Jennifer Oldfield0490466Eemweg 295215HM Den BoschBA Eindwerkstuk5/17/2023Word Count: 9113British English

GESTURE AND LOOKS IN THE MARY PLAY FROM THE N-TOWN MYSTERY CYCLE

JULY 19, 2017Jennifer Oldfield 0490466

Eemweg 295215HM Den BoschReader 1: M.P.J. ColeReader 2: L.J. Stelling

BA English and Culture

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ContentsGesture and Looks in the Mary Play from the N-town Mystery Cycle....................................................1

Section 1: Introduction............................................................................................................................1

1:1 Mystery Plays.................................................................................................................................3

1:2 The N-town Cycle...........................................................................................................................5

1:3 The Mary Play................................................................................................................................6

Section 2: Gesture and Looks in the Middle Ages....................................................................................7

2:1 Gestures and looks and their importance in the Middle Ages.......................................................7

2:2 Types of Gesture and Looks found in Medieval Literature............................................................8

Section 3 Analysis of Gestures found in the Mary Play embedded in the N-town Mystery Cycle.........11

3:1 The Conception of Mary..............................................................................................................11

3.4 The Annunciation or The Parliament of Heaven; The Salutation and Conception.......................22

3.5 Visit to Elizabeth..........................................................................................................................26

Section 4 : Conclusion............................................................................................................................31

Works Cited...........................................................................................................................................32

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Gesture and Looks in the Mary Play from the N-town Mystery Cycle

Section 1: IntroductionIn the summer of 2006, I happened to be visiting York in the North of England. One

evening I walked into town through the old city walls and onwards toward the cathedral. There,

on an open grassy area near the cathedral, the York mystery cycle (see Figure 1) was in full

swing. What had begun in 1994 as an academic exercise to research the plays by reenacting them

had become, once again, a community project. There was no charge for watching the plays

which were being performed from the back of waggons. After a time the waggons moved on, just

as they would have done in medieval times, to perform in a different part of the old city.

Figure 1 York Mystery Cycle Man (probably Joseph) comforting woman

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The York mystery cycle is only one medieval mystery play which still survives. The N-

town play, originally titled the Coventry Mystery Play, not only survives but has also been

performed in the twenty-first century for example in Oxford and Toronto. When ancient plays

are restaged in modern times many questions begin to arise. How were the plays staged? What

did the characters wear? How did they act? More specifically what gesture and looks did they

use to communicate? What gesture and looks did the characters in a fifteenth century religious

play use? What did the gesture and looks communicate? How could these gesture and looks

compare to those found in contemporary visual images and stories?

Figure 2 Mary and the cherry tree Toronto 2015

In comparison to a modern play the Mary Play has few stage directions. In spite of this,

many looks and gestures can be inferred from the dialogue between characters. Further

information about how the actors would have looked and behaved can be gleaned when the play

is set in literary and visual context.

This statement will be addressed over a number of chapters. To begin with, mystery plays

will be discussed and then, more specifically, the N-town cycle and its embedded Mary Play.

This will be followed by a general discussion of gestures and looks in the Middle Ages. Each

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section of the Mary Play will be analysed in turn, beginning with the Conception of Mary. John

Burrow’s book Gestures and Looks in Medieval Narrative will be used as reference point.

1:1 Mystery PlaysMystery plays were the product of a medieval community. They took place in a number

of English cities including Chester, Coventry and Norwich and were performed on the continent

as well. While the content was religious, for example The Last Judgement, Moses and Pharaoh

and The Nativity it was not the church which staged the plays. One way in which they could be

staged was that each pageant would be the responsibility of a different group, for example a

guild. The word mysteres can allude to the mysteries of Christ but was also used to refer to a

trade guild. A guild was, and still is, an organisation of people who do the same job or with

similar interests. An example of a medieval guild is the stonemason’s guild.

York’s mystery cycle, for example, involved many trade guilds. It has been suggested

that the plays were financed by fines levied upon those who worked outside the boundaries of the

guild system (Beckwith 86). Up to 56 pageants could be performed at between ten to sixteen

stations. Each play would be performed and then move onto the next station. The York plays

probably began in 1376 and were first listed in the York Civic record in 1394. Unfortunately,

similar information about the N-town play does not survive although it was probably performed

under similar circumstances.

As mentioned above, the content of the mystery plays was based on the bible but went

even further. It could be an Old Testament story such as Noah’s Ark or a New Testament story

such as the Crucifixion. It could go even further to the eschaton, the time of the Last Judgement.

Crucially, the plays were performed in the vernacular. This occurred at a time when Latin was

the official language of the church and when even challenging the official translation of the

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Bible, the Vulgate, with a new translation was seen as a radical move. For a population of whom

the majority could not understand Latin, this was very important. It was a population that largely

could not read, let alone Latin, and for whom the stained glass windows and sculptures in the

church were often a primary form of engagement with Christianity.

Being able to listen to, perform and create Christian stories was an act of faith but also an

act of community. It allowed medieval people to express their faith in their own way. Whether it

was the Shipwrights Guild building Noah’s Ark (see figure 3) or the pinners, a guild which made

joining pegs (Beckwith 83), nailing Christ to the cross, the story was made their own. Something

produced and performed by them, in their own language.

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Figure 3 A contemporary image of Noah building the ark. Noah has removed his cloak and is working with an auger, just as the Shipwrights Guild would have done. A similar scene would have taken place during the mystery cycle.

There are four surviving mystery cycle texts. Two have already been discussed, one from

York and the N-town play, originally thought to have been from Coventry. There is also one

from Towneley and Chester. The ‘N’ of ‘N-town’is not the name of a town but is for nomen or

name. The name of any town where the cycle or part of the cycle of the play could be performed

could be written here. As well as these four texts, there are also two pageants from Coventry and

some others which survive as fragments (Beckwith 85). The four complete texts date from

between 1467 and 1607.

