Young—Or do Prophet arum. 
45 
Ap<p>ELLGtfores : 
Die, Balaam, ex Iudaica 
Oriturum Dominion prosapia. 
Balaam : 
Exibit de Iacob rutilans noua stella 
Et confringet ducum agmina 
Regionis Moab maxima potentia. 
Hie UENIAT ANGeL^S CUM GLADIO. BALAAm TANGIT ASINAM, 
et ILLA Non PrOCEDENTE, DICIT IRATUSI 
Quid moraris, asina, 
Obstinata bestia? 
Iam seindent calcaria 
Costas et precordia. 
PUER SUB ASINA RESPONDED 
Angelas cum gladio, 
Quern adstare uideo, 
Probibet ne transeam; 
Timeo ne peream. 5 
Here, for the first time, impersonation is manifest. In suggestive 
details of costume and property the text leaves little to be desired. 
Daniel’s youthful appearance, Moses’ tables of the Law, Elizabeth’s 
pregnancy, John the Baptist’s hairy shirt and branch of palm, 
Virgil’s writing materials and crown of ivy, the Sibyl’s expression 
of mad inspiration, Balaam’s ass,—these are some of the details ex¬ 
plicitly provided for. 
The performance itself begins with the singing of the Gloriosi et 
famosi, presumably by the Prophetce themselves . 6 Two cantors 
now deliver three stanzas, the second and third of which are ad¬ 
dressed specifically to the Jews an Gentiles respectively, calling 
upon them to prepare for enlightenment. Two 7 special summoners 
(Appellatores) now call forth the prophets, one by one, and after 
each prophecy deliver the stanza I site ccetus, to which the chorus re¬ 
sponds with the stanza Quod Judcea . 8 
The close kinship of the Laon play to the Limoges version and to 
the original lectio is obvious. Each of these three versions pre¬ 
sents thirteen witnesses, and twelve of these witnesses are common 
5 Followed immediately by the rubric Or do Stelle, introducing a version of 
the Epiphany play. 
6 This presumption finds justification in the usage recorded in the Einsiedeln 
fragment printed below, pp. 72-74. 
7 Several of the later rubrics specify duo. 
8 1 have not found these two stanzas apart from the prophet-plays of Eaon 
and Rouen. 
