmen who pitched their loaves in contempt at the
Coventry mayor, to the writers who artistically expressed scorn for the

guilds, to royalty such as Edward II who, because he was dissatisfied

 

 

 

 

24

with the quality of their products ordered the London armourers to adopt
trade marks for identification purposes,36 all levels of medieval society
harbored ill feelings toward craftsmen and the guilds they formed. Under
such conditions, it would hardly be surprising if the craft guilds di-
rected their energies toward activities which could boost their public
image and promote community goodwill toward the crafts. The next chapter
examines the various charitable and civic activities the craft guilds
participated in to bolster their standing in the community, and how the
production of the cycle plays, long associated with the craft guilds,
could have provided an additional, suitable vehicle for promotion of
that goodwill.

The final development which points to possible commercial aspects
in the cycle plays appears in the transformation of the craft guilds
themselves. The English craft guilds had been formed on the principle
that each member was a small, independent manufacturer equal to his bre-
thren and able to maintain his independent status. However, this equality
and independence did not last for many craftsmen. Changes in the avail-
ability of raw materials, the processes of manufacturing, and consumer
demand often forced the individual craftsman out of his independent
status and into the position of supplier for the more enterprising mem-
bers of his craft who had become large scale retailers of the goods their
craft produced.37 Thus, what may have been a spirit of equality became,
in Brentano's terms, ”a spirit of capital and narrow-minded separation."38

An elite developed among members of the craft guilds based on business

. 39
success and economic status.

One indication of how this economic elitism characterized many of

the guilds and was used to certain members' advantage appears in guild

 

 

 

25

structure. Some hierarchical positioning of guild members had tradi-
tionally existed for administrative purposes.40 However, it was not

long before the upper ranks of guild administration became reserved for
only the most successful guild members. The London leather—sellers,

whose wardens and assistants were to be chosen only "des Meillours et
pluis sufficeantz” members, exemplify this restriction.41 The London
Skinners provide another example with their provision that the sixteen
assistants to wardens of the guild had to come from the most "worshipfull"
(successful) masters of the company.42

A second major indication of how the elite in the guilds grew, ex-
tended their power, and attempted to further their own interests, appears
through their move into politics. Economic power was translated to
political power; guild officials became municipal officials.

What aspects of local politics the guild masters became involved in
could be very important to the guilds and to the course of local history.
In London the drapers, grocers and fishmongers vied constantly for the
mayor's office, each guild frequently attempting to use this office to
further guild objectives and retard other guilds' ambitions if possible.44

Possibly the most infamous example of the lengths to which the guild
masters would go to gain political power occurred in the fourteenth
century London where the grocers, through their sixteen members who were
aldermen, elected fellow grocer Nicholas Brembre mayor for two years in

direct opposition to popular sentiment of the citizens who favored an-

other candidate.45

Apparently, the London companies sought as much political power as

they could amass. Although guild officials were often elected aldermen

by wards, and although the mayor of London invariably came from the

 

 

 

 

 

26

commercial sector, during the mid-fourteenth century the London guilds
claimed the right of direct participation in the city's government
through another avenue, the Common Council of the City. The Common
Council was traditionally elected, like the aldermen, by ward and it
acted as an advisory body to the aldermen in policy matters. However,
the trade guilds maintained the members of the Common Council should be
elected from the guilds themselves rather than by ward. Richard III's
endorsement added strength to the guilds' case and in 1374 the London
citizenry resolved that the Common Council should be elected from the
trade guilds.46 This arrangement lasted only ten years. However, it
highlights how the London companies sought to extend their economic and
political power as far as possible.47

Guild masters in other towns also extended their economic positions
to the political arena. The Coventry drapers consistently captured
municipal office during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and used
that office to oppress the lesser trades who had no say in the enactment
of city ordinances.48 In 1456, a dyer by the name of William Horseley
used his position as mayor to negotiate an agreement with Southhampton
which exempted only his constituents from that town's custom fees, a
move which greatly benefitted export activities of the dyers.49

Economic elitism and political strength became so tightly fused at
York that the office of mayor became the object of patrimony. Dobson's
analysis of the Freeman's Register at York shows that of the thirty-six
men who were mayors between 1364 and 1418, only twenty-one were listed
in the register. The remaining fifteen are known to have been sons of
York freemen, and they apparently were admitted to freemanship through

the sponsorship of their fathers and payment of a fee to the city.50 In

 

 

 

 

 

effect, the senior freemen bought their sons' way into the York mayor's
office.

Although the evidence of patrimony used here comes only from York,
the widespread nature of this practice, and the greediness it represented,
caused Langland to denounce the "mayres that maken free men” whose
avarice produced a society in which ”usurers other regratours, for eny
kynne gyftes be fraunchised for a free man and haue a fals name."51

Still further evidence of how the guilds and towns of medieval
England became stratified comes from those moves which the elite made
to secure their positions of power. Within the guilds the elite took

several steps to prevent other members from reaching the upper levels.

The number of apprentices allowed each master was often limited. A1-

 

though such a limitation initially provided a control over the number of

 

people entering a trade in relation to the demand for trade skills,
this regulation also prevented other masters from expanding their opera-
tions to rival the success of elite guild members. In addition, the
regulation conveniently reduced the number of workers in the craft who
might eventually reach journeyman status and thus be eligible to proceed
toward the master's level.52

Some regulations were designed to keep people from even becoming
apprentices. The drapers and mercers of Coventry required admission
fees from their apprentices on entering the trade rather than after the
apprenticeship was completed, as was customary. This effectively dis-
couraged entry into these crafts and kept the number of workers coming
up through the ranks at a level acceptable to guild officials.53

Demanding strict respect for guild officials was another way of

solidifying the elite's positions. As one example, the London

 

 

 

 

28

shipwrights had an ordinance that fined any member twelve pence who did
not show proper respect to his guild officers.54 The London whittawyers
went a step further with their provision that if any journeyman acted
improperly toward his master and left his work, no other master could
hire him unless proper amends had been made to the original master.55
Finally, some of the most convincing evidence of the determination
with which the "establishment" guild and town officials protected their
positions appears in the steps they took to suppress lower craft members.
As early as 1306, the London shoemakers' servants rebelled against their
low status and meager wages. However, municipal officials quelled the
disturbance and immediately passed an ordinance forbidding confederation

of any craft servants in the future.56

The poorer goldsmiths of London
tried another approach by petitioning Parliament to remedy oppression

by the elite merchants of their craft, but the influence of the "grantz
and riches orfeveres" was too strong and the calls for remedy failed.57

‘ At Coventry a number of ”yeomen" or journeyman fraternities were formed
in the latter fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries as a result of
discontent among those workers. However, "powerful previously existing
associations" recognized the threat in these confederations, and munici-
pal ordinances soon outlawed their formation and meetings.58 Even forma-
tion of the fullers and tailors guild itself at Coventry in 1384 was
opposed by the town's elite on the grounds that the purpose of the
members - "'laborers and artificers of the middling sort' - and strangers -
was to withstand the mayor and officers of the city and not to promote

the welfare of souls."59

Coventry records show that on three occasions
after 1400 the mayor and bailiffs found it necessary to forbid the

establishment of other similar guilds on the grounds that their formation

 

 

29

also represented a threat to the commonwealth and municipal authority.60
Because this type of contention represented a threat to the successful
tradesmen's positions, these men often sought royal charters allowing
them to move their operations to suburban locations. This move could
provide cheaper labor for the retailers; it also effectively divorced them
from the increasingly hostile lower craft elements in town. Both these
conditions would have been very appealing to the elitist retailers.61
Very successful guild members thus found guild structuring and town
politics stepping stones to even greater power. Various factors suggest
that.theseedite members of the guilds also viewed their organizations'
cycle plays as another means to aggrandize their positions. The tight
control which the guild masters exercised over their organizations ex-
tended to the plays. The next chapter will detail how guild ordinances
mandated numerous provisions to insure the plays' success: all guild
members had to contribute "pageant silver" to finance the plays; account-
ing procedures kept an exact record of members' contributions, and pro-
duction expenses of the plays; stiff fines were levied against those
members who did not adequately maintain guild properties used in the
plays; those members whose acting in the plays was deemed unsuitable
could also be fined. The famous York struggle over who would march in
the Corpus Christi procession further evidences how greatly the guild
masters valued their organizations' public activities, including the
plays. Local religious officials at York complained that guild presence
in the Corpus Christi procession, along with presentation of the plays
on the same day, created a carnival atmosphere for the occasion and
undermined the religious spirit of the holiday. They wanted the main

Corpus Christi procession to involve only the religious community and to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30

be held on Thursday, the feast day. The guild procession and plays

 

would then take place on the next day, Friday. However, guild feeling
against this move was so strong that the guild elite exerted enough
pressure to retain their public activities on Thursday, while the reli-
gious procession was relegated to Friday, the last and anti-climactic
day of the celebration. Apparently, guild participation in the Corpus
Christi procession and the presentation of the cycle plays on the feast
day were considered more than routine civic obligations by guild offi-
cials. Their plays constituted an activity of such import that guild
officials were willing to contend with local religious leaders for the
place of honor in the festival. Guild activities had become manifesta-
tions of the power and influence of the elite members at York, and these
members jealously guarded the public displays which reflected their
positions. The same most likely occurred throughout England were
elitism in the craft guilds had spread.

The general elements of commercialism examined in this chapter re-
flect an important part of the milieu which surrounded production of
the cycle plays in medieval England. The next step in this study is

to look closely at the circumstances under which the cycle plays were

 

produced to see whether these also provide evidence of commercialism.

Footnotes

1R. H. Tawney, Religion and the Rise of Capitalism (New York, 1926),

p. 12.

 

2Robert S. Lopez, The Commercial Revolution of the Middle Ages 950-1350
(Englewood Cliffs, 1971) also strongly emphasizes the economic appetite
of the medieval producers. He maintains that "Then, as now, the main
object of a producer could not be to serve God and the public, but to
sell his goods at a profit..." See pp. 127-128.

 

 

 

3

31

See J. F. Cooper, "The Social Distribution of Land and Men in England
1436-1700,” Economic History Review, Second Series, Vol. XX, No. 3,
Dec., 1967, pp. 419-440 for one study of these shifts.

 

4Frank Presbrey, The History and Develgpment of Advertising (Garden

 

City, 1929), p. 14.

5See London Lyckpeney by John Lydgate, stanzas 11—12, in Specimens of

 

 

English Literature, Walter Skeat, ed., (Oxford, 1887).

 

6H. Richardson, Medieval Fairs and Markets of York (York, 1961), p. 3.

 

In Yorkshire one hundred and fifty seven fairs were chartered between
1227 and 1514 in a continuous effort to bolster the local economy.

7As these benefits became essential to local economic strength, various

authorities contended vigorously for the advantages a fair could bring.
At York a fourteenth century grant from Edward II to the Abbot of the
Convent of St. Mary for a weekly market and an annual fair was can-
celled because of the "injury" it purportedly caused the city of York
itself. (Richardson, p. 11) This same city, when its economic base
was undermined by a loss of shipping traffic on the receding Ouse,
sought remedy by petitioning Henry VII in 1501 for two fairs. The
royal grant of two six-day fairs filled the request and York attempted
to bolster a sagging economy with fair revenues. Of interest in the
1501 grant is its stipulation that the people could "come and go frely
without payng of toll or murage.” (Richardson, p. 16) Apparently by
that time competition among the fairs was so keen that lowering or
abolishing traditional fees became a standard device for attracting
merchants and the public to the fairs.

8The annual fair proposed by the St. Mary's Convent, York, was to take

place on the vigil, the feast, and the morrow of the Virgin's birth

in September, a date selected because of September's moderate weather
and the number of people the religious occasion could draw to the fair.
The St. Ive's Fair in Huntingdonshire ran eight days as a result of
the saint's renown. The St. Bartholomew Fair near London evolved
similarly to become one of the most famous and long running in English
history. St. Bartholomew Fair dates: 1133—1855. See William Addison,
English Fairs and Markets (London, 1953), pps. 57-58. St. Andrews
Priory at Rochester held a two day fair in connection with the feast
of St. Paulinas, the saint's body resting in that church and drawing
many visitors for the occasion.

 

9Joseph Bédier, in his four volume Les Légendes Epiques (Paris, 1929),

 

presents probably the most comprehensive study of the chansons and
their depictions of pilgrimage routes. See especially Tome III, "Les
Chansons de Geste et la pelerinage de Compostelle," pp. 39-180 and

"La Chanson de Roland," pp. 183-461. However, Bédier's views are now
considered somewhat exaggerated.

Ram6n Menéndez Pidal's La Chanson de Roland et La Tradition Epique des
Francs translated by I. M. Cluzel, (Paris, 1960), also examines in

 

detail literary promotion of pilgrimage routes in the Roland.

 

 

32

106. R. Stirling Taylor, The Story of Canterbury (London, 1912), p. 206.

 

llMarcus Crouch, Canterbury (London, 1970), p. 93.

121bid., p. 94.
Although Canterbury and, as we shall see, Walsingham, provide signifi-
cant examples of commercial growth prompted by religious circumstance,
this phenomenon was certainly not limited to those towns or circum—
stances. Sylvia Thrupp in Medieval Industry 1000-1500 (London, 1971)
shows how the spread of religious houses caused great commercial
activity in their surrounding locations because of the influx of con-
struction and allied workers. She also indicates how the pilgrimage
routes invariably attracted a ”rag-taggle of merchant-men” attempting
to sell their wares to the pilgrims, and how pilgrim traffic along the
routes to Campostella set many villages "thriving and growing" com-
mercially. See p. 15.

 

 

13William Urry, Canterbury Under the Angevin Kings (London, 1967), p. 36.

 

14The danger involved in a trip up the lonely Norfolk road, in addition

to the difficulties of travel, "The way is hard for to be gon/ And
Verry crroked are those pathes/ For you to find all alone” - made the
pilgrimage to Walsingham especially difficult in comparison to
Canterbury. See Sidney Heath, Pilgrim Life in the Middle Ages
(London, 1911), p. 236.

15Heath gives one example of the ballads which relate the great numbers

visiting the shrine: "As ye came from the holy land/ Of blessed
Walsingham/ 0 met you not with my true love/ As by the way ye came?/
How should I know your true love/ That have met many a one/ As I came
from the holy land/ That have both come and gone?" See p. 236.
16J. C. Dickinson, The Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham (Cambridge,
1956), p. 34, relates the rumor that four inns which burned during
the 1431 fire did so at the hands of pilgrims protesting "extortionate
prices.” This is an excellent example of how Walsingham tradesmen
eagerly exploited the tourists visiting the shrine. It also exempli-
fies the overbearing commercialism which developed at these sites and
eventually lessened pilgrim traffic. Crouch, p. 121 discusses how
the merchants' greed along the pilgrimage routes became so blatant
by the fifteenth century that many pilgrims shunned these routes
to avoid being gouged at the tourist traps.
Something akin to the probable atmosphere surrounding these shrines
may be deduced from a trip to modern-day Lourdes, where the paradox
of intense piety and rampant commercialism is daily evident.

17Probably the most outstanding example of how religion and commercialism
could combine during the Middle Ages was Rome itself. Nowhere was
religion capitalized upon for economic gain as extensively as in Rome.
This commercialization of religion provoked repeated cries of "Avaricel!"
in the satirical writings of the Middle Ages which denounced venality
in the Church from the papacy on down to the lower clerics. See John
Yunck's The Lineage of Lady Meed, University of Notre Dame Press, 1963,

 

 

 

 

01
01

Chapters 11, III and IV for his discussion of the venality—satire and
the Church. However, these cries of greediness against the Church
did little to deter the Church's "sales for the souls." As the most
visible promoter of commercialism in religion, Rome exemplified a
practice which existed throughout Christendom, including England.

See Tawney, pp. 28-52 for his discussion of commercialism in the
Church.

l8Sylvia Thrupp, The Merchant Class of Medieval London, (University of
Chicago Press, 1948), p. 26 indiCates that local reputation depended
on several factors including business success, public spirit, and
trustworthiness.

 

 

19Sylvia Thrupp, A Short History of the Worshipful Company of Bakers of
London, (Croyden, 1933), p. 42.

20Records from the London Bakers Guild give one example of the "artful”

baker who cut a hole in his kneading board and kept a boy sitting

under the board to extract portions of the dough his customers bought.

Ibid., p. 43.

21Wm. Langland, Piers the Ploughman. Walter Skeat, ed. (Oxford, 1866).

Passus III, C-Text, line 80.

 

22Alice Green, Town Life in the Fifteenth Century (London, 1894), pps.

36-37.

 

23The assize was a statutory regulation of the price, weight and quality
of food stuffs, usually bread and ale, during medieval times. Its
enforcement rested with local officials, the mayor in towns being
responsible for punishing offenders. See the Historical Manuscript
Commission, Reports of the Manuscripts of the Corporation of Beverly,
(London, 1900), pps. 37-38 for examples of assize regulations on
bread and ale in that town.

24Mary Harris, Life in an Old English Town, (London, 1898), p. 135.

 

25William Hadley, The Fifteenth Century, (London, 1920), p. 120.

261bid., pps. 148—149.

 

27Regrating was the practice of buying victuals, corn in the case cited,
in order to sell them again in the same market for additional profit.
Forestalling involved intercepting and buying goods before they
reached a public market with an eye to selling the goods for enhanced
prices later at the market.

8Harris, Town Life, p. 297.

29Mary Harris, The Story of Coventry, (London, 1911), p. 228.

 

30Harris, Town Life, p. 297.

 

34

31Green, p. 137.

32Passus V, line 209 ff., Skeat edition.

33Harris, Coventry, p. 228.

34John Gower, Mirour De L'Ome from The Complete Works of John Gower,
G. C. MacCauley, ed., (Oxford, 1899), Vol. I, The French Works, 115.

25,000-26,600.

 

35Green, p. 138.

36Charles Ffoulkes, The Armourer and His Craft, (New York, 1912), p. 57.

37Thrupp, Merchant Class, pps. 4-5 indicates the three conditions neces-
sary to keeping medieval industry in the hands of the small craftsman
were 1) raw materials had to be abundant and accessible; 2) the process
of manufacturing had to be simple, and 3) the product had to be sold
locally to consumers. According to Thrupp, the bakers, cooks, turners,
and most metal tradesmen were likely to maintain their independent
status. The crafts which developed into divided organizations where
certain men became dealers and sold articles manufactured by other
craft members were the saddlers, leather-sellers, hatters, goldsmiths,
Skinners, and those who sold cloth or luxury items abroad. The masons
and carpenters could become subordinate to their "peers" who had risen
to the status of building contractors. Even the bakers eventually
fell victim to these divisions within their craft. By the end of the
middle ages their more successful members branched into the grain trade
and became middlemen for the bakers' products. On the other hand,
the poorer bakers sometimes found themselves dependent on the newly
wealthy millers for their livelihood. These millers had expanded their
operations to encompass all aspects of flour-milling; they controlled
the amount and quality of flour the smaller bakers could acquire; they
eventually reversed traditional positions with the bakers and employed
bakers in their operations rather than remaining a service for hire
by the bakers. See Thrupp, Bakers, pps. 26-28.

 

38Lujo Brentano, On The History and Development of Gilds, and the Origins
of Trade-Unions, (London, 1870), p. 74.

 

39Geremek feels the idea that some perfect harmony existed among medieval
corporate dwellers, including guildsmen involved in the same trade, is
a fiction based on nineteenth-century historians' unscientific assess-
ment of the late medieval world and its economic realities. His
analysis shows how elitism and stratification were characteristic of
the Parisian craft associations. See Bronislaw Geremek, Le Salariat
Dans L'Artisanat Parisien aux XIII-XV Siecles, translated from the
Polish by Anna Posner and Christiane Klapisch-Zuber (Paris, 1968), p.
100. The same condition prevailed in England where, as Blackham indi-
cates, "selection from above” characterized a majority of the craft
guilds, and the London guilds in particular epitomized how "oligarchy
of the strictest kind” was common to the craft guilds throughout
England. See Robert Blackham, London's Livery Companies (London, 1931),
pp. 65-66.

 

 

35

40Green, pps. 116-117 identifies the three levels of guild membership:
1) the aldermen or wardens of the guild, 2) the ”commonality" or
independent masters of the trade, and 3) the hired workers such as
journeymen or serving men of the masters.

41Read "meillours et pluis sufficeantz” as "wealthy and successful”

according to Thrupp, Merchant Class, pps. 15—16.

 

42 .
Ib1d.
Once the elite occupied these positions of power, they used them to
their particular advantage. The powerful masters very carefully con-
trolled the introduction, discussion and passage of guild resolutions

' to effect their own wishes. See The Cambridge Economic History of
Europe, M. M. Postan, E. E. Rich and Edward Miller, eds. (Cambridge,
1965), Vol. III - Economic Organization and Policies in the Middle Ages,
Sylvia Thrupp, "The Gilds," p. 238. The wardens and court officials
of the guilds often enforced guild rules to serve their own enrichment
and repress the lower craftsmen rather than acting on behalf of all
the guild members. '
Even guild ”clothing" manifested economic stratification in the craft
guilds. "Clothing" simply meant that certain members of the guild
were liveried, they wore the distinctive garments of the guild. Those
who wore the livery in the "greater" companies such as the merchants,
Vintners, goldsmiths and other prestigious trades, were the successful
members who could afford to purchase and maintain a proper livery.
Consequently, "clothing" became a reflection of the presence and power
of the economic elite in the greater guilds. However, the notion of
"clothing" was not limited to the greater companies. Even the "lesser"
companies, those not normally involved in large trade operations, those
usually composed of the small craftsmen, adopted their own liveries.
These liveries also became badges for the more successful members of the
lesser guilds. Normally, only those who could afford the liveries wore
them. This might have been the individual craftsman whose own work
brought him success. In many instances only those whose operation had
expanded to the point where they parceled out work to other members of
their craft could afford this luxury. The consequences were the same
in either case. Economic elitism had crept into even the outward
appearance of the craft guilds.
Thrupp, Merchant Class, pp. 12-13.

 

43Edwin Benson, Life in a Medieval City, (London, 1920), pps. 41-42
describes how the "capitalist employers" took control of the guilds,
entrenched their positions, then moved on to become the mayors and
aldermen who governed the cities and towns.

44Gwyn Williams, Medieval London From Commune to Capital, (London, 1963),
Appendix B, presents biographical notes on some of the early craftsmen

who assumed the position of mayor in London.

45
Brentano, p. 48.
The London companies' gradual infiltration into the office of alderman
and their entrenchment there is well documented. Thrupp, Merchant
Class, pps. 321-377 lists records of some aldermanic families of London,

 

 

36

complete with indications of the crafts which dominated these positions.
Apparently once these elite guild members assumed political office,
they stayed a while. Thrupp calculates the London aldermen averaged
eleven years in office, with one officeholder's tenure extending to
twenty-eight years.

Ibid., p. 73.

46Blackham, p. 48.

47Thrupp feels the influence of this economic elite may have extended
beyond political office and operated at a more subtle level also. Al-
though this elite class did not compose the town chronicles and
custumals themselves, they often employed, or gave patronage to, the
writersvflu>prepared these documents. As a result, the records of town
political life could be influenced by the elite class when they held
political power, and perhaps even when they did not formally hold
political office. See Merchant Class, p. 163.

 

48Harris, Coventry, pp. 216-219.
49Olive Coleman, "Trade and Prosperity in the Fifteenth Century: Some
Aspects of the Trade of Southhampton," Economic History Review, Second
Series, Vol. XVI, No. 1, Aug. 1963, pp. 13-14.

