Play 19, The Massacre of the Innocents

by: Clifford Davidson (Editor)

from: The York Corpus Christi Plays  2011

The Gyrdillers and Naylers
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195 200 205 210 215 220 225 230 235 240 245 250 255 260 265 270 275 280	HEROD   Powre bewcheris aboute, Peyne of lyme and lande, Stente of youre stevenes stoute, And stille as stone ye stande, And my carping recorde. Ye aught to dare and doute, And lere you lowe to lowte To me, youre lovely lord. Ye awe in felde and towne To bowe at my bidding With reverence and renoune, As fallis for swilk a kyng, The lordlyest on lyve Who herto is noght bowne, Be allmighty Mahounde, To dede I schall him dryve. So bolde loke no man be, For to aske helpe ne holde But of Mahounde and me That hase this worlde in welde To mayntayne us emell; For welle of welthe are we, And my cheffe helpe is he; Herto what can ye tell? I CONSOLATOR   Lord, what you likis to do All folke will be full fayne, To take entente therto, And none grucche ther agayne. That full wele witte shall ye, And yf thai wolde noght soo, We shulde sone wirke tham woo. HERODES   Ya, faire sirs, so shulde it bee. II CONSOLATOR   Lorde, the soth to saie, Fulle wele we undirstande, Mahounde is god werraye, And ye ar lorde of ilke a lande. Therfore so have I seell, I rede we wayte allway, What myrthe most mende you may. HERODES   Sertis, ye saie right well. But I am noyed of newe, That blithe may I noght be, For thre kyngis, as ye knowe, That come thurgh this contré, And saide thei sought a swayne. I CONSOLATOR   That rewlle I hope tham rewe, For hadde ther tales ben trewe They hadde comen this waye agayne. II CONSOLATOR   We harde how thei you hight Yf they myght fynde that childe, For to have tolde you right, But certis thei are begilyd. Swilke tales ar noght to trowe, Full wele wotte ilke a wight, Ther schalle nevere man have myght Ne maystrie unto you. I CONSOLATOR   Tham shamys so, for certayne, That they dar mete you no more. HERODES   Wherfore shulde thei be fayne To make swilke fare before, To saie a boy was borne That schulde be moste of mayne? This gadlyng schall agayne Yf that the devyll had sworne. For be well never thei wotte, Whedir thei wirke wele or wrang, To frayne garte them thusgate, To seke that gedlyng gane, And swilke carping to kith. II CONSOLATOR   Nay, lorde, they lered overe latte Youre blisse schal nevere abatte, And therfore, lorde, be blithe. NUNCIUS   Mahounde withouten pere, My lorde, you save, and see. HERODES   Messenger, come nere, And, bewcher, wele thee be. What tydyngis, telles thou, any? NUNCIUS   Ya, lorde, sen I was here, I have sought sidis seere And sene merveyllis full many. HERODES   And of mervayles to move, That wer most myrthe to me. NUNCIUS   Lorde, even as I have seene, The soth sone schall ye see, If ye wille, here in hye. I mette tow townes betwene Thre kyngis with crounes clene, Rydand full ryally. HERODES   A, my blys; boy, thou burdis to brode. NUNCIUS   Sir, ther may no botment be. HERODES   Owe, by sonne and mone, Than tydis us talis tonyght. Hopes thou thei will come sone Hedir, as thei have hight, For to telle me tythande? NUNCIUS   Nay, lorde, that daunce is done. HERODES   Why, whedir are thei gone? NUNCIUS   Ilkone into ther owne lande. HERODES   How sais thou, ladde? Late be. NUNCIUS   I saie, for they are past. HERODES   What, forthe away fro me? NUNCIUS   Ya, lord, in faitht ful faste, For I herde and toke hede How that thei wente, all thre, Into ther awne contré. HERODES   A, dogges, the devell you spede. NUNCIUS   Sir, more of ther menyng Yitt well I undirstode, How thei hadde made offering Unto that frely foode That nowe of newe is borne. Thai saie he schulde be kyng, And welde all erthely thyng. HERODES   Allas, than am I lorne. Fy on thaym, faytours, fy! Wille thei begylle me thus? NUNCIUS   Lorde, by ther prophicy Thei named his name