1:2 The N-town CycleThe N-town cycle was known for many centuries as the Coventry Cycle. This was

because the words Ludus Conventriae or Play of Coventry are written in the flyleaf of the

manuscript in which the cycle is preserved. Modern scholarship (Meredith 1) has shown,

however, that the manuscript does not belong to Coventry but to an unidentified town in East

Anglia. More recently, individual plays from Coventry have been discovered. These plays deal

with the same topics as the N. Town plays in a completely different way.

Unlike the York, Towneley and Chester cycles, the N- town cycle was most likely never

performed how it appears in its manuscript. It is instead a compilation of a number of different

items which would have been performed separately. No evidence survives of its performance

within a community and the plays have also been described as “a collection of incomplete plays

imperfectly blended together” (Meredith The Passion Play viii).

Evidence to support this view is the difference between the plays listed at the beginning

of the manuscript in the Proclamation and the plays in the body of the text. There is, for

example, no seventeenth play, although there is one listed in the Proclamation. In addition to this

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there are plays listed in the proclamation under a certain number, for instance the tenth play, the

Annunciation. The subject matter of the tenth pageant is Mary’s betrothal, not the Annunciation.

Furthermore there are differences in meter, language and style of writing. These differences help

distinguish the fact that the plays have been put together from a number of sources.

1:3 The Mary PlayThe Mary Play is an almost complete original play embedded in the N-town cycle and

forms the basis for Meredith’s edition of the play. There are a number of reasons why it is

thought that the Mary Play existed independently before being included in the cycle. One is the

style of writing: the original Mary Play is characterised by colloquialism and a desire to reflect

speech. It is often in the Mary Play that we discover references to looks, as characters respond to

each other. A further reason is the types of meter used for the stanzas in the Mary Play. The

octave or double quatrain with a rhyming pattern of ababbcbc, is used for the Mary Play while

the more complex ‘thirteeners’ are characteristic of the pageant (Meredith 7).

The language of the N-town manuscript is that of East Anglia. This is where the scribe

was most likely trained. The dialects of the scribe and that of the embedded Mary Play are also

from a similar origin. Most words can be traced to an East Anglian, or most specifically Norfolk,

origin (Meredith 6). The Mary Play does not use an overly wide vocabulary. Alliteration is

present but is not overly used.

The story of the original Mary Play and the pageant in which it is embedded are

themselves based on earlier texts. Legenda Aurea and Meditationes Vitae Christi are most

certainly used. The Legenda Aurea in its English translation, the Gilte Legende, may also have

been used. The bible or a liturgical service book could have been the source for the texts of the

incipits of the “Gradual Psalms”. This same source was probably used for the “Magnificat”,

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quoted in its entirety in the text. The hymns, sequences and quotations used in the text stem from

the liturgy (Meredith 15).

Section 2: Gesture and Looks in the Middle Ages2:1 Gestures and looks and their importance in the Middle Ages

Gesture is body language, a stylized form of body language done with intent. Waving a

hand in the air is body language. When, however, the wave is directed at someone, it becomes a

sign of greeting or departure. A look is communicated by a face. A face reveals many emotions,

both through facial expressions and through gaze. The distinction of intent between body

language and gesture can also be applied to the face. Some facial expressions can be done with

intent, for example a smile. Other facial expressions are more involuntary, for example a frown

or a pursing of the lips.

Much gesture was more commonly used, and played a more important role in the

medieval period than it does now. An act of homage (see figure 4) involves a person putting their

hands together with palms touching. These hands are then clasped between the hands of another

person. The first person, who is often kneeling, and who is the ‘subordinate’, then utters a few

words. These words state that he is the ‘man’ or ‘woman’ of the other person. Finally, a kiss on

the mouth takes place. This kiss symbolizes accord and friendship (Bloch 145).

This act of homage, enacted entirely by gesture, was used to cement one of the most

powerful social bonds of the medieval period. It is not, however, used by western society today.

Modern societies, in contrast, use the written word to cement relationships. An example of this

would be a work contract.

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Figure 4 Act of Homage

2:2 Types of Gesture and Looks found in Medieval LiteratureThe act of homage was only one example of body language found in medieval literature.

There are many more including; kneeling, prostrating, bowing, how a person walked, shaking,

embracing, kissing, and head gestures. In addition there were various hand gestures and of

course facial expressions and gaze.

Kneeling (see figure 5) is a gesture of submission where a person lowers their height by

going down on their knees in front of another. This gesture was part of the act of homage but it

was also the posture of prayer and an essential part of religious services. Prostrating went one

step further and involved a person lying stretched out on the floor in front of another person or an

altar. Bowing is a further gesture which involves lowering the top half of one’s body in a gesture

of respect and submission.

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Figure 5 A contemporary court scene showing a monk kneeling and a knight kneeling on one knee

How someone walks can be very expressive. For instance, a quick light step can denote

enthusiasm and youth, whereas a heavy tread can denote grief, exhaustion or old age. If a person

shakes, it is usually a sign of intense emotion and often of fear. It is an involuntary gesture,

similar in that sense to how a person walks.

Embracing another person by enfolding them in your arms is a warm gesture of

friendship and love. Combining this act with a kiss is an even warmer gesture. A kiss, however,

does not always symbolize friendship and love. A kiss on the hand or mouth can be part of an

oath of fealty, where a tenant recognises his obligations to his lord. A kiss to a ring on the hand

of a religious superior, for example a cardinal is one of respect, not love. Famously, a kiss can

also be an act of betrayal (see figure 6). In medieval theatre, a kiss could be symbolic of more

intimate contact.

