Medieval Matters TT25, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3: the full Medieval Studies booklet is available here

Deadline for Social Media Officer expanded! Calling Graduate Students. We are looking for a successor for Ashley Castelino; check out Ashley’s report (and the report of his predecessor Llewelyn Hopwood) on what the role entails. Please do send in your application to Lesley Smith and Henrike Lähnemann under medieval@torch.ox.ac.uk by Friday, 16 May 2025, 12noon, with your CV and your ideas how to built on the social media presence in the future.

Monday

  • French Palaeography Manuscript Reading Group – 10:30 pm in the Weston Library.
  • Medieval History Seminar – 5pm at All Souls College. Stephen Mossman (Manchester) will be speaking on ‘Lessons for Late Medieval Literary History from Strasbourg’.

Tuesday

  • Medieval English Research Seminar – 12.15 in the English Faculty. Eleni Ponirakis (University of Nottingham) will be speaking on ‘Greek Mystical Theology in Old English Texts’.
  • The Latin Palaeography Reading Group meets 2-3.30pm. Please email Laure Miolo for more information.
  • Medieval Church and Culture –  5pm in the Wellbeloved Room. Umberto Bongianino (AMES) will be speaking on ‘Nuggets of Ancient Wisdom’: an early Andalusi fragment of the Almagest and its context’.
  • Medieval French Research Seminar – 5pm in the Maison française d’Oxford. Phil Knox (Cambridge) will be speaking on ‘Imagining Sexual Politics in Late Medieval France: Aristotle, Giles of Rome, Jean de Meun, Christine de Pizan’.

Wednesday

  • Curating Medieval and Early Modern Women’s Lives Today – 11am online. Booking required.
  • NO Medieval German Graduate Seminar this week. Instead, Irene Van Eldere will present her project on Middle Dutch prayer books this Friday (15 May) 5pm at the Medieval Women’s Writing seminar in the Lincoln Lower Lecture Room (see below) (with the added advantage of snacks!). The Alexanderroman will then commence in week 3. If you are interested to be added to the teams group for updates, please contact Henrike Lähnemann.
  • The ‘science of the stars’ in context: an introduction to medieval astronomical and astrological manuscripts and texts – 2pm in the Horton Room (Weston Library). Session 3: The daily rotation: understanding the stereographic projection of the celestial sphere [2/2]
  • Medieval Latin Document Reading Group – 4pmonline, please contact Michael Stansfield.
  • Late Antique and Byzantine Seminar – 5pm in the Ioannou Centre. Lorenzo Saccon (Wolfson) will be speaking on ‘Pro Meliori et pro Utilitate Terre: Venetian Crete and the Exploitation of the post-Byzantine Aegean’.
  • Medieval Society and Landscape Seminar Series – 5pm in the Department for Continuing Education. Tom Johnson (Oriel College) will be speaking on ‘Building a Church out of Herring: Doles, Shares, and Maritime Community in a Fifteenth-Century Fishing Village’. Book here.
  • Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies Seminar – 5pm in the Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies. Mr Ali Allawi (Former Minister of Finance, Defense, and Trade of Iraq) will be speaking on ‘Rich World, Poor World: The Struggle to Escape Poverty in Muslim Societies’.
  • Centre for Manuscript and Text Cultures Seminar – 5.30pm in the Memorial Room, The Queen’s College. Tamara Atkin (English Faculty & The Queen’s College) will deliver a paper titled ‘On Fragments’.

Thursday

Friday

  • Digital Byzantine Studies: Current Methods and Future Applications – 9:30am – 7:30pm in the Maison Française d’Oxford.
  • Medievalists Coffee Morning – 10.30am at the Weston Library. All welcome, coffee and insight into special collections provided.
  • Medieval Manuscripts Support Group – 11:30 in the Horton Room. Readers of medieval manuscripts can pose questions to a mixed group of fellow readers and Bodleian curators in a friendly environment. Come with your own questions, or to see what questions other readers have!
  • Exploring Medieval Oxford through Lincoln & Magdalen Archives – 2pm in the EPA Centre (Museum Road) Seminar room 1. Please contact Laure Miolo for more information.
  • Anglo-Norman Reading Group – 5pm in the Farmington Institute in Harris Manchester College and online. For more information on the texts, email Jane Bliss.
  • Medieval Women’s Writing Research Seminar – 5pm, Lower Lecture Room, Lincoln College. Irene Van Eldere (University of Leiden) will be speaking on the Middle Dutch Books of Hours.

Saturday

***

Opportunities (new additions in bold)

  • Social Media Officer: See announcement at the start of this post and apply by this Friday!
  • Call for Submissions: Taube Prizes for Student Writing in Hebrew & Jewish Studies – see blog post.
  • National Archives Skills Courses – see blog post.
  • Queen Mary London New Research on Late Medieval England – more information here.
  • CfP for ‘Staging Silence from Antiquity to the Renaissance’ – more information here.
  • CfP for ‘Music and Reformation: A Symposium at Lambeth Palace Library, 16 September 2025’
  • A regular pub trip is being organised on a Friday at 6pm at the Chequers, from 0th week to 8th week, for all medievalists at Oxford. Email maura.mckeon@bfriars.ox.ac.uk
  • Additional spaces are available on the ‘Big Data’ and Medieval Manuscripts workshop – please sign up here.
  • Registration is open for the Masterclass by Patrick Boucheron – Pourquoi des médiévistes ? Penser le contemporain depuis le Moyen Âge – 29 May, 2:30pm, Maison Française d’Oxford.
  • Registration is open for Patrick Boucheron’s lecture entitled ‘The Birth of the Black Death: New Approaches in World History’ – 29 May, 5:00pm, Pembroke College.
  • The Digital Medieval Studies Institute is hosting a set of workshops on digital scholarly methods specifically tailored for medievalists as part of the International Medieval Congress at the University of Leeds. More information can be found here.

Geotrauma, Emergency Histories, and Sacrifice Zones

Medieval Historians in the Anthropocene

Thursday 15 May 2025, 12 midday – 1.30pm 

Colin Matthew Room, Radcliffe Humanities, Radcliffe Observatory Quarter Woodstock Road, Oxford, OX2 6GG Register via Eventbrite. 

Registration is required only for those who would like lunch. In order to prevent food waste, PLEASE cancel your registration at least 72 hours in advance if you are unable to attend.

A roundtable with Ling Zhang (Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge); John Sabapathy (History, University College London); and Amanda Power (History, University of Oxford)

awino okech crop

Medieval Offerings at the Maison Française

Concert: ‘The Oxford Troubadors Return to the Maison Française’

9 May, 7:00pm, Maison Française d’Oxford

We are delighted to welcome back The Oxford Troubadors for an evening of medieval and modern songs in Occitan. The ensemble will perform iconic medieval troubadour pieces, including La Sestina by Arnaut Daniel and Lo riu de la Fontana by Jaufre Rudel, as well as popular modern songs from the repertoires of Peiraguda and Nadau. Expect an interactive experience with audiences often joining in the choruses of these catchy tunes. This event is free, but registration on TicketSource is required.

Lecture: ‘The Birth of the Black Death: New Approaches in World History’ by Patrick Boucheron

29 May, 5:00pm, Pembroke College

We are delighted to welcome Professor Patrick Boucheron for the 2025 Collège de France – Maison Française d’Oxford – Pembroke College lecture. Professor Boucheron will give a lecture on ‘The Birth of the Black Death : New Approaches in World History’. For more details and to register for this lecture, visit this page.

Masterclass: ‘Pourquoi des médiévistes? Penser le contemporain depuis le Moyen Âge’

29 May, 2:30pm, Maison Française d’Oxford

Earlier that day, Patrick Boucheron will be teaching a masterclass at the Maison Française on what medieval history teaches us. Please note that the masterclass will be given in French. Fore more details and to register for this event, visit this page.

The Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays 2025

From the Creation to Judgement Day

The Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays 2025 are over – thank you to everyone who made this day possible! Read on for some pictures and impressions of a wonderful day. You can access the full programme, scroll through film stills by the camera team, and watch it on the OMS Youtube channel.

