Charles Davidson — English Mystery Flays. 287 



Fourthly. It would seem that the play in question must have 

 been originally the work of one author, that this author wrote it in 

 Latin for a church play, and that this play was adopted for some 

 reason in many churches. I should place its composition at an 

 earlier date than that of the cyclic plaj^s, for the writer of the York 

 parent ayde incorporated it in his cycle, writing for it a prologue of 

 his own. 



I believe that the writer of the W play, not the compiler of the 

 W cycle, had this York play before him, since he recast a part of 

 the prologue ; but he departed further from the Biblical text than 

 any other writer, exhibiting such independence as the compiler of 

 W nowhere shows. The Ch and Co plays were probably taken 

 directly from the play in the church best known to the author. 

 The stanzaic structure agrees sufficiently well in each cycle with 

 the author's known style to render it probable that the play was 

 translated independently in each case. The Shearmen and Taylors' 

 play may be a church play, or may be in part the York play, as is 

 certainly the other extant Coventry play. 



Finally. A word here about the redactor of the true Coventry 

 plays may be in place. Robart Croo considered that he had accom- 

 plished a laudable undertaking when he had modernized the Cov- 

 entry plays. His execrable spelling, pointless interpolations, and 

 attempts at comic writing, especially in the part of Joseph in the 

 Weavers' play, mark him as a man of little education and less taste. 

 He, or his son, appears to have been a necessary factotum of the 

 mystery play business in Coventry. One sometimes wonders if he 

 were not a manager who, for a consideration, presented the plaj^s 

 for one or more gilds. I do not know that any one has directed 

 attention to his name in the gild accounts as given by Sharp. The 

 items are as follows — 



Smiths' Pageant. 

 1663 — It' to Robart Croo for ij leves of ore play boke viij d. 



Drapers' Pageant. 

 1567 — paid to Robart Crowe for makyng of the boke for the pag- 



gen XX s. 

 1560 — It' payd to Robart Croo for pleayng God iijs. iiij d. 

 1560 — payd to Cro for mendyng the devells cottes xx d. 

 1662 — Itm payde Robert Croo for a hat for the pharysye xij d. 

 1556 — payd to Crowe for makyng of iij worldys ij s. 

 [In 1560 the sum paid him was 3 s. 8 d.\ 

 — payd him more for same iij*. viij d. 



Sharp states that Croo was employed also by the Cappers and 

 Shearmen's Companies in a similar manner. 



