This article examines the nature of secular medieval drama in England. It explains that the medieval Mystery Cycles, with their vibrant presentation of scriptural narrative, dominate discussion of medieval drama. The presentation of ecclesiastical power in the cycles is strategically anachronistic and aligned with the oppressive power of biblical tyrants such as Herod. This article also comments on Henry Medwall's Fulgens and Lucres.
This article introduces the nonmedievalist reader to the multilingual landscape of England 700-1400. Building on recent work exploring in particular the relationships among English, French, and Latin in medieval England, it discusses a series of "multilingual moments" from a range of sources, including letters, poems, travel writings, and French language teaching texts. Together, these examples build a picture of the complex interrelationships of languages, both spoken and written, that existed for medieval English people at home and when traveling abroad. Then, as now, people can be seen using their linguistic resources for pragmatic and creative effect. We demonstrate that multilingualism is nothing new. From a methodological perspective, our work also underlines the importance of viewing linguistic attitudes in their particular intellectual and historical contexts.
This article discusses a pilot research project by EDOX (Early Drama at Oxford) featuring John Bale's allegorical play Three Laws (1538-9): the project included research into the historical circumstances surrounding the play's writing and early stagings, a live contemporary production, and a documentary film. Bale's play is wordy, theologically dense, and formulaic in structure: it proved also to be full of dramatic potential. This article explores Bale's engagement with drama as a vehicle for theological teaching. It also narrates the challenges and opportunities Bale's script presented to the EDOX team for bringing the past and present into productive relation. The Oxford setting of both live performance and film encouraged engagement with the city's Reformation history through the work of a lesser-known voice in English theatre: a not-Shakespearean commentary on sixteenth-century English religion and politics which continues to resonate today.
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