01:12 – The Fall of the Angels (Angels of Oxford) – Middle English 13:45 – Adam and Eve (Oxford German Medievalists) – Hans Sachs, German 34:56 – The Flood (The Travelling Beavers) – Middle English 55:02 – Abraham and Isaac (Shear and Trembling) – Middle English 1:11:14 – The Annunciation (Low Countries Ensemble) – Middle Dutch 1:19:26 – The Nativity (Les Perles Innocentes) – Marguerite de Navarre, French 1:45:53 – The Wedding at Cana (Pusey House) – Modern English, with Middle English archaisms 2:00:30 – The Crucifixion (The Wicked Weights) – Middle English 2:15:15 – The Lamentation (St Edmund Consort) – Bordesholmer Marienklage, Low German and Latin 2:30:53 – The Harrowing of Hell (The Choir of St Edmund Hall) – Latin Sequence 2:33:30 – The Resurrection (St Stephen’s House) – Middle English 2:55:14 – The Martyrdom of the Three Holy Virgins (Clamor Validus) – Hrosvitha of Gandersheim, Latin and modern English 3:20:10 – The Last Judgement (MSt English, 650–1550) – Modern English

The fourth iteration of the Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays took place on 26 April at St Edmund Hall. And it was a truly marvellous day! A total of 13 plays were put on by about 150 participants – actors, directors, singers, costume designers, musicians, and many more. Throughout the day, about 350 audience members popped in and out of Teddy Hall, some staying for shorter periods, others for several hours or the whole day. Audience members and participants included a wonderful range: undergraduate and graduate students and academics from within and without Oxford, a full children’s choir, tourists, and members of the public found their way to Teddy Hall and partook in the medieval shenanigans. 

And what shenanigans they were! This year, we are particularly proud of the incredible diversity of languages, plays, and different approaches on display. But see for yourself … (All photo credits are at the bottom of the post)

The day started – how could it be otherwise – with a trumpet blast from Henrike Lähnemann herself (Picture 1).

Once again, we were expertly guided through the day by Jim Harris, the Master of Ceremonies. Armed with Bruce Mitchell’s doctoral gown and the ceremonial scroll (consisting of the baking roll to the chaplain of St Edmund Hall, half a coat hanger and numerous layers of paper and sellotape), he introduced each play with a modern English prologue (Picture 2).

We began at the beginning, with the creation of the world and The Fall of the Angels, performed mostly in Middle English, but with modern English elements, and in a modern office setting. 

Picture 3: The Holy Trinity is being fawned over by the two good angels … but trouble awaits: the two bad angels are getting arrogant, before their inevitable ejection from Heaven.

From the angels, we moved swiftly on to humans: next was the German Adam and Eve play by Hans Sachs, featuring a particularly good use of the well (the two humps underneath the spare green coat are Adam and Eve, about to be created).

Picture 4: All could be well in Eden, if it wasn’t for Lucifer, Belial, Satan, and the Serpent conspiring. 

Picture 5: Adam and Eve might have fallen into desperation, but the cast have good reason to be proud of themselves, having made it to the front page of both the Oxford Mail and Oxford Times. 

Skipping a few biblical ages, we next saw the Flood, presented in the Middle English Chester version.

Picture 6: The flood has come! Luckily, Noah and his family are safe on the ark, together with the animals – expertly made and portrayed by the children of St Giles’ and St Margaret’s churches.

The Old Testament concluded with the Middle English York version of Abraham and Isaac.

Will he really do it? Abraham is getting ready to sacrifice his oldest son, Isaac (Picture 7) … but fear not! The angel of the lord approaches and shows him a sheep to sacrifice instead – the little guy, hand-crocheted by one of the cast members, rapidly became the true star of the day (Picture 8).

After a refreshing tea break, we moved from the Front Quad into the Churchyard, and from the Old to the New Testament. The fifth play of the day was the Annunciation, or rather Die Eerste Bliscap van Maria (‘The First Joy of Mary’). It was performed in Middle Dutch: a first (but hopefully not last) for the Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays!

Picture 9: The angel Gabriel announces the happy news to the reading Mary.

True to the Gospels, the Annunciation was followed by the Nativity. It was a particular pleasure to welcome back Les Perles Innocentes, who travelled all the way from Fribourg to wow us with their expert performance of the Comédie de la Nativité, written by none other than Marguerite de Navarre.

Picture 10: Mary and Joseph are desperately looking for a place for Mary to give birth. – Picture 11: If the stable looked as gorgeous as the library of Teddy Hall, it surely wasn’t the worst place to be born in!

Our next play skipped ahead, showing us the grown-up Christ at the Wedding at Cana. This play was a world premiere, reconstructed from only 1.5 surviving lines in the York cycle!

Picture 12: Panic at Cana – the wine has run out at the wedding! What to do?

Picture 13: Christ is there to save the day and transforms the water into wine. The servants are amazed!

From Cana, we moved straight to Golgotha and a Middle English performance of the Crucifixion. The York Crucifixion, strangely, is a comedy, and the four soldiers crucifying Christ were accordingly equipped with ‘Cross flatpack instructions’ and giant inflatable hammers. Certainly not inflatable, however, was the cross, which was purpose-built just for this production and turned into a much-coveted prop for numerous plays.

Picture 14: The poor, overworked soldiers struggle to lift up the heavy cross.

Once the soldiers had vacated the grassy mound in Teddy Hall’s Churchyard, the mourners came: the three Marys (the Virgin, Mary Magdalen, and Mary, Mother of John) and John arrived for the Lamentation, represented by the Bordesholmer Marienklage and beautifully sung in a mixture of Latin and Low German.

Picture 15: Owe, owe nu ys he dot

Moving directly from the cross to the crypt, we were told about the Harrowing of Hell by the Choir of St Edmund Hall through sung Latin sequences.

Hell having been harrowed, it was time for another tea break, after which we were welcomed back by the angelic hosts of the Choir (Picture 16). And then it was time for some good news: the Resurrection! Performed in the Middle English of the York version, this play truly had it all: sleeping soldiers, lamenting Marys, bickering priests, and a highly enthusiastic angel.

Picture 17: An outraged Pilate commands the soldiers to find out the truth about the rumours concerning Christ’s resurrection. At least Caiaphas and Annas, the extremely well-dressed high priests, are there to back him up. Picture 18: Mary lamenting at the tomb – thankfully, she, too, receives moral support from the angel.

Leaving the Gospels behind, we moved on to the only non-biblical story of the day: The Martyrdom of the Three Holy Virgins by Hrosvitha of Gandersheim, performed mostly in (absolutely flawless!) Latin, with a few bits in modern English.

Picture 19: Governor Dulcitius has been ridiculed by his prisoners, the holy virgins Agape, Chionia, and Irena … his embarrassment will not go unpunished.

Picture 20: The two older sisters are burned, while the youngest is forced to watch. But never fear: all three will be rewarded in Heaven for their martyrdom.

Last, but by no means least, it was time for … the Last Judgement! Performed in a modern English adaptation of different Middle English versions, this wonderfully cheerful and funny play was the perfect end for a fantastic day.

Picture 21: Hey guys, it’s Gabe! The archangels Gabriel and Michael open Judgement day, while the soon-to-be-raised souls rest in the ditch between library wall and lawn.

Picture 22: Who will get more souls? Jesus and the angels, or Lucifer and the demons?

And … that was it! Thirteen plays, five languages, two tea breaks, and five hours later, we had travelled all the way from the Creation to Judgement Day, from Heaven to Hell, from Bethlehem to Golgotha, and from Front Quad to the far side of the library.

