Charles Davidson — English Mystery Plays. 215 



four pence for his labor ; standard, pole-ax, and swords for the Em- 

 peror and St. George ; then a maiden who led the dragon by a 

 golden line ; four trumpets ; the King and Queen of Dele, accom- 

 panied by two knights and two maidens in black/ 



in. The Corpus Christi Procession. 



The most splendid of all the church processions was the Proces- 

 sion of Corpus Christi, out of which grew in many cases^ the craft- 

 gild plays. The church fast of Corpus Christi was instituted by 

 Pope Urban TV about the middle of the thirteenth century, 1264, 

 and appointed for the first Thursday after Trinity Sunday. It was 

 endorsed by the Council of Yienne in 1818, and was soon celebrated 

 with great pomp throughout Western Europe. Its office consisted of 

 hymns, anthems, responses, etc., taken from the figurative portions 

 of the Old Testament, and selected, or, at least, digested into form 

 by Thomas Aquinas. From the first the leading feature of the 

 celebration was the procession of the ecclesiastics and laity, in 

 which all civic bodies took part, with tapers, banners, shields of 

 the gilds, and after a time with pageant-tableaux and individuals 

 personating characters at first Biblical, later oftentimes legendary. 

 In the procession the lay societies preceded the host, which was 

 followed by the ecclesiastics.^ The position next to the host was 

 the place of honor, and we read of many disputes among the gilds 

 about their relative positions.* This order of the gilds is a matter 

 of importance to us, as the earliest order of the gilds in the craft- 

 gild plays was doubtless the same as in the procession. Thus in 

 many towns the Mercers, as the most powerful gild, marched next 

 the host — so in York and Coventry — and the Mercers stand last in 

 the York plays. 



1 The Gild of St. Elene at Beverly, founded 1378, carried a youth clad as St. Elene. 

 An old man preceded him carrying- a cross, and one followed bearing- a shovel. The 

 Gild of St. Mary at Beverly, founded 1355, carried in procession on the feast of the 

 Purification a pageant of the Virgin with what seemed a son in her arms. Joseph and 

 Simeon accompanied her, with two angels carrying- a candle-bearer of twenty-four 

 lights.— English Gilds, pp. 148, 149. 



2 At York and Coventry, the Chester plays were connected with the Whit-JNIonday 

 procession. 



3 Sharp, p. Ifi5. The order was, however, revei-sed at York.— Davies, York Records of 

 the XVth century, p. 247 ; also in Skinner's Procession, p. 69. 



4 1538, June 21. In records of Aberdeen complaint of hammermen that others usurp 

 their place in the Corpus Christi procession.— Records of Aberdeen, p. 452. 



1554. A nother complaint by the same. p. 457. 



See the quarrel between the Weavers and Cordwainers of York. The Cordwainers 

 refused to march on the left of the Weavers. This ditl'crcncc was a matter of some 

 years' standing, and the Cordwainers submitted only \uider the pressure of a heavy flue 

 and the threatened interference of the king.— Davies, pp. 250-7. 