 

50Until 1371, new freemen were admitted at York based on the demand for

labor. After 1371, the status could be purchased by selected indivi-
duals. Dobson concludes there must have been a separate register for
the freemen admitted by patrimony. The early version of this list
covering the 1364-1418 period is apparently lost. See Dobson, pps.

9 G 18.

51Langland, Piers the Ploughman, ed. Skeat, I, 71 (C. Passus IV, 108-
118).

 

52The Coventry weavers regulated the number of apprentices their masters

could have. (Harris gives no indication of the number allowed.) The
cappers allowed only two apprentices per master with the provision
that any apprentice who quit could not be replaced until the seven
year serving-time had elapsed. See Harris, Coventry, p. 225.

531b1d., p. 216.

54Thrupp, Merchant Class, p. 23.

 

55Green, Town Life, p. 122.

6Green, p. 124. In 1383 the saddlers' serving men tried to get around
this restriction by forming a religious fraternity. The guise did

not work, however, and the mayor forbade their meetings. Ibid., p.
125.

57
Thrupp, Merchant Class, p. 27.

 

 

 

_._

 

S8Harris, Coventry, p. 80.
sglbid., p. 83.

6OIbid.

6

lThrupp, Merchant Class, p. 33.

 

 

 

4 .5.-

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER III

GUILD COMMERCIAL AIMS IN RELATION TO THE CYCLE PLAYS

Documents relative to production of the cycle plays strongly
suggest that by the later Middle Ages an important change had occurred
in the guilds' attitudes toward the usefulness of their plays. Earlier
in the Middle Ages the mystery plays had customarily been dedicated to
the ”Honour of God the Father Almighty” or the ”Health and amendment
of souls.”1 Religion dominated medieval life, and all activities, in-
cluding the drama, came under its purview. However, the cycle plays
apparently became gradually more than just products of religious motiva-
tion. We get one glimpse of this from a fifteenth century Worcester
proclamation. The proclamation began traditionally enough by ordaining
the town's mystery plays "to the worshippe of God." However, it then
significantly went beyond religious purpose to assert that the plays
were also being presented for the ”profite and encrese of seid city,
and also all the craftis that ben contributory to the same.”2 By the
fifteenth century Worcester, for one, had formally rec0gnized the com-
mercial potential of the cycle plays, and several factors indicate that
guild and town members in other urban centers of England were equally
aware of the commercial advantages their cycle plays could offer.

In the first place, the plays were presented when record holiday
crowds visited the towns. Like the fairs, the plays were scheduled in

conjunction with religious occasions. The biggest difference between

38

 

 

 

 

the two was that the cycle plays were performed during major religious
festivals such as Corpus Christi and Pentecost rather than on the feast
day of some comparatively minor (frequently local patron) saint such as
St. Audrey or St. Bartholomew. This scheduling guaranteed the guilds
great numbers of potential consumers at the plays, a primary considera-
tion for the guilds when demand for craft products had generally dwindled
because of a population reduced and an economy depressed by the plague.
Towns like Coventry and York, which played their craft cycles during

the Corpus Christi festival, could expect thousands of visitors in con-
nection with the celebration. Dugdale's recollection of eyewitness
accounts given to him of the Coventry pageants emphasizes how "the con-
fluence of people from fair and neare to se that shew was extraordinary
great, and yeilded noe small advantage to this cittye."3 Since its
inception in 1311, the Corpus Christi festival had been one of England's
most pOpular religious occasions, and the people it drew to the towns
and churches in celebration constituted a sizable market for trade acti-
vity, a market that had literally been brought to the doorsteps of the
town guilds.

That the guilds recognized the commercial potential in the large
numbers attending these religious festivals is evidenced by the extensive
steps they took to insure that festival crowds were drawn to the plays.
The guilds invariably publicized their plays to the crowds. An expositer
might precede the plays proclaiming the banns as an inducement for town
visitors to attend the plays. The Chester Banns exemplify this attempt
to create audience interest in the plays. The crowds were promised
twenty—four pageants "played to the beste of theire skill," complete

with the spectacle of the Flood, the marvel of Balaam's talking ass, the

 

 

 

 

 

40

miracle of Christ's Resurrection and Ascension, and some good music as

 

part of the Nativity and Christ in the Temple pageants. This would
certainly have been an impressive offering for any medieval gathering
which took these productions literally, and one made even more appealing
to the Chester crowds with the benediction, whether legitimate or not,
offered by the expositer to those who attended the plays.4 At Beverley
publicizing the craft plays was done by three "waits" who were paid the
sum of twenty pence to ride through the town and advertise the forth-
coming pageants.S

The proclamation which preceded the Ludus Coventriae cycle employed

 

the "coming attractions" technique to generate interest in the craft
plays, in the manner of the ”trailer" currently used in TV and movies.
The three vexillators promise "the pepyl to plese with plays ful glad,”
followed by a description of the individual pageants being presented.6
The Ludu§_proclamation has the added distinction of attempting to line

up an audience for the plays as much as a week in advance of their pre-
sentation. The vexillators state "A sunday next yf that we may/ At vj

of the belle we gynne oure play/ In N. town wherefore we pray/ That god
now by youre Spede.” The ”N” in this statement has commonly been accepted
as indicating "nomen," - the name of the next town where the Ludn§_cycle
was scheduled to be performed. The idea of making a theatrical progress
with the cycle plays was apparently not foreign during this time period.
The records are scanty, but there is evidence that the Coventry plays
were presented also at Bristol in 1570 and perhaps other times.7 In this
light the Ludus_proclamation can be accepted as an attempt to publicize
the cycle productions in advance of their presentation at the various

towns on the scheduled route.

 

 

41 1

Another way the guilds publicized their craft pageants was to push E
the pageant wagons through the town before the crowds as an "instant”
preview of the later full show. In those towns where the pageants were
played "on the green,” as at Lincoln, or possibly "on the Pavement” at
York, the wagons were pulled through the town en route to the playing
area, usually stopping briefly at selected locations to give the festi-
val visitors a dumb show preview of the coming productions. This method
intensified audience interest in the plays because of the visual preview;
it had the added advantages of creating a ”snow ball effect" as the audi—
ence followed the wagons along, gathering additional curious visitors 1
with the crowd on its way to the playing area. I
Other efforts also aimed at drawing festival visitors to the craft
plays. Making attendance more attractive for certain visitors was one.
Special viewing arrangements for select individuals or groups held the
same appeal then as they do today when distinguished visitors may be
seated on temporary scaffolding for a clearer view of the proceedings.
These distinguished guests bolstered the numbers at the plays; they
possibly also drew others to the plays to see the notables in attendance.
Both Chester and York erected special scaffolding to accommodate these
guests at their plays, the scaffolding sites at York increasing from

twelve to sixteen as the popularity of this type of viewing arrangement

grew.8

Private lodgings were also used to provide a more comfortable van-
tage point from which to view the proceedings. Persons, especially the
affluent, who might otherwise avoid the plays for fear of the crowds
or weather conditions, could take advantage of these facilities for a

more relaxed, pleasant observation of the plays. In some towns the sites

 

42

where the plays could be performed were bid for by interested parties
for individual reasons. At York, the locations where the pageants would
stop were varied, the selected sites being sold to the highest bidders.
In that city, ”ambitious citizens, desirous either of entertaining their
friends or of attracting notice to their shops, were willing to pay sums
ranging from one shilling to four shillings... for the privilege of
having a play performed."9 Individual guildsmen could therefore find
added benefit from this arrangement meant to provide special accommoda—
tions to attract people to the plays. The successful bidder and adjacent
tradesmen received monies for space rental to view the plays from inside
or outside their shops. In addition, the presence of tourists in the
shops could frequently lead to immediate sales of their goods.10 In
either case, the dual function of drawing a market to the guild pageants
and directly benefitting individual guild members was served by the
proliferation of sites where the plays would be performed.

The use of private lodgings also offered an excellent opportunity
for dispensing good will to various town visitors, thereby making their
visit to the town a more enjoyable and attractive occasion. In 1478, the
mayor of York rented one Nicholas Bewyck's front chamber from which to
view the Corpus Christi plays, and to distribute red and white wine to
visiting "knights, ladies, gentlemen, and nobles then being in the city."11
This early public relations effort represents another attempt to establish
an inviting atmosphere at the plays to make people happy that they attended,
and receptive to the commercial display around them. Records also indi—
cate that in 1457, Margaret of Anjou, Henry VI's queen, stayed at the
home of one Richard Wode, a Coventry grocer, for the express purpose of

seeing the Corpus Christi plays.12 Richard II visited Chester at least

 

 

 

 

 

43

once when the mystery plays were performed, and Prince Arthur attended

a performance of "The Assumption" there in 1498, put on especially for
his pleasure.13 No doubt the presence of royalty in the town bolstered
attendance at the plays, while adding special verve to the guild produc-
tions in front of the esteemed visitors.

Finally, there is one further aspect of the plays which would have
increased the "market" at the performances. The plays were apparently
a useful and common device for preachers to turn to should their audi-
ence be unable to grasp the required truth of their sermons. One
preacher, according to a 1527 text, closed his sermon with the admonition
that if his listeners did not believe him, "then for a more suerte and
suffycyente auctoryte go your way to Conventre, and there ye shall se

4 A later account recalls how

them all playd in Corpus Christi play."1
an elderly man confessed to have learned of salvation "once in a play
at Kendal, called Corpus Christ's play, where there was a man on a

15 At Chester, this concept of the craft

tree, and blood ran down."
plays as sermons was even formalized in the city proclamation which

ordained their playing "for the augmentation and increase of the Holy

 

Catholic faith... and to exhort the minds of common people to good
devotions..."16 These examples typify the practical application that
could be made of the plays as didactic devices, and how common usage
of the plays to provide a more "suffycyente auctoryte" for the unlearned
masses of the times added another increment to the market at the plays
from which the guilds might reap some commercial gain.

In addition to being perfbrmed before the large holiday crowds that
visited English medieval towns, the cycle plays offered a convenient

and economical way for trade members to advertise their goods. Whereas

 

 

 

44

the fairs and other large scale trade outlets had become highly special-
ized in the type of goods they promoted and often too expensive for the
average tradesman to even consider attending, the cycle plays gave all
trade guildsmen the opportunity for ”at hand" promotion of their goods
without the expense or difficulties involved in participation at the
fairs. The ease of display in a single craft pageant and the maximum
exposure that diSplay had in terms of the "market" it reached made guild
promotion and display in such pageants a very attractive and economical
venture. Display in the craft plays was also economical in the sense
that the cycle productions were supported by ”pageant silver," an assess—
ment levied on all guild members to defray pageant costs; By using this
equalized financing method, the guilds were able to provide an excellent
opportunity for craft promotion at a reasonable fee to all guild members,
and the guilds made sure they had ample funds by using stringent fines
against those who failed to meet their pageant silver obligations.l7
This opportunity could benefit all guild members, from the most success-
ful to the smallest, and the ease of this type of promotion along with
its relative economy was another factor which would have made the cycle
plays an appealing and effective means for guild promotion during the
fifteenth century in England.

A third factor which could have prompted the trade guilds to see
their cycle plays as potential advertising media for craft products was
the practice, established earlier in England, of displaying guild pro-
ducts as part of civic processions and other public events. As early
as 1298 the London guilds had begun designing their public pageants so
that those pageants included either an outright display of guild goods

and services, or acted as distribution points for samples of guild

 

 

 

45

products.18 London was the trend setter for medieval England and the
precedent London established soon became well known and copied through-
out the realm. The capital had already acted as a model for many towns
in England with its mayoral procession, an event which those towns
directly emulated or adapted to their own circumstances.19 In addition
London guild structure and practices had long been copied by the out-
lying towns.20 It therefore seems logical that the guilds in highly
commercial towns like Chester and York, having heard of or seen the
London example of guild display in public pageants, would rapidly realize
the benefits they could derive from incorporating their own displays in
the most widely attended events they could exploit, the popular religious
festivals.

A final factor which could have led the craft guilds to view their
cycle plays as more than mere dramatic productions was the potential
these plays possessed for bettering public opinion of the trade guilds.
Traditionally the craft guilds had been involved in several activities
which helped build a positive public image of the guilds. Religion was
one of these. The craft guilds regularly provided light at the altar
of their patron.21 The wealthier guilds often supported a priest in
the local church and contributed financially to church building projects.
Even the selection of a patron saint could enhance guild status in the
community.

The charitable activities of guilds also helped create an affirma-
tive public image for the crafts. The guilds established poor houses

or specified certain holidays when they fed their town's aged and im-

'7

23

poverished. In some cases the wealthier guilds founded schools. At

York the craft guilds helped finance four leper hospitals outside the

 

 

 

 

 

 

46

town gates in a display of charity surely appreciated by York citizens
at a time in history when fear Of lepers was still substantial. The
Hull mariners distributed coal and wood to poor people in that town on
Plough Day, a locally important holiday which fell the first MOnday
after Epiphany.24

The guilds also used formal civic occasions to help increase
public respect. Whether it was the London guilds accompanying royal
entries, coronations, mayoral processions, or the return of military
victors, or guilds in other English towns marching as part Of local
festivities, the guilds viewed these occasions as opportunities to
present themselves to the public in the best light. This is evidenced
by the rules which the guilds adopted to regulate participation in these
events. Each member was required to attend, wear the guild livery, and
act in an appropriate manner.25

The preceding activities exemplify several ways through which the
craft guilds helped better their public image. However, substantial
evidence exists in guild and municipal records to suggest the guilds
viewed the Corpus Christi and other major religious festivals as possi-

bly their most advantageous opportunity for public relations work. Be-

 

cause of the popularity and prestige Of these occasions, highly visible
and successful guild participation could have maximum public relations
value. One example comes from London where the skinners took aggressive
steps to capitalize on the Corpus Christi festival's importance for their
own benefit. Early in the fOurteenth century the London skinners fOrmed
the Fraternity of Corpus Christi so they could claim the unique distinc-
tion of organizing the Corpus Christi procession.26 This special honor

was confirmed by charter and the skinners had the Opportunity to impress

 

 

ll

 

 

 

47

the public with the guild's capability and effectiveness as organizers
of the festival procession. A successful, well managed procession could
reflect very favorably on the skinners and add significantly to their
public standing. An appropriately coordinated procession would be a
bright feather in the guild cap, perhaps even useful in part to offset
those scurrilous complaints during the period that members of the
skinners' guild were unable to piece together fur and cloth in a decent
fashion, as Gower charged.27

In those English towns where presentation Of the mystery plays
highlighted the major religious festivals, the trade guilds that pro-
duced these plays also enjoyed exceptional opportunities to better their
public standing. One indication the guilds viewed those plays specifi-
.cally as vehicles for bolstering public opinion comes from the Chester

Banns which exhorted the masons and goldsmiths to present The Massacre

 

of the Innocents ”theyre craft to magnyfye.”28 The play was seen as a

 

medium through which the producing guild was exposed to the public in
such a manner as to influence public opinion favorably. The use of the
word "magnyfye" is indicative here. It suggests how conscious the guilds
were of the distinction their groups achieved as part of these major
religious celebrations and how closely the public would scrutinize the
guild presentations. Any effOrt that did not meet public expectations
during these festivals could be a definite blow to guild status. Those
efforts that were successful were certain to boost guild standing in
the community.

The most extensive evidence Of guild determination to see that
their cycle plays were successful productions which reflected favorably

on the producing guilds appears in the municipal and guild records which

 

 

 

48

detail the care and attention the guilds used to present suitable Corpus
Christi productions and better ”magnyfye" themselves in public. One
means which the guilds used to aid their attempts at quality in the cycles
was that of guild-play assignments. If a play were assigned to a guild

on the basis of guild occupation, such as the York Bakers' Last Supper

 

or Shipwrights' Building of the Ark, the guild would have a definite

 

advantage in the resources and skills it could bring to the play for a
convincing, well-executed production.29 Being able to provide the neces-

sary edibles for The Last Supper, and perhaps distributing some samples

 

to the public afterwards, or including dialogue in the Noah play which
emphasizes the knowledge and expertise Of the shipwrights, was a distinct
bonus in public relations to these specific guilds.30 Any other guilds
whose crafts provided them a close connection with the content of the
play assigned to them could also benefit from the quality and advertising
such arrangements could produce.
On the other hand, if the plays were assigned to the guilds based
on craft and/or wealth, as Purvis indicates, those wealthier guilds which
had no outward occupational relationship to the content Of their plays
could finance an impressive production fully capable of reflecting favor-
ably on the guilds.31
It is,therefore, clear why those guilds that belonged to the affluent
group -- the mercers, Vintners, drapers and goldsmiths, for example --
were assigned the costlier plays in the cycles since they could put on
an elaborate, impressive production where needed.32 Even in the remain-
ing instances where no direct correlation between guild and play can be

determined (in some cases the patron saint might be a link, but an

elusive one), we must recognize the constant municipal efforts directed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

toward grouping the smaller guilds together for production purposes so
those guilds could fulfill their civic responsibility and have the
chance tO raise themselves in the public eye through successful produc-
tions. For these small guilds, such as the York parchment makers who
numbered only four, or the lorimers and spurriers who together totalled
only seventeen members, amalgamation was the key to their ability to
bring forth an attractive, well-produced Corpus Christi play in order

to benefit from the public recognition and esteem which such a production
could generate.33 By pooling their financial resources and talents,
these smaller guilds could compete effectively with the larger ones for

a share of the public recognition which accompanied a successful cycle
play. They could rent a pageant wagon for playing their production; they
could rent or buy appropriate costumes for the players. In short, the
smaller guilds could marshall their finances in order to use the Corpus
Christi plays as public relations devices in the same way that those
guilds who were assigned plays either because of their craft or wealth
could.

Play assignments were one means the guilds could use to promote
excellence in cycle productions and thus improve the image of the guilds
which produced them. Staging the plays, however, was the area which
naturally received the most attention in the guild quest for excellence
in their craft presentations. Guild efforts and expenses constantly
aimed at raising production standards in the plays in order also to
raise guild position in the community.

As a first step a pageant master was appointed to oversee the produc-
tion for each year.34 Use of this designated producer-director was a

common move to allow close supervision of the guild production and avoid

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

50

any laxities that might slip by looser forms of control. This system
also allowed the guilds to draw on their members who were most effective
in such a position fOr maximum advantage to the guild. In some cases
one master was appointed for an extended period, perhaps for life, if

he evidenced a particular adroitness at handling the productions.35 The
guilds sought out those means which could most advantageously organize
and control production and improve quality; and the use of the pageant
master was one such move.

One of the most immediate considerations any pageant master faced
was the matter Of providing a suitable "stage” or pageant wagon for the
play. The wagons had to be attractive and functional; they were to be
"well decked," as the Chester Banns instructed the wrightes and sklaters,
in order to contribute to the success of the play.

The records are reasonably extensive in this respect and they pro-
vide a sampling of the variety found in the pageant wagons and the guild
efforts to make those wagons an appealing and useful part of their pro-
duction. The Norwich grocers' wagon was a ”Howse of Waynskott, paynted
and buylded on a Carte, with foure wheyls" and a "square topp to sett

36

over ye sayde Howse." It was also topped with a gilded griffon and

weathervane, and hung about with three painted clothes to prepare it

appropriately for the craft production.37

The Chester drapers were

to "set out wealthelye" their production, according to the Banns. The
Chester mercers decked their wagon out in "sundry cullors of velvet,
satten and damaske fine, taffyta, sersnett of poppyngee grene" in order
to fulfill Bann requirements that ”costely and fine yee Tryme up your

Cariage as Custom ever was."38 Needless to say, the Banns provided

them with a superb opportunity to display their best work. The York

 

 

 

 

 

 

mercers spent extensive sums providing their pageant wagon with its

39

”heuen of Iren," cloth hangings, ”clouds,” and twenty artificial angels.”
Since the pageant wagon was the basic vehicle for presentation of
the craft plays, the guilds took precise steps to make certain the wagons
were reliably functional for the performances and did not detract from the
presentations as a result of some defect in their operation. At Hull
the shipwrights paid six pence to a wright for "clinking" (securing or
fastening with nails or rope) Noah's ship, in addition to the amounts
they allocated for grease and straw to insure that the wagon did not
squeak during the performance.40 The York mercers spent considerable
sums keeping up their pageant wagon, funds going at various times for
new wheels, new ropes, a new door, and other "Warkmanship to the_grete
paujand."41 Sharp's account Of pageant expenses at Coventry itemizes
the funds which were continuously directed toward maintenance of the
wagons to guarantee that they could function prOperly and be an asset to
the productions.42 Guild expenses from the Hull Npap_production include
a 1485 entry for money paid to the carpenter who went along with the

43 At York the bakers, skinners, and dyers attacked the man

”shipp.”
responsible for housing their pageant wagons because he did not maintain
shelter for the wagons properly so they could be protected from the ele-
ments and curious passers-by.44 Perhaps the most impressive evidence

we have of the measures which the guilds took to insure their pageant
vehicles' proper Operation comes from London where the ”Maiden Chariot
of the Mercers" was directly accompanied by a corps of wheelwrights and
carpenters to take immediate care of any mechanical difficulties that

might occur during the procession.45 This early use of what might be

called a traveling "pit crew" further exemplifies the importance which

 

 

 

. ...—

 

 

52

the guilds attached to their pageant wagons and the steps they took to
'make sure the wagons would reflect guild thoroughness and ability in
their public presentations.

However, whatever happens "on the boards” is as important as whether
those boards squeak or not, and the guilds were acutely aware of the need
for acting quality in their cycle productions. Nothing can ruin a drama-
tic presentation more rapidly than poor acting, and the medieval audience
was a tough one, already enlivened by the festive spirit and holiday
atmosphere of the occasion, and quick to react boisterously to a poor

performance. Town and guild authorities, therefore, took special steps

 

to promote acting quality in the cycle productions in order to avoid any
negative public reactions to the plays. York established the most com-
prehensive system for securing the best available local talent for the
cycle plays. In a 1476 act, the city set up a committee of four of the
most "conying, discrete and able players... to serche here and examen all
the plaiers and plaies and pagentes thrughoute all the artificers belong-
ing to the Corpus Christi plays."46 This was a concerted effort to
establish and maintain a definite quality in the acting and general pre-
sentation of the plays. The task was an onerous one, since the York plays

47 This

might require as many as five hundred players in the cycle.
screening underscores the importance the guilds attached to acting in
the plays and concern for the potential repercussions on public image of
the guild should the acting be unacceptable. Only those persons suffi-
cient in ”conyng, voice and personne" were to be accepted as a result

. , . . 48
of the committee 5 dec151ons.

Although not in the form of a municipal enactment such as York's,

the town of Chester placed similar emphasis on acting standards in its

 

 

1% _

 

 

 

53

cycle. The Chester Banns call on the tanners in their Fall of Lucifer

to employ ”good speech" and ”fyne players with Apparill Comelye."49

 

This admonition with its accent on acting in the productions is doubly
important since it applies to the first of the Chester pageants. It

was both a distinct attempt to establish a level of acting quality in
the one play, and to set a standard for the following plays in the cycle.
The Chester concern for acting proficiency in that cycle is reiterated
twice in the Banns, when the wrightes and sklaters are directed to pro-
ceed with "good players in showe,” and when the glovers are called on to
bring forth their pageant "with players orderly."SO This repeated con-
cern for acting skills in the Chester Banns demonstrates how the craft
guilds were expected to meet acting standards in their productions and
how those Banns were used to attract an audience to the plays with the
promise of fine acting.