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Figure 6 A kiss of betrayal Il bacio di Giuda - Giotto

Head gestures can denote many things. A head shaken from side to side could denote ‘no’

while a head nodded up and down can denote ‘yes’. A head positioned inquiringly to one side

can ask a non-verbal question whereas a bowed head is, once again, an act of submission.

Alternatively a head can be held high to denote confidence and authority.

Gestures made with the hand can also express many things whether it is a hand making

the sign of the cross in order to bless someone or a hand forming the horns of the devil to express

the opposite. Hands can be used to greet in a handshake or to wave farewell.

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Facial expressions can be voluntary or involuntary as are looks. A smile for example, can

either reach the eyes or not. One that does not reach the eyes is thought to be less sincere than

one that does. A person can have a veiled expression which does not reveal what they are

thinking or allow themselves to express everything they are thinking. This would have been as

true of the medieval period as it is today.

John Burrow in his book Gestures and Looks in Medieval Narrative works through a

number of medieval texts. These texts include: Chaucer’s Troilus, Langland’s Piers Plowman,

Gower’s Confessio Amantis, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. French texts such as

Froissart’s Chronicles and the Italian text Dante’s Commedia are also used to provide examples.

These texts are used to provide examples for a discussion of what gesture is used, when it is used

and why it is used. He has set the use of gesture and looks in a historical context.

Section 3 Analysis of Gestures found in the Mary Play embedded in the N-town Mystery Cycle3:1 The Conception of Mary

The Mary Play is a religious play. Gesture communicating submission to God is

prominent. Characters kneel, often in prayer, and full prostration as a sign of humility towards

God is also present.

The first section of the Mary Play, the Conception of Mary, illustrates this type of

gesture. Joachim and Anne are unable to have a child. They have tried to make a sacrifice in the

temple, but their offering has been refused. In despair Joachim goes to his shepherds. He does

not want his wife Anne to see the full extent of his grief. The shepherds are sympathetic and

offer their help. They will pray for Joachim and Anne.

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Firstly the Secondus Pastor says “we xal for зow pray ” (144), then the Tertius Pastor

says “We all wul prey for зow knelende ” (146). Is he simply embellishing the words of the

Secondus Pastor, or is he differentiating between the two examples of gesture? The general rule

is that the lower the body goes, the greater the act of submission. A prayer offered kneeling,

therefore, would have more weight than one offered standing or sitting. Furthermore, was the

prayer said kneeling on one knee or two? At least one contemporary source (Furnivall 163-6,

304) suggests that kneeling on two knees was most appropriate for God. This was because God

deserved the most deference of all.

While the Secondus and the Tertius Pastor speak of kneeling in the play, they speak of

doing so in the future tense (“wul prey” 146). The act of kneeling probably does not occur on

stage. It is, however, likely that Joachim in his sorrow does prostrate himself with the words

“With prayorys prostrate byfore þi person I wepe” (163). He is afraid that he has done something

wrong, therefore he prays in the most humble manner he can.

Joachim expresses a complex range of emotions in his grief. He feels both grateful to

God for showing his presence, even if it is in a negative way, and guilty for his offences to God.

He states “Punchyth me, Lorde”, thus ‘punish me Lord, as I have offended you’ (159). Punching

one’s chest was a common gesture of recognition of culpability. It is associated with Adam and

Eve as they look backward toward Eden after the Fall in the Anglo-Norman Adam (Bevington

Medieval Drama 102-103). It was also used in the liturgy (Davidson 78). Joachim asks God to

strike him rather than mentioning that he punches himself. It is not hard to imagine, however,

that this statement was accompanied by Joachim punching himself on the chest.

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While physical gesture can demonstrate emotion, it is the human face that can express

emotions with more subtlety and variety. Joachim displays his sorrow through gesture, but also

by his facial expression. This is noted by the shepherd Primus Pastor when he asks “How do зe,

mayster? зe loke al hevyly” (137). To look “hevyly” meant to look grieved and dejected,

something no doubt clearly expressed by Joachim’s facial expression.

Anne was, just as Joachim, sorrowful. She also wanted to appease what she saw as an

angry God. She uses prostration to do so. She states, “Fadyr of hefne, for mercy to зour fete I

falle!"(216). A little later she learns that she will bear a child. In her joy and thankfulness she

says, “I xalle on myn knes and to-hym-ward crepe.” (237). “Crepe” was sometimes used to

simply mean ‘kneel'; “to-hym-ward”, however, suggests that she is moving toward him

(Meredith Mary Play 92). This act of worship is one known from the liturgy of the time, where

on Good Friday worshippers would creep toward the cross (Davidson 84). It is also found in the

N. town Judgment Day play. Here the saved “On kne we crepe, we gon, we glyde” in order to

“wurchepp oure Lorde, / Þat mercyfful is” (57-58). Anne’s act of moving toward Joachim on her

knees is one of prayer. Did she, then, have her hands joined together in prayer? Contemporary

images such as the one found in Peter the Chanter’s prayer manual (Trexler 40), would suggest

that she did. Here we see a figure in supine position with his hands joined together in prayer. The

position of his legs, one knee in front of the other, suggests that he is moving.

England in the late fifteenth century was a land where people often kissed when they met

or departed. This was observed by Erasmus during his travels in England:

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When you arrive anywhere, you are received with kisses on all sides, and when you take

your leave they speed you on your way with kisses….The world is full of kisses

(Erasmus 193).

An example of this occurs in the Conception of Mary, when Anne takes her leave of Joachim.

She says, “Thryes I kysse зow with syghys ful sad" (79).