Jesus. HERODES   Fy on thee, ladde, thou lyes. II CONSOLATOR   Hense tyte, but thou thee hye, With doulle her schall thou dye That wreyes hym on this wise. NUNCIUS   Ye wyte me all with wrang, Itt is thus and wele warre. HERODES   Thou lyes! false traytoure strange, Loke nevere thou negh me nere. Uppon liffe and lymme May I that faitour fange, Full high I schall gar hym hange, Both thee, harlott, and hym. NUNCIUS   I am nott worthy to wyte, Bot fareswele, all the heppe. I CONSOLATOR   Go, in the develes dispite, Or I schall gar thee leppe, And dere aby this bro. HERODES   Als for sorowe and sighte, My woo no wighte may wryte. What devell is best to do? II CONSOLATOR   Lorde, amende youre chere, And takis no nedles noy, We schall you lely lere That ladde for to distroye Be counsaille if we cane. HERODES   That may ye noght come nere, For it is past two yere Sen that this bale begane. I CONSOLATOR   Lorde, therfore have no doute Yf it were foure or fyve. Gars gadir in grete rowte Youre knyghtis kene belyve, And biddis tham dynge to dede Alle knave childir kepte in clowte In Bedlem and all aboute, To layte in ilke a stede. II CONSOLATOR   Lorde, save none, for youre seell, That are of two yere age withinne, Than schall that fandeling felle Belyve his blisse schall blynne, With bale when he schall blede. HERODES   Sertis, ye saie right wele And as ye deme ilke dele, Shall I garre do indede. Sir knyghtis, curtayse and hende, Thow ne nott bees nowe all newe, Ye schall fynde me youre frende, And ye this tyme be trewe. I MILES   What saie ye, lorde, lette see. HERODES   To Bedlehem bus ye wende, That schorwe with schame to schende That menes to maistir me. And abowte Bedlehem boght Bus yowe wele spere and spye, For ellis it will be wathe That he losis this Jury. And certis that were grete schame. II MILES   My lorde, that wer us lathe, And he escapid it wer skathe, And we welle worthy blame. I MILES   Full sone he schall be soughte, That make I myne avowe. I CONSOLATOR   I bide for hym yow loghte, And latte me telle yowe howe To werke when ye come there, Bycause ye kenne hym noght, To dede they muste be brought, Knave childre, lesse and more. HERODES   Yaa, all withinne two yere, That none for speche be spared. II MILES   Lord, howe ye us lere Full wele we take rewarde, And certis we schall not rest. I MILES   Comes furth, felowes, in feere, Loo, fondelyngis fynde we here . . . I MULIER   Owte on yow theves, I crye! Ye slee my semely sone. II MILES   Ther browls schall dere abye This bale that is begonne; Therfore lay fro thee faste. II MULIER   Allas, for doule I dye. To save my sone schall I, Aye whils my liff may last. I MILES   A, dame, the devyll thee spede, And me, but itt be quytte. I MULIER   To dye I have no drede, I do thee wele to witte, To save my sone so dere. I MILES   As armes! for nowe is nede, But yf we do yone dede, Ther quenys will quelle us here. II MULIER   Allas, this lothly striffe. No blisse may be my bette, The knyght uppon his knyffe Hath slayne my sone so swette; And I hadde but hym allone. I MULIER   Allas, I lose my liffe; Was nevere so wofull a wyffe Ne halffe so wille of wone. And certis, me were full lotht That thei thus harmeles yede. I MILES   The devell myght spede you bothe, False wicchis, are ye woode? I MULIER   Nay, false lurdayns, ye lye. I MILES   If ye be woode or wrothe, Ye schall noght skape fro skathe; Wende we us hense in hye. I MULIER   Allas, that we wer wroughte In worlde women to be, The barne that wee dere bought Thus in oure sighte to see Disputuously spill. II MULIER   And certis, ther nott is noght, The same that thei have soughte Schall thei nevere come till. I MILES   Go we to the king; Of all this contek kene I schall nott lette for nothyng To saie as we have sene. II MILES   And certis, no more shall I. We have done his bidding; How so they wraste or wryng, We schall saie sothfastly. I MILES   