Pierson—The Corpus Christi Procession . 141 
Conclusion: The plays and the procession at Lincoln were evi¬ 
dently on different days. After ruling out the quotations for 
1515 and 1518, one has little material on which to base any con¬ 
clusion. Between 1328 and 1478, the play may have been given 
on Corpus Christi Day. In the sixteenth century the plays were 
certainly on St. Anne’s day. Mr. Leach (in A Miscellany Pre¬ 
sented to Dr. Furnivall, p. 226) notes that the play of St. Anne 
did not differ much from the Corpus Christi plays. The close 
relation between the St. Anne procession and the play of St. 
Anne may then be an argument for a similar close relation be¬ 
tween the Corpus Christi procession and the Corpus Christi 
plays. 
DOCUMENTS. 
London. 
Date Document 
Content 
Interpretation 
1327ff. Davidson, p. 93. 
See Sharp, p. 168, 
note. 
The fraternity of the 
Gild of Corpus Christi 
established in 1327 had 
an annual procession 
on Corpus Christi day. 
After the two hundred 
priests and clerks came 
the cheriff’s servants, 
the clerk of the Comp¬ 
ters, the chaplains for 
the sheriffs, the mayor’s 
sergeants, the counsel 
of the city, the mayor 
and aldermen in scarlet, 
and then the Skinners. 
The Corpus Christi 
Gild had charge of this 
procession. 
1389. Riley, 
Memorials of Don- 
don, p. 509. 
“Because that by the 
reputable men of the 
Parish of St. Nicholas 
Aeon, Nicholas Twyford, 
Knight, Mayor of the 
city of London, was giv¬ 
en to understand that, 
whereas, they, time out 
of mind, had been wont 
and accustomed to have 
free ingress and egress 
with their procession, 
on the befitting and 
usual days, through the 
middle of a certain 
house belonging to John 
Basse,—the aforesaid 
John, together with 
John Creek, draper, and 
others of their covin, on 
Thursday, the feast of 
Corpus Christi last past, 
—would not allow the 
parishioners of the 
church of St. Nicholas 
aforesaid to enter the 
house with their proces¬ 
sion as they has been 
wont to do." 
This procession seems 
to have been purely ec¬ 
clesiastical. 