Our heartfelt thanks goes to everyone who made this day possible: on and off stage, casts, crews, organisers, helpers, and so many more. We are particularly grateful to Jim Harris, our Master of Ceremonies; David Maskell, who wrote the modern English prologues; and Tristan Alphey and the other helpers for their support during the day. This year’s Medieval Mystery Plays are by far the best-documented yet: Ben Arthur, James May, Archie Dimmock, and Tea Smart filmed the entire day; their recordings will be released on the St Edmund Hall Mystery Cycle page at a film launch party at the end of Trinity Term. Ashley Castelino took many fantastic pictures, and Robert Crighton and Liza Graham recorded impressions from audiences and participants for their podcast Beyond Shakespeare.

Of course, what a play really needs is its audience. We were delighted to see so many of you there, and overwhelmed by the amount of positive feedback we received. Here are just some of the comments we collected in our visitor book – many audience members had their favourite play from the host of performances: 

“Brilliant! Loved the Nativity especially!” 

“Great job! Love the Wedding feast!” 

“Terrific! Thank you very much. I particularly enjoyed Adam and Eve, and Satan with his acolytes in [the Last Judgement]!” 

“Really enjoyed the camp Satan!”  

“The singing [in the Nativity, Lamentation, and Harrowing of Hell] was superb. Altogether a delightful event!” 

The best audience members are naturally those who were themselves surprised by how much they enjoyed themselves: one person wrote that they had a “very unexpectedly enjoyable day supporting a friend in one play, but then enjoy[ed] all the others!” Many also appreciated the use of medieval languages in keeping these plays “alive” through modern performance and praised the “pace, diversity, and inventiveness” of the troupes, the beautiful medieval setting of St Edmund Hall, and the overall “vibrant and entertaining” environment of the Cycle. One particularly nice comment described our day of performances as “full of whimsy” – made even more whimsical by the little stars they drew around their comment. Thank you very much to each and everyone of you!  

Are you sad you missed out? Can you not wait to get back into medieval drama? Watch this space! The Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays will be back …

Picture Credits

  • Pictures 2 and 8: Ashley Castelino
  • Picture 6: Rahel Micklich
  • Picture 17: Antonia Anstatt
  • Header and Pictures 1, 3, 4-6, 9-16, 18-22: Stills from the video recordings made by Ben Arthur, James May, Archie Dimmock, and Tea Smart.
The film crew after the day in Queen’s Lane

Medieval Mystery Plays: Documentation

That’s the summary of the Medieval Mystery Plays – read on for a more detailed documentation of what the different groups did and what each play looked like.

THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. The Fall of the Angels

Download the script here

Watch the Performance here

Location: Front Quad

Performers: Angels of Oxford

Cast

God the Father – Megan Bruton

God the Son – Carys Howell

God the Holy Spirit – Helen Dallas

Seraphyn – Matilda Houston-Brown

Lucifer – Antonia Anstatt

Cherabyn – Chloe Fairbanks

Angelus Deficiens – Wren Talbot-Ponsonby

Crew

Director – Carys Howell

Dramaturg – Matilda Houston-Brown

Producer – Antonia Anstatt

Text

The Fall of the Angels as transmitted in the York Cycle. Performed in Middle English, with some Modern English elements.

Summary

It is the beginning of the world: God creates the Universe and enjoys his own might. The two Good Angels – Seraphyn and Cherabyn – glorify him, while the two Bad Angels bask in their own beauty and power. God names one of them as Lucifer, the Bringer of Light, which further inflates Lucifer’s ego. But he becomes too confident and, supported by the other Bad Angel (Angelus Deficiens), talks about becoming even higher than God himself. God expels the two Bad Angels from Heaven, causing them to fall into Hell. There, they lament their state and blame each other for their downfall. Back in Heaven, God and the Good Angels celebrate, and God creates Day and Night.

About the Performance

This group chose a modern approach to the play. They set the biblical story in a modern office, with God, split into three as the Trinity, representing the leadership board of the company, and the angels their employees. The play was mostly presented in its original Medieval English, but with a twist: after their Fall from Heaven, the two Bad Angels switched to Modern English.

2. Adam and Eve

Download the script here

Watch the Performance here

Location: Front Quad

Performers: Oxford Medieval Germanists

Cast

Cherub – Carl Haller von Hallerstein

The Lord – Wilfred Lamont

Adam – Henry Nobes

Raphael – Timothy Powell

Michael – Rahel Micklich

Gabriel – Henrike Lähnemann

Eve – Courtney McNeil

Lucifer – Monty Powell

Belial – Graham Salter

Satan – Laurentien Jungkamp

Serpent – Liv Brown

Crew

Director – Timothy Powell

Text

Hans Sachs, Tragedia von schöpfung, fal und außtreibung Ade auß dem paradeyß (1548), adapted by Timothy Powell and Nina Unland. Hans Sachs was a famous German playwright and poet. Between 1548–1560, he wrote 40 religious comedies and tragedies. His ‘Tragedy of the creation, fall, and expulsion of Adam from Paradise’ is an example of a play at the threshold between ‘medieval’ and ‘early modern’ religious drama. It displays many features of emerging ‘early modern’ Protestant religious drama, drawing on the Latin religious dramas of Renaissance humanism, Martin Luther’s reflections on religious tragedy, and the language of Luther’s translation of the Biblical account of the creation and fall of humankind. These elements coexist and interact with numerous elements drawn from medieval mystery plays, especially the extra-biblical episodes involving the three chief devils that keep some of the more light-hearted aspects of ‘medieval’ religious drama alive.

Summary

God creates Adam, then leads him away to show him Paradise. The three angels Raphael, Michael, and Gabriel enter, praising God and the Creation. Once they have left, God and Adam return. God creates Eve, but as soon as the two first humans have left to explore the Garden of Even, three devils appear – Lucifer, Satan, and Belial. They decide to conspire against the humans and call the Snake, who convinces Eve to try one of the apples of the Tree of Life. Eve then gives an apple to Adam; horrified, the two recognise that they are naked. The three devils return and rejoice, followed by the three angles, who weep. Finally, God returns and punishes the wrongdoers: the Snake is made to slither on its belly, Eve is punished with painful childbirth, and Adam with hard manual labour. Then, they are expelled from the Garden of Eden by an angel with a flaming sword.

About the Performance

The entire performance was in Hans Sachs’ original German, except for an English Prologue and Epilogue delivered by the Cherub. The play was performed in Teddy Halls’ Front Quad, with the well serving as the space from where Adam and Eve were created. The Tree of Life was represented by the same cross which, later in the day, served as the cross on which Christ was crucified – an excellent example for the reuse of different props throughout the day. The angels and God were all dressed in liturgical vestments, enhancing their aura of sacrality.

3. The Flood

Watch the Performance here

Location: Front Quad

Performers: The Travelling Beavers

Cast

God – George Rowe

Noah – Oli Hardy

Noah’s Wife – Alice Walton

Ham – Ellie Hall

Shem – Gabriella Berkeley-Agyepong

Japhet – James Lewin, Adam Szep

Ham’s Wife – Madeleine Bainbridge

Good Gossips – Amy Jenkins, Rowan Wilson, Siân Grønlie, George Manning

Crew

Director – Minna Jeffrey

Music and Art – St Giles’ Choir, the children of St Giles’ and St Margaret’s churches

Text

The Chester Flood play in Middle English. The Chester cycle probably originated in the later fourteenth century, although the earliest written version dates to 1422. In later years, the Chester cycle was performed on Whitsun and took three days to perform in full. The Chester play of Noah’s flood is one of several flood plays in Middle English. It was chosen by this group because it has most on the actual animals (eight stanzas) and because of the ‘Good Gossips’. It was set to music by Benjamin Britten as Noyes Fludde.

Summary

Dissatisfied with humankind, God decides to send a great flood. The only ones to be spared are Noah and his family. Noah is tasked with the building of a great ark, on which his family and two animals of every kind will survive. Noah complies and brings the animals and his family – his wife, his three sons, and one of their wives – on board, just the Earth begins to flood. The ark is on sea for a considerable amount of time, but finally, the rain ceases. God commands Noah and his family to disembark and repopulate the Earth. So far, the story is well known, but what is special about this version is the central role of Noah’s family. Especially Noah’s relationship with his ‘crabbed’ and not at all ‘meek’ wife is a topic throughout. There is also a unique scene with the ‘good gossips’: ‘gossip’ comes from Middle English ‘godsib(be)’. Originally, this referred to either godparents or godchildren, but it came to mean one’s close friends (especially women) and did not take on its current meaning of tell-tale before the mid-sixteenth century. In this play, Noah’s wife is reluctant to leave her friends behind when the flood begins, which is framed as disobedience to God – but modern audiences might feel more sympathy.

