Young—The Harrowing of Hell. 925 
Barking, of the first decade of the XVth century.” 1 Each of 
the dramatic offices contained in this manuscript —Deposition 
Elevatio, and Visitation —is of especial interest. The Depositio 
given below approaches more nearly to drama than does any 
other text of this office that I have seen. Although the rubric 
Ibique in specie Joseph et Nichodemi de ligno deponentes 
Ymaginem uulnera Crucifixi uino abluant et aqua is by no 
means a certain indication of impersonation, it 'does point 
definitely toward true drama. 2 In the present manuscript the 
Elevatio has been joined directly to the Visitatio to form a 
more considerable dramatic office, unlike any other Easter of¬ 
fice with which I am acquainted. 3 The enlarged dramatic of¬ 
fice takes the liturgical position usually occupied by the simple 
Visitatio ,—between the third respond and the Te Deum of 
Easter Matins,—and contains the following elements: a rep¬ 
resentation of the Harrowing of Hell; a sufficiently regular 
Elevatio ; a ceremony of confession and of vesting; a Planctus ; 
a Visitatio containing the scene between the Maries and the 
Angel, and the Christ scene, but no Apostle scene. 4 The rep¬ 
resentation of the Harrowing of Hell contains what I take to 
be genuine impersonation, and is the only example yet pub¬ 
lished, so far as I know, of a true dramatization of this theme 
in true liturgical drama. This enlarged office is important, 
also, in so far as it illustrates that process of amalgamation by 
which dramatic cycles were formed both in the liturgical 
language and in the vernacular. 5 Lastly, the text below will 
be welcomed as an important addition to the meagre materials 
illustrating the development of liturgical drama in England. 
Fortunately it is now no longer true that “the tenth-century 
version of the Quern quaeritis from Winchester and the four- 
1 W. H. Frere, Bibliotheca Musico-Liturgica, Vol. I, p. 149, where the 
MS. is well described. 
2 It seems to me likely that one may presently find texts of the 
Depositio showing true dramatizations of this office. This particular 
search seems hardly to have been begun. 
3 A remote parallel from a Sacerdotale Romanum of the year 1560 
is printed by Lange, pp. 40-42. 
4 See Chambers, Vol. II, p. 32; Lange, p. 17. 
6 See Chambers, II, 44, 52-56, 69 ff. 