Another way some guilds achieved a higher quality of acting in
their productions was to hire the lead players. Expense items from
Coventry, York, and Hull indicate the use of such specially hired players
to bolster acting standards.51 Most likely the early players were local
talents who became particularly adept at performing in the cycle plays.52
On the other hand, there is also the possibility that, as the guilds
grew more sophisticated in their presentations, as both their wealth
and desire for better productions grew, professional actors were brought
in to add a special flair and attraction to the plays.53 Modern produc-
tions, such as summer circuit plays, usually put together their perform-
ances by importing a reasonably capable and well known actor<rractress

who can attract an audience to the play and provide a seasoned performance.

In the more demanding stage productions, like locally produced operas,

 

 

 

 

 

 

54

"out of town” talent generally is hired to assume the difficult lead
roles with the remaining roles filled by local performers. Although our
evidence is sketchy, I believe we can assume that this same principle
was most likely used in the fifteenth century by those guilds whose
productions contained lead roles of unusual complexity. Accounts re-
cording payments to actors portraying Herod indicate exceptionally large
amounts paid for this character and suggest the possibility that a
professional actor may have taken the role.54 Pilate was another role
that demanded a good perfOrmance for a successful Trial production and
professional actors could have been brought in for the play, judging
from the amounts paid for the Pilate role.55 These instances exemplify
the efforts and financial resources which the craft guilds were willing
to expend to secure acting proficiency in their plays, as one step toward
an overall successful production.

Costuming was another aspect of the plays to which the guilds paid
close attention as part of their production standards. The only costume
actually described in any of the cycle plays seems to have been the
butchers' devil at Chester who was to appear "in his fethers, all ragger

and rente.”56

Otherwise the guilds were free to use whatever costumes
they felt were consistent with their own vision of Bible stories. No
guild wished to incur the financial loss or, more importantly, the ill-
repute which the Beverley Drapers suffered in 1520 when their whole guild
was fined by the city Aldermen for not displaying appropriate garb
("vestibus honestis") in the guild play.57 The guilds, therefore, took

special steps to see that the garments used in their plays were both

suitable and attractive additions to the productions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

55

Costumes for the cycle plays were anachronistic; they reflected the
mode of medieval times rather than any historical consistency with
biblical story. As a result, the guilds could supply their costumes
from several sources. Costumes could be made by the producing guild for
their own production if their craft were part of the cloth trade; they
could be borrowed, rented, or purchased solely for the productions, de-
pending on the matter of the play and wealth of the guilds.

Since no records exist for the mere loan of a garment for a produc-
tion, how heavily the guilds relied on this method of procuring costumes
must remain undocumented. We can assume that in those cases where the
guild records do not itemize any payments for rental or purchase of cos—
tumes the guildsmen supplied their own garments for the production. If
a particularly fine outfit were needed, perhaps a more successful guild
member would lend it. If, on the other hand, ordinary garb was called
for in the play, those performing roles could most likely satisfy the
costuming requirements with their own clothes. Although there would be
nothing noteworthy about these "costumes,” they would be appropriate for
the presentation and would not detract from guild production standards.

In those instances where play content dictated extraordinary cos-
tuming, special garments could be custom-made or rented by the guilds
to fulfill production requirements and add some glamour to the production.
The "original" costumes were often meticulously made, expensive garments
which reflected guild concern for costuming achievement as part of their
overall production standards. The white leather robe made for God the
Father in the Coventry smiths' pageant cost two shillings five pence in
1451 and three shillings in 1553.58 These costs included the skins, white

tinting, and fees for making the coat. Gloves and painted rays that

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

beamed from God's head completed this singularly impressive and expen-
sive costume for the smiths' play. At York, the mercers paid a sizable

two shillings four pence in 1462 for making and painting God the Son's

 

sarke (shirt) and hose.59 Anything other than a flawless garment for
God would have been unacceptable to the audience and, therefore, to the
guilds who wished to please that audience. The guilds consequently

expended ample sums whenever they could to include custom-made, impres-

 

sive garments in their plays to meet the expectations of their audience
and win public approval for their productions.

When the guilds wished to rent costumes for their plays they went
to the appropriate segments of the community for the necessary garments.
Very stylish, exceptional outfits for the plays, such as Lady Powe's
striking red velvet gown which the Coventry smiths used in their Mgpy.
Magdalene production, or the pair of silk garments the Devonshire Herod
wore on Corpus Christi day, were rented from the well-to-do.60 The
church was another source for costumes, clerical garb being essential to
the T£i§1_plays among others. The guilds paid substantial sums for use

of clerical garments in the plays, church wardrobes such as that at

Chelmsford becoming valuable sources of income to the church wardens

 

from rental fees.61 The guilds paid these extensive rental or purchase
sums because they recognized the need for appropriate and attractive
costuming in their plays while the continuous amounts the guilds paid
for mending and repairing the costumes in their plays complete this
picture of emphasis on costuming in the craft cycles.62

In addition to the basic staging requirements of acting and costumes,

the guilds many times used music to make their productions more exciting

 

and dramatically effective for the audienCes. Reference to music in the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

57

play texts is scattered. Singing is called for in the Chester Nativity -
”Tunc angelus cantabit 'Hec est ara Dei celi'” - and the Banns heightened
audience anticipation of this addition by instructing the painters and

glazers to "see that 'Gloria in excelsis' be songe merelye.” The angels

singing ”Gloria tibi, Domine” were part of the Ludus Coventriae Temptation
63

 

play, while priests sang "in the shipp" as part of the Hull Noah play.
The Towneley Second Shepherds' Play includes some early three part

vocalizing by the shepherds;64 a later inclusion in the York Noah play
(IX) indicates that ”Tunc cantent Noe et filii sui." The York cycle is

unique in that it contains one play, the weavers' Appearance of Our Lady

 

to Thomas (XLVI), for which the manuscript provides three polyphonic songs

and directs the use of a twelve angel choir performing the songs.65

Such a unique and spectacular distinction was sure to reinforce the
weavers' eminent status in the York community and give the viewing audi-
ence further evidence of their wealth, and concern for a successful pro-
duction. For the most part, singing in the plays was inspirational,

to highlight the religious content of the texts, as in the weavers'
production, or simple folk song meant to enliven the production. Its
immediate purpose was dramatically functional, but it provided yet an-
other means Of making the cycle productions more distinctive and memorable
for the public and hence raising public opinion of the guilds.

The use of instrumental music in the plays could also enhance guild
status by producing a fuller dramatic effect in the plays and making them
more successful examples of guild ability in the public's eye.66 Al-
though there are few direct references to the use of instrumental accom-
paniment in the plays, the most notable coming from the Chester Banns

which direct the smiths in their Purification play to "get mynstrilles to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

58

that shewe, pipe, tabarte, and flute,” the guilds apparently employed
musicians regularly to add a special musical dimension to the craft pro-
ductions. Guild records indicate that one or more minstrels were often
hired to make the plays more effective and appealing to the public.67
These minstrels, of course, could serve the initial purpose of calling
crowd attention to the plays and summoning them for the productions.
They could also musically fill brief lapses in the action when shifts

in scene or actors occurred. Just as important, though, the musicians
could add that extra flourish at certain moments in the production to
underscore a piece of dramatic action or highlight an actor's entrance
to the scene. Those guilds that could incorporate these instrumental
additions to their plays achieved a further excellence in their produc-
tions. Although instrumental music was not required in the plays as
often as vocal music, the addition constituted one further way the guilds
elaborated their presentations in order to stimulate public acknowledg-
ment and increase acclaim for the guilds and their plays.

Even though religious history and belief provided the text of the
cycle plays, the Church perhaps supplying a costume in the form of
clerical garb at times, the guilds did not rely solely on faith to in-
sure the success of their production. The rehearsed instead.

With the number of guilds participating in the cycles, and the many
pageants being presented in one day, as at York, or three days, as at
Chester, well-timed and executed productions were critical. The public
judged not only how the plays were acted and "dressed,” but also how
smoothly they were presented and how precisely they fit into the cycle
so as not to hold up the succeeding pageants. Play rehearsals, there-

fore, were crucial in allowing the productions to be "tried and trued"

 

 

 

 

59

in order to evidence these qualities of concern and control. At Chester,
in fact, the value of rehearsals as a means to successful productions was
formally recognized in the Banns which dictated that the pageants be
played only ”after breeffe rehearsal." The unique inclusion of this re-
quirement at Chester reflects the town's attitude toward rehearsals, as
well as the more widespread concern felt throughout England for rehearsals
as a tool for improving guild productions.

The most obvious indications we have of guild emphasis on play re-
hearsals come from guild records. These document the effort and money

which the guilds put into play rehearsals in order to product exceptional

 

and effective cycle dramas. In some cases the money went for food for
the players. ”Item at the ferst rehers in kakkys and alle iiijd. ob."

(York Mercers, 1463).68 Sharp also presents items for "Brede," "ale,"

 

”Kechyn," and "Vynegre" totalling two shillings two pence in his 1490
entry for the smiths' pageant.69 The important thing to note about

these entries is not only their indication of guild willingness to pay
for play rehearsals, but also that the rehearsals were apparently long
enough in duration to require frequent sustenance for the performers.

No records give us the exact time spent on rehearsing; the effort it
would take to summon all those involved to a rehearsal, and the guild
money spent for food would justify assuming that the rehearsal times
were lengthy periods. This, coupled with Sharp's evidence that a mini-
mum of two formal rehearsals was set by the Coventry guilds (corroborated
in part by the York Mercers' records which indicate ”Item at fppgp
refers...” for their productions), gives partial indication of the im-
portance attributed to rehearsals for the cycle plays.70 The remainder

of the funds which the guilds allocated for rehearsing seems to have

 

 

 

60

gone directly to the players for their services. The York mercers paid
ten pence to ”William Clark and his players for rehersyng;” the Coventry
smiths paid twelve pence ”to the plears rehersyng in the plays.” These
entries and amounts, along with those for food at the rehearsals, show
that the guilds realized the value of rehearsals and were willing to
pay for them as a means to better guild productions in the craft cycles.
Guild and municipal officials, Often the same men, also went one
step further hitheir insistence on well played cycle dramas. They insti-
tuted systems of fines to help secure satisfactory dramatic productions.
Guild records detail the payments to actors for their work in the plays.
Those records also reflect the fines assessed on individuals or whole
guilds for a less than acceptable effort. The Coventry weavers' accounts
indicate fines from six pence to ten pence for those players who failed
to perform their parts adequately.71 At Beverley, the fine imposed on
William Patson of the Drapers, presumably the pageant master, for lack
of "vestibus honestis” in the drapers' play, was levied also because
the whole production was badly done.72 Beverley officials seem to have
been particularly stringent in their concern for production standards in
the craft cycles, so much so that they also fined the whole painters'
guild "because their play was badly and confusedly played, in contempt
of the whole community, before many strangers."73 In addition, in order
to insure that as much money as possible was spent on the productions
and not on "administrative costs," many guilds established limits on the
expenses their "searchers" (the men who collected the pageant silver)
could incur. Exceeding those limits was subject to severe fines, the
York tailors levying a fifteen pound penalty on their searchers who were

careless enough to go beyond the five pound limit on collecting pageant

 

 

 

 

 

61

money.74 The concern here for community reaction to the plays, and the
market impact poor productions could have by alienating town visitors,
are representative of the guilds' new attitude toward their plays, an
attitude which valued the plays for their worth as economic and public
relations devices, as well as for their religious content. It now
remains for us to examine the cycle plays closely in order to determine
whether the general developments cited in Chapter II and the specific
conditions under which the plays were presented, as detailed in Chapter

III, have indeed produced identifiable elements of commercialism in

the plays.

Footnotes

1See M. Lyle Spencer, Corpus Christi Pageants in England (New York,
1911), p. 16 and M. Fothergill Robinson The Spirit of ASSOciation
(London, 1913), p. 26, respectively for these examples from Beverley

and York proclamations.

2Spencer, p. 17 indicates that this latter portion of the dedicatory
statement is emphasized greatly in the wording and style of the

document.

3Chambers, Medieval, p. 110.

4See Chester Banns I (1539) 115. 267-279 "Isu crist that sytts on hee/
And his blessyd mother marie/ Saue all this goodely company/ And kepe
you nyght and day.” Malone Society, The Trial and Flagellation with
Other Studies in the Chester Cycle (Oxford, 1935), p. 139. Also Banns
II, p. 159, ”The coclusion (sic) of ye Banes he wisheth heauen to ye
behoulders of these playes/ To wch reste of Joyes and celestiall habita-
tion/ Graunte us free passage yt alltogeather wee/ Acompanyed wth
angells and endles delectation/ maye continuallye laude God and prayse

yt kinge of glorye."

5Spencer, p. 39. The waits were either municipal criers or other
individuals hired to ride through the town and proclaim the plays.
They heralded their announcements with a trumpet, and sometimes their
group included musicians and singers as part of the promotion.

6Early English Text Society, Ludus Coventriae, ed. by K. S. Block,
ES No. 120 (London, 1922), p. 1, L. 6.

7Charles Hastings, The Theatre, its DeveIOpment in France and England
(London, 1901), p. 138.

 

 

 

 

8Martial Rose, The Wakefield Mystery Plays (Garden City, 1962), p. 25.
The number of sites sold was carefully controlled by the city as a
result of numerous complaints from the citizens in 1399 about the
excessive number allowed at that time. The citizens cited the great
costs involved in presenting the plays at too many locations, the
inconvenience and confusion caused townspeople and visitors by the
excessive number of sites, and the fact that the plays were not being
presented properly due to this proliferation of playing sites as
their reasons for instituting close control of the number of playing
sites in the city. The sites were limited to twelve in response to
these complaints. See Robert Davies, Extracts from the Municipal
Records of the City of York, (London, 1843), p. 231.

In modern terms this move can be seen in part as an attempt to reduce
marketing costs for the guildsmen who used the plays to advertise

their services and products. One of the major aims of advertising

is to reduce marketing costs through effective exposure to a maximum
"market.” See Littlefield and Kirkpatrick, Advertising, (Boston, 1970),
p. 107.

9Sidney Clarke, The Miracle Play in England (London, 1897), p. 25.

 

 

 

 

 

 

10One notable example of the commercial benefits tradesmen could gain
from the use of multiple playing sites occurred at York. In 1478
Henry and Thomas Dawson, pikemongers, were granted a twelve year
lease, for twelve shillings a year, on a site at the east end of the
Ouse bridge where they could attract spectators for the productions,
provide a viewing site, and most likely sell some of their fish.
See Davies, p. 241.

llPaul Kendall, The Yorkist Age (New York, 1964), p. 66.

 

12Harris, p. 133.

13See Rupert Morris, Chester in the Plantagenet and Tudor Reigns,
(Printed privately) 1897, p. 64.

 

l4Charles Gayley, Plays of Our Forefathers (New York, 1907), p. 115.

lsIbid.

 

 

 

l6See George Fenwick's A History of the Ancient City of Chester, (London,
1896), p. 375 for the Chester decree.

 

17Support of the craft pageant was handled democratically; pageant silver
was collected systematically by guild officials to meet pageant ex-
penses. An individual craftsman's failure to pay pageant money was
fined heavily, his trade implements and products sometimes being
"rattened" (confiscated) until payment was made. See Surtees Society,
York Memorandum Book, Part I (1376-1419), Vol. CXX, (York, 1911), p.

 

 

xxxii.

   

 

 

 

18

19

20

As first recorded evidence of guild display presented dramatically
during a civic procession, Glyne Wickham cites the 1298 instance
when Edward I was welcomed back to London from a victory over the
Scots by the Fishmongers who "in a solemne Procession passed through
the citie, having amongst other Pageants and shews, foure Sturgeons
guilt, caried on four horses, then foure Salmons of silver on foure
horses, and after them six and fortie armed knights..." See Early
English Stages (London, 1463), p. 53.

Subsequent inclusions of guild materials and skills into London
pageantry are found in the Grocers' island of tropical fruits and
spices which was displayed at Henry VI's return to London as king of
both England and France. See George Unwin, The Gilds and Companies
of London (London, 1925), p. 271. See also p. 270, Unwin, for the
Goldsmiths example at Richard II's coronation and later wedding of

a castle with four towers "on two sides of which ran wine, and from
which four damsels clad in white flew on the king's face leaves of
gold and strewed his path with counterfeit gold florins."

 

 

See Conrad Gill, Studies in Midland History (Oxford, 1930), pps. 51-54
for the Coventry Midsummer procession which included giants and
symbolic figures after the London fashion.

 

See P. M. Tillott, A History of Yorkshire (London, 1961), p. 91 for
the York pewterers who adopted the London ordinances of that craft,
and the York pinners who followed the "ancient custom of London" that
no stranger should be put to work except as an apprentice in the craft.
Other examples of the London influence in town commerce include the
Chester assize of ale which was to be "a London quarte" (see Morris, p.
430) and the Hallamshire cutlers' practice of engraving private hall-
marks in their iron knives after the London fashion. See L. du Garde
Peach, The Company of Cutlers in Hallamshire in the County of York,
(Sheffield, 1960), p. l.

 

1One example comes from the Norwich bakers who vowed to "offeryn a

candel and to torches of wax; and bis light bey hoten and a-vowed to
kepyn and myntenyn... in worschepe of crist and ys modyr and seyn Johan
Babtis;” (St. John commonly being patron of the barber-surgeons during
the Middle Ages). From Early English Text Society, English Gilds,

ed. by Toulmin Smith, No. 40 (London, 1870), p. 27.

 

2Those guilds that adopted, as their patron, a saint who was both

popular and who exhibited some virtuous practice of a skill similar

to their own could benefit from that saint's pOpularity. The London
fishmongers, as well as guilds of similar vocation in other towns,
took St. Peter, a popular and prestigious Apostle, as their patron.
St. Dunstan became patron of the English goldsmiths because of his
saintly activities as an archbishop and the expertise in metal working
he also evidenced on this earth. St. Crispin, a shoemaker martyred
during DiOcletian's reign, was usually patron of the shoemakers and
other leather workers. St. Blasius, whose martyrdom was affected
through torture with a wool-comb, represented the clothworkers at
Shrewsbury, and Adam and Eve frequently presided over the tailors since
the pair was "the first of their craft." See Francis Hibbert, I22.
Influence and Development of English Gilds (Cambridge, 1891).

 

 

 

 

 

 

64

3Benson, p. 45.

24Anna Mill, ”The Hull Noan Play,” Modern Language Review, Vol. 33,

1938, p. 501.
25Although some guilds did not have liveries - (those which did not,
such as the St. Clement's guild at Cambridge, usually dictated each
member ”comyth... to ye messe, in his best clothynge, in ye worchippe
of gode and of synt Clement, else he schol payen ij lib. wax.” (See
Smith, Gilds, p. 275) - most guilds adopted distinct liveries as
emblems of their oganization. Normally each guildsman provided a
livery at his own cost and was forbidden to sell it for at least two
years lest it fall into unauthorized hands. In some cases the guilds
placed such great emphasis on a uniform and numerically impressive
public appearance by their members that those groups who could afford
to supplied liveries to members who could not provide their own. The
mid-fourteenth century ordinance of the Coventry merchant guild states
that some members are provided hoods "at the common cost to the guild.
And the poor when they provide for, are every year clad in gowns and
hoods worth x. 11. and more.” Ibid., p. 231.
The extraordinary amounts some guilds paid to supply their members'
liveries is another indication of the crafts' determination to see
the public perceived them as well-organized, civic-minded brotherhoods
rather than as shoddily clad, disorganized groups. Unwin, p. 191 indi-
cates a full livery cost the London guildsmen about 18 shillings at
the beginning of the fifteenth century. The London grocers spent E67
in 1401 for new liveries for their members, while the brewers expended
a staggering E185 in 1417 for new liveries for their members. Clearly,
civic appearances were important to the craft guilds as a means for
building a positive public opinion of the guilds.

26A. R. Myers, London in the Age of Chaucer (Norman, Okalahoma, 1972),

p. 164.

 

 

27Gower, Mirour de L'Ome, IIs. 25,680-25,718.

28The Chester Banns I (1539?). See the Trial and Flagellation with
Other Studies in the Chester Cycle, The Malone Society, (Oxford, 1935,
p. 135.

29Other examples of the correlation between craft and content might in-
clude the York mariners who did the Noah and the Flood play, the York
goldsmiths' production of the Adoration, the Chester waterleaders'

‘play of the Deluge, the Norwich dyers and goldsmiths' presentation
of the Nativity and the Adoration plays (along with five other guilds),
the Newcastle Shipwrights' play of Noah's Ark.

30Salter, Chester Drama, pps. 79-80 suggests that the Chester bakers, as
part of their Betrayal production, distributed samples to the crowd
under an edict in the Banns to "caste good loaves Abroade with a
Cheerful harte," (Early English Text Society version, p. 7, 115. 137
ff. The Malone Society version goes "caste Gods loue abroade with
accustomed cherefull harte.”) The same could apply to the York Bakers
or any others involved in the Last Supper plays.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

65

31J. S. Purvis, From Minster to Market Place, (York, 1964), p. 20.

 

32According to Green, p. 112, the guilds fell into four levels of respect

and affluence: The "aristocrats" who, like the Vintners, grocers,
mercers, profited from commerce alone; the middlemen and traders who
sold others' products; the artisans who prepared work for the middlemen;
and those craftsmen who made and sold their goods (bakers, shoemakers,
etc.).
33Guild figures from York Memorandum Book, Part I, pps. xiix and xxxviii.
Comparison here should be made to some of the larger guilds like the
saddlers who had 34 members, the tailors with 128 members, the dyers
with 59, and the tapiters with 58 members.

 

34In some cases apparently several pageant masters were appointed for a

single guild. The York mercers designated four to govern their produc-
tions. This increased number could point to even greater control over
the presentation, with the individual pageant master perhaps responsible
for a particular portion of the production, say finances, while an-
other master would concentrate on acting, costuming, etc.

35See Gayley, p. 99 for information on how in 1453 Thomas Colchow
arranged to manage the Coventry smiths' pageant for 12 years, or how
John of Arras, a "hayrer" at Beverley, managed the Paradise pageant
"for life.” The hayrers apparently made haircloth or hair shirts
at Beverley. They produced the Paradise play and presumably supplied
the two shirts listed among the items used in this play. See
Beverley Manuscripts, p. 66.

 

36Spencer, p. 87.
37Also see Spencer, p. 87 for complete description of the wagon includ-
ing the smaller "fanes" (vanes), and stage properties such as flowers
and fruit which adorned the cart.

38Fred Crossley, Cheshire (London, 1949), p. 58.

39See Johnston and Dorrell's ”The York Mercers and Their Pageant of
Doomsday" in Leeds Studies in English, Vol. VI, 1972, n.s., pps. 11-35
for a complete description of the wagon, its expenses, and its major
overhaul in 1463. Especially interesting and indicative of guild
determination to set forth a colorful and attractively arrayed wagon is
the 1449-50 entry of 15d. for two and one half yards of linen cloth
for the ”heuyn of our pageant," 2d. for sewing the cloth, and the
astronomical sum of 135. 4d. for "steynyng of the clothes of oure
pageand." Johnston and Dorrell (p. 17) explain staining as "to orna-
ment with coloured designs or patterns,” a notation that clarifies
the large amount spent on these clothes and adds emphatically to our
picture of guild attempts to make their pageant wagons visually im-
pressive, even awesome to the spectators.

40Alexander Franklin, Seven Miracle Plays (Oxford, 1963), p. 17.