About the Performance

Although in fifteenth-century English, this play is fairly easy to understand. The group made very few changes to the language, but read the text with Modern English pronounciation.

Among the most remarkable elements of this performance were the animals, which were portrayed by the children of St Giles’ and St Margaret’s churches, who held hand-painted cut-out animals to represent the crowd on the ark. Very helpfully for the audience, the human characters all wore T-shirts with their characters’ names. This group highlighted especially that they felt that the play has a strong contemporary message, given current concerns around extreme weather events, climate refugees, and the denial of climate change, as represented by the good gossips, who ultimately do not escape the flood.

4. Abraham and Isaac

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Front Quad

Performers: Shear and Trembling

Cast

Abraham – George Eustace

Isaac – Emily Porter

Angel/Servant – Hanyue Wei

Crew

Director – Miriam Waters

Script Adapter – Miriam Waters

Costume Designer – Emily Porter

Text

The version of Abraham and Isaac from the York Cycle, performed in Middle English. Specifically, taken from Clifford Davidson’s edition of the York Mystery Cycle, which closely adheres to the text in British Library, MS. Add. 35290.

Summary

To test the faith of his loyal servant Abraham, God sends an angel who commands Abraham to sacrifice his youngest and favourite son, Isaac. Despite his sorrow, Abraham resolves to follow the command. He takes Isaac up a hill under a pretense. Once there, he reveals the truth to his son, binds his hands, and gets ready to sacrifice Isaac, who accepts his fate. At the very last moment, the angel of God re-appears and stops Abraham, commending him for his obedience to God and showing him a sheep to sacrifice instead.

The York version of Abraham and Isaac diverges from other iterations of the story by having a grown-up Isaac, who is ‘thirty year and more sumdele’ – around thirty years old, the same age that Christ was believed to have been when he was crucified. The York Abraham and Isaac therefore brings the play closer to the story of the Passion, anticipating the climax of the cycle of performances. Rather than a helpless child, Abraham is asked to kill a son whom he has raised and with whom he has grown old, a strong young man who could overpower his father if he chose to fight back. This also emphasises Isaac’s own acceptance of his fate and his obedience to both God and his father.

About the Performance

This group chose to have the actor playing the angel double as a servant. As a result, God’s messenger appears to watch over – or perhaps spy on – Abraham and Isaac as they go to the mountain to perform the sacrifice. The group got particularly creative with their costumes, drawing on traditional shepherds’ clothing from a variety of times and places and showing the angel as both a messenger and a symbol. A special highlight was the sheep, which was crocheted by a member of the group and caused a round of applause upon its dramatic revelation by the angel.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

5. The Annunciation

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Statue of St Edmund in the garden

Performers: Low Countries Ensemble

Cast

God – Oscar de Wit

Gabriel – Johanneke Sytsema

Mary – An Van Camp

Narrator – Irene Van Eldere

Crew

Director – Irene Van Eldere

Script Adapter – Godelinde Gertrude Perk

Text                      

Die Eerste Bliscap van Maria (The First Joy of Mary), in Middle Dutch, based on the text preserved in Brussels, KBR, MS.IV 192. From 1348 onwards, the city of Brussels held an annual procession on the Sunday before Pentecost to honour a statue of the Virgin Mary. A century after its inception, an extra element was added to the festivities: on the Grote Markt, a seven-year cycle of Bliscap, or ‘Joy’ plays was peformed. Each year until 1566, one of the seven Joys of Mary was staged and celebrated. Of the original seven plays, only two have survived, each preserved in a manuscript in the Royal Library of Belgium.

Summary

God tells the angel Gabriel that he wants to become human and sends him to travel to Nazareth, where he will find Mary. Gabriel is astonished, but complies. He greets Mary, who is reading, and announces that she, albeit a virgin, will conceive a child who shall be called Jesus and be the Saviour of mankind. Mary, too, is astonished by the concept of the immaculate conception, but Gabriel explains that her cousin, Elizabeth, although old and barren, will also conceive a child.

About the Performance

This was the first time a Dutch play was performed in the Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays, and a wonderful addition to the cycle. A particular highlight was the merry angel Gabriel, whose travels from God to Nazareth were accompanied by a jingling bell.

6. The Nativity

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Churchyard; in front of the library entrance

Performers: Les perles innocentes

Cast

Joseph/Satan – Elisa Pagliaro

Marie/God – Aurélie Blanc

Host 1/Angel 1 – Anaïs Collonge

Host 2/Angel 2 – Antigoni Tasiou

Host 3/Angel 3 – Christina Morgan

Sophron, a Shepherd – Helene Wigginton

Elpison, a Shepherd – Carmen Vigneswaren-Smith

Philetine, a Shepherdess – Marta Folegnani

Cristilla, a Shepherdess – Inès Trouplin

Crew

Director – Elisabeth Dutton

Assistant Director – Aurélie Blanc

Musical Director – Antigoni Tasiou

Design, Props, and Costumes – Maria Papantuono

Producer – Helene Wigginton

With special thanks to Sandy Maillard (Université de Fribourg, Suisse)

Text

Marguerite de Navarre (1492–1549), Comédie de la Nativité de Jésus Christ, abridged and performed in the original (early 16th century) French.

Marguerite, wife of King Henry II of Navarre, sister to Francis I, king of France, and ancestress of the Bourbon kings of France, was a patron of humanists and reformers, and herself an important writer: she composed poems, a collection of short stories called the Heptameron, and the intense mystical poem Miroir de l’âme pécheresse. She also wrote a number of plays, including dramatisations of scriptural episodes.

Summary

Joseph, travelling on orders of the Emperor, is seeking accommodation for his heavily pregnant wife Mary. Three ‘Hosts’ turn them away, but they find a stable where Mary can give birth. God sends his angels to celebrate the moment of Christ’s coming to earth: the angels praise Mary and her newborn baby, and Joseph kneels and kisses him. The angels announce the arrival of the Saviour to two shepherds and two shepherdesses, who sing on their way to the stable and offer gifts to the baby of milk, a flute, and firewood. Satan appears and laments the loss of the power he has held over mankind since Adam and Eve were expelled from Eden. The shepherds and shepherdesses tell him that they have met the Saviour; Satan argues that such an important person would not be found in a stable, but their faith remains unshaken. Satan, realising he cannot escape God’s power, calls on evil spirits to advise him ‘how to make shadows eclipse the sun’. God proclaims that the willing sacrifice of his son will overcome Satan, and the angels sing in praise of God.

Like the Comédie des Innocents, which les perles innocentes staged at the Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays 2023, the Comédie de la Nativité is both richly theological, presenting the contrast between divine authority and evil tyranny, and deeply concerned with social justice. Marguerite shows humble people challenging corrupt and bullying powers: ordinary women defied the callous soldiers who murdered their children at a tyrant’s command; humble shepherds outface Satan himself, empowered by their newfound faith in a baby who, to their own initial wonderment, has chosen not a great hall but a humble stable as his first home. Once again, Marguerite gives particular emphasis to female characters, portraying female as well as male shepherds, and emphasising the faith, strength, and wisdom of the Virgin Mary.

About the Performance

Just like their previous performances at the Medieval Mystery Plays, this performance of Les perles innocentes, who travelled from Fribourg just for the Cycle, was once again wonderfully rich and detailed. Performed in perfect, but easily understandable, 16th-century French, their staging included such details as the three Hosts looking like proper concierges, and the angels sang beautifully in between the spoken passages. They also built on the Marguerite de Navarre’s emphasis on strong women by having an all-female cast.

