148 Charles Davidsoji — EnglisTi Mystery Pluys. 



also given by Hoffmann/ It begins ' Incipit planctus Marise vir- 

 ginis,' contains 406 verses, and is accompanied, as is the case with 

 nearly all German Marienklagen, with the music. The stage direc- 

 tions are in Latin, and the first song that John and Peter sing is in 

 prose Latin. The Savior also says : " Mulier, ecce filius tuus," and 

 "Ecce mater tua " in speaking to John, but follows each with four 

 verses in German. The actors are Mary, John, Peter, and the cru- 

 cified Savior. The passage of time is shown, and is evidently 

 intended to cover the time that Mary was by the cross in the Bib- 

 lical narrative. 



As kindred to the above plaints we can best consider here the' 

 lamentations that precede the Resurrection Play on Easter. In a 

 parchment MS. in the cloister of Lichtenthal near Baden, in a hand- 

 writing of the thirteenth century, is found what Mone'^ declares to 

 be the oldest German piece that he has discovered. It begins : 



[maria :] 

 Awe der iemerleichen clag, 

 di ich muter eine trag 

 von dez totez wanne ! 

 weinen waz mir unbechant, 

 sit ich muter was genant, 

 und doch mannes anne : 

 mi ist ze beinen m!r gescheben, 

 seit ich deinen tot muz sehen. 

 aube der laiden merre ! 

 wainen, clagen muz ich ban, 

 sam der freude ni gewan, 

 von meinez hertzen swerre. 

 aube tot, 

 dfseu not 



maht du mir wol enden, 

 wilt du von dir 

 her zu mir 

 deinnen poten senden. 



Three stanzas of the same construction follow, then John speaks 

 one stanza, then Mary and John continue the conversation through 

 six stanzas of a different construction. The preparation for the 

 walk to the sepulchre is announced by six Latin verses, and Mary's 

 decision to visit the sepulchre is given in the words : 



Sed eamus et ad ejus 

 properemus tumulum, 

 si dileximus viventem,^ 

 diligamus mortuum. 



1 Hoffmann, vol. 2, p. 260. 2 Mone, p. 27 and p. 31. s gee pp. U9, 157. 