Unlike kneeling and other forms of lowering oneself, kissing was not an act of

submission, but rather a contact between equals. One party may take the initiative, but the act

occurs reciprocally (Burrow 32). Thus Anne kisses Joachim as his equal partner in life, facing up

to harsh realities by his side.

There are different opinions about the meaning of the "kusse of clenesse," a 'kiss of

chastity, of purity'(Meredith Mary Play 144). Such a kiss occurs when Joachim and Anne meet

again. The Angel informs Anne that:

At þe Goldyn Gate Þu xalte mete hym ful mylde

And in grett gladness returne to зour hous.

So be process Þu xalt conseyve and bere a childe (221-223).

As "be process" means 'in due course' (Meredith Mary Play 166), this speech informs us that the

event occurs after their meeting. Contemplacio, summing up the events after the meeting at the

Golden Gate, states:

How Our Lady was conseyvid and how she was bore,

We passé ovyr зat, breffnes of tyme consyderynge (255-266).

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Contemplacio uses the past tense, "was conseyvid". This suggests that the conception has already

occurred, possibly at the Golden Gate. He then states, however, that “We passé ovyr þat". This

implies that the events are in a time limbo, still to occur, but no longer relevant to what he now

wants to discuss. In conclusion, these lines do not support a conception through a kiss at the

Golden Gate.

The idea of the kiss being one of conception, however, was one present in medieval

legend (Perella 70). Mary was said to have been conceived not ex coito but by the way of a kiss –

ex osculo (Perella 73). It is an image also found in the visual arts, both locally in the Great

Malvern Priory Church, and in a famous Italian painting by Giotto where the two bodies fuse

together and lips meet as they tenderly embrace. Mary's conception by a kiss foreshadows

another immaculate conception, that of Christ himself. In the Mary Play this is achieved by

beams of light (355), later it is described as being painless (1363).

The term itself, "kusse of clenesse", would also imply something beyond a peck on the

cheek. It is a special kiss. Perhaps this shows awareness in the play of the legend. This is done,

though, without actually integrating the full import of its meaning into the events of the play

itself.

3:2 The Presentation of Mary or Mary in the TempleA speech by Contemplacio introduces a new section of the play. Contemplacio is an

expositor. He serves to make known the basic facts of setting and character at the beginning, and

between, each pageant. This new pageant has been dubbed both Mary in the Temple (Meredith

Mary Play 1), and The Presentation of Mary (Spector 81). A large, red number nine in the

margin of the manuscript marks its beginning.

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When Mary turns three she is taken to the temple as had been promised. She is already an

extraordinary figure as is stated in one of the sources for the Mary Play, the Old English Gospel

of Pseudo-Matthew. She is:

In her walk and in her words and in all her behaviour like a pleasant person who was

thirty years old (Clayton 175).

In the Mary Play it is said that: “ʒe answere and зe were twenty зere olde!” (296). Mary was

most likely performed by someone older than three in the medieval period, someone who was

fully capable of acting and memorizing text. The person who did perform the role, however, was

probably small and young.

A stage direction tells us that she was “al in white as a childe of thre зere age” (270sd). A

similar stage direction is found in Philippe de Mézière’s Dramatic Office for the Presentation of

the Virgin in the Temple where she is described as beautiful and richly dressed in white and gold.

A white costume would have symbolized both Mary’s youth and her virginity at this point in the

story. This is in contrast to other representations of Mary. In Lincoln in 1521 Mary is described

as being played in a ‘crimson gown of velvet’ (Meredith Staging 57). Here, she was no doubt

older. In many visual images of Mary as a mother, she is gowned in blue. The significance of her

costume would not have been lost on her audience.

She has, as Isakar the priest notes, a gracious face (310). This means that on her face is a

look that conveys God’s grace (Medieval English Dictionary 289). This would suggest a calm,

warm expression; soft eyes and upturned mouth. 'Gracious' could also mean beautiful and

winning in the medieval period (Medieval English Dictionary 290). Noting that Mary’s face is

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gracious foreshadows the Annunciation, where Gabriel greets Mary with the words “Heyl, ful of

grace” (1280).

Joachim and Anne are loving parents. They express this in words and in looks. When

bidding Mary goodbye at the temple steps, they ask her first if she is afraid.

“Can зe gon alone? Lett se – beth bolde! " (298). She answers by telling of her joy at the

prospect of going to God’s house. Joachim gazes lovingly towards her and tells Anne that:

“Wyff, I am right joyful oure dowtere to beholde” (301).

This piece of dialogue is written in a colloquial style. In common with other similar

passages in the work, it is not found in any of the sources that form the basis for the story of the

Mary Play. In its warmth and in the way it humanizes its characters, it is indicative of the

changes which were occurring in fifteenth century. Religion was still paramount but it was a

friendlier version. The later additions to the story reflect this point.

As Mary prepares to leave her parents and mount the fifteen steps to the temple, she

receives their formal blessing. Each in turn recites the words: “In nomine Patris et Filij et

Spiritus Sancti”, ‘In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit’ (323-326). Was the

hand gesture often found in depictions of Christ, and which was also used by priests, also used

here? Such a hand gesture would involve a lifted up right hand with index finger and the next

finger raised. The palm of the hand would be facing outwards.

The use of the extra-metrical blessings already gives what Meredith describes as a

“formal naturalness” (Meredith Mary Play 94) to the scene. A formal gesture would not be out of

place here. Earlier in the scene a stage direction instructs Joachim to “flectendo ad Deum” ‘kneel

to God’ (310sd), another formal gesture. The setting of the scene also invites formality; it takes

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place in front of the temple. In modern times ordinary people are more likely to kneel and make

the sign of the cross in or by the church itself than in other settings, for example, the home. The

Medieval period was a time when more gesture was used than in modern times (Burrow 10).

