The mediaeval stage, volume 2 (of 2)Chambers, E. K. (Edmund Kerchever)
History
The mediaeval stage, volume 2 (of 2)
Chambers, E. K. (Edmund Kerchever)
Drama, Medieval -- History and criticism; Theater -- History -- Medieval, 500-1500
Besides the _Quem quaeritis_, Easter week had another liturgical drama
in the _Peregrini_ or _Peregrinus_[137]. This was established by the
twelfth century. It was regularly played at Lichfield[138], but no text
is extant from England, except a late transitional one, written partly
in the vernacular[139]. France affords four texts, from Saintes[140],
Rouen[141], Beauvais[142], and Fleury[143]. The play is also recorded
at Lille[144]. In Germany it is represented by a recently-discovered
fragment of the famous early thirteenth-century repertory of the
_scholares vagantes_ from the Benedictbeuern monastery[145]. The simplest
version is that of Saintes, in which the action is confined to the
journey to Emmaus and the supper there. The Rouen play is on the same
lines, but at the close the disciples are joined by St. Mary Magdalen,
and the _Victimae paschali_ is sung. The Benedictbeuern play similarly
ends with the introduction of the Virgin and two other Maries to greet
the risen Christ. But here, and in the Beauvais and Fleury plays, a
distinct scene is added, of which the subject is the incredulity of
Thomas and the apparition to him. It is, I think, a reasonable conjecture
that the _Peregrini_, in which the risen Christ is a character, was not
devised until he had already been introduced into the later versions of
the _Quem quaeritis_. Indeed the Fleury _Peregrini_, with its double
appearance and change of costume for Christ, seems clearly modelled on
the Fleury _Quem quaeritis_. But the lesser play has its own proper
and natural place in the Easter week services. It is attached to the
_Processio ad fontes_ which is a regular portion, during that season, of
Vespers[146]. The Christ with the Resurrection cross is personated by the
priest who normally accompanies the procession _cum cruce_. At Rouen
the play was a kind of dramatization of the procession itself[147]; at
Lille it seems to have had the same position; at Saintes and Beauvais it
preceded the _Magnificat_ and _Oratio_ or _Collecta_, after which the
procession started. In the remaining cases there is no indication of the
exact time for the _Peregrini_. The regular day for it appears to have
been the Monday in Easter week, of the Gospel for which the journey to
Emmaus is the subject; but at Fleury it was on the Tuesday, when the
Gospel subject is the incredulity of Thomas. At Saintes, a curious rubric
directs the Christ during the supper at Emmaus to divide the ‘host’ among
the _Peregrini_. It seems possible that in this way a final disposal was
found for the host which had previously figured in the _Depositio_ and
_Elevatio_ of the sepulchre ceremony.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account