7. The Wedding at Cana

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Churchyard

Performers: Pusey House

Cast

Angel – Elliott Clark

Bride – Matti Veldhuis

Bridegroom – Ashby Neterer

Jesus – Phillip Quinn

Mary – Ruth Danstål

Master of the Feast – Alex Christofis

Unruly Guest – Nathan Brown

Servants – Natalie Tiede, Richard Garrard

Crew

Director – Phillip Quinn

Script Writer and Adapter – Phillip Quinn, with help from Elliott Clark

Text

The Wedding at Cana was included in the York Medieval Mystery Cycle, but the original text has unfortunately mostly been lost. The script used for this performance was an original composition in Modern English (with some Middle English archaisms), written by Phillip Quinn with help from Elliott Clark and based on the one and a half known lines of the York version.

Summary

When the wine runs out at a wedding in the little Galilean town of Cana, Mary asks Jesus to step in. After some hesitation, his ultimate response is to perform the first miracle of his earthly ministry: transforming several large jars of water into fine wine. In doing so, he heralds the coming of the Kingdom of God and foreshadows the consummation of history in the heavenly banquet at which he himself will be the bridegroom.

About the Performance

Despite its foreshadowing of the Crucifixion at the end and the seriousness of Christ’s miraculous power, the Wedding at Cana is an entertaining story, and this performance brought the hilarious elements out in full. Featuring perplexed servants, drunken wedding guests, the happy couple, and a proud-mother-moment for Mary, it elicited many laughs from the audience.

8. The Crucifixion

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Grassy Mound

Performers: The Wicked Weights (Lincoln College Players)

Cast

Soldiers – Jess Hind, Molly Milton, Kyra Radley, Alys Young

Christ – Petru Badea

Crew

Directors – Paul Cooley, Molly Milton

Stage and Script Adapter – Paul Cooley, Molly Milton

Costume Designer – Maureen Abrokwa

Props Designer – Tallula Haynes

Music and Marketing – Anja Woosnam

Administration and Assistance – Rebecca Menmuir, Alison Ray

With special thanks to:

Mike Hawkins (Lincoln College Head Gardener) for creating a crown of thorns

Jonny Torrance (Lincoln College Chaplain) for building a cross

Lincoln College JCR for providing funding

Text

The York version of the Crucifixion (Middle English). The group used a manuscript version which was updated to sound more familiar to the modern English-speaking ear but kept as much of the original language and rhyme-scheme as possible to remain close to the original version of the play. Jesus’ speeches were entirely translated into modern English from the original Middle English, adding a sense of gravity that is wholly unique to this particular edition of the play.

Summary

The play depicts the well-known story of Christ’s crucifixion, but with a twist: despite the undeniable seriousness of the situation, the focus is not on Christ and his suffering, but on the four somewhat inept soldiers who are responsible for nailing him to the cross and erecting it. Throughout the play, they bicker with each other over trivial matters whilst Christ endures his cruficixion with solemnity and without objection. The comedic dynamic between the soldiers contrasts heavily with Jesus’ wholly serious speeches and thus creates a tense atmosphere which toes the line between dark comedy and an exploration of the mundane cruelty of the process of the crucifixion. This invites the audience to consider their own inaction during Christ’s passion.

About the Performance

The Wicked Weights were named after a particularly iconic line in the York Crucifixion. They are a group of Lincoln College undergraduates studying English and were supported by various members of college. A particular highlight of this performance was the towering cross, purpose-built for this day by Jonny Torrance, the chaplain at Lincoln College. Other comedic elements were added to the already surprisingly funny play through prop and costume choices – for instance, the soldiers all had giant inflatable hammers, and were reading their Scripts from ‘Cross Flatpack Instructions’.

9. The Lamentation

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Churchyard

Performers: St Edmund Consort

Cast

John – Carlos Rodríguez Otero

Mary – Montgomery Powell

Mary Magdalen – Henrike Lähnemann

Mary, Mother of John – Rebecca Schleuß

Jesus – Lucian Shepherd

Rector – Andrew Dunning

With special thanks to Fr Andreas Wenzel, the chaplain of St Edmund Hall, for permission to use the vestments.

Text

The Bordesholmer Marienklage, in Low German and Latin. The Bordesholmer Marienklage is a remarkable dramatic dialogue from the late 15th century, written for performance at the Augustinian monastery of Bordesholm in Northern Germany by Provost Johannes Reborch. It consists of sung and chanted text for a cast of five: Christ, John, and the three Marys.

The sung dialogue is taken from the liturgy, including verses from the Stabat Mater, to which are added Middle Low German adaptations of the same, sung to similar melodies. The bulk of the action takes place in chanted Middle Low German rhyming verse. A particular feature, unique amongst German Marian Laments, is the survival of detailed instructions which specify that the work should be performed either on Good Friday or on the preceding Monday, and that it should be ‘neither a play nor amusement, but lamenting and wailing and devout compassion for the glorious Virgin Mary’. It was therefore intended to form a part in the monastery’s liturgical life during Holy week; moreover, these instructions and the ‘personae’ throughout continually insist on the necessity of the audience’s participation, through compassion, in Mary’s suffering. It should be performed either in front of the church choir, or – if the weather is fair – outdoors. The ‘personae’ should wear liturgical vestments and Jesus and John ‘dyademata de papiro’ – paper crowns, and that of Jesus was to be decorated with crosses.

Summary

After Christ’s crucifixion, the three Marys – the Virgin, Mary Magdalen, and Mary, mother of John – as well as St John the Evangelist, lament Christ’s death at the cross. At the end, Christ is taken from the cross and laid on the ground.

About the Performance

Complying with Johannes Reborch’s detailed instructions, the five figures in this performance all wore liturgical vestments from the St Edmund Hall chapel, as well as paper crowns (courtesy of Christmas crackers). Singing their lament in front of the cross from the preceding Crucifixion play, this was a wonderful contrast to the entertaining Crucifixion, emphasising the women’s grief after Jesus’ death.

10. The Harrowing of Hell

Watch the performance here and here

Location: Churchyard and Crypt

Performers: The Choir of St Edmund Hall

Cast

Angelic Hosts – Choir of St Edmund Hall

Adam – Shaw Worth

Eve – Molly Bray

Text

Latin Sequences. Sequences, complex liturgical songs with a strong poetic and narrative function, are among the most recent, and therefore truly medieval, sung elements of the Christian liturgy, staging particularly in the Easter Night the fundamental miracle of salvation history, Christ overcoming death.

The version used for these sequences was taken from the Handbook of the Provost of the Cistercian convent of Medingen, like Bordesholm located in Northern Germany. It is kept in the Bodleian Library, MS. Lat. liturgy. e. 18.

Summary

Christ descends into Hell, where he brings salvation to the captive souls there, before overcoming death and rising again.

About the Performance

The Choir of St Edmund Hall picked up seamlessly from the previous Lamentation. Accompanying Christ into hell (the crypt underneath the Teddy Hall Library), they sang the Cum rex gloriae, which tells of the host of angels breaking into hell. There, they were greeted with an Advenisti (you have arrived!) by Adam, Eve, and all the patriarchs and prophets of the Old Testament. Following this sequence, there was a short tea break, marking the significant turning point in the narrative that is Christ’s overcoming of death. After the tea break, the choir opened the third part of the Cycle with the Victimae paschali laudes, in which Mary Magdalen reports her experience of the empty tomb to the apostles.

11. The Resurrection

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Churchyard

Performers: St Stephen’s House

Cast

Pilate – Oliver Baldwin

Caiaphas – Lizzy Flaherty

Annas – Edward Parker-Sunderland

Centurion – Felix Trimbos

Mary 1 – Sofia Radaelli

Mary 2 – Danielle Duncan

Mary 3 – Amy Taylor

Angel – Ewan Gillings

Soldier 1 – Tobias Thornes

Soldier 2 – Ben Almond

Soldier 3 – Jonathan Thompson

Soldier 4 – Madeleine Ridout

Text

The York verison of the Resurrection (Middle English). The play fits in well with the liturgical traditions of Easter Sunday. Particularly the Angel’s song and the meeting between the Angel and the three Marys, the so-called Visitatio Sepulchri, is a common theme. It appears that this section of the play reproduces a piece of liturgical drama in use at the time. On the other hand, the representation of Pilate and the High Priests is unusual, drawing on speculations in the apocryphal writings, texts which seek to fill in the imaginative gaps left in the Biblical narrative: what did they really think, and what did they do next?

