Can you create your own?
To help you get started, a modern-spelling script of this play can be downloaded by clicking here. *** The sixteenth play from the York Corpus Christi Plays was performed by two guilds- the Masons, and the Goldsmiths. This was not always the case- before 1432, it was likely performed only by the Goldsmiths. The Masons complained that they were too poor to maintain a play- the much-maligned "Funeral of the Virgin"- on their own, and so joining the two was a convenient solution. The Goldsmiths were a suitable guild to produce the kings, with their golden crowns and gifts, and the stonemasons were perhaps more suited to Herod, a poor client-king in the far edge of the Roman Empire. In their book on the craft guilds and their plays, Rice and Pappano (2015) frame Herod as a "corrupt civic ruler", with the kings as "principled seekers... for perfect workmanship and brotherhood, with Christ as fellow king." York's searchers- forerunners of the council's Trading Standards team- would have been recognisable in the kings. In modern productions, Herod has often drawn on depictions of modern tyrants, with peaked caps and military uniforms (2012), or as grand spectacle (in 2016, Herod's golden robe covered the top third of the stage). In the early years, Herod's role was often cut, focusing solely on the Kings and their visit. The play is based on Matthew 2, v1-12. *** The original script, in 15th Century Middle English, can be found here, courtesy of Prof. Clifford Davidson and the University of Rochester's TEAMS Middle English Text Series. |
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