Young—Ordo Prophetarum. 
47 
The part of Balaam deserves special comment for its dramatic 
liveliness. Balaam makes his appearance mounted upon an ass. * 1 2 3 * * * * * * * * 12 
After he has uttered his prophecy an angel appears in his path, so 
halting the progress of the animal that Balaam impatiently strikes 
her and demands the reason of the delay. In defense, the puer sub 
asina explains that an angel stands threateningly in the path; and 
thus the play abruptly ends. The action of this little dramatic 
episode centering in Balaam is, of course, derived from the Biblical 
narrative (Num. xxi, 21-31) ; but the speeches show no dependence 
upon the Vulgate text. The speech of the Appellator es seems 
clearly to be adapted from the following passage in a well-known 
sequence of Epiphany: Quam Balaam ex Iudaica orituram dixerat 
prosapia; 13 and the response of Balaam consists in a passage from 
another Epiphany sequence; Exibit ex Jacob rutilans, inquit , 
Stella , Quce confringet ducum agmina regionis Moab maxima po¬ 
tential The second speech of Balaam and the response of the 
asina seem to be original compositions for the purpose at hand. 15 
It is clear that the parts of Simeon and of Balaam stand apart 
from the rest of the performance as small dramatic units. In ac¬ 
tion and wise en scene they show an advance beyond the general 
uniformity of the elements examined hitherto. These two bits of 
composition seem to have been ambitiously added at the end. The 
question as to whether Balaam’s ass is introduced through a comic 
13 See the following rubric in the list of dramatis persona?: Balaam, super 
asinam, curvus, barbatus, palmam tenens, calcaribus urgens. 
13 See the sequence Quem non prevalent, printed by J. Kehrein, Lateinische 
Sequenzen des Mittelatters, Mainz, 1873, pp. 41-42. See Meyer, p. 52. 
14 See the sequence Epiphaniam Domini canamus, printed by Kehrein, pp. 40- 
41. See Meyer, p. 52. 
15 In connection with the dramatic development of the episode of Balaam and 
his ass, Sepet (p. 35) suggests three stages of the Ordo Prophetarum: 
(1) Le drame primitif, immediatement sorti du sermon, et d’oti Balaam est 
absent. 
(2) Le drame de seconde formation, oil Balaam apparait et se borne 
reciter sa prophetie. 
(3) Le drame de troisieme formation, oh la prophetie de Balaam est devenue 
un petit drame dans le grand. 
Sepet’s “drame primitif” is exemplified, presumably, in the ordo of Limoges, 
and his “drame de troisiSme formation,” in the Festum Asinorum of Bouen, to 
be considered below. In so far as Sepet’s own evidence is concerned, the 
“drame de seconde formation” must be considered a conjecture. Chasles now 
suggests (p. 127) that the Ordo of Laon,—unknown to Sepet,—exemplifies the 
drame de seconde formation.” I cannot accept Chasles’ suggestion, for the 
Balaam of the Laon Ordo does not “confine himself to the reciting of his 
prophecy.” The Balaam episode of Laon is not essentially different from that 
of Rouen. The Rouen episode is merely longer. 