Mahounde, oure god of myght, Save thee, sir Herowde the kyng! I CONSOLATOR   Lorde, take kepe to youre knyght; He wille telle you nowe thydingis Of bordis wher they have bene. HERODES   Yaa, and thei have gone right, And holde that thei us hight; Than shall solace be sene. II MILES   Lorde, as ye demed us to done, In contrees wher we come . . . HERODES   Sir, by sonne and mone, Ye are welcome home And worthy to have rewarde. Have ye geten us this gome? I MILES   Wher we fande felle or fone, Wittenesse we will that ther was none. II MILES   Lorde, they are dede ilkone, What wolde ye we ded more? HERODES   I aske but aftir oone The kyngis tolde of before That schulde make grete maistrie. Telle us if he be tane. I MILES   Lorde, tokenyng hadde we none To knawe that brothell by. II MILES   In bale we have tham brought Aboute all Bedleham towne. HERODES   Ye lye, youre note is nought, The develes of helle you droune! So may that boy be fledde, For in waste have ye wroght. Or that same ladde be sought, Schalle I nevere byde in bedde. I CONSOLATOR   We will wende with you than To dynge that dastard doune. HERODES   As arme, evere ilke man That holdis of Mahounde. Wer they a thousand skore, This bargayne schall thai banne Comes aftir as yhe canne, For we will wende before.	Poor good sirs; (t-note) Pain; limb Stop; shouting loud; (see note) speaking pay attention to fear; worry learn; bow (reverence) ought befits alive obliged death support [our] keeping between us fountain (source) principal glad pay attention complain; against well know soon work them very (true) every well-being advise; watch annoyed; (see note) happy through squire (or knight) action; regret heard; promised trust knows every man over you They are ashamed; (see note) meet glad reveal such matter power base fellow (bastard); (see note) whatever they think work good or ill ask make; in this manner did reveal too late slacken happy Mohammed good sir, well everywhere seen marvels perform soon (i.e., straightaway) between two towns perfect Riding; royally jest too broadly; (see note) remedy; (t-note) (t-note) This indicates tales to us Hither; promised news (i.e., that is over and done) Each one Let gone took notice significance noble child have earthly power over destroyed liars beguile quickly; go misery (dole) here proclaims blame much worse come near limb deceiver catch cause him to hang do not deserve to be blamed crowd (i.e., all of you) malice make; leap dearly pay for; brew (unsavory business) man; write (record) annoyance truly teach are able (see note) Bring together; assembly (i.e., all ready without delay) beat them to death male; swaddling clothes; (see note) (t-note) seek well-being bastard feel (perceive) Quickly; end bleed say judge set out to do worthy Though this matter is all new If (t-note) shrew; destroy intends; overcome ?both; (t-note) inquire and spy a danger; (t-note) causes the loss of loath; (t-note) If; harm pledge bid (request); seize let know eloquence pay heed all together foundlings (bastards); (see note) [line missing, see note] handsome son brats; dearly pay (i.e., let go the child quickly) dole son even; (see note) (i.e., I want you to know) dear To arms queans (harlots); frustrate (destroy) comfort sweet (see note) (i.e., distraught) reluctant unharmed went witches; mad rascals; lie mad; angry; (t-note) escape; harm Go; haste (see note) Controversially killed their business (i.e., labor) is in vain combat sharp hold back speak; seen [the events] twist and wring; (see note); (t-note) tell truthfully pay attention (t-note) amusing stories [about] if they promised judged; to do sun; moon caught; man found many or few dead every one killed one (only) taken tokens (signs) worthless fellow effort is in vain (i.e., you have wasted your time) Ere (t-note) strike; wretch (dullard); (t-note) (t-note) embraces (i.e., 20,000) curse; (t-note) (see note)