This fact, plus the religious setting, make it quite possible that Mary’s parents did make the hand

gesture.

Mary’s final goodbye hug and kiss is clearly given in the text with the stage direction “Ex

explexendo osculabit patrem et matrem” ‘And embracing them she shall kiss her father and

mother’ (331sd). Where exactly on the face she kisses her parents is not made clear from the

text. It is, however, likely that it was on the lips. This was quite customary at this time. Burrow

notes that “the actions were too ordinary to require much description; but, where writers do

specify, kisses are said to be mouth to mouth” (Burrow 33).

This particular pageant has a variety of gesture and interaction. One example of this is

Mary speaking of her desire to serve the future wife and mother of God. She does not realize

here that this will become her role. She expresses a desire to “ley my handys vndyr hire fayr

fete!” (294). Here she wishes to wash the feet of the virgin mother. This is made clear by a

similar wish expressed in an earlier text by Mézière1. This gesture stems from St John’s Gospel

(13:1-17) where Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. Here he demonstrates that he is not only

Lord and Master but also servant.

Mary was an idealized character in the medieval period. She was the model to which all

good women were supposed to aspire. One key aspect to her character was her humility. This

1 As referenced in. The N-Town Play Cotton MS Vespasian D. 8, ed. Stephen Spector 2 vols. ( Oxford: The Early English Text

Society, 1991) note 9/39-41, 442. Cf. Mézière’s Livre du Sacrament de Mariage et du reconfort des dames mariées

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humility is amply illustrated in the pageant Mary in the Temple, where Mary often kneels. A

stage direction, “Et genuflectet ad Deum” (294), instructs her to kneel to God. Joachim also does

this as he offers his daughter into the service of God:

We offer to þe, Lorde of myghtys most,

Oure dowtere, þi servaunt evyrmore to be (313-314).

When Mary meets the five virgins who will become her fellows in the temple, she again

demonstrates her humility not only toward God, but to her future companions. She says:

I am not worthy amonge hem to be

Swete systerys, to зow all I knele

To receyve me I beseche зour charyté (486-489),

as she kneels before them.

Within the same pageant Mary falls to her knees before the temple’s alter (512). Later in

the same speech she prostrates herself as she prays and weeps, while begging God to “devocyon

depe in me dryve” (527).

An angel descends bringing manna in a goblet of gold. This was most likely represented

by sacramental wafers in the play (Meredith Mary Play 98 note 528sd). The manna was intended

as nourishment from heaven for Mary. Mary finds his presence and words overwhelming. Her

body language reflects her humility, diffidence and fear. The angel sums these qualities up by

speaking of her “sygnes of shame” (536). The angel describes how “Hefne and Helle here kneys

down bende” at the sound of her name. At this point Mary fully expresses her emotions. She

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says: “I qwake grettly for dred to here þis comendacyon” (553) Thus she speaks of how she

physically shakes from the enormity of what is happening to her.

In the presence of the angel Mary is directed to kiss the ground, “Hic osculet terram”

(560sd), something she again does while kneeling. This action is accompanied by music, a hymn

for the nativity of a virgin or martyr, Jhesu corona virginum. Angels descend and ascend to

heaven during the singing of the hymn.

3.3 The Betrothal of MaryThat the Mary Play from the N. town cycle is rich in gesture may be seen from the

analysis of the Conception of Mary and the Mary in the Temple pageants above. Many of the

gestures from these pageants are repeated in the pageant The Betrothal of Mary. Mary kneels, for

example, in order to receive a blessing from Episcopus (914). She kneels once again to receive

one from her parents (951). She repeats a further gesture, illustrated earlier by Anne, when she

states “With morny mood on kne I krepe” (1052). She is mournfully crawling and praying as she

begs God to guard her virginity.

Characters also kneel to pray, for example, as they sing the hymn Veni Creator Spiritus

(708). They sing the hymn as a request for guidance in their dilemma. Who can they find to

make a worthy and chaste husband for Mary? Their prayer is answered as an angel descends to

them. He describes to them how a husband for Mary will be chosen using a “white zardys”.

This zardys is also referred to as a зerd, wand or rod in the text. Its purpose is to assist in

deciding who will become the lucky man. Many men, all “kyndrede of Dauid”, must be gathered

together at the temple. They must bring a staff with them. The person whose staff flowers when

it is raised will be chosen to be Mary’s husband.

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Episcopus thanks the angel “with mylde chere” (726). The word ‘cher’ was often used in

a general sense to denote body language. It was used in both narrative and drama. It is a word

which includes facial expression but which does not specifically refer to it. Exactly what it

describes is often difficult to define (Burrow 81). ‘Mylde’ means gentle or humble’ (Meredith

Mary Play 161). Episcopus was already on his knees when the angel arrived, “I pray þe, Lorde,

knelynge on kne” (710). There is no mention of him getting up in the text when the angel arrives,

or as he delivers his message. Thus ‘mylde cher’ most probably includes kneeling. The angel

was most probably standing as he delivered his message. There is no mention of him also

kneeling. Thus Episcopus’s face was probably turned to look up at him as he listened.

One hand gesture for praying has already been described above. Here a kneeling figure

crawls in supplication, probably using the most common hand gesture for praying at the time,

hands joined with palms together. There were, however, different hand gestures for praying at

this time. These may be seen in contemporary art works. One was the orans position, arms raised

to elbow level with palms turned out. Another was with the arms raised high above the head,

both a gesture of supplication and of prayer (Davidson 83). Episcopus’s hands could have been

in any of the positions described above.

‘Cher’ as noted above, includes both body language and facial expression. ‘Mylde’ in this

context most likely means humble. From this information it could be concluded that Episcopus’s

kneeling posture was accompanied by a humble expression.