 

 

 

 

 

 

66

41Johnston and Dorrell give a full list of the mercers' pageant-expenses

in their Appendix I.
42See Thomas Sharp, A Dissertation on the Pageants of Dramatic Mysteries
Ancienty Performed at Coventry, (Wakefield, 1973), pps. 14, 16, 48-50.

43Mill, ”Hull Noah," p. 499.

 

 

44See Ann Mill "The York Bakers' Play of the Last Supper,” Modern
Language Review, Vol. XXX, April 1935, NO. 2, p. 145.

 

4SUnwin, p. 271.

46Surtees Society, York Memorandum Book, Part 11, Vol. LXXV, 1914, p. L.
47Kendall estimates five hundred in his Yorkist Age, p. 65. Martin
Stevens in "The York Cycle: From Procession to Play," Leeds Studies

in English, n.s. Vol. VI, 1972, pp. 37-61 allows for 372 speaking
parts.

 

 

 

 

48Lynette Feasey, Old England at Play (London, 1943), p. 12.

 

49Early English Text Society, The Chester Plays, re-edited from Deimling's
MSS, ES No. 62, 1862, p. 5, line 92.

5Orbid., p. 6, line 125.

51See Sharp's Dissertation, pps. 16-17, and Mill's "Hull Noah," pps.
497-505 for two examples of the special payments made to actors or
groups of actors for their performances.

 

 

One indication of this practice comes from Hull where Thomas Sawer
played God for eight years, John Smith did Noah five years, and Alan
Taylor performed Noah's wife for several years in a row. See Mill,
"Hull Noah," pps. 490-495.

53The York mercers' accounts include an item ”payde to Wylliam Clark
and his players for rehersyng," which could indicate a troupe of pro-
fessional players used in the production. See Johnston and Dorrell,
p. 29.

54See Sharp, pps. 16-17, 28-30 for one indication of the higher payments
paid to actors portraying Pilate and Herod in the Coventry smiths'
pageant. God and Pilate's wife received two shillings each, the devil
and Judas eighteen pence each, Peter and Machus sixteen pence, while
Pilate obtained three shillings for his services and Herod the greater
amount of three shillings four pence.

SSSee Arnold Williams, The Characterization of Pilate in the Towneley Play§_
(E. Lansing, 1950), for a discussion of the comparative Pilate roles
in the major cycles.

 

S6Early English Text Society, The Chester Plays, p. 6, line 122.

 

 

 

 

67

57Report on the Manuscripts of the Corporation of Beverley, p. 172.
58Sharp, p. 26. Sharp also records three shillings four pence paid for
purchasing Herod's gown. Page 28.

59Johnston and Dorrell, p. 27.

60See Spencer, p. 219 for item about the Magdalene dress, and Laurence
Blair, "A Note on the Relation of the Corpus Christi Procession to the
Corpus Christi Play in England,” Modern Language Notes, Vol. LV, No. 2,
Feb. 1940, p. 85 for notation on the Herod garments.

61Osborn Waterhouse, The Non-Cycle Mystery Plays (London, 1909), p. xiv.
Also see Spencer, p. 218 for indication of Chester Smiths' payments of
six to twelve pence for the rental of church garments for their pro-
duction.

 

 

62See Sharp, pps. 28-29 for one indication of sums spent for mending

and repair of costumes. Also Early English Text Society, Two Coventry
Corpus Christi Plays, edited by Hardin Craig, ES No. 87, p. 85 ff. for
repairs to Herod's garb.

63Mill, "Hull Noah,” p. 499.

 

 

64Early English Text Society, The Towneley Plays, re-edited from MS

by George England, ES No. LXXI, (1897), p. 122.
65See Carolyn Wall's "York Pageant XLVI and Its Music,” Speculum, Vol.
XLVI, No. 4, Oct. 1971, pps. 689-701 for basis of these conclusions.

 

66See Fletcher Collins, ”Music in the Craft Cycles," PMLA, Vol. XLVII,

No. 3, Sept. 1932, pps. 613-621 for description of how the musicians
could heighten the intensity of the action and "dress up” the plays.

67Apparently the number of minstrels used with the plays depended on
guild finances at the time. Johnston and Dorrell, p. 26, indicate the
York mercers used four minstrels with their production and paid them
two shillings. At Hull guild records indicate the use of "mynstrelles"
for some years, and a single minstrel for others. See Mill, pps. 498
and 503. Sharp includes a 1451 entry of eight shillings for the
minstrels accompanying the smiths' pageant, a large sum and further
demonstration of the increasing importance music played as a distinc-
tive element in the cycle productions.

68Johnston and Dorrell, p. 28.

69Sharp, p. 15.

70Sharp, p. 21. Apparently the number of rehearsals reached a peak in
1584 when the Cappers held no fewer than five rehearsals for a new

production they were staging that year.

7lSpencer, p. 215.

 

 

 

 

 

68

2Report on the Manuscripts of the Corporation of Beverley, p. 172.

 

73Feasey, p. 12.

74York Memorandum Book, Part I, p. xxxii.

 

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER IV

COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES IN THE CYCLE PLAYS

Even though the cycle plays were presented in an increasingly com-
mercial society by trade guildsmen, commercialism in the plays is not,
at first, apparent. The religious nature of the plays would seem to
admit no such function; the dialogue, rubrics and staging techniques
used in the plays follow the Bible stories, leaving little latitude for
commercialism. However, if we closely examine the play texts, keeping
in mind the commercial aims of the guilds which produced the plays and
the benefits which accrued to towns where the plays were presented, we
see that commercialism, ranging from direct advertising of guild pro-
ducts to public relations campaigns for the guilds, could exist in the
cycle plays.

The most obvious example of a play which advertises the goods of
its producing guild occurs in the York tapiter and couchers' Dream of

Pilate's Wife. This play contains additions which go beyond the tradi-

 

tional content of the plays to promote the goods manufactured by the
craftsmen putting on the play.

The couchers made beds; the tapiters made tapestries and bed covers.
The York play contains specific references to Pilate's and Procula's
beds and their coverings, references which appear in no other plays

enacting the same events. In addition, play XXIX, Jesus Examined by

 

Caiaphas, which precedes the Dream play, and play XXXI, the Trial Before

 

 

69

 

 

 

 

Heppd, which follows it, both include similar bedroom scenes and prOperties.
We, therefore, see references to beds and their coverings in all three
plays, inclusions which could allow repeated display and advertising of
the comfort and attractiveness of the couchers and tapiters' products.
J. W. Robinson, in his examination of realism in the York plays,
points out the singularity of these bedroom scenes and bed references,
and the lack of any known precedent for their presence in the plays.1
His purpose is to show the desire for authenticity in the three plays.
In doing so, he has also unwittingly drawn attention to the advertising
advantages such inclusions could produce for the tapiters and couchers
in their own play, and in the two plays which envelop their production.
The first example of these commercial elements comes in the Jggpg.
Examined by Caiaphas scene of York XXIX when Caiaphas orders his soldiers
to lift him onto his bed carefully and cover him properly so he can
sleep - "DO on dayntely, and dresse me on dees,/ And hendely hille on me
happing." The maneuver is successful and four lines later Caiaphas is
asleep. Although specific reference to the bed, its comfort, and its
attractiveness does not occur in this play, we can readily assume the

”couch" and covers used for Caiaphas' chamber would represent something

befitting his status as a high cleric. The notion of the bed's comfort

 

could easily be imparted to the audience by the actions of the "Busshopp"

as he retires, and the rapidity of sleep's advent in such a comfortable

bed.

Promoting comfort and attractive bed coverings occurs more fully in
the couchers and tapiters' own Dppam_play. In the latter play, the action
of putting the high official to bed is repeated. This play, however,

contains specific references to "couches” and to the coverings that

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

71

attractively adorn them. After Procula has departed from Pilate for
her rest, the rubric indicates, and Pilate commands, ”I will kare to my
couche.” Like Caiaphas, he instructs his attendants to lift him gently
into the bed - ”Haue in thy handes hendely and heue me from hyne/ But
loke pat pou tene me not with pi tastyng, but tendirly me touche.”
These instructions lead to a comic note as the beadle complains of
Pilate's weight - "A! sir, yhe whe wele!" We can imagine the antics
that might easily have become part of this effort to get an oversized
Pilate into the bed. As these moves occur, however, they also focus
substantial audience attention on the bed itself. This is perfectly in
line with the dramatic action of the scene. It also gives the couchers
a chance for some added exposure Of the bed which they have provided for
the play. The next lines indicate that Pilate plans a wickedly restful
sleep when he says ”I will slepe unto synne." The possible intention
behind this line is to promote the comfort of the bed in the play and
its counterparts which the couhcers manufactured. These beds are fit
for the finest tastes; they can induce sleep even in the most harried
of lives. As producers of both the ng§p_play and those beds, the
couchers provided themselves self-made opportunities to display samples
of their work and promote the desirability of their products to the
audience at the plays.

When the York play XXX gets to Procula's dream scene, the setting
is her bed chamber. The emphasis here is more on the bed coverings than
the bed itself. Procula's maid states ”Do bourne you to bedde, for bat
holde I beste,” while Procula's son calls particular attention to the
bed covers when he adds, "Here is a bedde arayed of pe beste." This

inclusion of an outright reference to the tapiters' products used in

 

 

 

 

72

the play must be seen as more than accidental. Between the son's remarks
and the maid's efforts at ”turning down" the bed, we see the coverlet
makers had an excellent opportunity to advertise some Of their finest,
most attractive pieces of work to the audience at the York plays.

The final bed chamber scene in this York sequence comes in the lyt-

steres' (dyers) Trial before Herod. The action of putting the high offi-

 

cial to bed is again repeated. Herod's "dux," noting how the ”bedde is
new made," helps the king into it, a move requiring a particularly light
touch since Herod is "full tendirly hydid" and, therefore, sensitive
to rough handling. This idea of Herod's sensitivity provides an effec-
tive lead-in to establishing the bed's extreme comfort. Once he is
situated, Herod forecasts a restful sleep. "Howe lye 3e, my goode
lorde?" ”Right wele, be pis light" the king replies. Despite his
"tender hidedness," Herod's bed offers the kind of comfort and pleasure
needed to lull a person of his sensitivity into relaxing sleep. Once
again we have a dramatization of the comfort and attractiveness these
beds and coverings could provide the most particular user.
Unfortunately, there are no other plays in the extant cycles which
equal the tapiters and couchers' for outright promotion of craft goods.
My task would be an easier and more conclusive one if there were. This
does not mean, however, that less blatant forms of commercialism could
not have appeared in the cycle plays. Even though these plays followed
standard texts, they could still contain material which acted as a pro-
motion fOr thecraft guild involved with the play. The mere presence of
this material could commercially benefit the craftsmen who produced the
plays; it added an advantage to putting on the plays which the craft

7
guilds would have found very desirable.“

 

 

 

 

 

73

One of the best examples of how the basically conventional use of
play content could allow a commercial dimension to the cycle plays

occurs in the goldsmiths' Adoration of the Magi.

 

In their own minds and generally the public's, the goldsmiths were
a select craft. They dealt in the rarest of metals; their work adorned
churches and houses of great wealth throughout England; their work
brought substantial wealth to the goldsmiths.

Because of their position as one of the very affluent crafts, the
goldsmiths' public displays evidenced their skills and resources extra-
vagantly. This might take the form of the gold leaves and florins
strewn about Richard II's path from the four castles built by the gold-
smiths for his coronation. In the late seventeenth century, this display
occurred in a giant pageant entitled "Hieroglyphic of the Company” which
consisted of various apartments, each depicting some aspect of the craft,
all presided over by St. Dunstan on a gold chair, wearing a golden cape,

and carrying a gold mitre.:5

Whatever the type of public presentation,
the goldsmiths had the desire and financial ability to make that presenta-
tion elaborate and incorporate some impressive representation of their
handicraft in the display. It was, therefore, almost inevitable that

the goldsmiths, because of their wealth and connection with play content,

would produce the Adoration of the Magi in a majority of the cycles.4

 

This association with the Mggi_play gave the goldsmiths specific opportu-
nities for commercial promotion of their craft through costumes and
properties in the play. It also gave them an inviting chance to empha-
size the special nature of the material with which they worked, and to
predicate their public image in part on their association with that rate

and precious metal.

 

 

 

 

The opportunities for promoting the goldsmiths' craft consisted of
displaying samples, or facsimiles, of the goldsmiths' handiwork to the
audience as part of the play. The Magi production requires an extensive
use of royal garb, presumably complete with appropriate crowns. These
crowns provide the first instance where the goldsmiths could incorporate
some representation of their work in the production for display to the
audience.

Although the Chester Mggi_play was not produced by the goldsmiths,
its costuming reveals practices undoubtedly used in other Mggi_plays.

In the Chester play Herod is addressed by one of his soldiers as "comly
kinge, crowned in gould." In addition, the three kings and perhaps Mary
would require crowns in this production. This would add an authentic
note to the production; the fine lines and brilliant quality of the
crowns would evoke widespread commentary on their beauty and elegance.
Using real crowns, however, would be a risk-ridden venture in the crowds
and confusion at the plays. We must, therefore, conclude that, except
in rare instances, the use of real crowns in the Magi_play would be
improbable. Most likely, inexpensive, stage crowns covered with gold
or silver foil were used in the plays. Sharp's records indicate a
”crest of iron" costing fifteen pence used as Herod's head gear at
Coventry, the crest being decorated with gold and silver paper, and
gold and silver foil to make it resemble an authentic, expensive piece
of work.5

Even though the crowns may not have been real, their design could
easily reflect the goldsmiths' skills and abilities. Perhaps the guild
had new designs created for the Mggi_crowns; perhaps they reproduced

previously used designs such as modern paste jewelry does in its

 

 

 

 

 

 

75

duplication of unique, valuable pieces. In either case the crowns used
in the play could indicate the excellence in design the goldsmiths could
produce with their skills. The crowns advertised those skills; use of
the crowns as stage properties was a definite means for the goldsmiths
to promote their craft and products through the Mggi_productions.

The goldsmiths' second opportunity for commercial promotion in their
play occurs when the three kings present gifts.to the Christ child.

None of the cycles except the Coventry specify in rubric or dialogue
what vessels were used to contain the separate gifts of the kings. In
the Coventry version, the first two kings state they offer a ”cupe-full
of golde"'and a cupe-full off in-sence" as their oblations. These lines
spell out a staging practice that was practical, and most opportune for

the goldsmiths if they produced the play.6 The Middle English Dictionary

 

states a "cuppe" could refer to a bowl, a goblet, a receptable for fruit
and confections, or a chalice. The latitude involved in selecting the
"cuppes" used for the gifts would give the goldsmiths a chance to dis-
play at least three different pieces of their finished products before

the public at the play. Such a display would be a fitting and impressive
addition to the M3gi_play. An eye-catching sample of the current "cuppes"
which the goldsmiths offered for sale could be displayed. Figure 2 depicts
the variety of "cuppes" which could be found in some goldsmiths' shops

and which could be utilized as play properties. The visual impact of
these vessels in the play would be exceptional because of their size,
brilliance, and importance in the action. Whatever "cuppes" the gold-

smiths chose as these properties would, therefore, be outstanding adver-

tisement of their craft.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The crowns and ”cuppes” needed for the Magi play allowed the gold-

smiths to advertise their fine handicraft in the production. In addition,

 

the presence of gold as the first king's gift allowed an emphasis on
certain attribUtes ofthat commodity which both promoted a special esteem
for the guild and possibly increased consumer desire for gold products.

Throughout the cycles, references to the gift of gold emphasize
that metal's rarity and special nature. In the Ludus Coventriae Magi_
play, the first king states "... I cum to be with gold glade/ .../ gold
is be rycheste metall." The York play, produced by the goldsmiths,
dramatizes gold's great value when the first king offers "golde pat is
grettest of price” as his gift.

These standard references to gold also appear in the Chester play.
The first king states that "dayntie giftes rich and deare" are required
for royalty; he therefore, has brought ”gould cleane and cleare" as his
offering. Immediately after this, however, the king mentions another
very practical reason why he brings gold - the family can use the money!
“It seemes by this place/ that little treasure his mother hase,/ therfore

to helpe her in this case/ gould sholl be my present.” We see here not

 

the notion of gold's special qualities producing an esteem for the

 

goldsmiths, but the idea (hotly debated even today) of gold's unique
economic importance. A small amount of gold can aid the poor family;
gold possessions can provide security. The purchase of the goldsmiths'
products would be a prudent investment for any segment of society. This
single reference to gold as an economic quantity was a subtle, but
provocative way to trigger thoughts of how gold products could be depend-

able economic assets in an undependable time and how the goldsmiths could

provide those products.

   

 

 

 

 

Finally, we come to the Chester treatment of gold as a symbol of
love. ”Gould Loue also may Signifie,/ for yt men geuen not commonly,/
but there they Louen hartfully” says the second king. This idea that
gold represents the enduring, selfless aspects of love was important to
the Magi_play; it could also have been important commercially to those
town crafts that dealt in gold. Cold as a symbol of love is a timeless
tradition, occurring today in the use of gold for wedding bands or for
marking the fiftieth wedding anniversary. Because of its beauty and
cost, gold possesses an intrinsic and emotional value. The Chester play
sought to promote and capitalize on this dual worth of gold. The audi-
ence is reminded that gold is the proper symbol of one's love, and any—
time those who could afford it, or those who could almost afford it,
wanted to demonstrate impressively their love, they could patronize the
goldsmiths. Obviously, a certain amount of snob appeal exists in this
promotion of gold and love. Basically, however, it represents just one
more way the Mggi play could be used to promote gold and the goldsmiths
for commercial betterment of that craft.

If the goldsmiths' play evidences a less obvious, but commercially
effective element in the cycle plays, then we can see how this same
potential could extend to numerous other crafts who produced their own
cycle plays. So long as a craft guild produced its own play and had
some relationship, remote though it may have been, to the play's content,
then that content could be commercially advantageous to the craft. In
some cases, as we shall see with the shipwrights in particular, a play's
matter could greatly enhance the status of the producing guild because
of its meaning for the medieval audience. These plays might also extol

the quality of skills which the producing craft possessed. Finally, the

 

 

 

 

78

inclusion of guild products in the plays could prompt sales of those
products, especially for guilds like the shoemakers who supplied part
of the costumes for their plays and perhaps prompted the sale of the

more luxurious, profitable versions of their products as a result.

The Tanners of Chester and York

 

The tanners, or barkers as they were called at York, were responsi-
ble for the play of the Creation in both the York and Chester cycles.7
In this play, God enters with his traditional ”Ego sum Alpha et Omega,”
announcing not only the beginning of the world and the plays, but also
heralding the first example of commercialism in the cycles.

To discover the tanners' unique opportunity for self-promotion, we
must turn to God's costume. Outfitting God is no easy task. Any gar-
ment selected for the Almighty had to exhibit three characteristics.
First, it had to be a magnificient yet simple piece of workmanship be-
fitting the status Of the wearer. Audience expectations dictated this.
Secondly, God's outfit had to emit the brilliance and light that tradi-
tionally surrounded the highest heavenly figures. In the Chester play,
God reveals that "My beames be all beatytude.” In the York play, God
announces that Lucifer, ”merour of my mighte,” shall be named so because
he is "als berar of lyghte." Thirdly, God's costume required durability
to be of any practical value to the productions. God's lengthy role in
the first plays necessitated a top quality garment that would hold up.
Expert craftsmanship was also necessary to insure the garment's lasting
use in later productions.

Sharp's records from Coventry indicate a white leather robe was

used as God's costume there.8 A similar choice would be appropriate and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

79

natural for the Chester and York tanners in their Creation plays. White
leather would present an impressive, durable piece of work, well suited
to the needs of the role and the play. White leather would also produce
the image of light necessary in costuming God.9 The tanners could easily
provide this exceptional costume for God. They could also provide them-
selves some advertising of their craft at the same time. Producing
white leather is an especially difficult and exacting task.10 Any im-
perfections in the leather will show up through the white if the tint is
not properly applied. In addition, too rapid drying of the leather or

an incorrect use of pigment will affect the finish and pliability of the
leather. Such flaws would be readily noticeable to an audience that
stood directly at the foot or side of the pageant wagon. They could see
the color imperfections in the tanning job; they could hear the stiff
rustle of improperly processed leather. These flaws would reflect un-
favorably on the tanners as word spread about the slip-shod job done

on God's robe. The tanners would consequently exercise their craft most
skillfully and meticulously in order to provide a white leather role for
God which met public expectations and reflected craft skills.

The tanners also had a second change to impress the public with

their skills. In the Garden of Eden plays some innovative costuming

 

was needed to simulate Adam and Eve's nakedness. The most widespread
solution seems to have been the use of tight—fitting, white leather out-
fits similar to modern leotards. The tanners would once again be the
guild to provide these costumes. In fact, Salter indicates that at one
time the tanners of Chester were responsible for the Adam and Eve produc-
tion since they could provide the necessary skin-tight, white leather

11
costumes.

 

 

80

Although the reasons why the tanners switched to producing the
Creation play may be obscure, the opportunities for advertising which
that guild enjoyed in the Creation play are quite clear. The tanners
had the chance to present themselves to the public as skilled, reliable
craftsmen who could easily handle any tanning needs and produce satis-
factory results. The supplied God the Father's outstanding white
leather garment in the Creation plays. In addition, they position as
producers of the first plays in the York and Chester cycles afforded

the tanners unparalleled opportunity to be the first of the guilds to

promote its craft in the cycle plays.

The Plasterers' Play of the Creation

At first glance, it would seem very unlikely that the York plas-
terers' Creation to the fifth day (11) production would afford that
guild any chance to promote its skills to the public.12 There is no
apparent correlation between guild occupation and play content; the
patron saint of the guild could not provide a link since the play con-
tains only one role, God. Any possibility for guild advertising in
the play would appear too remote for modern discovery. Nevertheless,
through a close examination of the play itself, some historical trends
involving the plasterers at that time, and an imaginative recreation of
the possible production, we can see that the plasterers could have in-
corporated their skills into the Creation play in such a way as to
impress the public with those skills and create demand for the plasterers'

services.

The fifteenth century saw a widespread increase in the use of plas-

ter for walls in new and existing construction throughout England.13

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judging from the parge-work, (low relief, ornamental plaster) which re—
mains from the mid-sixteenth century, the fifteenth century would have
been the period when the plasterers first attempted to move beyond the
unappealing, rough-finished walls which they traditionally produced into
a more decorative, artistic use of their skills. (Figure 3 depicts one
example of the plasterers' decorative exterior work in England.) Ad-
mittedly, all the plasterers may not have possessed the talent or moti-
vation to attempt these new techniques in plaster. We can safely assume,
however, that just as modern plasterers range from those who deal pri-
marily in flat, unadorned wall plastering to those who create graceful
coved ceilings and other special embellishments in wall plastering, the
medieval plasterers displayed a similar variety of interests and skills.

The plasterers could easily recognize the special opportunity their
Creation play provided for a display of this range of skills. We have
touched on how the York mercers appended twenty artificial angels to
their pageant wagon as part of their production.14 Other guilds also
used variously sized representational figures as part of their theatrical
properties. Cut-outs or drawings of the animals for the Apk_play are one
example. The use of birds to adorn any pageant dealing with the Holy
Ghost would be another. The use of animals and foliage for the Garden
of Eden scenes would be a third example. Use of these pre-formed figures
was common enough that the plasterers could have realized the potential
for their production and acted accordingly.