Summary

The York version of the Resurrection of Christ focuses not on Jesus himself but on three sets of characters who represent three sets of responses to the mystery of Easter Sunday. The play begins and ends with Pilate and the High Priests. To begin with, they are pleased with how the crucifixion went, but the Centurion arrives and tells them of strange occurrences which suggest all is not as it seems. To make sure Jesus stays dead, they set a guard of soldiers to watch the tomb. At the tomb, the soldiers are contrasted with the Marys, who bring oils to anoint the body and are confronted with the empty tomb. An angel arrives and tells them that Jesus is risen and now in Galilee, to which they respond with faith, hope, and love. Meanwhile, Pilate and the High Priests Caiaphas and Annas conspire to cover up the embarrassing and disturbing fact of the empty tomb with a story that the soldiers were overpowered by Jesus’ disciples, who stole the body away. The ironic framing invites the audience to question whose account they believe: is it all ‘fake news’, or is he risen indeed?

The dramatist’s range covers pious devotion, political conspiracy, and the everyday reactions of the soldiers who represent the everyman. Faced with the life-changing reality of the empty tomb, they display the full range of responses from pretending nothing has happened to embracing the truth come what may. The piece is character-driven, often emotive, and finally supremely ironic, drawing the audience in.

About the Performance

The York Resurrection, like the Crucifixion, brings out the human element surrounding the biblical narrative, reflecting the worries of the soldiers at the tomb and the High Priests. The players from St Stephen’s House chose to lean on the already existing comedic elements, turning this into a genuinely hilarious production – complete with gorgeously dressed and very camp High Priests who hand-fed Pilate grapes, and a comforting angel delivering tissues to the weeping Virgin Mary.

12. The Martyrdom of the Three Holy Virgins

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Grassy Mound

Performers: Clamor Validus

Cast

Emperor Diocletian/Dulcitius’ Wife – Jialin Li

Agape – Laura Laube

Chionia – Abigail Pole

Irena – Loveday Liu

Governor Dulcitius – Andrew “Stilly” Stilborn

Count Sisinnius – Laurence Nagy

Soldiers – Hillary Chua, Ivana Kuric, Alex Marshall

Angels – Elizabeth Crabtree, Marisia Czepiel

Crew

Director – David Wiles

Stage Manager – Elizabeth Crabtree

Musician – Jessica Qiao

Text

The Martyrdom of the Three Holy Virgins, by Hrosvitha of Gandersheim, performed in a mix of Latin and a new translation. Hrosvitha was an aristocratic tenth-century canoness, and her six plays are a bridge between the classical and medieval worlds. She had a ribald sense of humour and a strong feminist agenda – even this play, despite its serious plot, is a comedy with many hilarious elements. Latin was a language that Hrosvitha used in daily life, and this group sought to discover her unique style, midway between poetry and prose.

Summary

The Roman Emperor Diocletian insists that the three virgin sisters Agape, Chionia, and Irena renounce their Christian faith and marry members of his court. When they refuse, he orders them imprisoned. Governor Dulcitius, seeing their beauty, tells his soldiers to lock the sisters in the kitchen so that he can visit them. That night, Dulcitius embraces the pots and pans in the dark kitchen, thinking they are the women. He leaves covered in soot, and the soldiers think he is possessed. Not realising this, Dulcitius goes to the palace, where he is beaten and ridiculed. In retaliation for his embarrassment, he commands that Agape, Chionia, and Irena be stripped in public, but the soldiers are unable to remove the robes from the women’s bodies. Eventually, Emperor Diocletian orders Count Sisinnius to punish the sisters. Sisinnius orders Agape and Chionia burned alive – their spirits leave their bodies, but their bodies and clothes miraculously are not burned. Despite her sisters’ death, Irena continues to refuse to renounce her faith. She manages to escape the soldiers and stands on top of a mountain. The soldiers are unable to reach her there, so Sisinnius orders one of the soldiers to shoot her with an arrow. She dies, but her spirit is lifted to heaven.

About the Performance

This performance was unique among the mystery plays in several respects. It was the only play performed partly in Latin, and superbly so – the interspersing of Latin with English parts made it easy to follow the story, and the Latin elements gave an indication of how Hrosvitha of Gandersheim had written the play. The players consisted of both students and members of the Iffley community, making this a production spanning a large range of ages and backgrounds. The performance also included music played on a violin, which gave it a wonderfully emotional note. The group chose to perform the play in modern dress, in order to suggest that the impulses driving early martyrs have not vanished in the modern world. For the research behind this production, see David Wiles ‘Hrosvitha of Gandersheim: The Performance of her Plays in the Tenth Century’, Theatre History Studies 19 (1999), pp. 133-150. The group’s name, Clamor Validus, means ‘Forceful Shout’, Hrosvitha’s Latinisation of her Saxon name.

13. The Last Judgement

Download the script here

Watch the performance here

Location: Far Side of Churchyard

Performers: MSt English (650–1550)

Cast

Jesus – Alicia Camacho Fielding

Lucifer – Daniel Pereira

Archangel Michael – Jasmine Webster

Angel Gabriel – Alice Watkinson

Demons – Leslie Shen, Lauren Allsopp, Olivia Cook

Crew

Director – Emma Nihill Alcorta

Writer – Ruby Whitehouse

Producer – Alice Watkinson

Text

A modern English adaptation of the Middle English The Last Judgement, drawing from the Chester, N-Town, and Towneley cycles.

Summary

It’s the end of the world. God and the angels recall the Creation and the history of humankind. Then the final reckoning comes: the angels call up the dead souls from their graves. One by one, they praise God (the good souls) or lament their own wicked deeds (the bad souls). Jesus, as king of heaven, judges them. He praises the good souls, who ascend singing into heaven, and scolds the bad ones, who are dragged to hell by Lucifer and the demons.

About the Performance

Performed in modern English and with plenty of ingenious staging choices – highlights included the guitar-playing archangel Gabriel, the dead souls popping up from the ditch next to the church, the gummy worms sewn to their clothes, and a hungover Lucifer being roused by his demons to get ready for Judgment Day –, this performance was a wonderful end to the day. After the Jesus-related plays, TheLast Judgement picked up some of the characters who had appeared in the Old Testament plays earlier that morning, including God, Lucifer, and the archangels, which demonstrated the cyclical nature of world history as presented in the Bible.

Medieval Matters Week 0 Update

With full term about to begin, I have three exciting developments for you all.

First, a final reminder that the Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays take place on the 26 April (this Saturday) from 12 noon at St Edmund Hall. The incredible booklet can be found at the end of this post, which illustrates just how many of our community are involved, and the feast of entertainment available on the day. See you all there!

Second, the first draft of the termly OMS booklet can be found here. If you have submitted an event, please cast a quick eye over the information to ensure that it is correct. If you are yet to submit your events but woul like them to be included, please do so ASAP.

Finally, OMS is seeking a new Social Media Officer. The Social Media Officer is in charge of connecting all of Oxford’s medievalists via the OMS Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts and also occasionally posting on here, the OMS blog. You will be responsible for posting across these platforms to advertise OMS events, opportunities and news. Familiarity with social media advertising is beneficial but not essential: this is an ideal way to gain technical know-how about social media, advertising and marketing that can be used in your academic career and beyond. The post usually comprises an hour or two a week. You can read a retrospective of the current Officer Ashley here. Those interested should reply to this email address before Saturday, where there will be the chance to shadow.