The staff is the source of a new type of gesture in the Mary Play. This staff was to assist

in the choosing of an appropriate husband for Mary. As earlier discussed, the relative whose rod

flowered when offered to heaven, would become her husband. This would be a sign from God. A

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reluctant, elderly Joseph attempts to lift his rod to heaven with difficulty: “I may not lyfte myn

handys heye“(828). His effort, in spite of its paucity, is rewarded as the rod blooms. The

consequent marriage service provides the setting for a further new gesture. Here the still

reluctant but ultimately obedient Joseph, is told to put a wedding ring on his new wife’s hand:

Joseph, with þis ryng now wedde þi wyff

And be here hand now þu here take (891-892).

The way in which this gesture is described makes it sound very similar to the one present

in modern marriage services. In the modern day service the bride holds out her hand with the

ring finger outstretched, the groom then puts the ring on. Not only the gesture but many of the

words in this section of text are reminiscent of the marriage service. An example of this is

“Joseph, wole зe haue þis maydon to зour wyff?”. This can be compared to the modern words:

“Joseph, will you take Mary to be your wife?”

3.4 The Annunciation or The Parliament of Heaven; The Salutation and Conception

While Meredith calls the following pageant The Annunciation, Spector’s edition names it

The Parliament of Heaven; The Salutation and Conception. That this is intended to be performed

as one piece is denoted by the large red number eleven in the margin of the manuscript. Number

twelve occurs after Gabriel has taken his leave of Mary and denotes the pageant Joseph’s Doubts

about Mary. Number twelve has been relegated to being an Appendix in Meredith’s edition. He

sees it as a fully later addition which does not really belong in the Mary Play (Meredith Mary

Play 2).

The title The Parliament of Heaven; The Salutation and Conception gives a clearer

picture of what actually occurs in the story than simply The Annunciation. Pageant number

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eleven begins once again with a speech from Contemplacio. He introduces The Parliament of

Heaven by recounting how long humanity has suffered in hell, “Fowre thowsand sex vndryd

foure зere” (1060), and why: “man for his offens and fowle foly” (1061). He calls for God to

come to earth and have compassion on “þi careful creaturys” (1075). ‘Careful’ in this context

means ‘wretched’ (Meredith Mary Play 143).

In describing humanity's dilemma he creates a picture which can easily be related to

visual images of the time, “How þei ly and sobbe for syknes and sorwe.”(1079), and “Thy

careful creaturys cryenge in captyvyté”(1081). Examples of these postures can be found in the

medieval English Holkam Bible Picture Book with figures cringing from torture inflicted by

devils (fol 42v) and lying in a pile of bodies (fol 41v).

The debate of the four daughters of God can be traced back to an Annunciation sermon

given by St Bernard (Meredith Mary Play 108). The daughters discuss the future of mankind and

judge in its favour. The section ends with the quote:

Misericordia et Veritas Obviauerunt sibi,

Justicia et Pax osculate sunt.

Mercy and truth have met each other: justice and peace have kissed (1250-1251).

This quote forms the basis for the original sermon by Bernard. This description of the actions of

the sisters is augmented with the stage direction, “Et hic osculabunt partier omnes” 'And here

they shall all kiss each other' (1250sd). It is a momentous kiss, a kiss of peace. It was a kiss that

sealed a decision to bring Jesus to earth, and to save humanity from their sufferings. The source

of this particular gesture was probably the liturgy of the early church. It was called the kiss of

peace (Davidson 74).

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Decision made, the Annunciation may proceed. There are many artistic representations of

the moment when the Angel Gabriel greets Mary. In the Holkam Bible Picture Book (fol. 11v)

she is standing at her prayer stool, her head drawn back a little in surprise, and her hand also in a

withdrawal gesture of surprise. There are no stage directions in the Mary Play for this initial

greeting. In the passage before, however, Mary has spoken of falling on her knees before God’s

alter, “Beforn þis holy awtere on my knes I fall” (512). She finishes her speech by describing

herself once more as engaged, “With prayers prostrate for þese gracys I wepe” (526). As the

Angel Gabriel arrives directly after this speech, it could be assumed that she is still in this

position when he comes. There is only one stage direction during the dialogue between Mary and

the Angel Gabriel: “Here þe aungel makyth a lytly restynge and Mary beholdyth hym” (1323sd.).

We do not know, then, whether Mary rises fully to her feet at his entrance or remains on her

knees.

Figure 7 Holkam Bible Picture Book folio 11v

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The stage direction we do have is an intriguing one, “Here þe aungel makyth a lytly

restynge and Mary beholdyth hym” (1323sd.). What non-verbal messages were exchanged

during this moment? There had been various dynamics before this interchange. The Angel

Gabriel has kindly informed Mary “in þis take зe no drede” (1300), using her name “Mary”, to

make the statement even warmer. She is worried due to three things: the odd, confusing message,

the grandeur of the Angel Gabriel’s greeting to so, in her opinion, lowly a handmaiden, and by

the fact that the Angel Gabriel descends in the form of a man. Mary is also worried about

becoming pregnant; she wants to remain a virgin. The Angel Gabriel continues to reassure her.

After the stage direction where he stops speaking and Mary continues to gaze at him, he

continues with more urgency.

Mary, come of and haste the,

And take hede in thyn entent (1324-1325)

From the context it could be concluded that Mary continues to communicate her fear and doubt

as she “beholdyth hym” (1323sd). As he pauses he intercepts her look, and recognizes that his

cause is not yet won. He renews his efforts to win her over.