The most marked characteristic of the York plasterers' Creation
play is its simplicity. God stands alone on the pageant wagon retelling
his ”warke” with Lucifer. He then vows ”More now will I make" as the

creation of the world begins. The question is, just how was God's "new

 

 

 

work” staged before the public to achieve a visually effective rendition
of the Creation? We can discount any notion that God merely stood in
the middle of the stage directing the creation in an abstract fashion,
thus leaving visions of the process to the minds of the audience rather
than to the use of stage properties. Such a presentation could be too
elementary in comparison to the remainder of the cycle and would relegate
the plasterers to producing a dramatically uninspired, visually unim-
pressive eighty-six line monologue. This would hardly afford the guild
much chance for self-promotion through the play. How, then, could the
plasterers portray the vast effects of the Creation on their wagon in
such a way that those effects were dramatically appropriate, convincing,
and evidenced craft expertise?15

A combination of staging devices offers the most logical and practi-
cal answer to this question. When God begins the Creation with "A
firmament I byd apere," we can imagine a treatment similar to the mercers'
where "ij peces of blu cloudes paynted on bothe sydes" represented the
skies, while ”iij peces of rede cloudes with sunne bemes of gold" indi-
cated "the hiest of heuen.”l6 The use of painted cloth was common in
the pageants and the plasterers probably followed standard practice in
this regard.

As God continues with his ”moo sutyll werkys" of the Creation,
the plasterers"opportunities to introduce their handiwork into the
play increase. What more convincing and easily prepared facsimile of
dry land could the plasterers use than a gradually rising mount of their
own "stuff," painted to resemble earth. As the waters receded (presumbly
in the form of cloth painted blue and white to resemble water which could

be pulled away at the rear of the wagon), the dry land would appear.17

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

83

Representations of sixteenth century wall decorations show the
emphasis which the plasterers put on realistic renditions of fruit and
foliage in their work (see Figure 4). Similar representations could
easily have adorned the plasterers' pageant wagon. They could be
covered at first by a cloth and then revealed in response to God's wish
for "flouris fayr on heght to hyng,/ and fruth also..." The luscious
attractive display which the plasterers could present at this point,
with vividly painted panels depicting a variety of colorful flowers
and fruits, would be a fitting addition to the play. Equally important,
the attractiveness of these colorful panels could also generate an aware-
ness in the audience of the potential use of similar plastering work in
their own homes and shops.

As the play proceeds to the creation of the beasts, the possibility
of displaying the plasterers' skills increases further. Sixteenth cen-
tury records indicate the variety and accuracy which the plasterers dis-
played in their wall depictions of animal life. Although the plays we
are dealing with cover a slightly earlier period, the plasterers were un-
doubtedly also beginning to develop their skills at these animal and
nature depictions during the fifteenth century. Presumably they would
have been cruder examples of this workmanship, being early attempts at
this new technique, but they still could have fulfilled the desire to
exemplify the ”diueris bestis" of God's creation in the play. Perhaps
small panels, each containing one animal figure, were placed about the
pageant wagon, to be revealed once again at the appropriate time in the
creation sequence. One large panel containing a multitude of animals
might also have been used to elaborate the creation of the beasts. An

even more interesting possibility is that statuary could have been used

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

84

to provide the animal figures forthe production. The plasterers were
accustomed to making plaster molds for the goldsmiths; they possibly pro-
vided statuary work for the Church. Their experience in this work could
naturally lead them to create fully rounded animal figures for their play.
These figures could be uncovered by God at the appropriate moment in the
play, or they could be raised onto the stage through a ”trap” or hole in
the wagon floor which would give them the appearance of rising out of

the earth at God's command. In either case, as the "bestys ar sett in

 

sere degree/ on molde to moue, both more 8 less," they were very likely
products of the plasterers' talents. Just as the drapers used fabric
on their pageant wagon to‘impart new ideas for use of that trade's materi-

als to the audience, the plasterers could also use their Corpus Christi

 

production as a showcase for the various designs and motifs which they
could offer the consumer at a time in England When plaster was becoming

widely used for decorative purposes.

The Shipwrights and the Ark

Few aspects of the cycles are as consistent as the regularity with
which assignments for the Noah plays were based on guild occupation.
Usually a craft involved with water was responsible for the play. At
Chester the waterleaders and drawers in the Dee put on The Deluge; at

Beverley the watermen produced Noe's Shipp; at York the Noah story was

 

divided into two plays with the fishers and mariners presenting Noah

and the Flood. The Coventry cycle did not include a Noah play since it

 

concentrated mainly on the life of Christ. Norwich is the only cycle
which does not have a water related craft responsible for the Noah play.18
These instances are good examples of the logic which often governed

» guild-play allocations. They do not, however, reveal any commercial

 

 

85

elements in the plays. We must turn to the shipwrights' productions of
the Apk_play to see how this play was, as McClure indicates, actually
a public relations vehicle for the shipwrights.

The shipwrights promoted their craft in the Apk_plays primarily
through a description of the intricate skills and knowledge needed to
properly build a boat. These skills were then further enhanced by their
association with Noah's special place in biblical history. The York A£k_
play especially exemplifies this method of craft promotion; its compari-
son to the Noah plays produced by other guilds illuminates how the ship-
wrights used the York production to impress the public with guild
expertise, reliability, even divine sanction.

The first evidence we have that the York shipwrights' play was
meant to enhance craft image comes from the quatity of lines which
describe the special materials and skills needed to build a ship. Al-

though Noah complains that "of shippe-craft can I right noght,/ Of

 

ther makyng haue I no merke," God instructs him to ”go boudly and
begynne/ Thy mesures and they markis to take." These instructions re-
flect the care and accuracy essential to ship building; constructing a
safe, reliable vessel demands these skills. A very lengthy and specific
itemization of the steps Noah takes in building the Ark then follows

in the York play. He must "Take high trees and hewe pame cleyne," and
"Make pame of burdes and wandes betwene." Noah must also make certain
his seams in the ship are ”suttily seyn/ And naylid wele pat pel noght
twyne.” Once Noah has received these directions from God, he proceeds
with exacting care. He secures the ship with ”nayles pat are both noble
and newe," ”here a revette, and pere a rewe," so that his work, and all

others built with these rigid standards, will be both ”gud and trewe.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

86

In total, approximately sixty lines (60-120) are devoted to building
the Ark in the York play. This is an inordinate number in a play which
contains only one hundred fifty-one lines; it indicates in part how the
York Apk_play was used to transmit the special nature and function of
the shipwrights' craft to the audience.

A comparison of these York references with other Noah plays also
substantiates the promotional elements in the York shipwrights' play.
At Chester, where the waterleaders and drawers in the Dee produced the
Noah play, the initial reference to construction of the Ark comes when
God tells Noah that "a shipp sone thou shalt make the/ of trees drye and
lighte." Beyond this standard statement there is no further mention of
what is needed for the Ark until seventy lines later when Noah, in the
brief space of six lines (89-95 Early English Text Society), rattles
off the usual items of mast, cables, topcastle, cords and ropes which he
uses to finish the ship. There is little mention of shipbuilding's
more intricate skills included in the Chester play. Assumedly there
was little interest in spelling out the shipwrights' special abilities
in a play produced by the waterleaders rather than the shipwrights them-
selves.

This same lack of emphasis on the shipwrights' abilities also

appears in the Towneley Noah and the Ark production. Again, we can ex-

 

pect this since the play was presented at Wakefield, another inland
town. In addition, whether the Wakefield plays were by craft guilds is
still undetermined. If they were not, emphasis on craft skills or pro-
ducts would naturally be missing.

In this play God's command to Noah includes a standard reference

to the ship being built of ”nayle and bord ful wele," and anointed ”with

 

 

 

 

 

 

87

pik and tar." After this, however, the major concern in the Towneley-
Wakefield play is with the design and dimensions of the Ark. God decrees
the 300x30x50 cubit size, then continues with how the Ark is to be
fitted with three chambers, one or two parlours, quarters for the ani-
mals, a side door, and a window one cubit in height. The emphasis here
is definitely not on the skills and steps essential to the actual con—
struction of a ship, but on the design of the Ark. When Noah finally
begins his task, he reiterates the items God has dictated, once again
emphasizing the ship's dimensions and design rather than any skills
needed to build the vessel.: Like the Chester play, the Towneley-
Wakefield Noah production contains the later references to the mast,
top sail, and helm of the Ark; like the Chester play, it also contains
the same lack of specific reference to the shipwrights' abilities when
compared to the York Apk play.

The York play reveals a lengthy description and commendation of the
shipwright craft. Some qualitative elements which enhance the image of
the shipwrights also appear in the York play. The first is the play's
emphasis on the strength needed to perform capably the shipwrights
craft. Noah is a weal old man - ”I am full Olde and out of qwarte" -
who needs God's help even to begin work on the ark.19 Once his ”weryness
is wente away" with God's aid, Noah is able to carry out building the
Ark in proper fashion. This emphasis on the physical strength and pro-
wess needed in the ship building process was purposeful. The shipwrights
were creating an image of themselves as exceptionally skilled, reliable,
and physically capable workmen. Noah, even with God's help, begins to
lose his strength - ”Bot faste my force begynnes to fawide" - as he

nears completing the Ark. The shipwrights, on the other hand, possess

 

 

 

 

 

88

the physical stamina necessary fOr the construction of not just one
ship, but any number which the merchants or other ship buyers in the
community might require. It would not take the shipwrights a hundred
winters to complete their work, nor would the building of just one ship
deplete their ability and stamina.

The second special attribute which the shipwrights conveyed through
their Noah play was the divine favor and instruction which fostered
their skills. No other cycle play includes the references to God's aid
and counsel in a skill as the Ark play does. God tells Noah "I sall pe
sokoure and the spede,/ And giffe pe hele in hede and hert," so Noah

can complete his task. This idea is repeated with God promises Noah

"I sall pe wysshe in all pi werke." This reiteration of God's special
aid in building the Ark -” ... he bat to me his messages sent,/ He will
be my beyide“ - creates a distinct aura around the shipbuilding craft.

Of all the crafts theirs was especially ordained by God. Noah was
blessed by "He [God] bat to me pis crafte has kende," and the succeed-
ing generations of ship builders could look to that singular instance
of God's association with their craft as a valuable part of their carft
heritage, one which could be used to enhance craft standing in the
community.

The Newcastle shipwrights' Noah play also contributes to this image
of the shipwrights as special craftsmen, only in a somewhat unorthodox
way. Like the York play, the Newcastle version is short, 200 lines.

At first its contents appear a standard rendition of the Noah play.
References to building the Ark occur - ”go make a ship/ Of board stiff
and great,” - using "Pitch, tar, seam and rowe." The necessary elements

of size and design for the Ark are mentioned. One line adds a brief

 

 

 

 

89

listing of the tools a shipwright would need as Noah complains "I have
neither ruff [a forging block], nor ryff [a rake or wood cutter], spyer
[a measuring device], sprund [a spar or pole], sprout [a device to hold
wood for proper cutting], no sprot" [a smelt]. God admits Noah's
particular inexperience as a shipwright and Noah echoes this with a
bewildered ”I was never, since on life,/ Of kind of craft to burthen a
boat."

At this point, the Newcastle play takes an unusual turn. Contrary
to biblical sources, the devil suddenly appears in an attempt to foil
Noah. The devil gives Noah's wife a potion which puts her under his
control.20 "Uxor Noah" then attempts to give Noah the same drink to
learn about the Ark. Noah drinkstflwebrew but is able to ward off its
effects. He does, however, tell his wife what has transpired between
him and the angel (in this play God instructs an angel who in turn goes
to Noah with the plans for the Ark). Then, in a rapid denouement, Noah
finishes the Ark and blesses the company present while the devil offers
a curse for those who do not follow him. This extraordinary inclusion
of Noah's encounter with the devil in the Newcastle play definitely
adds to the image of the shipwrights as a "chosen" craft. The first
shipwright was able to build the Ark that saved mankind, at the same
time battling the devil. This same diligence could be applied to the
medieval shipwrights in the performance of their craft. Regardless of
the problems or adversities which threatened their attempts, the ship-
wrights possessed the God-given skills to manufacture successfully a
product which required safety measures to insure the lives of those who
used it. The shipwrights' arms could relate how the first use of their

skills resulted in man's being ”Within the Ark Safe Forever" (see Figure

 

 

 

 

 

 

90

6). The religious significance of this motto could more profoundly
enhance the shipwrights' status in medieval English society, in con-
trast to a modern motto such as ”You're in good hands with Allstate”
which relies on the artificial creation of a company image through simu-

lated adversity and fear.

The Roofers and the Nativity

 

 

As part of his examination of the English miracle plays, Sidney
Clarke briefly explores how guild craft could determine play-guild

assignments. His most provocative conclusion for our purposes is that

..I-Ilmml‘ihm. .

"... it was perhaps fitting that the stable at Bethlehem should be
represented as a tumble-down building with a roof much in want of re— ;
pair" since the tile-thatchers produced the York Nativity play.21
Clarke developes this idea only briefly since it does not fit his major
purpose. A closer examination of this "perhaps fitting” connection in

the York and Chester plays reveals it provided the roofers two distinct

advantages. First, of course, the roofers could gain much public

 

approval from their association with the Christmas play. An effective
recreation of this significant event could add to the roofers' status
in the community. In addition, displaying weather-beaten roofs or
finished examples of the roofers' skills could possibly generate busi-
ness for the trade.

Each of the Nativity plays gives some indication of the poor condi-
tions into which Jesus is born. At Coventry, Mary complains how her

"child waxeth cold" because of the open stable they occupy; in the

 

Towneley, Second Shepherds' Play Daw laments seeing the baby "sytt here/

 

 

 

in so poore wede;" both Mary and Joseph comment on the ”pore logge" they

 

 

 

 

 

91

occupy in the Ludus Coventriae. The York production, however, is unique
in mentioning specific structural deterioration. Part of Joseph's first
Speech in the tile-thatchers' play focuses on the dilapidated condition

of the walls and roof of the "shed." ”pe walles are doune on like a

side/ pe ruffe is rayned aboven our hede...” Mentioning the condition

of the walls is unusual in the Nativity plays - the only other play

which does is the Ludus Coventriae Nativity where Mary states she will
abide in this "hous bat is desolat with-owtz any wall.” The roof occurs
exclusively in the York play, and this singular inclusion appears as an
overt attempt by the tile-thatchers to direct attention to the one item
in the play which required their services. The purpose at York was not
to display examples of guild workmanship, but to use the "ruined" roof
over Mary and the baby's head as a device to trigger thoughts in the
audience's minds of what roof repairs they might also need. The approach
is very similar to the current aluminum siding ads. First you show

the audience a house with rotted, peeling wood siding, then you tell them
where the needed improvements can be found. The modern version has gone
a step further by providing an "after" shot of the magnificently reno-
vated structure. Even though the York play could not go this far, the
intent appears to have been the same. The roof over the Nativity was
sufficiently deteriorated to meet play requirements; the roof's condi-
tion could also generate audience appraisal of the condition of their

own roofs. The tile-thatchers were the craftsmen to see for any roofing
job; bringing a roof in need of repair to the audience's attention could

help trigger business from those in the audience who were reminded that

their roofs needed repair work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 1!

 

 

 

 

The Chester Nativity represents a more traditional approach to the
play, containing no outright mention of a roof needing repair which
could produce demand for the roofers' services. It does, however, dis-
play some example of the roofers' skills to the audience in a possible
effort to build consumer awareness of the roofers' talents and usefulness.

We have now seen how medieval art works often depict the Nativity
in a humble building with a sound roof, but with the surprising presence
of a hole in the otherwise perfect roof. The hole conflicts in shape
and dimension with the uniform construction of the roof and seems totally
out of place in the scene. Once we realize, however, that the hole repre-
sents a literal interpretation of the opening through which the star
shines on the child in the stable, its presence is justified. The Chester
Nativity most likely contained this combination of a well constructed
roof with a hole to allow the star to ”shine" through. The Chester
rubrics indicate only that the star appears; they do not specify where
or in what direction its beams were to extend. We can imagine that an
enterprising production of the Nativity would include the star above the
stable, a hole in the roof, and some representation of the star's light
or beams hanging through the hole to "shine" on the baby. If this were
the case at Chester, the slaters would have an excellent chance to
display their ability to design a sturdy, practical roof and include a
hole in the roof to accommodate the star's light. The slaters' efforts
here did not concentrate on the need for roof repairs, as the York
example, but on a highly visible example of their skills in roofing,
and their ability to handle any special problems (chimneys, vent holes,
upper windows and the like) that might accompany roofing jobs. Their

emphasis on the roof differed from the York version. Nevertheless, like

 

 

 

 

 

93

the York tile-thatchers, the Chester slaters found the means in their

Nativity play to promote craft skills and services to the buying public.

The York Girdlers and the Massacre of the Innocents
Information on the girdlers' participation in the various cycles

is sketchy. The girdlers helped produce Christ's Baptism at Norwich,

but they were one of sixteen guilds involved in that production. Sharp's

records from Coventry show the girdlers were steady producers of a

pageant for the cycle, but no indication is given what pageant they

actually presented.22 The Chester girdlers were possibly responsible

for the Resurrection play, apparently co-producing this play with at

 

least four other guilds.23 York provides the one instance where girdler
participation in the cycles is clearly established, and where commercial
possibilities for girdlers most distinctly appear. At York the girdlers,
together with the nailers, produced the Massacre of the Innocents. The
variety of characters in this play offered several advertising possibili-
ties to the girdlers. Like the Chester Resurrection, the York Massacre
includes royalty, court counselors, a messenger, soldiers, the the women
whose children are slain. This diversity of social position allowed the
girdlers to display girdles designed for royalty, those designed for
lesser court members, the very functional girdles needed for military

attire, and the kind of girdles most often worn by the common townswomen

24
as part of the costumes.

The Digby Massacre describes Herod as the "Honorable prynce of

grett apparayle." The Coventry Herod proclaims his ”fassion, with my
gorgis araye." The York Massacre offers no textual hints concerning

Herod's garb. However, based on costuming in these other plays we can

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

94

assume Herod was outfitted appropriately, perhaps even flamboyantly,

in the York production. In this case, Herod's girdle could be an out-
standing example of the girdlers' conventional style, sure to catch the
eye of fashion conscious audience members. Or the girdlers could pro-
vide Herod with the newest of their products, a girdle of intricate
design, copies after the shoulder slung baldric, accented with hanging
bells. Such a choice would definitely promote the girdlers' newer pro-
ducts to the audience.

Herod's counselors could also wear some attractive examples of
the girdlers' craft. These would presumably be less ornate, less ex-
pensive pieces of work, but still fine representations of the girdlers'
work.

The soldiers, ”Sir Knightis" as Herod calls them in the Massacre
play, were ideal characters to display the military belts the girdlers
produced. If the knights were arrayed in full armour (at Digby they
were ordered to arm themselves ”in stele shynyng bright" which could in-
dicate a full suit of armour), they could ideally display the functional
and attractive girdles which that guild fashioned fOr the full military
outfit (see Figure 7). On the other hand, if full armour were judged
too cumbersome for the soldiers' costumes, some less awkward military
outfit for the soldiers could be used which still displayed the military
girdle as a prominent feature. Since one portion of their craft special-
ized in military products, the sale of military belts was important to
the girdlers. The presence of at least two soldiers in the York
Massacre consequently provided a perfect chance for the girdlers to in-

clude some functional, attractive examples of their military girdles in

the play as a promotion of that style.

 

 

.mllnn.x- . . .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

95

Finally, we come to the mothers in the play whose children are
killed. These women were common fOlk and the girdles they wore would
be strictly functional types, possibly including some girdle used by
the nurse-maids. These girdles would not be as attractive and ornate
as the royal or even military examples; they would, however, be of
interest to a great number of people in the audience and garner their
attention. The girdles which the girdlers could provide for the common
elements in the community completed the spectrum from royalty to
commonality which the guild displayed in its Corpus Christi play. The
Massacre play at York was an ideal advertising vehicle for the girdlers
because of its variety of characters, and the craft could take advantage
of that variety to advertise the assortment of products it could provide

all segments of the_girdle-wearing community.

The Cordwainers (ShOemakers) and Their ”Casts of Thousands”

Of all the guilds, the one with the most numerous opportunities to
display and promote craft products in the cycle presentations was probably
the cordwainers. Unlike those guilds assigned plays early in the cycle,
which usually contained fewer characters,25 the shoemakers were consis-
tently responsible for plays which required what could be comparatively
called ”a cast of thousands." At York the shoemakers produced The Agony

and the Betrayal which includes seventeen characters; at Chester the

 

corvisors (another name for the shoemakers) did Christ's Visit to Simon
the Leper which contains twenty-four separate roles. At Beverley, the

shoemakers were assigned the Children of Ysraell production, a lost play,

 

but one which we can reasonably conclude, basing our estimates on its

York Departure of the Isrealites counterpart which contains a minimum of

 

 

 

Jim"

 

 

 

 

96

ten players, used numerous actors also. Finally, at Norwich, the shoe-

makers, with two other guilds, brought forth a play called MOises and

 

Aaron with the Children of Israel and Pharo and his Knyghts, the title

 

alone being adequate indication of the multiple roles in the production.
The exceptional advantage which the shoemakers enjoyed in these
plays was the number of characters required for the performances and the

26 The casts of the

wide social range those characters represented.
shoemakers' productions sometimes included all social levels, from
royalty to the commonality, as at Beverley and Norwich. At York, the
range included high clergy, the apostles, soldiers, and ordinary citi-
zens. The Chester shoemakers' play also included the high clergy, apostles
and citizens, in addition to several pharisees, merchants and children.
The shoemakers could benefit greatly from this diversity as a basis for
advertising shoes designed for virtually all levels of late medieval
English society. 9

The presence of royal or court figures in any of the shoemakers'
plays was a tremendous advantage to the craft. Fashion among the
courtiers was a carefully watched and copied phenomenon, stylish shoes
being an especially important part of acceptable court attire and of
the wardrobe of those lower classes who emulated court styles. Thus,
any Opportunity the shoemakers had to promote current or new styles

to court members or others of noble rank would be of great commercial

value to the craft. Plays like the Norwich Moises-Pharo and the

 

Beverley Children of Ysraell provided those valuable chances for the

 

shoemakers. King Pharo and his knight-counselors in the Norwich play,
and presumably the same group in the Beverley play, were ideal means
for the shoemakers to display some of the high style and craftsmanship

they could Offer the able buyers in their "court line” of shoes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

97

The shoes which the cordwainers supplied the court figures most
likely fell into three groups. One of most popular indoor shoes for
royal and courtier dress from the late fourteenth to the late fifteenth
centuries was the short, pointed shoe which contained some intricate
design work on the upper portion. Edward III sported this kind of shoe
during the fOurteenth century and the style continued long after his
reign (see Figure 8). In addition, the very long, pointed or "spiked"
shoe was another favorite for court wear.27 By the latter years of
the fOurteenth century, however, we see the use of extremely long-toed
shoes, some of which required a small chain around the wearer's leg :1
so the long points could be fastened up for ease of movement when neces- I
sary. RiChard II wore the long, spiked shoe, and its use continued
through the fifteenth century as an indication of refined taste and
dress in the eyes of those who adhered to the style.

When the Tudor reign began in 1485, shoe styles changed drastically
and the shoemakers had excellent opportunities to display the new styles
in their cycle plays. The pointed shoe was out, and the broad, round
toe style became fashionable. For the royal and noble classes these
shoes would be made of velvet, leather, or a combination of leather and
silk, or some other fine cloth. The variety of materials and styling
adaptations the shoemakers could effect in these shoes was infinite and
by the last years of the fifteenth century some form of the shoemakers'
current work in this style was certain to be a part of the wardrobe
used by the royal and court figures in the shoemakers' plays.

