''Bewnans Ke'' (''The Life of Saint Ke'') is a

Middle Cornish Cornish (Standard Written Form: or , ) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. Along with Welsh and Breton, Cornish descends from Common Brittonic, a language once spoken widely across Great Britain. For much of ...

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

on the life of Saint Kea or Ke, who was venerated in Cornwall,

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

and elsewhere. It was written around 1500 but survives only in an incomplete manuscript from the second half of the 16th century. The play was entirely unknown until 2000, when it was identified among the private collection of J. E. Caerwyn Williams, which had been donated to the

National Library of Wales The National Library of Wales (, ) in Aberystwyth is the national legal deposit library of Wales and is one of the Welsh Government sponsored bodies. It is the biggest library in Wales, holding over 6.5 million books and periodicals, and the l ...

after his death the previous year. The discovery proved one of the most significant finds in the study of Cornish literature and

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

. ''Bewnans Ke'' is one of only two known Cornish plays based on a saint's life; this and other evidence suggests some relationship with the other such work, '' Beunans Meriasek''. The story has much correspondence with a French text, a translation of a lost medieval Latin

hagiography A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a preacher, priest, founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian ...

of Kea, allowing gaps in the narrative to be tentatively filled. The play is divided into two distinct sections, which may indicate that it was intended for a two-day performance. The first section deals with the deeds and miracles of Kea, including his conflicts with the tyrannical king Teudar. The second is a long

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

episode, describing

King Arthur According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a le ...

's wars with the Romans and with his nephew

Mordred Mordred or Modred ( or ; Welsh: ''Medraut'' or ''Medrawt'') is a major figure in the legend of King Arthur. The earliest known mention of a possibly historical Medraut is in the Welsh chronicle ''Annales Cambriae'', wherein he and Arthur are a ...

; it does not mention Kea in its current form.

History

''Bewnans Ke'' survives in one manuscript, NLW MS 23849D, now held at the

. The play has no title in the text; the National Library gave it its modern name after consulting scholars of Cornish. The manuscript had been in the personal collection of J. E. Caerwyn Williams, chair of Irish at the

University of Wales, Aberystwyth Aberystwyth University () is a public research university in Aberystwyth, Wales. Aberystwyth was a founding member institution of the former federal University of Wales. The university has over 8,000 students studying across three academic facul ...

. After Williams' death in 1999, his widow Gwen Williams donated his papers to the National Library in 2000, and the previously unknown play was identified by Graham Thomas during the cataloguing process.Lloyd-Morgan, pp. 5–6; Koch, p. 203. Thomas publicized his discovery in the '' National Library of Wales Journal'' in 2002, and the manuscript was subsequently repaired and studied.Koch, p. 203
The manuscript was evidently created in the second half of the 16th century by a scribe copying a document dating perhaps to around 1500. Several leaves are missing, including the entire beginning and ending and, in two places, the copyist complains about the poor quality of the original. The

provenance Provenance () is the chronology of the ownership, custody or location of a historical object. The term was originally mostly used in relation to works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including archaeology, p ...

is entirely unknown, but the language is

, akin to that of '' Beunans Meriasek'', the only other surviving Cornish play concerning a saint's life. This and other similarities between the plays suggest that both were composed around the same time and in the same milieu, most probably at Glasney College in Penryn.Koch, p. 204. If this is correct, ''Bewnans Ke'' may have been performed in the still-extant "

Playing Place Playing Place is a village southwest of Truro, Cornwall, England. It is to the east of the A39 road.Ordnance Survey ''One-inch Map of Great Britain; Truro and Falmouth, sheet 190''. 1961 The name derives from Cornish 'Plain-an-gwarry (theatre), p ...

" in the nearby village of that name, where ''Beunans Meriasek'' is known to have been performed. The play clearly relies on traditional material about Kea, which is known to have been circulated in a

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

written as early as the 12th century. This work is lost, but a French translation published in Albert le Grand's ''Lives of the Saints of Brittany'' in 1633 survives. This French ''Life of Kea'' has much correspondence with the Cornish text, and has been used to fill in gaps in the action. ''Bewnans Ke'' was initially thought to represent two plays, as in its incomplete state it appears to consist of two distinct sections: one on the deeds of Kea and the other on the doings of

, in which Kea is not mentioned. However, comparison with the ''Life'' shows that Arthurian material had been added to the saint's story at an early period. This occurs in places that would be missing in the play, leading some scholars to regard it as a single work.

