Christmas Carols and Their Stories
Puzzle 03 · Carols of the Middle Ages · Page 15 in print
The Mystery Plays
York’s proclamation of 1415 for its Corpus Christi plays shows that the mystery plays started very early in the day, between four and five in the morning.
Jump to a word
The words
Blanket
In which the shepherds toss Mak when they catch him.
Chester
The city whose guilds played their cycle at Whitsuntide.
Corpus Christi
The feast, on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, when towns staged their plays.
Noah's Flood
The Chester play of Noah, chosen by Pollard for its humour.
Pageant
The movable wagon-stage of a guild play.
Pope Urban
The pope who instituted the feast of Corpus Christi in 1264.
Proclamation
York’s 1415 proclamation for the Corpus Christi plays.
Scaffold
The raised wheeled stage of a mystery play.
Sheep Stealing
Mak’s crime in the Wakefield shepherds’ play.
Stations
The street stops where each pageant was played in turn.
Towneley
The family that long owned the Wakefield plays manuscript.
Trade Guilds
The craft companies that staged and paid for the plays.
Wakefield
The town to which the Towneley plays belong.
Whitsuntide
The season when Chester performed its plays.
York
The city whose great play cycle dates from about 1360.