The ecclesiastical figures that were part of the York and Chester
plays dealing with the events of the Betrayal provided the shoemakers a

chance to display shoes designed for another segment of society.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

98

Although the high clergy most Often wore plain shoes with moderate
points during this period, they also wore shoes with a discreet design
at times. The shoes which the actors portraying the high priests in the
Betrayal plays would wear were not as elaborate as those of their royal
counterparts; they were, nevertheless, examples of the finely executed
plain shoes, or the variety of designed models, which would appeal to
the clergy, and promote business for the shoemakers.

In addition to shoes for the upper classes, the shoemakers could
advertise current products manufactured for nearly all other levels of
society. The Jews and Disciples involved in the events of the Betrayal
could wear examples of the serviceable footwear the working classes re-
quired, or perhaps the newer style of shoe with reinforced heel and sole
which becamse part of the working man's attire during the first part of
the fifteenth century.

The Chester Visit to Simon the Leper includes six citizens and two

 

merchants in its cast. Townsmen at the plays would relate directly to
these characters and whatever version of the shoemakers' products they
wore would be diSplayed before a sizable potential market as a result.
These styles might include the long riding boots which the merchants
invariably needed for their frequent travels - Chaucer's merchant wears
boots which "clasped faire and fetisly (handsomely)" on his trip, or
perhaps the actors portraying the townspeople wore the leather buckled
shoes which were very suitable for town needs at that time.28
In addition to the above characters, the Chester play includes
several women, children, and pharisees. The York shoemakers' play of

the Betrayal includes a similar diversity of characters. In the extant

plays at Chester and York alone, the shoemakers had the chance to display

 

 

 

 

99

forty-one different pairs of shoes. This range, together with the pre-
sumably similar span of characters in the Norwich and Beverley plays,
indicates the unparalleled Opportunities which the shoemakers had to
produce outstanding dramas in the cycles, and to advertise their products
to the audiences at those plays.

The preceding examples reveal how certain plays from the major
cycles contained commercial possibilities for the guilds which produced
them. A summary view of the remaining plays shows that many of these
could also be commercially useful to the crafts which presented them.
The York armourers' Adam and Eve Driven from Eden could be a perfect
Opportunity for the angel to brandish one of the craft's finely forged
swords as he expels the couple from paradise. Another example from the
York cycle might include the sledmen's Emmaus production where the
travelers in the play could easily have with them a "sled" - the vehicle
used for transporting belongings during travel - which that guild pro-
duced. The Norwich grocers, in their Paradise play, could attractively
display the variety of spices, fruits and foods they had to sell, just
as their London counterparts did on various public occasions. The York
and Beverley glovers could display one craft product in their Cain and

Abel plays. The Beverley scriveners could use their Disputation in the

 

Temple play to exhibit their intricate manuscript and copying work.29

In their Crucifixion play the York pinners could display the various

 

pins they produced for holding garments together properly. The York
Flood play includes Noah's careful testing of the waters in a precise

enactment of the skills and capabilities of the mariners' guild which

produced that play.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

100

Any guilds involved in the clothing trade could find extensive
opportunities to display their products or skills in the cycle plays.
The Norwich tailors could exhibit samples of their best workmanship in
the Abraham play they produced. The same could be true at Newcastle
where the tailors put on the Descent into Hell play, or at both York and
Chester where the tailors were responsible for the Ascension plays.

The Chester clothiers did the Prophets and Antichrist in which garb fOr
five male characters was needed. In their Woman Taken in Adultery, the
York capmakers could parade befOre the public a stylish hat worn by the
accused woman, or some conservative hats as part of the Maries' outfits.

Other guilds who worked in cloth fOund similar advantages. The
drapers could deck their pageant wagons in a colorful, attractive
variety of materials to prompt consumer interest and sales. The Beverley

drapers' Demynge Pilate and the York drapers' Death of Mary afforded

 

such an opportunity; the Norwich drapers"Creation play and the Coventry
drapers"Doomsday could provide particularly advantageous displays be—
cause of their engrossing dramatics and their respective positions at
the beginning and end of the cycles.

The plays examined so far for commercial elements fall into one
category: those where a guild's own cycle play somehow provided commer-
cial advantage to the producing guild. However, commercialism in the
cycle plays could have extended beyond these instances. Analysis of
the cycles discloses that some crafts could receive excellent promotion
of their goods or services in plays produced by ppppp_guilds.

Modern dramatic presentations invariably list credits to acknowledge

special contributions to the production - "Cars furnished by Chrysler

Corporation," "So and 50's wardrobe by ...,” "Set furnishings courtesy

 

Alumni in.

 

 

 

 

101

of ...” These contributions aid the success of the production; they
also provide publicity for their suppliers. The cycle plays could
provide similar "credits" for the medieval guilds whose skills and
products were used in other guilds' productions. If a particularly
stylish robe aroused audience-consumer interest, the tailors could bene-
fit. An attractive girdle could draw a prospective buyer to the V
girdlers, while a sword of exceptional appeal led immediately to the
armourers or smiths. One craft's participation in another's play
actually contained automatic credits since the viewing public thoroughly
knew what crafts specialized in certain goods or services during the
Middle Ages. An accurate picture of the total commercial potential
which existed in the cycle plays must, therefore, include a look at how
widespread the commercial advantages which the guilds could receive from

plays produced by other guilds might have been.

Costuming and the Tailors

 

Since the cycle plays used medieval garb as costumes, almost any

 

of the Corpus Christi plays could include various examples of the
tailors' skills and products. Their own production of the Ascension

at York and Chester, Slepinge Pilate at Beverley, or the Newcastle

 

Descent into Hell afforded the tailors excellent opportunities to display

 

their craft to the public. The remainder of the cycle plays also gave
the tailors extensive opportunities to promote their craft.

Tailoring for the affluent was a particularly lucrative trade and
those plays which contained royalty or other upper class figures gave
the tailors excellent chances to advertise their finest work in plays

produced by other guilds. The Magi generally wore royal robes of

 

 

 

 

102

exceptional beauty and workmanship. These outfits could have been
custom made for the plays; they could have been borrowed or rented from
some neighboring noble for the occasion. In either case the splendid
robes which the Magi wore were vivid, outstanding examples of the
tailors' design and manufacturing abilities. The lavishness of these
outfits was certain to bring favorable recognition to the tailors as
creators of costumes; this display could also create potential customers
among the upper classes attending the plays regardless of what guild
may have been directly responsible fOr producing the pageant.30

Outfitting Herod, Pilate, and other court figures in the cycles
would again display the tailors' special talents. Sharp's 1490 entry
for the smiths' pageant contains items for a gown for Pilate's son, a
gown and hood for the beadle, and jackets for the tormentors.31 These
costumes provided additional examples of the tailer's skills and products
Sharp's records also include the provocative item of a "cloke" for
Pilate. No money is listed and we cannot determine whether the cloak
was rented, or made especially for the production. We can, nevertheless,
see this single item of a cloak for Pilate as an indication of how
costumes could be used to promote some very stylish or unique pieces of
the tailors' work to the public. Cloaks were a popular part of many
early fifteenth century wardrobes, and the tailors could profit substan-
tially from sales generated by their display of one example of their
latest style in cloaks as part of the smiths' pageant.

Whether Pilate's cloak was borrowed or custom made for the smiths'
pageant is uncertain. The case with Herod is more exact. The smiths'
1498 accounts include an item of six shillings four pence "ffor a gowen

to Arrode," and another entry of fifteen pence for ”makyng off herodus

 

 

O

 

 

 

 

 

103

‘7

gone.”‘>2 Herod's outfit in this production was custom made and was sure
to reflect his royal status in the richness of his array.33 Thus, the
tailors not only received money for making Herod's costume, but also
they obtained one more chance to use the costumes in another guild's
play to exemplify the skills and products the tailors could offer the
buying public.

The tailor's great advantage in the cycle plays was that costumes
for the plays, regardless of their source, were either very visible
examples of the craft's current styles and skills, or monuments to the
durability of the tailors' work. Brooke indicates that a well fashioned
garment during later medieval times was expected to serve three genera-

tions.34 We can consequently see that should the costumes be borrowed,

 

as Lady Powe's red velvet gown was for the Coventry Mary Magdalene play,

 

bequeathed.. to a guild for its use, as was William Pisford's 1517
grant of a scarlet and crimson gown to the Coventry tanners fOr their

play,:55 or made expressly for some other craft's play as Herod's

 

gown at Coventry was, the tailors enjoyed numerous opportunities in the
Corpus Christi productions to advertise the stylishness of their pro-
ducts, the durability of their work, and the overall excellence of

their craft in fifteenth century England.

Costuming and the Glovers

 

The glovers' chances to advertise their craft directly in guild
Corpus Christi plays were limited. The Norwich glovers participated

with seventeen other guilds in producing Christ's Baptism, a play with

 

minimal need for gloved characters, its two angels perhaps wearing white

gloves as part of their outfits. In their Cain and Abel plays, the

 

 

 

 

 

 

104

glovers at York and Beverley could display only one type of gloves they
manufactured. Although these glovers may have hoped to replace the

home made, ragged gloves the field workers wore with some produced by

the glovers' guild,36 the production of field gloves was only one part

of the glovers' total enterprise and promotion of these gloves alone
would not sufficiently benefit guild members as a whole. Only at Chester,

where the glovers produced Play XIII of Christ, The Adultress and

 

Chelidonius, did the glovers enjoy a range of characters sufficiently

 

broad to display a variety of glove styles to the public. Chester,
however, was the exception and, as a result, the glovers could benefit
more from displaying their handiwork in plays produced by other guilds
than they could from advertising craft products in their own plays.

Like the tailors, the glovers were best served by those plays which
numbered royalty, high-ranking churchmen and other distinguished figures
in their casts. Costumes for these characters would most likely include
a stylish pair of gloves, and this fashion note could add to the coffers
of those guilds, like the glovers, who catered to the clothing needs of
the established or emerging upper classes.37 Clothes were an undeniable
indication of social status during the Middle Ages, far more so than in
our modern word. Occupants of the various social levels proclaimed
their importance and position through the clothes they wore. William
of Malmesbury's earlier, but revealing assessment that "The esquire
endeavoured to outshine the knight, the knight the baron, the baron the
earl, the earl the King himself, in the richness of his apparel"38 sub-
stantiates this. It also indicates how the glovers could capitalize on
this clothing competition by displaying their newest and finest products

in any of the cycle plays. This, coupled with the fact that Edward IV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

105

(reigned 1461-1483) was an extravagant glove wearer who reportedly owned
and wore more than three hundred pair of gloves each year,39 exemplifies
the conditions which made any display of glovers' products on royal or
upper class figures in the plays a substantial commercial boom for those
craftsmen.

Another fashionable practice from the later medieval years could
also have aided the glovers in advertising their products in the plays.
For the upper classes gloveS' were not so much functional items as they
were accessories for show. Records indicate that rather than wearing
gloves, the upper classes from Edward I's time (late thirteenth century)
to at least Henry VII's reign (late fifteenth century) often either
tucked them in their belts or carried them.40 The latter practice could
be an effective way of displaying the glovers' products in the plays.

An actor could wear the gloves as part of his costume, or he could carry
them about in a manner both appropriate to the accuracy of costuming in
a play and useful for achieving maximum display of the gloves before

the audience.

The glovers' total display of their products in the craft plays was

limited only by the number of characters in the plays who required gloves

 

to complete an appropriate costume. At Devonshire, the glovers were

able to display their craft in the gloves provided for the actors por-

traying God Almighty and Christ in the plays.41 The Adam and Eve plays

 

could also be a chance for the glovers to diSplay their skills in the
special leather gloves needed to complement the effect of nudity
attempted for the pair through the tanners' skin-tight costumes. Almost

all levels of medieval society used gloves for fashion or function, and

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

106

the Corpus Christi plays which contained a range of social levels could
be ideal for the glovers' indirect advertising of the many styles they

manufactured.

Costuming and the Armourers

 

To the modern mind, using full armour as costumes in plays performed
on eight by eighteen foot wagons seems impractical at the least. The
playing space is very limited; in addition steel armour would seem too
heavy and inflexible to meet requirements fOr movement in the cycle
dramas. Using mock armour, or substituting some other costumes for
armour to avoid the cumbersome use of real armour in the play seems a
more logical and practical staging device.

It appears, however, that the producers of the cycle plays harbored
no reluctance to using full armour in their productions. Evidence indi-
cates that full armour was used in several of the plays, and that its
use resulted in part from the armourers' desire to present conspicuously
to the public the newest models of their armour in order to promote craft
commerce.42

The fifteenth century has been labelled the "golden age of armour"
by more than one expert.43 During that period, the armourers had per-
fected their craft to the point that the armour they produced outmoded
any of their previous efforts both functionally and aesthetically.44
Armour became an impressive synthesis of the intrinsic beauty of steel,
the graceful lines it could form, and functionality. It was only natural,
therefore, that the armourers should wish to exhibit their highest
achievements in armour to the community whenever possible. Such a dis-
play would satisfy the armourers' pride. It could also provide an auto-

matic advertisement for the armourers' products and craft.45

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

107

The tournaments which the court and nobles sponsored during this
period were one means of exhibiting the new armour befOre an attentive
audience.46 These spectacular events assembled audiences of knights,
lords, and royalty acutely interested in the armourers' products. The
Corpus Christi plays offered another important medium the armourers
could use to promote their products. The plays contained the gripping
drama and intense action which drew especially large, diverse audiences;
the plays were also particularly suitable for the display and promotion
of craft products, including the armourers' works.

The cycle plays which required suits of armour are fairly numerous.
These are concentrated mainly in the plays containing soldiers such as
the Slaughter of the Innocents and those plays comprising the Betrayal-
Crucifixion-Resurrection sequence. We have already noted how the Digby

play of the Killing of the Children includes Herod's order to his

 

soldiers to arm themselves ”in stele, shynyng bright." Although this
could be narrowly interpreted to mean only swords and other weapons, later
references in the play to the "armyd men in this apparaile," and the
soldiers "in armour of plate and maile" establish that suits of armour
were used as costumes for these soldiers. Two additional pieces of
evidence beyond the Digby text also corroborate this. Sharp theorizes
thatlfluatwo knights attending Herod in the Coventry smiths' play wore
armour. His conclusion is conjectural since there are no entries in the

earlier accounts of the plays to verify this. However, records of the

 

”New Play" of 1584 which the Coventry smiths produced, contain an item
of sixteen pence fOr four suits of bright armour for the knights attached
to Herod's command. This was presumably a rental fee, and the entry

seems a legitimate indication that the practice of using armour in the

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

108

plays had existed prior to that date and was carried on in the ”New
Play" as it had been established in earlier productions.47 In addition,
the alabaster carvings Hildburgh cites consistently depict Herod's and
Pilate's soldiers in armour.48 It is probable that the soldiers Herod
used and those involved in the events of the Betrayal-Crucifixion-
Resurrection, wore armour in the cycle plays. IhitheTOWneley Herod the
.§£E§3.P1ay’ Herod orders up ”All the flowre of Knyghthede... in armowre
full bright" to carry out the massacre. Full armour was apparently a
standard costume in this production and the play's three soldiers
(knights) could wear appr0priate examples of the new armour manufactured
at that time.

The Chester Betrayal play also requires the use of armour for the
soldiers who arrest Jesus. After the Malchus incident, Jesus remarks
bitterly to the soldiers "As to a thefe ye come here/ with swords, and
staues, and armyre/ to take me in foule maner/ And end your wikked
will." This remark, coupled with evidence from the Betrayal carvings,
vividly exemplifies the constant use of armour as costume for the
soldiers in these cycle plays, as well as the prominence in dialogue
and action that armour achieved.

These examples justify the conclusion that the plays at York, where
no specific mention of armour occurs, and those non-extant plays from
Beverley, Norwich and Newcastle, which covered the same portions of the
cycle, followed a similar practice and used armour to outfit their
soldiers. This information from the plays, combined with outside evi-

dence we have cited, reveals that using armour as costumes for the
soldiers in the cycle plays was wideSpread. Its pervasiveness indicates

the producing guild's concern for effective drama. It also reflects the

 

 

 

 

 

 

109

 

opportunities for indirect advertising which the armourers enjoyed in

the cycle plays.

Stage Properties and the Chester Deluge Play

 

Another outstanding example of this promotion of one craft's products
in another craft's play comes from the Chester Deluge production. In
this play, produced by the waterleaders and drawers in the Dee, there
are references to the tools used in building the ark which unmistakably
advertise those tools by focusing audience attention on the tools one

by one, and extolling their exceptional qualities as part of the play's

 

dialogue. This seems to be a distinct attempt to promote some of the
tools the smiths in that town produced. After the instructions from
God, Noah's three sons come fOrth individually with separate tools for
building the ark, and with some highly laudatory remarks about the ex-
cellence of those tools. Shem announces "Anne axe I haue, by my
crowne/ as sharpe as any in all this towne...,” Ham displays a "hatchet

wonder—kene/ to byte well, as may be seene/ a better grownden, as I

 

weene/ is not in all this towne,” and Japhet wields a hammer of such

ease that he can ”goe and worche without more dynne." Use of a hammer

of such incomparable quality is repeated in the Chester Passion play

where one of the Jews at the Crucifixion states "a hammer haue I one/
49

as farr as I haue gone/ ther is not such an other." The extraordinary

dialogue which centers attention and praise on the tools could possibly

 

produce a desire among the audience members to possess similarly excel-
lent tools. In addition, the tools were spiritually dedicated in the
eyes of the audience. This increased the unique aura which surrounded
the tools. They were recognized by man for their excellence; they were

even of use in the divinely directed work Noah and his sons undertook.

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

110

Stage Properties and the Nailers
Another craft which received special notice for its products in the

cycle plays was the nailers. In both the Noah and the Crucifixion plays,

 

references to nails are frequent. This references are appropriate parts
of the dialogue in the plays; they could also have been a means of pro—
moting nails to a vast audience at a time when the use of nails,
especially fOr decorative rather than strictly utilitarian purposes,
was expanding considerably.

We have already seen how the Noah plays could advertise a variety
of craft skills and products despite the initial gloom of the plays.
At first glance we might think that any commercial promotion associated

with a play as extremely dismal as the Crucifixion would be lost amidst

 

the emotional drain of the drama. Specifically mentioning nails during
the crucifixion scene and painfully prolonging application of those
nails to their intended use seem more an example of the gruesome

than any commercial appeal could benefit from. We must remember, how-
ever, that even though the plays of the Flood and the Crucifixion were
grim in content, their impact on the medieval audience was always
tempered by the knowledge that the final results would be a victory of
God's will and Christian faith. Because of this, audience reaction to

the Crucifixion would be emotional, but not to the point of failing to

 

recognize the costumes, properties, and other components of the produc-
tion as everyday items transferred to the dramatic medium. As a result,

the Crucifixion, like the Noah play, differed little from the other

 

cycle plays in its potential as a vehicle for the display and promotion

of craft products.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References to nails in the Noah and Crucifixion plays are varied.

 

There are fourteen separate references to nails in the four extant cycles
(York, Chester, Towneley, Ludus Coventriae), with four references each
in York and Chester plays.SO An isolated reference to nails could be
classified as an attempt at realism. However, the presence of numerous
references to nails in these plays must be viewed as something more than
merely attempts at dramatic effect. It points directly toward empha—
sizing nails in these plays as a means of promoting both the types and
quality of nails commercially available at that time.

In some cases, dialogue in these plays simply indicates a nail is
being used. These general references would then make it easy to display

a variety of nails in the productions. For example, the York Crucifixion

 

play includes the third soldier's intention to ”tacche hym too/ Full
nemely with a nayle" as Christ's hands are lashed to the Cross. This
would presumably call for a nail of moderate length, one that would
”holde... faste both his handis.” The York soldiers also require a nail
to fasten Christ's feet "so pat no faute be foune.” In this case, one
of the Egret nales” produced at that time would most likely be used.

The Ludus Coventriae contains some macabre dialogue which surrounds

its use of nails in the Crucifixion play - "dryve in be nayl a-non. lete

 

se/ And loke and be flesch and senues well last/ hat 1 graunt so mote I
the/ lo pis nayl is dreve rych wel and fast," while the Chester Passion
contains orders to ”neyles him to the Tree” and ”dryve on/ this neile

to the ende.” The latitude of these statements would allow both these

scenes to repeat the precise display and use of nails demonstrated in

the York play.51

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

112

A third example of the variety of nails that could be displayed in
these plays comes from the Towneley cycle where Noah vows ”To drife ich
a nayll/ will I not forsake.” This could well be an excellent opportu-
nity to display some ”kelffet“ nails, nails used especially in the con-
struction of ships but also useful in securing any item from water

leakage or damage.52

Those references to nails in these plays which establish some special
qualities for the nails make up the second group we will examine. In
addition to promoting the nails through display, these references empha-
size the strength, reliability, and overall usefulness of the nails as
a further commercial build-up. The York Noah carries out his construc-

tion task "With nayles pat are both noble and newe," while the Towneley 1

 

Noah makes use of nails big enough "so thay ryn/ Thoro more and myn/

Thise bordis ichon." A line in the Ludus Coventriae Crucifixion play

 

calls for a ”nayle... both good and greet" as one property in the scene.
The Chester Passion includes the fourth Jew's statement that the "Iron

pinne" he uses is of premium quality which ”I dare lay, will last."

 

Finally, the second torturer in the Towneley Crucifixion play reassures

 

his comrades that "thar vs notyng doutt" if the nail he holds is used
in the crucifixion since "it will not brest (break).”

What results from these repeated displays and lines of dialogue
setting forth the quality of the nails used in the plays is a miniature
advertising campaign for the nailers. This is especially obvious in
the Np§p_play where no biblical or other tradition demands the inclusion
of nails as properties in the plays. These plays developed through a
series of inclusions which were deemed appropriate to play content and

purpose. These additions also became a means for promoting certain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

113

 

craft products in the plays. Thus, while the Chester Deluge play empha-

sizes the tools Noah's sons use, the York Building of the Ark gives due

 

credit to the ”noble and newe” nails necessary to the project. Even in

the Crucifixion plays, where the repeated references to nails are

 

basically a move to sustain the grim atmosphere, such references cannot
help but focus audience attention on the nails as craft products rather
than as stage properties expended in one dramatic scene. The situation
is analogous to the use of weapons in the Slaying_of the Innocents play.

Even though the matter of the play may be upsetting, the armourers

 

could still use the need for weapons as stage properties in the play to
display their latest weaponry products to the public. These prOperties
were meant to be viewed and appraised by the audience as part of the

drama and as individual craft products. The same was true of the nails

used in the Noah and Crucifixion plays. They were appropriate and con-

 

vincing properties fOr the dramas. They were also guild products of a
quality and craftsmanship meant to attract consumer attention and pro-

duce later sales for the nailers.53

Stage Properties and the Armourers
The need for weapons as stage prOperties in the cycles also provided

the armourers numerous opportunities to advertise indirectly their pro-

 

ducts. For the most part these oppportunities came from plays with
soldiers in their casts. In addition, some civilian figures in the plays
carry weapons, thereby increasing the armourers' opportunities to exhibit
their products in use by various segments of society rather than just

the military.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

114

References to weapons used as stage properties by military figures
abound in the plays. The two soldiers who execute Herod's orders in

the Chester Slaying of the Innocents use a spear ("with this speare I

 

thinke to assay/ to kill many a small couioune,") and a sword ("I slue
ten thousand upon a day/ .../ my swoard it was so keene") to perform
their grim task. The Chester Betrayal play contains a rubric which
directs that Judas arrive at the garden with armed soldiers: "Tunc
ludas cum militum cohorte, laternis facibus, et armis veniet." The
presence of weapons is also affirmed by Christ's remarks about the
soldiers "with swords, and staues, and armyre” converging on the garden.