Synopsis

The play consists of two long parts, one concerning the deeds and miracles of Saint Kea, and the other concerning

's conflicts with the Romans and with his nephew

. The Arthurian section is longer, and is largely adapted from some version of the account in

Geoffrey of Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic cleric from Monmouth, Wales, and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle '' The History of ...

's ''

Historia Regum Britanniae (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a fictitious account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the List of legendary kings o ...

''. The lost beginning of the play probably recounted the events of Kea's early life, such as his birth to a noble family, his election as bishop, and his subsequent abdication in favour of life as a

hermit A hermit, also known as an eremite (adjectival form: hermitic or eremitic) or solitary, is a person who lives in seclusion. Eremitism plays a role in a variety of religions. Description In Christianity, the term was originally applied to a Chr ...

. The extant text begins with Kea's resurrection of a deceased shepherd and his departure for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

by either boat or flying

flagstone Flagstone (flag) is a generic flat Rock (geology), stone, sometimes cut in regular rectangular or square shape and usually used for Sidewalk, paving slabs or walkways, patios, flooring, fences and roofing. It may be used for memorials, headstone ...

. In Cornwall, he soon comes into conflict with the king, Teudar (the

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...

Tewdwr Mawr of

Penwith Penwith (; ) is an area of Cornwall, England, located on the peninsula of the same name. It is also the name of a former Non-metropolitan district, local government district, whose council was based in Penzance. The area is named after one ...

and

Cornouaille Cornouaille (; , ) is a historical region on the west coast of Brittany in West France. The name is cognate with Cornwall in neighbouring Great Britain. This can be explained by the settlement of Cornouaille by migrant princes from Cornwall ...

), but is eventually given land near the king's favourite hunting grounds in

Kea The kea ( ; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the Family (biology), family Strigopidae that is endemic to the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green, with br ...

parish. The next section is missing, but context suggests the narrative would have followed the French ''Life'', which has Kea giving refuge to a

stag A deer (: deer) or true deer is a hoofed ruminant ungulate of the family Cervidae (informally the deer family). Cervidae is divided into subfamilies Cervinae (which includes, among others, muntjac, elk (wapiti), red deer, and fallow deer) a ...

being hunted by Teudar. In retaliation Teudar's men take Kea's oxen and then break three of the saint's teeth. The manuscript picks back up as Kea generates a

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

and cures a

leper Leprosy, also known as Hansen's disease (HD), is a long-term infection by the bacteria '' Mycobacterium leprae'' or '' Mycobacterium lepromatosis''. Infection can lead to damage of the nerves, respiratory tract, skin, and eyes. This nerve da ...

who gives him additional land. Stags come from the woods to plough Kea's fields in place of the oxen. Teudar tries to make recompense for the injury he has caused Kea, and offers him any land he can empark before Teudar gets out of a bath. With Owbra's aid Kea makes a concoction that causes Teudar to get stuck in the bath, allowing him to take much of Teudar's land. The rest of the first section is missing, but probably dealt with Kea's return to Cléder in

. The second section begins as King Arthur receives a long list of nobles at his court, including names familiar from

such as Duke Cador, Augelus of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Bedivere Bedivere ( or ; ; ; , also Bedevere and other spellings) is one of the earliest characters to be featured in the legend of King Arthur, originally described in several Welsh texts as the one-handed great warrior named Bedwyr Bedrydant. Arthurian ...

, a different Ke (

Sir Kay In Arthurian legend, Kay (, Middle Welsh ''Kei'' or ''Cei''; ; French: ''Keu''; Old French: ''Kès'' or ''Kex'') is King Arthur's foster brother and later seneschal, as well as one of the first Knights of the Round Table. In later literature h ...

, and

Gawain Gawain ( ), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Matter of Britain, Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and one of the premier Knights of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned und ...

