Pierson—The Corpus Christi Procession . 
1*1 
York. 
D O CUME NT S—Continued. 
Date Document 
1426. Sharp, Disserta¬ 
tion, pp. 133, 134. 
1428. Antiquary, XI, 108 
1430-1440 . 
1431. Register of Guild 
of Corpus 
Christi, p. 251. 
252. 
1443. Antiquary, XI, 108 
1475. Surtees, CXX, 134 
1477. Surtees, CXX, 134 
Content 
“ ‘Whereas for a long 
course of time the arti¬ 
ficers and tradesmen of 
the city of York have, at 
their own expence, acted 
plays; and particularly 
a certain sumptuous 
play, exhibited in sev¬ 
eral pageants, wherein 
the history of the old 
and new testament in 
divers places of the said 
city, in the feast of 
Corporis Christi, by a sol¬ 
emn procession is repre¬ 
sented in reverence to 
the sacrament of the 
body of Christ. Begin¬ 
ning first at the great 
gates of the holy Trin¬ 
ity in York, and so going 
in procession to and into 
the Cathedral Church of 
the same; and after¬ 
wards to the hospital of 
St. Leonard, in York, leav¬ 
ing the aforesaid sac¬ 
rament in that place/ ” 
Friar Melton induces 
the people to have the 
play on one day and the 
procession on the sec¬ 
ond. 
Smiths charge mar¬ 
shals with not paying 
their pageant silver. 
Finally agreed that they 
shall “of thair bather 
costages bryng furthe 
pair bather playes, and 
uphold thair torches in 
r>e procession of Corpus 
Xpi day.” 
Register . 
“Agreement between 
the mayor and citizens 
of York and the keep¬ 
ers of the Guild [of Cor¬ 
pus Christi] about car¬ 
rying the shrine in the 
annual procession on the 
feast of Corpus Christi.” 
Same as 1428. 
Those who are to help 
girdlers bring out pa¬ 
geant mentioned. 
Certain fines in craft 
of cutlers to go to the 
support of their pa¬ 
geant. 
Interpretation 
Stage IV(?) 
If the word procession, 
refers to the Corpus 
Christi procession and 
not to the processional 
nature of the cycle, we 
have here very definite 
evidence for stage IV of 
the Davidson-Spencer 
theory. 
The courses of the 
procession and of the 
plays are suspiciously 
alike. See entries for 
1399. After 1426 the 
plays were separated. 
Stage V. 
Stage V. 
Stage V. 
Stage V. 
Stage V. 