The Digby Herod's Killing of the Children, although apparently not

 

produced by a craft guild, contains numerous references to soldiers'
weapons. In response to Herod's command, the first soldier vows ”with
sharpe sword ... to perse them all bare,” referring to the children.
Later, on entering Bethlehem, the same soldier announces how the ”sharpe
swerdes" the soldiers carry "redely will byte/ your children... in

our cruell mood."

Even the York Massacre of the Innocents, which includes only one

 

direct reference to weapons, contains the same requirements for weapons
and the same opportunities to display these weapons as the Digby play.
In the York play, Herod refers to his counselors as "Sir knyghtis" and
we can assume their attire included side arms appropriate to their
status. In addition, the soldiers who perfOrm the massacre would carry
the necessary weapons. At one point in the York play, when the mothers
rise up against the soldiers, one soldier orders the use of arms against
the women lest the mothers, in their rage, overcome the soldiers. ("As

armesl for nowe is nede/ .../ Ther quenys will quelle us here.”) Direct

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

115

reference to the use of arms may have been limited in the York Massacre;
nevertheless the use of arms as stage properties was frequent.

Although military figures dominate the use of weapons in the plays,
the armourers also had chances to exhibit their products in royal hands,
and in more common circumstances. The Coventry shearmen and tailors'
pageant provides one instance where a sword suited for royalty could be
displayed in the production. After some reluctance on the soldiers'
parts to carrying out Herod's massacre plans, one of the soldiers
finally swears obedience to the king's command on Herod's sword.

("And I woll sweyre here upon your bryght sworde.") The Digby Killing
play also presents the possibility that Herod brandishes a royal sword
when he enters and declares ”I am most be-dred . with my bronde bright.”

The Coventry smiths' use of a pole-axe as part of Pilate's son's
outfit in their pageant is another example of the diversity of display
the armourers could find in the cycle productions and the broad market
they could penetrate as a result. (See Sharp, pps. l4 and 17.) The pole-
axe was known as a knightly weapon, one usually cut down to half size
for convenience in using and transporting it on foot. (See Kelly and
Schwabe, p. 70.) We can reasonably assume that the property used in the
Coventry play was the abbreviated version of the pole-axe. As a result,
the youthful character using this shortened version would generate a
special interest among at least two segments of the audience, the
knights who included the pole-axe as part of their individual arsenal,
and the young bachelors and squires who normally received a pole-axe
as their first weapon.

Finally, the Malchus incident of the Betrayal play, the chance to

exhibit a sword used by someone of humble circumstances appears. Peter

 

 

 

 

 

 

116

cuts off Malchus' ear with a sword in an attempt to protect Jesus. He
is promptly admonished by Jesus to put up his sword, the ear is
miraculously restored, and the armourers have benefitted from one

more chance to display their products in the cycle productions.

The examples studied in this section do not equal the blatant type
of promotion seen in the couchers and tapiters' play, nor do they achieve
the impact a play such as the goldsmiths' could have in terms of pro-
moting craft goods or services. Nevertheless, an another opportunity
for displaying craft skills or products to a consuming public, these
examples demonstrate how commercialism in the cycle plays could be more
widespread than previously considered.

The final example of commercial in the plays I would like to

. examine occurs in the bakers' Last Supper. The bakers seem to have

 

found in this play an extraordinary opportunity to not only promote

their products, but also to improve their public relations and standing
54

 

in the community.

The Bakers and the Last Supper

In medieval England the bakers seemed to be in constant trouble with
the public. Their work affected all levels of society; their standing
in the community fluctuated with public opinion of their activities; many
times those activities evoked public animosity. Gower categorized the
bakers en masse as criminal enough to deserve handing; in Pier's, Langland

presents Haukyn, the typically greedy baker who, because he is "Loth to

 

do Treuthe,” schemes to get more through false measures, false weights
. 5 . . . . .
and false w1tnesses. 5 The Citizenry often took Violent action against

the bakers if the guildsmen were suspected of disregarding baking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

117

standards; civic officials also acted against the bakers to make them
conform to municipal regulations.56 Hostile public opinion of the
bakers was a continuing condition during this period. It was, therefore,
imperative that the bakers take advantage of any means they could to
bolster their public image, to promote a positive public opinion of
their craft which would counter the negative aspects of their community
standing. The bakers did not have the mass media to help promote their
guild image or to publicize their position in any dispute. Neither was
the guild able to use the picket line or protest march where lifted
placard could spell out craft grievances and reasons why the public
should support their side of the controversy. What the bakers had as
one possible means for establishing a positive public image of the guild
was the Corpus Christi play which they produced.

Because of their occupation, the bakers were a logical choice to

put on The Last Supper. At York, Chester, and Beverley the bakers were

 

responsible for this play; the other cycles either did not include a

Last Supper play, or no bakers were active in the productions.57 This

 

uniform assignment of the bakers to the Last Supper play when both were

 

part of the town's Corpus Christi cycle allowed the bakers a three-fold
opportunity for craft promotion through the guild play. They could
directly advertise their products by distributing samples at the play.
They could use the occasion of the festival to better relations with
civic officials. Finally, the bakers could use their Corpus Christi play
to promote public good will toward the craft through an image of the
guild as a sincere, helpful part of the Christian community dedicated

to proper religious and commercial service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

118

There is a distinct possibility that the bakers distributed samples
of their products to the audiences at the Last Supper plays. The trade
guilds of London had set impressive examples of dispersing samples of
guild products on formal civic occasions. This added to the overall
effect of the pageant; at the same time it scored an advertising and
public relations "plus” for the guilds that passed out the samples.

The guilds that produced the cycle plays in towns outside London could
readily see the advantages in such a practice, and the bakers were in
an especially favorable position as producers of The Last Suppgr

to utilize the distribution of bread samples at their play fOr similar
advantage.

‘Evidence that the bakers might have distributed bread samples to
the play audiences comes primarily from Chester where the last line of
the Banns dealing with the bakers' play directs that guild to "therefore,
caste good loaves Abroade with a Cheerfull harte." Taken literally,
this line indicates that bakers distributed samples of their products
at the plays. Commercial practices of the bakers during this period
also support this interpretation.

To understand accurately why the bakers might have handed out bread
samples at the plays, and how effective distributing these samples
could have been for the bakers, we must first understand the types of
bread used during the Middle Ages. Unlike current breads, which are
fairly close in price and are used interchangeably for a variety of pur-
poses, the several fifteenth century breads were distinct in type and
use.58 The cost of the bread generally made it available to only cer-
tain groups in society. This marked distinction among kinds of bread

allowed the bakers the opportunity to include in the Last Supper play

 

 

 

 

 

 

119

samples of their finest products. Bread used for sacramental purposes

was one of the finest white types and undoubtedly the small loaves which

the bakers provided for the Last Supper table were pain de maigne.59

 

We can conclude that the bakers would see the distribution of this fine
bread to the audience at the plays as a chance to spread about the best
examples of their product to the public. The Chester bakers were in-
structed to pass out "good looves" at their play, and the likelihood
that they did so is increased by the fact that members of that guild
had developed a fairly elaborate system of individual hallmarks fOr
their products during this period.60 Thus the opportunity to distribute
bread samples would not only be a chance for the craft as a group to hand
out examples of their finest quality breads to the play audiences, but
also it would be an opportunity for individual bakers to mark their work
as was customary and advertise their individual products to the public,
to inform the audience whose excellent bread they were eating.

These opportunities for direct advertising in connection with the

Last Supper existed similarly for the York and Beverley bakers. In

 

addition, bakers in these towns found other ways of capitalizing on
their participation in the Corpus Christi celebration to better guild
standing in the town.

Mayors in the towns presenting the cycle plays often entertained
distinguished festival visitors with food and drink as part of their
"hospitality" campaign. The York mayors followed this practice and
apparently one of the major attractions in their hospitality spread was
the ”Sheyld of Mayn bread" which the town bakers contributed for the
occasion. One or two of these ”shields” were presented to the mayor

during at least four Corpus Christi celebrations.61 Just exactly what

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

120

 

this ”sheyld" was remains unclear. Perhaps it was a large, flat pan of
bread baked especially for the occasion such as current sheet cakes.

On the other hand, if the shield were in fact a replica, in bread, of

a shield of arms, presumably the town's or guild's, the bakers were sure
to receive numerous comments on their ingenuity and skill in baking. In
either case, the donation of these bread shields to the mayor was a
definite public relations gesture by the bakers. It helped improve the
bakers' relations with municipal officials, a group with which the

bakers often found themselves at odds. It also allowed the bakers

 

some outright advertising of their products to a clientele who could

 

JP“
_ 4‘ _a-—bl

appreciate and afford the pain de maigne prepared by the bakers.

We must not, however, conclude that these direct advertising opportu- '
nities were the only advantages the bakers could derive from their L§§p_
Supper production. Direct advertising was undoubtedly useful; the

opportunity which the Last Supper provided the bakers for bettering

 

 

their public image was equally important.62

Anything the bakers could do to draw public attention away from
their frequent commercial disputes and focus it on a more positive as-
pect of their role in the community would be helpful to the craft.

Consequently, the bakers' Last Supper plays could act as a "service

 

advertisement" to build good will for their organizations.63 Like the
Barton Company and the Seder, the bakers outwardly displayed a proper

enactment of the Last Supper for audience edification. Their proper

 

enactment of that central religious mystery was also to indicate the
bakers' regard to the rite and their dedication fiarits deep meaning.
As a result the bakers' first concern with their play as service

advertisement was for an accurate recreation of the Last Supper itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

121

This would be informative for the audience; it would also impress that
audience with the bakers' knowledge and care in their enactment of the
play. Thus at Chester, where the Banns supported a full and accurate

production of The Last Supper by calling on the bakers to ”see that the

 

same wordes you utter/ as Christ hym selfe spoke them ...," the play
includes close attention to Christ's performance of the communion rite
and especially his dialogue. ("this breade .../ take eates .../ this

is my body," ..."brethren, takes this with hart free,/ that is my blood,/
That shall be shedd on the tree.")64 Town and guild officials at

Chester determined to present a full enactment of The Last Supppr to

 

their audiences, and inclusion of all the elements biblically recorded
as part of the "Newe Lawe” achieved that goal.

The bakers' use of The Last Supper as a service advertisement also

 

meant, like the Barton example, display of an appropriately set table.
In surprising similarity to the Barton advertisement, the York play in-
cludes Mark's pronouncement that "Maistir, we haue arayd full right/
Seruise pat semes for youre sopere." The other cycles do not correspond
so closely to the described intent of the Barton advertisement; never-
theless, they all contain the measures necessary to present a table pro-
perly laid out for the Last Supper scene. In the Chester play, Peter
indicates "Thy commaundement lord, done haue we:/ the pascall lambe is
made ready." The Ludus Coventriae Peter exclaims that ”All redy lord

is oure ordenawns," while John indicates "All thyng we haue lord at oure
plesyng/ pat longyth to zoure mawnde with ful glad chere." In addition,
the Towneley cycle includes a brief but important rubric allowing a full
scale setting of the table when it directs "Tunc parent lohannes 8

petrus mensam.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

122

Obviously, a proper inclusion of the elements of the first Holy

Communion was important to all the Last Supper productions. This was

 

essential for dramatic purposes. It was also important as part of the
bakers' use of their play as a service advertisement. An appropriate
enactment of this critical episode in religious history demonstrated
guild dedication to the concept of Christian community which the play

sets forth. The Last Supper could have been the bakers' most important

 

public promotion of their craft as concerned, reliable tradesmen at a
time when the bakers needed any positive recognition they could claim
to counter the manifold negative opinions which circulated about their

craft and activities.65

Conclusion

 

Any good drama reflects the world around it. Previous scholars
have demonstrated how the cycle plays mirrored the religious and artistic
worlds of fifteenth century England. This study has attempted to de-
termine whether the cycle plays also reflected the commercial world
they were part of. This approach does not represent an attempt to down-
play religion's importance in the cycle plays. Rather, it appears that
religion acted as a vehicle for commercialism in the guild dramas. The
producers of the plays were guildsmen, as well as believing Christians,
and self-promotion, either by individuals or groups,waszirecognized
practice in medieval society, often using religion to expedite that pro-
motion. The congregations in medieval churches frequently looked up at
their stained glass windows to see a likeness of the window's donor or
a representation of one or more tradesmen at work among the colorful

religious scenes. This same mixture of religion and display appeared

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

123

in the cycles. The drama of the later Middle Ages could be used not
only to ”increase the emotional richness... of man's existence,"66 but
also to promote a more mundane, but essential accumulation of "riches"
for the craftsmen who produced the cycle plays.

The possibilities for commercialism in the plays were numerous.
In their own plays, or in plays produced by other crafts, the guilds
could find extensive opportunities to display their commodities to the
large "market" attending the plays. The crafts might include unusual
references to their products in the plays in an outright manipulation

of content for commercial purposes. This occurs undeniably in the York

couchers and tapiters' play of the Dream of Pilate's Wife; it appears

 

almost as strikingly in the York tilethatchers' Nativity play with its
extraordinary reference to the condition of the roof over the stable.
Although these instances are limited in number, they constitute one of
the bolder types of promotion found in the cycle plays.

The second type of commercialism possible in the cycles resulted
from assigning plays to crafts based on some correlation between guild
occupation and content of the plays. The tanners' ability to provide
a robe for God, the goldsmiths' connection with the vessels and rare
metal of the Mggi_plays, the shipwrights' relationship to the matter of
the ark plays are a few examples. This often standard association of
craft with play inherently allowed the producing guilds a chance to pro-

mote both their skills and goods to the audiences at the performances

 

without deviating from a conventional presentation of their stage material.
The tanners could show off the hard-to-finish white leather robe they
furnished God; the goldsmiths could display their richly crafted

"cuppes" in the Magi plays; the shipwrights could use the Ark play to

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

124

impress the public with the complexity and importance of their skills.
Similar advantages could accure to the plasterers who might incorporate
examples of their workmanship in the Creation plays, or the glovers who

could use their Cain and Abel plays to display the rugged, field gloves

 

they produced. Where guild responsibility for a play was based on some
connection between craft and play content, the guilds had excellent
chances to realize commercial advantage for their stage presentations.
The possibilities fOr commercial promotion of a craft's goods and
services were not limited to those guilds which produced their own plays,

however. In some cases one craft's products might be advertised exclu-

 

sively in another guild's plays. This occurs most notably in the

 

Chester Deluge play where the smiths' products are unquestionably dis- L

played and lauded. The same was true of the nailers and the Crucifixion

 

play. Even though the play was produced by another guild, nails were
such a prominent stage property that the production could actually be-
come a vehicle for promoting the types and quality of nails which the
nailers manufactured.

The most widespread possibilities for commercial promotion in the
plays occur where one guild provided costumes or properties for several

plays produced by other crafts. The clothing and accessory guilds

 

evidence this. Their products, whether custom made for the production,
borrowed or rented, could be displayed numerous times before the audi—
ences at the plays. The tailors' products could appear in almost any

of the cycle plays as demonstrations of that guild's skills and abilities.
Because gloves were a basic wardrobe component for all levels of society,
the glovers' products could also appear in any number of the plays both

as costume accessories and ads for that craft's commodities. The same

   

 

 

 

 

125

applied to the hat makers whose practical or fashionable designs could
adorn characters in many of the Corpus Christi plays brought forth by
other guilds. Even though the opportunity for a wide diSplay of craft
products in their own plays may have been denied some of these guilds,
they could significantly capitalize on the commercial potential of the
cycles by promoting their products in plays produced by other guilds.
Perhaps the most convincing evidence of how great the commercial
potential in the cycle plays could be occurs with those guilds who had
exceptional opportunities to display their goods both in their own plays

and in numerous plays put on by other guilds. The York girdlers could j

 

effectively display a variety of their products in the Massacre of the

 

Innocents play they produced; girdles were also used throughout the 9
cycles as costume accessories, thereby providing the girdlers further
display and promotion of their products. The armourers enjoyed similar

possibilities. The Expulsion from the Garden of Eden allowed the York

 

armourers to incorporate one of their fine swords as a stage property.
In addition, any other play that included soldiers gave the armourers
excellent chances to display the armour and weapons they produced to
the audiences at the plays. The cordwainers were another craft which
could profit from multiple opportunities for direct and indirect adver-
tising in the plays. Their own productions invariably contained numerous
characters from differing social levels and provided the cordwainers a
chance to advertise several shoe styles in their plays. The many shoes
used in other guilds' plays could also become advertisements for the
shoemakers' skills.

The third type of commercialism possible in the plays involves

using the cycle dramas as public relations devices for the craft guilds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

126

Although any of the plays could enhance the producing craft's public

image, the bakers' Last Supper productions epitomize use of the plays

 

for public relations purposes. The Chester bakers possibly passed
out samples of their products at the plays. Other baking guilds in-

volved in the Last Supper productions might have done the same. More

 

importantly, when used as a ”service advertisement," the Last Supper
was a valuable means for the bakers to promote a more positive public
image for themselves in a community often full of hostile feelings

toward their craft. By allying themselves with the central event of

the Corpus Christi celebrations, and taking numerous steps to insure

 

that the Last Supper production was devout, accurate and informative,
the bakers could realize important benefits from their plays beyond
strictly tangible commercial gains.

Examples such as the above demonstrate that, although the cycle
plays were outwardly presented for religious and civic purposes, they
often contained elements of commercialism. Much of the evidence for
this commercialism is indirect, so that our conclusions rest neces-
sarily on inference and hypothetical analyses; nevertheless, that evi-
dence makes it abundantly clear that the cycle plays were surrounded
by an increasingly commercial world and were produced by men whose
survival depended on success in such a world. This study has reconstructed
portions of that world and of the plays themselves to reveal, at least
in part, the commercial functions which the cycle plays fulfilled for
the trade guildsmen. We may have labels for these functions; the medieval
world did not. However, this should not deter us from recognizing that
several reasons prompted the craft guilds to produce their cycle dramas,

and one reason was the commercial advantages such productions could bring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

127

God proclaims in York IV, God puts Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,
that ”All thynges is mayd, man, to thy prowe (profit)," and the mystery

plays should not be considered an exception to this edict.

Footnotes
1J. W. Robinson, ”The Art of the York Realist,” Modern Philology, Vol.
LX, May, 1963, No. 4, pps. 241-251. Robinson compares the four scenes
in York XXIX, XXX, and XXI where Caiaphas, Pilate, Procula, and Herod
are part of a bedroom scene as realistic additions to the plays since
Jesus was captured at night and his delivery to Pilate and Herod would
find them in bed, and since Procula's dream would occur at night.

See p. 246 ff. The Beverley cycle also includes a Slepipge Pilate
play produced by the tailors. It is, however, non-extant and cannot
be used for comparative analysis.

2Jeffrey Burton Russell, Medieval Civilization (New York, 1968) p. 559
discusses how the fifteenth century was generally one of economic
decline and how businessmen sought more effective business techniques I
to combat the decreased prosperity. Any commercial advantage the 1
craft guilds could gain from producing the cycle plays would accord-
ingly be welcomed by the tradesmen.

 

 

3See Wm. Hone, Ancient Mysteries (London, 1823), p. 258 for a detailed
description of this colossal display which included a work house with
all the forges, anvils, hammers and other instruments used by the gold-
smiths, Orpheus and Amphion playing music in the background, a gold-
smith's forge and furnace with fire, crucibles and molten gold, two
large presses of gold, and numerous other depictions of the various
phases involved in the goldsmiths' craft and the fine products they

produced.

 

 

4At York and Beverley the goldsmiths produced the Magi play by them-
selves. At Newcastle they joined the plumbers, glaziers, pewterers
and painters in the Three Kings of Cologne production (See Waterhouse,
p. xi.). The Berth of Christ with Sheperdes G iij Kyngs of Colen
was put on at Norwich by the dyers, colaunderers, goldsmiths, gold
beaters, saddlers, pewterers and brasiers (Waterhouse, p. xxx). The
Dublin goldsmiths followed a similar pattern at least once in 1498,
when they presented "The three kynges of Collynn, riding worshupfully,
with the offerance, with a sterr afor them” in that city's Corpus
Christi pageant-tableaux procession. (See Spencer, p. 72.)
The two major exceptions to this pattern occur at Chester where the
Oblation play was produced by the mercers while the goldsmiths were
responsible for the next episode of the Slaying of the Innocents,
and Coventry where the shearmen and taylors' lengthy play included
the Annunciation, Nativity, Adoration, and Slaying of the Innocents
episodes.

 

 

 

 

 

128

5Various entries in the latter portion of the fifteenth century at
Coventry attest to the popularity and repeated use of this type head
piece for Herod. See Sharp, p. 29. Although a "crest” would not
strictly resemble the normal crowns used during that period, the way
Herod's crest was decorated at Coventry most likely represents how
the crowns used in the Magi or other plays were made up fOr the pro—
ductions.
6The use of "cuppes" for the Magi's Oblation is also depicted in art
of the period. Figure 1 represents a sketch of a fourteenth century
wall painting from St. Stephen's Chapel, Westminster, of one of the
Magi. The cup he carries is especially intricate in design,zu5is his
crown, another of the goldsmiths' products.
7See J. S. Mudd, Leather Finishes (New York, 1939), p. 2 for explana-
tion of how leather for clothing, harnesses, upholstery, and handbags
was traditionally tanned with extracts from natural barks and fruits;
therefore, the tanning guild at York was called the barkers.
The barkers at Digby also put on the Fall of Lucifer play. At Norwich
the tanners produced the MOSes and PharOah play while the Beverley
tanners put on the Taking of the Cross.

 

 

 

 

8Sharp, pps. 14 and 26. This was apparently a very satisfactory choice
since Sharp's accounts record its use through the drapers' 1534 play.
9See M. D. Anderson, Drama and Imagery in English Medieval Churches
(Cambridge, 1963), p. 167 for indication of painted rays which could
have adorned God's white robe, or jutted from his head, to complete
the necessary radiance for the costume. There is also the possibility
that mirrors were imbedded in the leather robe to create God's
brilliance.

 

lOSee Mudd, 14 ff. for explanation of tanning and special considerations

involved in preparing white leather.

llSalter, p. 32.

12The possibility that some basis for connection between the plasterers
and the early Creation plays might exist is hinted at by the fact that
the Newcastle Creation of Adam was produced by the plasterers and
bricklayers. See Waterhouse, p. xxxix. No text remains, however, and
none of the other cycles involved a plasterers' guild for further
comparisons.

 

13See Maurice Drake, A History of English Glass-painting (London, 1912),

p. 38 ff. for explanation of how plastering became more popular during
this period as opposed to very expensive tapestries for walls, and how
its smooth, white finish invited artistic ”enrichment" in the form of
painting and parge (plaster) decorations.

 

 

 

 

 

129

14Johnston and Dorrell make an interesting observation about the composi-

tion of these angels. Mercer records indicate "a lang small corde"
was used with the angels, apparently to make them move ”aboute in the
heuen.” No indication is given of the materials used to make the
angels. Johnston and Dorrell hypothesize that the angels were made
of straw for portability with, however, the heads, hands, and signs
of the passion they held were made of some heavier material for
durability. Wood is a very likely prospect; alabaster is another
according to these authors. Use of the latter would support the
possibility that the plasterers could also utilize some of their own
handiwork to create stage properties for their Creation production.