‘Big Data’ and Medieval Manuscripts

Are you curious about what manuscripts can tell us beyond their texts? Join Digital Scholarship @ Oxford and the Bodleian Libraries for a hands-on workshop using data from manuscript catalogues to explore trends and patterns in medieval manuscript production.

You’ll learn:

  • What kinds of data can be recorded about manuscripts
  • How to interpret and analyse manuscript catalogue entries
  • Ways to identify trends and patterns using simple tools like Excel

You’ll have the opportunity to work directly with manuscripts from the Bodleian’s collections, learning new skills that you can apply in your future studies and research. You’ll also get to contribute to the ongoing development of the manuscript catalogues, with your contributions credited on the Bodleian website.

No technical experience is required, just a basic familiarity with Excel.

Spaces are limited and will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Workshop dates:

  • Thursday of 3rd week (15th May), 1–5pm – undergraduates
  • Thursday of 4th week (22nd May), 1–5pm – undergraduates
  • Thursday of 7th week (12th June), 1–5pm – postgraduates

Please still fill in the form if you are unavailable on these dates, as we may be able to make additional workshops available if there is demand.

Signup deadline: Midday, Friday of 2nd Week (9th May)

Signup using the online form here: https://forms.office.com/e/cHL1Zg7qJU

If you have any questions, please contact Seb Dows-Miller at sebastian.dows-miller@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Apocalypse – the Trailer

Shaw Worth (MSt. Medieval Studies 2024)

Scripture suggests that the Christian apocalypse will only happen once. OMS, however, has so far seen two in Hilary Term, both in preparation for the Medieval Mystery Plays 2025 on 26 April 2026 (programme here, and more below), with one now available to stream in perpetuity for HistoryHit’s new documentary The Medieval Apocalypse, presented by Dr Eleanor Janega.

A shorter version of the performance for HistoryHit, composed from the outtakes (thanks to Laura McMillen who sent over the edited clip!)

Hopefully the post below can shed some light onto the process of mounting a medieval performance-text, and offer some insight into the dramaturgs hard at work for their performances on the 26th April. We hope if you watch both your appetites for the Plays might be whetted—especially for those hankering for the Judgement-narrative, of which another staging is forthcoming by the MSt English 650–1550 cohort on the 26th!  

Choosing the text

Though Middle English versions of the Last Judgement exist across the gamut of post-Conquest literature (in poetry and prose as well as drama), Henrike Lähnemann chose an excerpt from so-called ‘Towneley’ collection of mystery plays as our performance text since a) there was already a text available from the preparation for the 2019 cycle, b) (more importantly) it starts with the reference to a horn!

our company (Professor Henrike Lähnemann, Dr Andrew Dunning, Timothy Powell, Michael Angerer, Shaw Worth, Monty Powell, and the Revd Andreas Wenzel)

Like most religious medieval English drama, we ultimately know very little about the provenance and assembly of the texts that come together in their unique sixteenth-century witness (San Marino, California, Huntington Library, MS HM 1). Unlike the York and Chester cycles, it’s not clear when, or by whom the plays were commissioned; as I’ll discuss below, they show marks of major internal revision, suggesting their transmission over an extended period. That would fit with our idea of English dramatic cycles taking place around the Feast of Corpus Christi in the summer: on one day, different guilds re-staged episodes from the Bible from Genesis through to Revelation, at least some of the time on mobile wagons in civic centres between which spectators could move.

The cycle takes its name from the prominent Lancashire family in whose library the manuscript containing the plays was held until the nineteenth century; the dialect of the plays themselves, however, suggests a West Yorkshire origin, and has long been associated with Wakefield in the West Riding, though debate around that attribution rages on. The Last Judgement is a particular gem from the Towneley plays insofar as it bears the distinctive nine-line stanza used by one (hypothetically reconstructed) contributor to the cycle usually called the ‘Wakefield Master’, whose naturalism and comedy elevates what are otherwise completely pedestrian reiterations of doctrinal tropes into rich dramas. (For an accessible introduction to the Master’s verbal tricks, check out the London Review of Books’ Medieval LOLs podcast episode on the Second Shepherds’ Play, hosted by Drs Mary Wellesley and Irina Dumitrescu — link here! – and watch the play in the 2019 performance).

The story as we cut it is very simple—and I’ll avoid ‘spoilers’ to keep you entertained—but the play sees two souls, Bonus and Malus (Monty Powell and Michael Angerer), called to attest to their earthly deeds before Christ seated in majesty and accompanied by three (non-speaking, but singing) helper-angels (Henrike Lähnemann, Andrew Dunning, Tim Powell), and Jesus’ (me) replies to them both. By Malus he is less than impressed…

Putting the play together

Then came the issue of how to stage it. To call any contemporary performance of Middle English (religious) plays ‘historical reconstructions’ is hard to justify, though the situation varies from text to text. Almost no information regarding the staging of the four major cycles survives (beyond some rather opaque, and certainly guild-manipulated registers from York), to say nothing of the fact that the (Tudor!) witnesses to Middle English cycle drama postdate their first performances in most cases by almost two centuries. The Towneley manuscript more likely emerges from sixteenth-century antiquarianism, in other words, rather than from active use. As a substitute, with Henrike’s help and direction, we used stage directions from fifteenth-century German dramatic records, like those surrounding the Bordesholm Marienklage, which leaves rich prefatory details in Latin of players, costumes, and props down to individual textile-types. As Christ I wore a paper crown and (real) liturgical vestments, provided by Andreas Wenzel from the St Edmund Hall chapel (including the right preparatory prayers); stigmata were ably provided by Alison Ray of the Bodleian, whose Burt’s Bees tinted lip balm (sponsorship pending) lent a rather septic sheen to Christ’s woundys, smeared on Boots own-brand cotton gloves. Malus and Bonus wore academic gowns over black; the angels wore surplices and wings from the St Edmund Hall costume store, along with—long-term OMS fans can be reassured—Henrike’s bannered horn invoked by Malus in the opening lines.

Filming and reperformance

Filming for the HistoryHit documentary took place in January. Following a quick review of the text and a rundown on mid-Yorkshire vowels circa 1450, we set up to film in the extraordinary Romanesque crypt (under the medieval church of St Peter-in-the-East, now in use as the college library; the crypt itself has been largely unaltered since the twelfth century). There we met Eleanor, the HistoryHit camera team, and the English Faculty’s own Professor Laure Ashe, who also features in the documentary as an interviewed expert. Laura, Eleanor, and Alison provided our ‘audience’, providing boos, cheers, and some less-than-pious (and probably more historically accurate) snickers; with some B-roll taken by the team, and coffee enjoyed afterwards, the documentarians vanished away to some of their other treats (if these delights weren’t enough, also see Alison introducing the Douce Apocalypse in the film as well!) 

In Eighth Week we then reperformed the same extract in the Visiting Scholars’ Centre in the Weston for full term’s final Medieval Coffee Morning as a kind of live ‘ad’ for the Mystery Plays.

Performing in the library allowed us the particular treat of presenting one of the Bodleian’s lesser-appreciated treasures, namely the roll containing the pseudo-dramatic Middle English fragment known as the Dux Moraud (Bodleian Library, MS. Eng. poet. f. 2). If it is indeed an ‘actor’s roll’, as some critics have been eager to suggest, then this rather slender piece of parchment is a vanishingly rare gateway into the performance culture that flourished in East Anglia in the mid-late fifteenth century, including plays like WisdomThe Castle of Perseverance, the Digby Mary Magdalene, and the N-Town cycle. Like other extant Anglian plays extant, the Moraud is distinctively racier than other regions of Middle English cycle drama; we won’t tell if you look it up. 

Despite the fact that they feature the same actors using the same text, these two versions of the Towneley Judgementdemonstrate very neatly the huge potential value of experimental reperformance—of music, mime, liturgy, and dance as well as drama—as a means of engaging with medieval media at large. The HistoryHit documentary brings up interesting questions: with the intervention of the camera, the viewer is no longer free to observe different aspects of the performance going on at once; modern English subtitles ‘remediate’ the frequently alliterative Middle English text, dropping another kind of information into the mix; narration, rather like the long German prefaces mentioned above, will set audiences looking to correlate what they’ve previously heard with what they’re seeing. The Weston performance, on the other hand, makes fewer modernization attempts, but prompted a fair few audience questions on what had actually been said! 

