Play 39, Ascension; Selection of Matthias

by: Douglas Sugano (Editor)

from: The N-Town Plays  2007

	[Hic incipit Ascencio Domini nostri cum Maria et undecim discipulis et duobus angelis sedentibus in albis; et Jesus dicit discipulis suis et cetera:1
5    10    15    20    25    30    35    40    45	JHESUS Pax vobis! Amonge yow, pes Bothe love and reste and charyté — Amonge all vertues, lete it not ses, For amonge all vertues prynspal his he. Ye be to blame, I may wel preve, For I wyl use to yow wordys pleyn — That ye be so hard of herte to beleve That from deth to lyve I am resyn ageyn. Notwithstondynge, as ye knowe, serteyn, To yow eighte sythys aperyd have I, Be soundry tymes, the trewth to seyn And this is the ninte tyme, sothly, Evyn and no mo. But now, sum mete Anon doth gete, For I wyl ete With yow and goo. My dyscyplis here what I sey, And to my wourdys gevyth attencyon. From Jerusalem loke ye go nott awey, But mekely abydyth my Fadyres promiscyon, Off whiche, be my mowth, ye have had informacyon Whyll bodyly with yow I was dwellynge. For Johan, sothly, for mannys salvacyon Onlye in watyr was me baptysynge, But I yow behete Withinne few days that ye In the Holy Goost shul baptyzid be. Therfore, rysyth up and folwyht me Onto the Mownte of Olyvete. JACOBUS MAJOR O Lord, vowchesaff us for to telle If thu wylt now, withowte more delay, Restoryn the kyngdam of Israell And geve us the joye, Lord, that lestyth ay. JHESUS Serys, the tymes and the monthis knowe ye ne may Whiche my Fadyr hath put in his owyn power, But ye shul take within short day Of the Holy Goost the vertu cler, Thorwe whiche shul ye In Jerusalem and in Jury, And moreovyr also in Samary, And to the worldys ende uttyrly, My wyttnes only be. Lovyth no wrath nor no wronge, But levyth in charyté with mylde stevyn. With myrthe and melody and aungell songe, Now I stey streyte from yow to hevyn.	Peace unto you; peace; (see note); (t-note) cease; (t-note) it is the utmost prove heart life certain times appeared; (see note); (t-note) By; to say ninth; truly; (t-note) exactly; more food Now get hear await; Father’s promise by While John [the Baptist], truly; man’s vow to you (t-note) follow; (see note) agree to tell us give; lasts forever Sirs; months; not; (see note) (t-note) sheer virtue Jewry Samaria world’s witness speech angels’ ascend straight
	[Hic ascendit ab oculis eorum et in celo cantent et cetera.2; (see note)
50    55    60    65    70    75    80	ANGELUS Returnyth ageyn to youre loggynge, To Jerusalem, for he wyl thus His promys mekely ther abydynge. For dowteles, this forseyd Jhesus, Whiche from yow is take In a clowde, as ye hym seyn, — Steyng up — so shal comyn ageyn! Of al mankynde, this is serteyn, Jugement shal he make. PETRUS O ye bretheryn, attendyth to me And takyth good hede what I shal seyn: It behovyth the Scripture fulfyllyd to be That of Davyd was seyd with wourdys pleyn, Of Judas whiche was the gyde, serteyn, Of hem that Cryst slow cruelly; Which aftyr from deth ros up ageyn, And hath abedyn in erthe ful days fourty. And aftyr all this Before oure eye In a bryght skye, He ded up stye To hevyn blys. This seyd Judas was amongys us Noumbryd apostyll and had lych dygnyté, But whan he betrayd oure Lord Jhesus, He hynge hymself upon a tre; In whos sted muste nedys ordeyned be Another, oure noumbre for to restore, On of tho whiche as well knowe we, Han be conversaunt here longe before In oure company — Whiche shall wyttnes Berun expresse To more and lesse Of Crystys resurrexion stedfastly.	lodging; (see note) promise; awaiting doubtless; aforesaid taken; (t-note) have seen him Ascending certain; (t-note) (t-note) say (see note) said guide those who slew Christ stayed on earth (t-note) did ascend heaven’s bliss aforesaid; among; (see note) Called; the same office when hanged stead; we must appoint One; those; (t-note) Has been with us (t-note) Bear expressly (i.e., To everyone) Christ’s
	[Hic statuent duos Joseph Justum et Mathiam, et cetera.3; (t-note)
85    90	O, sovereyn Lorde, whiche of every man The hertys dost knowe most inwardly: With all the lowlyness we may or kan, To thee we prey ful benygnely That thu vowchesaff thorwe thi mercy, Us — hym to shewe — whiche in this cas Thu lykyst to chesyn effectuously To ocapye the lott of Judas plas.	hearts obediently deign through Show us him to choose truly occupy; position of Judas’ place
	[Hic dabunt sortes et cadet super Mathiam, et cetera.4
95	Now, gramercy, Lord! And to fulfylle Thin holy wylle As it is skylle, We all accorde.	many thanks (t-note) Your right agree(t-note)