His success is measured in her body language. She “clynes” (bows) “with all mekenes”

(1348), her acceptance of his will. The following line defines what she inclines. It does not

describe her as kneeling or being prostrate but states only that she bows “down my [her] face

with all benyngnyté” (1349). Does this imply a response from a standing position? Perhaps she is

still in the prostrate posture of a few paragraphs before. It is hard, however, to imagine her lying

prostrate during the Angel Gabriel’s full speech. Could her head have been balanced, perhaps on

one elbow, so that she could look up him? It is likelier, assuming that she had been prostrate, that

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she rose to her knees on his arrival. Bowing her head, therefore, would then have been done from

a kneeling position. Nodding her assent from this position, or while standing, would continue the

dialogue of looks and words between the two. It becomes a dignified and measured response

befitting their interaction, and not simply an act of submission.

The quatrains of this section denote that this section derives from the original Mary Play

rather than the pageant in which it is embedded. These lines are written in the more colloquial,

conversational style which is characteristic of that Mary Play. The interaction between characters

is reminiscent of that which occurs between Mary and her parents earlier.

Much of this section is based on the Mediationes (Spector 458). The actual source may

also have been the English translation of the Mediationes, Nicholas Love’s The Mirror of the

Blessed Life of Jesus Christ. In its translation, Mirror of the Life of Christ, the Mediationes was

immensely popular in England in the fifteenth century (Davidson 71). In both of these texts

(Mirror 25, Mediationes 515) Mary is described as kneeling. Relating the text of the Mary Play

to these sources gives further evidence for her kneeling during the Angel Gabriel’s visit.

Mary’s impregnation occurs directly after her nod of acceptance to the Angel Gabriel. It

takes the form of beams of light descending from above. The use of light as a symbol of God’s

presence is continued after this event. When Joseph again meets Mary at the beginning of the

new pageant Visit to Elizabeth, she radiates light so brightly that Joseph remarks “зour face I

cannot se” (1406). He compares her to “þe sonne with his bemys qwan he is most bryth” (1407)

3.5 Visit to ElizabethIn spite of her new status, Mary continues to demonstrate her humility by wishing to visit

her cousin Elizabeth. Elizabeth is also pregnant in spite of her advanced years, and this, as with

Mary, is due to God’s intervention. Joseph and Mary must travel a long way “myles two and

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fifty” (1420). They travel quickly; the journey is in fact a pilgrimage. The physical discomfort

they suffer due to their haste will bring greater “mede” (1429) 'reward’ (Meredith Mary Play

160) from heaven. An idea of how they travel is given by Joseph who states “Lo, wyff, lo, how

starkly I go before!” (1433). He describes his own body language, “starkly” or ‘stoutly, boldly’

(Meredith Mary Play 172). He also describes how the couple travels. Josephs leads the way. He

does this to protect and shield Mary from dangers and oncomers along the way. A further reason

for traveling fast, and with Joseph up front, is due to Mary’s shyness. She doesn’t want to be

seen by people, particularly by men: “Þerof I am agast.” (1427) ‘I am fearful of them’ (Meredith

Mary Play 139).

Joseph finds the journey taxing and takes a seat. The end of their journey, however, is in

sight. Joseph asks if he should summon Elizabeth to come to Mary. This would be appropriate,

considering her exulted status as the mother of God. Mary will have none of this “Nay…I xal go

ner” (1458)’I will go to her’. Mary greets her cousin colloquially, “A, cosyn Elizabeth, swete

modyr, what cher?” (1460). Here the word ‘cher’ serves as part of a greeting. “What cher?”

means ‘How are you?’ or more literally ‘How are you feeling, what is your mood?’ (Meredith

Mary Play 144).

Mary supplies her own answer to this question by commenting, “how зe be gracious!”

(1461). Elizabeth radiates God’s grace, just as Mary herself does. Her facial expression would be

calm and her eyes glowing. This is again a reference to the Annunciation. Elizabeth, like Mary,

is “ful of grace” (1280). Her pregnancy is already visible. Mary’s comment describes this, “Зe

grow grett” (1461).

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Mary’s act of greeting inspires another example of gesture. Her ‘breth’ fills the child in

Elizabeth’s womb with the Holy Spirit. The two texts, the Mary Play and the Mirror, run parallel

here. In Love’s Mirror (Sargent 30) Elizabeth is also described as embracing Mary at this point.

Although an embrace is not mentioned in the Mary Play, such close proximity would be

necessary if Mary’s breath was to fall upon Elizabeth, bringing with it the Holy Spirit. Did the

embrace include a mouth to mouth kiss? Again this was a common gesture of the time (Burrow

33), and one which certainly would have allowed the Holy Spirit, currently present in the form of

Jesus in Mary’s womb, to pass through to the baby in Elizabeth’s body.

While Love’s Mirror does not specify how the Holy Spirit was transferred, the Latin

Mediationes on which it is based, states that the Holy Spirit was transferred by word

(Mediationes 516). Was the word “breth” a mistake on the part of the scribe? Could ‘breth’ be

interpreted as ‘word’ at this point?2 It is difficult to know. What is clear is that Elizabeth’s baby,

John, received the Holy Spirit. His reaction is to kneel reverently within the womb, to “turnyd

down on his knes to oure God” (1466). This is a picture evoked by words of what is occasionally

found in contemporary visual images of the time (Schiller pl 16 133 cited Meredith Mary Play

118).

We learn through Contemplacio that Zacharias’ wife Elizabeth, has conceived. We also

learn of his reaction. He does not believe the angel’s message at first, and is therefore struck

dumb, the “plage of dompnesse hise lippis lappyd,lo.” (1446). He regains his powers of speech

only after his son has been born. He celebrates his regained ability and his son’s birth by saying

the Benedictus. The Benedictus is one of three canticles found in Luke’s Gospel. The other two

2 In Meredith’s glossary (Meredith, 143) the word ‘breth’; is defined as ‘words’. This implies that he believes that the word ‘breth’ is a mistake on the part of the scribe. The text should have followed the Mediationes in this detail as well.

