The are three medieval
mystery plays
Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the represen ...
dating to the late fourteenth century, written primarily in
Middle Cornish, with stage directions in Latin.
The three plays are (The Origin of the World, also known as , 2,846 lines), (The Passion of Christ, also known as , 3,242 lines) and (The Resurrection of Our Lord also known as , 2,646 lines).
The
metre
The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its pref ...
s of these plays are various arrangements of seven- and four-syllabled lines. means "prompt" or "service book".
[ (in: ''Oxford Encyclopedia of British Literature'')][ (in: Koch and Minard edd. ''The Celts'')]
First play
The first play, called , begins with the Creation of the World, the Fall of Man, and
Cain and Abel, followed by the building of the
Ark
Ark or ARK may refer to:
Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva''
* Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood
* Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses
Hebrew ''aron''
* ...
and the Flood; the story of the
temptation of Abraham closes the first act. The second act gives us the history of Moses, and the third represents the story of
David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
and of the building of
Solomon's Temple
Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (, , ), was the Temple in Jerusalem between the 10th century BC and . According to the Hebrew Bible, it was commissioned by Solomon in the United Kingdom of Israel before being inherited by th ...
, curiously ending with a description of the martyrdom of
St Maximilla as a Christian by the bishop placed in charge of the temple by Solomon.
An offshoot of the is the ''Creation of the World with Noah's Flood'' ('': the Creacon of the World''), written in Cornish with English stage directions, copied by
William Jordan in 1611.
[ (Appendix I, The Cornish Trilogy, The Death of Pilate]
Second and third plays
The second play, , represents the
Temptation of Christ
The temptation of Christ is a biblical narrative detailed in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. After being baptized by John the Baptist, Jesus was tempted by the devil after 40 days and nights of fasting in the Judaean Desert. At the ti ...
in the desert,
and the events from the entry into Jerusalem to the
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
, including the
Passion. This goes on without interruption into the third play, , which gives an account of the
Harrowing of Hell
In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell ( la, Descensus Christi ad Inferos, "the descent of Christ into Hell" or Hades) is an Old English and Middle English term referring to the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his re ...
, the
Resurrection
Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
, and the
Ascension, with the Legend of
St Veronica and
Tiberius
Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
, the death of
Pilate, the release of
Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea was, according to all four canonical gospels, the man who assumed responsibility for the burial of Jesus after his crucifixion. The historical location of Arimathea is uncertain, although it has been identified with several ...
and
Nicodemus
Nicodemus (; grc-gre, Νικόδημος, Nikódēmos) was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin mentioned in three places in the Gospel of John:
* He first visits Jesus one night to discuss Jesus' teachings ().
* The second time Nicodemu ...
from prison,
The Three Marys
The Three Marys (also spelled Maries) are women mentioned in the canonical gospels' narratives of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, several of whom were, or have been considered by Christian tradition, to have been named Mary (the most c ...
.
As in the ''
Poem of the Passion
Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre (poetry), metre − to ev ...
'', the
pseudo-Gospel of Nicodemus and other legendary sources are drawn upon.
Relationship to the ''Legend of the Cross''
However, running through the whole and interwoven with the
scriptural
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
narrative comes the beautiful and curious
Legend of the Rood
The ''Legend of the Rood'' ( la, De ligno sancte crucis) is a complex of medieval tales loosely derived from the Old Testament.
In its fullest form, the narrative tells of how the dying Adam sends his son Seth back to Paradise to seek an elixir ...
(Legend of the Holy Cross). The legend, most of which is in the Ordinalia, is this:
Extant manuscripts
There are three manuscripts of this
trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...
in existence:
* Bodley 791, Oxford manuscript of the fifteenth century, given to the
Bodleian Library
The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...
by James Button on 28 March 1614. This manuscript is the original from which the others were copied, and from which Dr
Edwin Norris
Edwin Norris (24 October 1795 – 10 December 1872) was a British philologist, linguist and intrepid orientalist who wrote or compiled numerous works on the languages of Asia and Africa. His best-known works are his uncompleted ''Assyrian Dic ...
edited the plays in 1859.
* Bodleian MSS 28556-28557,
another Oxford manuscript, presented to the Bodleian Library by Edwin Ley of Bosahan about 1859, with a translation by
John Keigwin
John Keigwin (1641–1716) was a Cornish antiquary, born at Mousehole, Cornwall. He was a leading member of a group of antiquaries in west Penwith: this group also included John and Thomas Boson, William Gwavas, Thomas Tonkin, William Borlase, ...
. The copy of the text is older by a century than the translation.
* Peniarth MS 428E,
a copy which was in the library of
Sir John Williams, Bart., of
Llansteffan
Llansteffan, is a village and a community situated on the south coast of Carmarthenshire, Wales, lying on the estuary of the River Tywi, south of Carmarthen.
Description
The community includes Llanybri and is bordered by the communities of: ...
,
Carmarthenshire
Carmarthenshire ( cy, Sir Gaerfyrddin; or informally ') is a county in the south-west of Wales. The three largest towns are Llanelli, Carmarthen and Ammanford. Carmarthen is the county town and administrative centre. The county is known as ...
, with an autograph translation by Keigwin. On the death of Sir John it went to the National Library of Wales as part of his bequests.
See also
*, another play in the Cornish language
*, another play in Cornish (both plays are dramatisations of legends of Cornish saints, i.e. St Meriadoc and St Kea)
*, the common place for an performance
Footnotes
Citations
References
Editions, translations
* (, )
dition and translationvolume 2(, notes)
* Harris, P. P., 'Origo Mundi, First Play of the Cornish Mystery Cycle, The Ordinalia: A New Edition' (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Washington)
dition* ''The Cornish Ordinalia'', trans. by Markham Harris (Washington: Catholic University of America Press, 1969)
ranslation* ''Ordinalia: The Cornish Mystery Play Cycle'', trans. by Alan M. Kent (Francis Boutle Publishers, 2006),
ranslation
Secondary sources
*
* (With additional bibliography.)
* A
Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg (PG) is a Virtual volunteering, volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, as well as to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks."
It was founded in 1971 by American writer Michael S. Hart and is the ...
eBook.
A brief history of the Cornish language.
External links
Origo Mundifrom Wikisource
Passio Christifrom Wikisource
Resurrexio Dominifrom Wikisource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordinalia
14th-century plays
Cornish-language literature
British plays
Christian plays
Theatre in the United Kingdom
Medieval drama
Religious vernacular drama
Literary trilogies
Middle Cornish literature
Pontius Pilate