All that’s to say that reasons are very few that medievalists shouldn’t find themselves at Teddy Hall on the 26th to watch the Mystery Plays. The day will bring together a huge range of religious drama and promises to alchemize some cross-discipline work as always.

Cast

Jesus (Shaw Worth) – MSt. Medieval Studies
Malus/Evil Soul (Michael Angerer) – DPhil. candidate in Medieval English
Bonus/Good Soul (Monty Powell) – MSt. Modern Languages
Singing Angel (Andrew Dunning) – Curator of Medieval Manuscripts
Trumpet angle (Henrike Lähnemann) – Professor of Medieval German Literature and Linguistics

Text extract from the Towneley Judgement play in the Oxford Text Archive

Malus: Alas I harde that horne / that callys vs to the dome, 3 All that euer were borne / thider behofys theym com. 4 May nathere lande ne se / vs from this dome hide, 5 ffor ferde fayn wold, I fle / bot I must nedys abide; […] 6 Alas, that I was borne! 11 I se now me beforne, 12 That lord with Woundys fyfe; 13 how may I on hym loke, 14 That falsly hym forsoke, 15 When I led synfull lyfe? 16

Jesus: The day is commen of catyfnes, 394 all those to care that ar vncleyn, 395 The day of batell and bitternes, 396 ffull long abiden has it beyn; 397 The day of drede to more and les, 398 of Ioy, of tremlyng, and of teyn. 399 Ilka wight that wikyd is 400 may say, alas this day is seyn! 401 here may ye se my Woundys wide 402 that I suffred for youre mysdede, 403 Thrugh harte, hede, fote, hande and syde, 404 not for my gilte bot for youre nede. […] 405 All this suffred I for thi sake. 432 say, man, What suffred, thou for me? 433 Mi blissid barnes on my right hande, 434 youre dome this day thar ye not drede, […] 435 When I was hungre ye me fed, 442 To slek my thrist ye war full fre; 443 When I was clothles ye me cled, 444 ye Wold, no sorowe on me se; […] 445 Therfor in heuen shall be youre rest, 456 In ioy and blys to beld, me by. 457

Bonus: lord, When had thou so mekill nede? 458 hungre or thrusty, how myght it be? 459 When was oure harte fre the to feede? 460 In prison When myght We the se? 461 When was thou seke, or wantyd wede? 462 To harbowre the when helpid we? 463 When had thou nede of oure fordede? 464 when did we all this dede to the? 465

Jesus: Mi blissid barnes, I shall you say 466 what tyme this dede was to me done; […] 467 My blessed bairns, I shall you say What time this deed was to me done; … ye cursid, catyfs of kames kyn, 474 That neuer me comforthid, in my care, 475 Now I and ye for euer shall twyn, 476 In doyll to dwell for euer mare; […] 477 Catyfs, ye chaste me from youre yate; 483 when ye were set as syres on bynke 484 I stode ther oute wery and Wate, 485 yit none of you Wold, on me thynke, 486 To haue pite on my poore astate; 487 Therfor to hell I shall you synke, […]!

Malus: 488 lorde, when had thou, that all has, 504 hunger or thriste, sen thou god is? 505 When was that thou in prison was? 506 When was thou nakyd or harberles? […] 507 Alas, for doyll this day! 512 alas, that euer I it abode! 513 Now am I dampned for ay, 514 this dome may I not avoyde. 515

Jesus: Mi chosyn childer, commes to me! 524 With me to dwell now shall ye weynde, 525 Ther ioy and blys euer shall be, 526 youre life in lykyng for to leynde! 527 Jesus turns to Malus and sends him out howling ye warid Wightys, from me ye fle, 528 In hell to dwell withoutten ende! 529 Ther shall ye noght bot sorow se, 530 And sit bi sathanas the feynde. 531

Bonus: We loue the, lorde, in alkyn thyng, 613 That for thyne awne has ordand thus, 614 That we may haue now oure dwellyng 615 In heuen blis giffen vnto vs. 616 Therfor full boldly may we syng 617 On oure way as we trus; 618 Make we all myrth and louyng 619 With te deum laudamus.

Light on Darkness – Book launch in Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford

On 24 April, 8pm, Antiquum Documentum are pleased to present a concert to celebrate the launch of the new book ‘Light on Darkness: The Untold Story of the Liturgy’ (Cosima Clara Gillhammer, Reaktion Publishers). The programme features music connected to the book’s main themes, by composers such as Palestrina, Byrd, Weelkes, Amner, Judith Weir, and others, sung in ornamented style.

Entry is free. Books and drinks will be available for sale in the interval.

About the book:
Light on Darkness: The Untold Story of the Liturgy offers a captivating journey through the history of religious rituals in Western Europe, showcasing the profound impact of Christian liturgy on art, literature, music and architecture. Through ten evocative stories, it explores medieval rituals and their cultural influence up to the present day, providing fresh insights into the enduring legacy of the liturgy as an expression of human emotion and religious experience. Accessible to all, this guide provides translations and explanations to uncover the hidden treasures of ancient rites and their lasting significance, appealing to those seeking a deeper understanding of Western liturgical traditions. For more information: www.liturgybook.com

The Oxford Medieval Mystery Plays 2025: Programme

When? 26 April 2025, from 12 noon. Where? St Edmund Hall, Queen’s Lane, OX1 4AR

Come One, Come All! Free entry, no booking required.

On Saturday, 26 April 2025, a cycle of medieval mystery plays will be performed by various troupes around St Edmund Hall’s grounds. Medieval mystery plays were performed throughout the Middle Ages by and for everyday townspeople, and we’re excited to put on quite a day of shows for you!

Worried that you won’t understand the performances done in medieval languages? Never fear! Each play will be accompanied by a modern English prologue, which will help to summarise the play.

12 noon: Old Testament Plays (Front Quad):

The Fall of the Angels (Angels of Oxford) – Middle English

Adam and Eve (Oxford German Medievalists) – Hans Sachs, German

The Flood (The Travelling Beavers) – Middle English

Abraham and Isaac (Shear and Trembling) – Middle English

1.30pm: New Testament Plays (Churchyard):

The Annunciation (Low Countries Ensemble) – Middle Dutch

The Nativity (Les Perles Innocentes) – Marguerite de Navarre, French

The Wedding at Cana (Pusey House) – Modern English, with Middle English archaisms

The Crucifixion (The Wicked Weights) – Middle English

The Lamentation (St Edmund Consort) – Bordesholmer Marienklage, Low German and Latin

The Harrowing of Hell (The Choir of St Edmund Hall) – Latin Sequence

3.30pm: New Testament Plays Continued:

The Resurrection (St Stephen’s House) – Middle English

The Martyrdom of the Three Holy Virgins (Clamor Validus) – Hrosvitha of Gandersheim, Latin and modern English

The Last Judgement (MSt English, 650–1550) – Modern English

6.15pm: Evensong (Chapel)

No tickets or booking is required, and it is free to attend. You are welcome to drop in and out throughout the afternoon. All performances will take place outside, so please dress comfortably for the weather conditions. There will be two small tea breaks, at around 1.15pm and 3.15pm.

The Wicked Weights admire their purpose-built cross – all ready for the Crucifixion! Picture: Rebecca Menmuir

If you have any questions about the cycle or the performances, email the co-heads of performance: Sarah Ware (sarah.ware@merton.ox.ac.uk) and Antonia Anstatt (antonia.anstatt@merton.ox.ac.uk). And look out for updates to our website, where detailed information about the individual plays will be published.

For a trailer of the type of Medieval Mystery play which awaits you, have a look at the extract from the Towneley Last Judgement play performed for a HistoryHit programme about the Apocalypse