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are the Magnificat and the Nunc dimittis. All three canticles are regularly used in the modern

liturgy.

Luke’s Gospel, along with the Gilte Legende, serves as a basis for this part of the text. In

Luke Zacharias is given the message by an angel that his wife will conceive. This happens when

he is offering incense in the temple. He does not fully believe the message and asks for a sign to

confirm it. The angel identifies himself as the Angel Gabriel, and strikes Zacharias dumb for his

impudence and disbelief. The Gilte Legende version differs slightly. Zacharias asks for a sign

from the angel who has already been identified as Gabriel. For this request he is struck dumb.

Nothing is said in either Luke or the Gilte Legende of Zacharias’ emotional response to

being struck dumb. The Mary Play doesn’t give much away either. Some insight is given during

Joseph’s greeting. Joseph’s situation is comparable to Zacharias’. They are both old men about to

become fathers. Neither of them, however, is the true father. Joseph states:

A, how do зe fadyr Zacharye?

We falle fast in age, withowte oth (1550-1551).

Joseph is startled by Zacharias’ reply. Zacharias’ does not speak but rather shakes his head. How

he does so is described by Joseph’s words, “have зe þe palsye?... I trowe зe are not wroth”

(1552&1554). Joseph asks if Zacharias’ has an illness which makes him shake, a palsy. He also

asks him if he is angry 'wroth'. Zacharias’, of course, cannot answer. His wife Elizabeth must do

that for him instead.

Elizabeth explains that Zacharias doesn’t want to be angry, “þerto he were ful loth”

( 1554). She states that his speechlessness is the will of God, and that for this manifestation of

God in their lives they should both be thankful, “Lete us thank God erffor, both” (1556). This

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echoes an earlier sentiment expressed by Joseph. He thanks God for his presence in his life even

as he chastises himself and wallows in his misfortune. “I thank þe more herfore…Þis is a tokyn

þu lovyst me” (154-155).

Elizabeth states that Zacharias doesn’t want to be angry. The implication is that he is, but

is being philosophical about that fact. What does Zacharias express when he shakes his head?

Burrow (Burrow 43) notes that headshaking in medieval literature very often denotes anger and

scorn. Certainly anger is the emotion Joseph reads into this gesture, “I trowe зe are not wroth”

(1554).

Headshaking could also denote distress or sorrow (Burrow 62). These are understandable

emotions in Zacharias’ predicament. A man who was described as being of “grett devocyon”

(1435), could understandably be upset by being punished by God.

Did Zacharias nod his head up and down or shake it from side to side? The word ‘shake’

cannot be read in the modern sense as meaning something negative. It can also not be read to

always denote that the head was moved from side to side (Burrow 63). Thus we can only

speculate as to how Zacharias actually moved his head.

The last example of gesture to be found in Peter Meredith’s edition of the Mary Play is a

kiss. In Love’s Mirror (Sargent 34:32) Mary is described as blessing baby John. In the Mary

Play she “kyssyd John and gan hym blys”. Blys means ‘joy, well-being, prosperity’ (Meredith

Mary Play 142). To a certain extent the actions equate. A blessing is given to confer upon the

recipient the joy, well-being and prosperity of God’s grace. As God was already present in Mary

she had only to kiss John. His grace was transferred by this kiss.

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Section 4 : Conclusion

A medieval play is a product of the medieval world in which it was conceived, a world

rich with gesture and emotion. While it could be tempting to view a medieval play simply as

words recorded in a manuscript which can simply be read aloud, there is gesture and emotion

which can be inferred from the text to accompany these words. This thesis has described how

these gestures can range from a character punching his chest in contrition or another sadly

moving forward on their hands and knees and given insight into the facial expressions which the

characters could have worn.

Clues given in the text can be supplemented by other contemporary sources such as art

and literature. These associations are also made within this text and we learn that Mary’s gesture

of falling to her knees and crawling forward was not uncommon in the period as it is documented

in other sources, in this case the liturgy.

Reading the words of a medieval play in a manuscript aloud is an act of historical

empathy. Enriching them with the appropriate facial expression and gesture as detailed in this

thesis underlines that process and helps bring them alive to a new contemporary audience once

more.

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Works Cited

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Burrow, John. Gestures and Looks in Medieval Narrative. Cambridge: Cambridge University

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Clayton, Mary. The Apocryphal Gospels of Mary in Anglo-Saxon England. Cambridge:

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Love, Nicholas. Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ. Ed. Michael G. Sargent. New York:

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Ragusa, Isa. Trans. Isa Ragusa and Rosalie B. Green Ed. Meditations on the Life of Christ.

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Meredith, Peter and John E. Tailby. The Staging of Religious Drama in Europe in the Later

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Meredith, Peter. Ed. The Passion Play Harlow UK: Longman,1990.

Perella, Nicholas James. The Kiss Sacred and Profane. Berkeley: University of California, 1969.

Hassall, W. O. ed. The Holkam Bible Picture Book.. London: Dropmore Press, 1954.

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Images

Cain and abel picture http://www.medievalists.net/2011/03/27/medieval-mystery-plays-cain-

and-abel/

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Picture of Joachim and Anna

http://www.bl.uk/catalogues/illuminatedmanuscripts/ILLUMIN.ASP?Size=mid&IllID=34699

http://groups.chass.utoronto.ca/plspls/2015-2016-season/the-n-town-mary-play/

https://tenthmedieval.wordpress.com/tag/authority-and-power/ Act of homage