Go To Play 40, Pentecost

Footnotes

Play 39, ASCENSION; SELECTION OF MATTHIAS: FOOTNOTES

1 Here begins the Ascension of our Lord with Maria and eleven disciples and two angels in albs seated; and Jesus says to his disciples, etc.

2 Here, he ascends from their sight, and in heaven they sing, etc.

3 Here stand both Joseph Justum and Mathias, etc.

4 Here they cast lots and it will fall on Matthias, etc.

Play 39, ASCENSION; SELECTION OF MATTHIAS: EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: S: N-Town Play, ed. Spector (1991); s.d.: stage direction.

The N-Town Ascension (called pageant 38 in the Banns, but numbered 39 in the manu­script), is the briefest (95 lines) of all the extant English versions (Towneley Play 29, York Play 42, and Chester Play 20). These Ascension plays are two to four times longer than N-Town’s, but all of the English versions are based on the accounts in Mark 16:14–19 and Acts 1:2–11. What sets N-Town apart is its inclusion of the appointment of Matthias, the apostle who replaces Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:15–26). It may also be worth noting that there is a record of a Weavers’ pageant of the Ascension in Bury St. Edmunds (possibly near the scribal home of the N-Town manuscript), c. 1477, close to the 1468 date found in the N-Town manuscript. (Macray, "Manuscripts of the Corporation of Bury St. Edmunds," pp. 133–38, cited as Suffolk R.O. B9/1/2 in Records of Plays and Players in Norfolk and Suffolk, ed. Wasson and Galloway, p. 148.)

This play is written in thirteeners, with an opening quatrain.

1–4 Compare Gower’s In Praise of Peace, lines 78–91 and 379–85.

10 eighte sythys. Spector claims that Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend and the Stan­zaic Life of Christ list eight scriptural appearances (S 2:526), but in actuality, the Golden Legend enumerates ten (trans. Ryan, 1:219). Either the playwright has miscounted the appearances in the sources or in the play manuscript. It is also possible that plays with appearances were added to the manuscript after this play was written or included in the manuscript.

29–30 Spector notes that in Luke 24:50, Christ leads the disciples to Bethany (S 2:526).

35–43 The Great Commission. Compare Matthew 28:18–20, Mark 16:15, and Luke 24:47–49.

47, s.d. The song is unspecified, but there are a number of possibilities for Ascension Day. Woolf notes that the antiphon, "Ascendo ad patrem meum," is used in other play cycles (English Mystery Plays, p. 284). See also Dutka, Index of Songs, p. 20, and S 2:526.

48–56 The angel’s speech seems to relate to the unspecified music announced in the previous stage direction. See Rastall (Minstrels Playing, p. 113) for various litur­gical pieces that the passage seems to paraphrase.

59–62 Spector cites Acts 1:20, Vulgate Psalms 68:25 and 108:8 (see S 2:526).

70–73 Compare 30.32, s.d.; Acts 1:18–19; and Matthew 27:5.

Play 39, ASCENSION; SELECTION OF MATTHIAS: TEXTUAL NOTES

Abbreviations: Bl: Ludus Coventriae, ed. Block (1922); S: N-Town Play, ed. Spector (1991); s.d.: stage direction; s.n.: stage name.

1 Pax vobis. MS: written in textura quadrata.

3–9 MS: large play number 39 written in right margin.

10 eighte. MS: viij.

12 ninte. MS: ix.

After 27 MS: capital W written at the bottom of fol. 210r in another hand.

37 short. MS: t canceled and written above.

After 52 MS: hic ascendit ab oculys and Joh written by another hand at the bottom of fol. 210v.

55 MS: large space after 55.

57, s.n. Petrus. So S. MS, Bl: omitted.

66–69 MS: three lines written as one, divided by punctuation.

76 well. MS: weel.

79–82 MS: two lines written as one, divided by punctuation.

82, s.d. Justum. MS: Justus.

92–95 MS: two lines written as one, divided by punctuation.

After 95 MS: remainder of fol. 211v blank except for modo de die and hic dabunt so in another hand.