Charles Davidson — English Mystery Plays. 269 



W XX, Conspiracio — From "Cayphas" to "Tunc dicet Sanctus 

 Johannes." Supplanted in York. 



Y XXVir, The Last Supper. 



Y XXXy, Crucifixio Christi. 



Y XXXVII, The Harrowing of Hell. 



Y XLIV, The Descent of the Holy Spirit. 



Concerning the above plays a few remarks are necessary. Y II is 

 a monologue. Y III is like it in verse movement, rimes, and stylistic 

 peculiarities, but is written in quatrains. Y II cannot stand alone. 

 There must have been either a continuation, that rehearsed the crea- 

 tion of Adam and Eve, and was superseded by Y III, or Y III must 

 have been in the parent cycle. 



Y III has been transcribed repeatedly. Two copies of it stand in 

 the Register.^ It has been greatly modernized by a scribe of South- 

 ern proclivities. * Sail ' occurs 24 times in Y II, ' schall ' not at all ; 

 *schall' occurs 19 times in Y III, 'sail' not at all. 'I' is found 28 

 times in Y II, 'y' not at all; 'I' is found 12 times in Y III, 'y' 

 occurs 6 times. The rimes agree sufficiently well. Y II has 32 

 varieties of rime ; Y HI, 28 varieties. The two plays agree in 15 

 rimes. 



If we knew more of the method of presentation, we might be able 

 to judge better of the relationship of these two plays. Y II is a 

 monologue. I suspect that it was largely explanatory of a picture 

 pageant carried upon the pageant wagon. Perhaps the pictures 

 were successively exposed to view, as different portions of the Avorld 

 were created. The parallel to the pageants of royal entry with one 

 speaker, who explained the tableau, is sufficient. 



In Y III, it would seem that the tableau stood fully formed. The 

 speaker points to each part as he says — 



In heuen ar aungels faire aud bright, 

 Sternes and planetis her courses to goo, 

 Jje mone serues vnto be nyghte. 

 The Sonne to lighte he day also. 



In erthe is trees, and gresse to springe, 

 Beestes and foules, bothe grete and smale, 

 Fisshys in llode, all other thynge, 

 Thryffe and haue my blissynge alle. 



But the words of Adam and Eve appear to me conventional, as 

 bearing marked traces of the church play. Y III may be an old 

 church play that has supplanted the original play of the cycle. 



1 York Plays, p. 14. 