 

l

 

5The plasterers could have been partially led to using their own
materials in this play by the biblical story of the creation which
recounts how "God formed a man from-the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” The plasterers were,
in effect, giving life to the objects in their Creation play through
use of their ”dust."

16Johnston and Dorrell, p. 15.

 

17The use of dirt to represent the ”dry land" would be impractical since

it could easily blow away on a windy day, be kicked around too much .
by the actors to make it useful, or be smoothed out so much by the
recession of the ”waters" that it would not be visible to the audience.
On the other hand a plaster mound of earth would offer the durability
and size needed for the effect.
In some of the more ambitious productions this mound of earth might
approximate an early version of the "formalized mountains" used in
public pageants and depicted in art work of the sixteenth century.
See Wickham, Early English Stages, Plate XII for one example.

18The watermen of Norwich did the Resurrection play with the butchers
and fishmongers, while the bakers, brewers, cooks, vintners, inn-
keepers, millers, and coopers produced the Noah play.

19In the York play biblical tradition is followed and Noah perfOrms his
task alone. At Chester his three sons aid in the work, an arrangement
apparently accepted fairly widely at the time judging from the London
carpenters' mural which also depicts Noah building the Ark with help
from his sons. (See Figure 5.)

20Although this connection between Noah’s wife and the devil does not
follow biblical source, it was the product of a lengendary association
of early biblical women with the devil. Francis Utley's "One Hundred
and Three Names of Noah's Wife," Speculum, Vol. XVI, 1941, pps. 426-
452 lists the biblical and legendary women whose names and achieve-
ments have been applied to Noah's wife at various times in history
because she is not precisely named and identified in the Bible. See
pps. 450-451 especially for discussion of the Noah's wife — devil
association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

130

The connection between Noah's wife and the devil possibly stems from
an ancient Sumerian myth dealing with a vast flood, one man and his
family who are saved, an inquisitive wife, and a wily serpent. This,
together with the Hebrew myth about Lilith, alleged to be Adam's first
wife and a demoness, could be the basis for the Hebrew and Christian
association of Noah's wife with the devil. See Stephen Langdon, The
Mythology of All Races, Vol. v, Semitic, (Boston, 1931) p. 203 ff—._—

 

21Clarke, pp. 20—21. We must keep in mind that Clarke's contention

applies only to the York Nativity play. The medieval concept of
Jesus' birth place includes a humble structure, but not usually a
dilapidated one. Representations of the stable depict it as
unpretentious, but not in run-down condition. The one prominent

flaw in the construction is a hole in the roof, a condition which,

we will see, actually reflects literality in the medieval rendition
of the scene.

This version of the roof over Mary and Jesus' heads appears in a
majority of the cycle plays. They indicate the humble lodgings which
Mary and Joseph occupy, but do not specify any physical conditions
that contradict the artistic tradition. The York play, however,
differs. Its dialogue contains references to the physical condition
of the "shed” which seem to counter the accepted tradition. This
variation is a curious one and it provokes further examination to .
determine its use and intent.

 

 

22SeeSharp, pps. 80—81.
23The Early English Text Society edition of the Chester Plays, and the
Banns in that text, do not mention the girdlers as part of the
Resurrection play. The Early English Text Society edition of the
Digby Plays contains a listing of the Chester plays based on Harleian
M55 1944 and 2013 which shows the girdlers, along with the skinners
and three other guilds, assigned the Resurrection play. This same
listing is duplicated in the Malone Society‘s edition of Chester Play
Studies and referenced as Banns I, the more authentic Banns
according to Salter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

24At this point we should make note of the probably coincidental, but

still interesting correlation which exists between the traditional
breakdown of the girdlers craft into sub-groups, and the content of
the Massacre play. The girdlers "Proper," those who made girdles
from start to finished product, were divided into two groups: one
manufactured girdles for everyday use; the other made girdles for
military use. (See W. Dunville Smythe, The Worshipful Company of
Girdlers, London (London, 1905), pps. 58-59.) The London girdlers
also divided into two additional groups, the bucklers, and the
"brace” girdlers, those who apparently made some sort of supportive
girdle. For our purposes it is sufficient to note the civilian-
military breakdown, and the presence of soldiers in the Massacre play.
Although the London girdlers' division may have been endemic, York,

as the "second capital" of the realm, was likely to fbllow the London
example. This opens an hypothetical, but provocative, perspective on
why the girdlers may have been assigned the Massacre play at York, and

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

131

possibly the Chester Resurrection play, complete with their mixture
of girdle clad civilians and soldiers.

 

25

The play requiring the least number of roles is, as we have seen, the
York plasterers' production of the Creation to the Fifth Day which
lists God alone. The York Journey to Bethlehem play includes only
two parts, Mary and Joseph. The Towneley production of The Killing
of Abel uses four actors; the York production originally contained
three roles but the addition of Brewbarret brings that play to four
roles also.

 

 

 

26Perhaps one reason the shoemakers were assigned these plays with large
casts was because the shoemakers' guilds had numerous members. This
craft ranked low in skills and status in the medieval towns; new-
comers to the towns often joined the shoemakers' guild because the
craft did not require complex skills. This craft was also usually
one of the first to petition for civic sanction and controls over
its operations to protect its many members from unjust treatment by
the higher ranking crafts. See English Gilds, Toulmin Smith, ed.,
pp. 331-334. ‘

 

27

 

The later, extreme versions of this style were commonly called 1
”cracowes" after the town in Ann of Bohemia's homeland which apparently E
originated the style. They were also referred to as "poleynes." See

Houston, p. 110.

28Shoes in these plays might also include some of the more elaborate
designs which townsmen c0pied from the upper classes and wore on
various occasions. Absolon, in Chaucer's Miller's Tale, comes to
visit Alison decked out in his ”hoses rede," "kirtel of a light
wachet," and shoes "With Powles window" carved in them. Compare this
to Figure l of the king wearing shoes displaying what appears to be
a rose window from a church for an idea of thepossible design
Chaucer refers to.

 

29The York Christ with the Doctors in the Temple play includes instruc-

tions to "Laye fourthe cure bokes belyue” and similar action could
occur in the Beverley play.

 

30

 

Just how impressive display of the tailors' handiwork may have been in
the Magi plays can possibly be determined from other art fbrms.
Hildburgh in "English Alabaster Carvings as Records of the Medieval
Religious Drama," Archeologia, Vol. XCIII, 1949, pps. 51-101, contends
that the alabaster carvings produced mainly near York and Coventry
when the Corpus Christi plays were performed may be direct repre~
sentations of scenes from the plays. Hildburgh maintains that the
cycle play producers and the alabastermen faced the same problem of
presenting Biblical stories to unlearned minds. It would therefore

be only natural for the alabaster carvers to capture in their work
whatever dramatic scenes from the religious dramas they saw and judged
to be particularly effective in audience impact. The practice of
translating some moment of dramatic art to the plastic arts has
existed since antiquity and was undoubtedly present during medieval

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

132

 

times. Thus if we look at Hildburgh's Plate Xla, (Figure 9), of the
Magi, we note especially the unusual, richly pleated robes one of the
kings wears. This is an extraordinary style to find in the alabaster
carvings since alabaster does not lend itself easily to such delicacy

in carving. If, however, we hypothesize that the artist had seen such
an impressive robe in one of the cycle Magi plays which he wished to
capture accurately in alabaster, we can justify the presence of this
intricately pleated robe in the foreign material, and see how the
pleated robe in the play would have been a distinct piece of advertising
for the tailors and their craft.

At this point it might be useful to point out a current and similar
example of how a figure from a dramatic presentation can be translated
into statue form. When The Lion in Winter was made into a movie, it
starred Katherine Hepburn as Elanore of Aquitaine. The role was choice
and Hepburn's enactment fascinating. The combination produced an

Oscar for Hepburn; it also produced a striking Cybis porcelain statue
which purported to be $875 worth of Eleanore of Aquitaine but which
was, in actuality, a statue of Katherine Hepburn. (See Figure 10.)
Historical accuracy had been disregarded in favor of creating one
frozen moment of Katherine Hepburn as Eleanore of Aquitaine in
porcelain. The practice has existed for centuries; it continues

today. It can also be a tool for determining staging practices in ,
the religious cycles in Hildburgh's view. 1

 

 

 

31Sharp, pps. 16-17.

32Sharp, p. 28.

33One example from Devonshire cites a pair of silk garments used for
King Herod on Corpus Christi day. See Blair, p. 85. Silk was very
costly and the garments had to be rented rather than custom made.
34Iris Brooke, English Costume of the Later Middle Ages (London, 1935),
p. 10.

 

35Chambers, Medieval, p. 116.

36The ploughman in Piers had "Tweyne meyteynes... maad al of cloutes
rags, the fungres weren for-wered worn out."

37One of the most convincing indications of how prominent gloves could
be as part of costuming in the plays comes from Coventry where the
smiths' accounts include an entry of "Gloves (12 pair at once)" for
their Trial, Condemnation and Crucifixion pageant. See Sharp's
Dissertation, p. 14. Johnston and Dorrell also note that gloves
appear as specific items for costuming in the mercers' 1463 and 1467
records. See "The York Mercers and Their Pageant of Doomsday, 1433—
1526," p. 21.

 

 

 

38George Clinch, English Costume (London, 1910), p. 42.

39C. Cody Collins, Love of a Glove (New York, 1945), p. 39.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

40

See Collins, p. 39 and Doreen Yarwood, English Costume (London, 1952),
pps. 105-107 for explanation of these stylish methods of sporting
gloves.

 

41Blair, p. 85.

42The armourers' guild often manufactured both the suits of armour and

the weapons which accompanied the armour. The London armourers in-

cluded the bladesmiths, brasiers, spurriers and blacksmiths. (See

Unwin, p. 168.) Some towns, like Coventry, had no specific armourers'

guild; the smiths instead perfOrmed that craft. Since the armourers

produced both weapons and suits of armour they could profit doubly

from displaying their products as costumes, and as stage properties

in the cycle presentations. We will examine the suits of armour as

costumes and advertising in this section. The following section on

stage properties and their potential as advertising devices includes

the armourers and their weapons.

43See Ffoulkes, p. 118, and Kelly and Schwabe's Short History of Costume
and Armour (New York, 1931), p. 71 for identical labels of the period
and its armour.

44Kelly and Schwabe's general description covers the virtues of fifteenth 1
century armour succinctly: "It combined the utmost practical freedom
of action with the minimum of exposure, toughness of material with
lightness. The lines both from the aesthetic and practical standpoint,
are perfect of their kind. The graceful flutings and curves are
craftily adapted to deflect a hostile thrust; the ridges prevent such
blows glancing off to a vulnerable spot." See p. 71.

45For a definite idea of the level of excellence this armour had achieved
we can turn to the Earl of Warwick's effigy, perhaps the most highly
acclaimed depiction of fifteenth century armour. (See Figure 11.)
The styling and workmanship of the armour incorporate a lightness, an
elasticity, and a perfect fit which allow maximum flexibility and
protection for the wearer. This is a distinct improvement over the
previous types of armour which were either too burdensome to be
maneuverable, or too poorly designed to be adequately protective.
The reasons why this new armour would generate substantial interest
among those levels of society which used armour at one point or
another seem apparent.

 

 

 

 

6See Wickham, Vol. 1, pps. l3-Sl for a fascinating discussion of the
tournaments which evolved through the fifteenth century, the elaborate
machines they employed for their spectacles, and, of course, the
display and use of armour as part of those events.

47See Sharp, p. 54.

48 . . .
Any survey of medieval art makes it apparent that soldiers and other
men of violence were outfitted in armour as an indication of their
rank or intent. Figure 12 depicts soldiers wearing armour at the
Betrayal.

 

 

 

 

 

49Mention of these tools in the Chester Deluge play is singular. The
only tool Noah refers to in the York Building of the Ark play is his
”gynn" - apparently a squaring device used in cutting the lumber.
The Newcastle Noah play mentions no tools at all, while in the Ludus
Coventriae version Noah goes off stage as Lameth speaks, and returns
with the ark already built. The only other substantial mention of
the equipment used to construct the ark comes in the Towneley-
Wakefield Noah and the Ark play where Noah states "Now my gere will
I fang” and ”This gere may neuer fayll." Although this reference
clearly indicates that Noah used some tools as part of this scene,
the reference is too general to allow identification of the tools
included in the "gere.”

 

 

50The rather numerous references at York and Chester may be partially

explained by the fact that there were guilds in those towns which
dealth specifically in nails. At York there was a separate nailers'
guild which produced, with the girdlers, the MaSsacre of the Innocents.
As we have seen, that production allowed the girdlers several opportu-
nities to display their products to the audience at the plays. The '
nailers, however, had no opportunity for direct advertising in that
play and would look to other productions for that chance.

At Chester the iron mongers retailed nails. They were one of three
guilds that produced the Passion play and would consequently have a
chance for some direct advertising in that play in addition to the
indirect examples we are exploring here.

 

 

 

SlAn allied example of how the Crucifixion scene could be used to cata-

logue some of the nails available for sale at that time, and to
promote the craftsmanship of the guild which manufactured them,
occurs in the French Passion by Greban. Bananias, a scribe, requests
three strong nails from the blacksmith but does not specify their use.
The blacksmith in turn asks whether the nails are intended for walls,
doors, windows, "For tiling roofs/ Or for horses hoofs?" (See The
True Mistery of the Passion adapted and translated from the French-
Medieval Mystery Cycle of Armand and Simon Greban by James Kirkup .
(Oxford University Press, 1962), p. 108.) Bananias indicates the
intended use of the nails and, in an added dire note, requests they
be blunted so they will not penetrate the body too easily. The
blacksmith accedes to the request but not without demanding that
Bananias "Keep it quiet! Think of my reputation/ I have my pride!"
The blacksmith is not accustomed to producing blunt nails and fears
his skills will be doubted if word of this spreads. This episode is
one indication of the tendency toward sensationalism which character-
ized many of the medieval French mysteries; it also confirms how the
Crucifixion could be used to promote both nails and their producers'
skills in the mystery cycles.

 

 

52Mill points out the use of these nails at Hull in their Noah pageant

and designates them as possibly allied to the caulking process. See
p. 502 of her "Hull Noah Play” article.

53One of the difficulties in positing an advertising fUnction for the
nails displayed in the cycle productions is the question of market.

 

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIlllll--::;____________ ________

 

 

 

 

135

Nails were basically used for the same purposes then as they are now
and it seems unlikely that any great number in the audience would be
intent on seeing what nails were used for in the plays. Some members
of the audience might have a current need for nails at that time and
consequently be interested in seeing the types of nails used in the
plays. Their numbers would presumably be negligible and not constitute
any substantial market for the nailers at the plays, however.

On the other hand those guildsmen who regularly used nails in their
work (such as the carpenters and joiners), and the upper levels of
society that could afford some of the new, decorative uses of nails
introduced during that period would definitely be a sizable market
for the nailers' products.” The carpenters would use many different
nails in the building boom that occurred in towns like York which
experienced rapid expansion or the destruction of older buildings

by fire. In addition the joiners expanded their skills from the

wood panels used inside on walls and pieces of furniture, to the
massive doors inside and out which copied "traceried" windows in their
design. These doors, covered with ornamental wood stripping to re-
semble the bars and ribs which decorated the upper parts of Gothic
windows, used great numbers of wrought-iron nails to achieve the
desired effect. (See Martin Briggs, A Short History of Building
Crafts (Oxford, 1925), pps. 153-154 for a discussion of joinery's
skills with these doors and other wood products from the fourteenth
century on.)

Thus we see that the carpenters, joiners, and certain levels of
medieval society would be very interested in the nailers' products

at any time. The nailers not only had numerous opportunities to pro-
mote their products in the cycle plays, they could also have had an
identifiable market at those plays interested in their craft and
products.

 

 

 

54Certainly any craft guild involved in a successful cycle play could
expect some favorable public response as a result. I have already
indicated how the shipwrights and goldsmiths' plays could enhance
the status of those craftsmen. The bakers, however, because of the
sensitive position they held as tradesmen in the community, and

1 because of the special nature of the play they presented, provide a
unique example of commercialism in the cycle plays, one which I have
chosen to examine separately.

55Langland, Piers the Ploughman, Passus XIII, LL. 356-360.

 

6Leet and municipal records throughout England chronicle the many
charges and hostilities raised against the bakers. In some places
apparently one of the mayor's main functions was to watch closely
over the bakers' activities so the public would be protected against
possible frauds and deceits. The Bristol mayor's oath "to keep truly
correction on all bakers" is one example. Mbrris, pps. 416-417 pre-
sents a later but typical example of a legal dispute which arose
between the bakers and the mayor in 1557 over the assize. The bakers
refused to accept the mayor's assize and discontinued supplying bread
to the community. As a result their charter was revoked and the
citizens were given the right to bake bread. The issue was finally
resolved a year later through a court ruling against the bakers. The

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIllllll--:::____________

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bakers suffered not only the loss of their case, but also the loss of
public opinion and regard for their craft. Instances like this created
a very negative public image for the craft.

57

We have seen how the Norwich bakers were one of several guilds responsi-
ble for the Noah play. The Norwich cycle included a Resurrection play,
but, strangely, no Last Supper production. The Newcastle cycle included
a Last Supper play but it was assigned to the fullers and dyers since

no bakers were involved in that town's cycle. The same was true of
Coventry where no bakers participated directly in the productions and
the smiths' presentation of the Trial and Crucifixion portrayed the
events surrounding the Last Supper.

 

 

 

 

 

S8Nomenclature may vary but classifications of bread generally went by
color and texture. McCance and Widdowson in Breads, White and Brown,
Their Place in Thought and Social History, London, 1956, p. 16 ff.
indicate four types. The manchet, or small 4-6 ounce loaf of white
bread was the finest. Wastel and pain de maigne were also top quality
white breads made of the finest flour. The "cheat" loaf was next
in quality. It was made from whole wheat which had been separated
from wheat but with more of the coarser elements retained. Finally
comes the bran bread, the darkest and coarest of the flour. We can
see how the types of bread would correspond to social class and use
also. The wealthier segments of society would be able to afford the
top quality breads. Chaucer's Prioress feeds her dogs pain de maigne.
Pain de maigne was also the sacramental bread. Bran bread would supply
the lower classes, while variously adulterated forms of the "ravelled"
cheat apparently were found in the "halles of the nobilitie, and gen-
trie.”

 

 

59

 

Textual corroboration for the use of the fine white bread as part of
the Last Supper comes mainly from the Ludus Coventriae, where the

Last Supper play includes Jesus' statement that they have eaten the
Paschal Lamb ”with swete bredys." Ludus Coventriae, L.674, Jesus also
states figuratively that "With no byttr bred pis bred ete xal be/...

/ But with be suete bred of love and charyte." (718-720) These
references substantiate the likely conclusion that a fine white bread
was used in the Last Supper productions.

 

 

 

 

0See Figure 13 for examples of these marks. Although these marks date
from 1589 there is ample evidence the marking system existed long
before this date. Morris, p. 414 indicates the "coket” (one of the
fine white breads prepared by the Chester bakers) was so named because
of the baker's mark impressed on these loaves. If this is correct
then references to "cocket" during Henry III's reign would presumably
indicate the use of bakers' marks as far back as mid thirteenth century.
Even if this is not an accurate definition of the "coket," late
fifteenth century ordinances from Henry VII required the bakers'
marks, so their use would coincide with, if not predate, our period
of concern with the cycle plays.

61See Mill, "York Bakers," pps. 152-158.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

62

63

The division line between direct advertising and image promotion was
not necessarily a distinct one. Even the distribution of bread
samples at the plays would contribute substantially to a community
(image of the bakers rather than just representing direct advertising
for the guild. Distribution of the samples would not be a boister-
ous, sportive procedure such as similar modern instances are apt to
be. The atmosphere surrounding the performance of The Last Supper
would normally be a solemn one since the play contained the central
act of the Corpus Christi festival. The act of Transubstantiation
was the raison d'etre for the whole celebration and its performance
in front of the assembled crowds would bring a hush to the audience.
The care which the bakers took to see that Christ's words were
correct, the table was properly arrayed, and the other elements of
the Last Supper were appropriate, would produce a solemn recreation
of the Maundy events, in addition to imbuing the craft elements used
in the play with a definite "spiritual dedication" in the eyes of the
audience. We can therefore understand how the bakers' distribution
of sample products, the same bread as "this breade" which "I geue
here my blessinge," would take the form of a semi-communion with the
audience after the play. Passing out samples of that bread would be
a solemn act designed to emphasize baker craft abilities (Who could
say the bread of the Last Supper was not especially "suete"?) and
impart some of the widespread esteem that was directed toward the
bread to the makers of the bread. Thus, if the Chester bakers, like
their York counterparts, wished to promote themselves as honest,
deserving members of the community ("God blesseth trewe labour/ With
plentye and favour,” The York Bakers' Ordinary (see Figure 14), the
distribution of their finest bread samples at the Last Supper would
indeed represent their "trewe labour" designed to promote their
economic "plentye" and public favor.

 

 

 

See Figure 15 for a current example and description of a service
advertisement. Inthe example, Barton's has placed the newspaper ad
outwardly as an informative piece to acquaint those interested Jewish
and non-Jewish families with how the Passover table is traditionally,
properly set. Of course there is another motive behind the ad, one
which seeks to promote the candy company's image in the Jewish commu-
nity and generate future sales. Barton's candy has generally been a
very popular selection in Jewish homes for holiday and other occasions.
The Barton's ad is therefore designed to impress the Jewish "market"
with the company's interest in promoting a proper observance of the
Passover feast, and their continued efforts to insure that Barton
products are manufactured in a manner acceptable to their Jewish
clientele. The main purpose behind the ad is to create an identifi-
cation of the Barton Company as knowledgable of kosher laws, and
respectful of their application in manufacturing procedures. Retention
of this image in the community's mind will then help produce future
sales of the Barton products to those Jewish consumers who require
kosher products in their homes, or any other buyers who respond to the
image of Barton's as a sensitive, concerned organization that pays
strict attention to matters of quality and cleanliness in its manu-
facturing processes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

138

 

64The Ludus Coventriae also includes a full rendition of the ”body and
blood” portion of the sacrament beginning with "This is my body
Fflesch and blode/ pat for pe xal dey up—on be rode," whereas the
York manuscript contains only the fleeting reference that "Of Moyses
lawes here make I an ende,/ ... My comaundement schall other wise be
kende" and then moves on to the washing of the apostles' feet.
The Towneley play also excludes direct use of the "body and blood"
statements. The rubrics indicate that after Peter and John have
prepared the meal "Tunc comedent, ludas porrigit manum in discum cum
lhesu" and the action continues with the foot washing episode.

65This same advantage could accrue to the cooks who frequently rivalled
the bakers for low esteem in medieval society. Their Harrowing of
Hell play could be used to display the cooks' skills at handling fire
and some of the utensils handled in their craft. In addition, the
Harrowing could be of distinct public relations value to the cooks.
Their association with the play which presents the first manifesta-
tion of Christ's promise to lead his followers to eternal bliss was
a singular distinction. The spirit which came over the audience as
Christ's promise that "this day/ in Paradice with me thou shalt be
aye” was enacted in the cooks' play was a possible way to soften
public opinion of the cooks themselves. Their Corpus Christi play
demonstrated the wonder of man's redemption through Christ; it also
gave the cooks a worthwhile means to partially redeem a public image
which suffered variously from members' activities in the towns.

 

 

 

66Kolve, p. 4.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the Magi

Figure l.

 

140

 

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Figure 14.

153

 

 

Service advertisement on the Seder

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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