. The scene jumps to Rome, where Emperor

Lucius Lucius is a masculine given name derived from Lucius (Latin ; ), abbreviated L., one of the small group of common Latin forenames () found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius probably derives from Latin word ( gen. ), meaning "light" (<

has heard that Arthur refuses to recognize him. He sends twelve emissaries to exact tribute from Arthur. A gap occurs just after the emissaries arrive in Britain and greet the king. In the next extant section, Arthur refuses to pay tribute and sends the legates back to Lucius empty-handed. Lucius confers with his advisors, and decides to raise his forces against Arthur. Leaving his nephew Mordred in charge, Arthur says his goodbyes to

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; ; , ), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First mentioned in literature in the early 12th cen ...

and then departs for France to meet Lucius. The two armies battle, and Arthur defeats and kills Lucius, and sends his severed head back to Rome. Meanwhile, Mordred and Guinevere conspire to usurp the throne, and Mordred is crowned king in Arthur's place. Arthur hears of this treachery and assembles his counsellors, while Mordred allies with the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Cheldric. Arthur returns to Britain, and the two armies clash. The text breaks off during a scene with Guinevere in the castle; the end is missing. If it followed the ''Life'', Kea would have re-entered the picture. In the ''Life'', Kea is summoned to mediate between Arthur and Mordred, but he comes to realize that the endeavour is futile. He heads back to Brittany, stopping in

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

where he castigates Guinevere. The remorseful queen enters a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. Kea returns to Cléder, where he eventually dies peacefully.

Analysis and significance

Scholars have pointed out a number of similarities with '' Beunans Meriasek''. The two are comparable in subject matter: they are the only known vernacular plays on saints' hagiographies to have been produced in Britain.Koch, p. 205. The language in both works is similar and dates to the same era, leading to the conclusion that they originate around the same time and place. Both plays include the court at Goodern of the tyrannical king Teudar, who may be intended as a parody of King Henry VII after his crushing of the Cornish Rebellion of 1497. As such, it is thought that ''Bewnans Ke'', like ''Beunans Meriasek'', was written at Glasney College at the beginning of the 16th century. It is possible that the surviving manuscripts of the two plays were brought to Wales together. The substantial length and distinct nature of the two sections may imply that the play was intended for performance over the course of two days, as was the case with ''Beunans Meriasek''. ''Beunans Meriasek'' contains diagrams at the end of each section indicating the completion of a day's performance; these occur in places that would be missing in the ''Bewnans Ke'' manuscript. John T. Koch finds the first section to be more dramatic and effective, calling the second section "stolid", though he notes its importance to Arthurian studies. On top of Cornish, the text is peppered with lines and words in English, Latin, and

Anglo-Norman French Anglo-Norman (; ), also known as Anglo-Norman French, was a dialect of Old Norman that was used in England and, to a lesser extent, other places in Great Britain and Ireland during the Anglo-Norman period. Origin The term "Anglo-Norman" har ...

, particularly in the second section. The

stage direction In theatre, blocking is the precise staging of actors to facilitate the performance of a play, ballet, film or opera. Historically, the expectations of staging/blocking have changed substantially over time in Western theater. Prior to the movem ...

s are mostly in Latin, but some are in Cornish and English, though the latter may have been added later. The discovery of the play was the first addition to the corpus of historical Cornish literature since John Tregear's ''Homilies'' were found in 1949. It is also of vast importance to the study of the Cornish language, as it provides valuable evidence of the state of Cornish in the

Tudor period In England and Wales, the Tudor period occurred between 1485 and 1603, including the Elizabethan era during the reign of Elizabeth I (1558–1603). The Tudor period coincides with the dynasty of the House of Tudor in England, which began with ...

, which was transitional between Middle and Late Cornish. Many words in the play are not attested in any other sources. The Cornish stage directions, though relatively few, contain some of the oldest known Cornish prose.

Publication

A scholarly edition of the play was published in March 2007 by the

University of Exeter Press University of Exeter Press (UEP) is the academic press of the University of Exeter, England. In 2013, Liverpool University Press Liverpool University Press (LUP), founded in 1899, is the third oldest university press in England after Oxfor ...

in affiliation with the National Library of Wales; it was edited by Graham Thomas and Nicholas Williams. The National Library also created a digital copy of the manuscript which was released on the Library's web page in 2006. Prior to publication, study of the play was aided by a summary of the text by O. J. Padel, and a tentative translation by Michael Polkinhorn. These were released on the web and removed when the Thomas and Williams edition was published. Prior to this, in 2006 Kesva an Taves Kernewek (The Cornish Language Board) published an edition of the play edited by Ken George, entitled ''Bywnans Ke''; this caused some friction with the National Library.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{Culture of Cornwall 1500s plays Arthurian literature Arthurian theatre Christian hagiography English plays Middle Cornish literature Medieval drama Plays set in the 5th century Plays set in the 6th century Plays set in ancient Rome Plays set in England Plays set in France