Transcriber’s Notes Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations in hyphenation and accents have been standardised but all other spelling and punctuation remains unchanged. The first volume is available as Project Gutenberg eBook #73000. [Illustration: BEGINNING OF DUBLIN _Quem quaeritis_, FROM BODLEIAN RAWLINSON LITURGICAL MS. D. 4 (14TH CENTURY)] THE MEDIAEVAL STAGE BY E. K. CHAMBERS. VOL. II OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS M.CMIII _Impression of 1925_ _First Edition 1903_ _This impression has been produced photographically by the MUSTON COMPANY, from sheets of the First Edition_ _Printed wholly in England for the MUSTON COMPANY By LOWE & BRYDONE, PRINTERS, LTD. PARK STREET, CAMDEN TOWN, LONDON, N.W. 1._ CONTENTS VOLUME I PAGE PREFACE v LIST OF AUTHORITIES xiii BOOK I. MINSTRELSY CHAP. I. THE FALL OF THE THEATRES 1 II. MIMUS AND SCÔP 23 III. THE MINSTREL LIFE 42 IV. THE MINSTREL REPERTORY 70 BOOK II. FOLK DRAMA V. THE RELIGION OF THE FOLK 89 VI. VILLAGE FESTIVALS 116 VII. FESTIVAL PLAY 146 VIII. THE MAY-GAME 160 IX. THE SWORD-DANCE 182 X. THE MUMMERS’ PLAY 205 XI. THE BEGINNING OF WINTER 228 XII. NEW YEAR CUSTOMS 249 XIII. THE FEAST OF FOOLS 274 XIV. THE FEAST OF FOOLS (_continued_) 301 XV. THE BOY BISHOP 336 XVI. GUILD FOOLS AND COURT FOOLS 372 XVII. MASKS AND MISRULE 390 VOLUME II BOOK III. RELIGIOUS DRAMA XVIII. LITURGICAL PLAYS 1 XIX. LITURGICAL PLAYS (_continued_) 41 XX. THE SECULARIZATION OF THE PLAYS 68 XXI. GUILD PLAYS AND PARISH PLAYS 106 XXII. GUILD PLAYS AND PARISH PLAYS (_continued_) 124 XXIII. MORALITIES, PUPPET-PLAYS, AND PAGEANTS 149 BOOK IV. THE INTERLUDE XXIV. PLAYERS OF INTERLUDES 179 XXV. HUMANISM AND MEDIAEVALISM 199