Go To Play 20, Christ and the Doctors

Footnotes

Play 19, THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS: EXPLANATORY NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: AV: Authorized (“King James”) Version; Meditations: Meditations on the Life of Christ, trans. Ragusa and Green; MED: Middle English Dictionary; OED: Oxford English Dictionary; RB: Richard Beadle, ed., York Plays; REED: Records of Early English Drama; YA: Davidson and O’Connor, York Art; York Breviary: Breviarium ad usum insignis ecclesie Eboracensis; York Missal: Missale ad usum insignis ecclesiae Eboracensis.

References to the Ordo paginarum are to REED: York, 1:16–27.

The Ordo paginarum of 1415, insofar as the damaged manuscript can be read, mentions Herod, two soldiers with lances, and four weeping mothers, but probably Consolators would have been included. The text in the Register again represents the pageant in c. 1463–77 in which presumably only two mothers have speaking roles, though in regard to speech designations the manuscript here is not reliable. By John Clerke’s time, the text had been revised or, more likely, replaced, for he entered the comment that “This matter . . . agreyth not with the Coucher in no poynt, it begynnyth, ‘Lysten lordes unto my lawe.’” The episode of Herod and the massacre of the children of Bethlehem, deriving ultimately from Matthew 2:16, was commemorated in the liturgy in association with the feast of Holy Innocents (December 28). Iconographic evidence from York, fourteenth-century glass in the Minster, suggests that the soldiers wore armor and that they appeared to impale the infants on their spears.1 Herod witnesses the carnage, and may even participate in it. The York pageant, written in an eight-line stanza with three stresses to the line, was produced by two manufacturing crafts, the Girdlers, makers of belts and similar items, and the Nailers.

3 Stente of youre stevenes stoute. Undoubtedly aimed at members of the audience, who presumably were jeering at Herod, the enemy of Christ and, by association, of all children. Herod is a worshiper of Mahounde, understood as a god, or an idol, directly opposed to the ideals of a Christian community. His evil advisors, identified as Consolators, will encourage him to act out his anger and hostility.

41–45 I am noyed of newe . . . a swayne. Herod is disturbed that the three kings have not returned, as they said they would — to which the Consolator in the following lines suggests that they had been wrong and hence were embarrassed to return to Herod without anything positive to relate.

57 Tham shamys. A dative of agency construction (now archaic) in which the subject is acted upon; i.e., a shame came to them. Compare “methinks.”

63–69 This portion of Herod’s speech is corrupt in the manuscript, though the gist of it is clear.

89 boy, thou burdis to brode. Herod accuses the messenger of jesting; it cannot be that the kings have gone on without fulfilling their promise. But in lines 103–05 the messenger will reveal the truth, which is that Herod is deceived. His response is anger, Herod’s typical temperament being revealed; in iconography, as at Fairford, he is typically seen holding a child whom he is stabbing with a long sword (Wayment, Stained Glass, pp. 79–80, pl. XXXIX). Nevertheless, here he is somewhat less extreme than the Herod of the Coventry Shearmen and Taylors’ play in which “Erode ragis in the pagond and in the strete also” (line 728 s.d.; Coventry Corpus Christi Plays, p. 105).

145 it is past two yere. There seems to be some confusion in the play about the length of time since Jesus was born. Later it seems to be recognized that Jesus was not yet two years of age.

152 knave childir kepte in clowte. The practice was to wrap children up rather tightly in swaddling clothes in lieu of diapers and the freedom given to modern infants; two years in such a condition would not have been unusual.

193 The soldiers have now arrived at Bethlehem. The missing line following line 193 would presumably have been an addition to the first soldier’s speech rather than to that of the outraged mother. In the scene which follows, the infants would have been represented by dolls or puppets since it is of course unimaginable that a real child could have been jerked, pulled, and tossed about as violently as would have been required.

203 And me, but itt be quytte. A stage direction is implied here to indicate that the soldier is returning the mother’s blows. Still, the scene is more subdued than the massacre in the Digby play of the Killing of the Children, nor is there any character like the cowardly and comic Watkin of that drama.

214 And I hadde but hym allone. An echo of Mary’s line in the Flight to Egypt: “And I have but hym allone” (line 146).

226–30 Allas, that we wer wroughte / In worlde women to be . . . spill. The women lament their state; they will see the children whom they have brought into world in the pain of childbirth now literally butchered in their sight.

240 How so they wraste or wryng. Hand gestures, a common sign of grief and despair. See C. Davidson, “Gesture,” pp. 82 and 97.

281 we will wende before. Herod will lead a procession on foot to the next station where the pageant will again be presented.

Play 19, THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: Bevington: David Bevington, ed., Medieval Drama (1975); Köbling: E. Köbling, “Beiträge zur Erklärung und Textkritik der York Plays”; LTS: Lucy Toulmin Smith, ed., The York Plays (1885); RB: Richard Beadle, ed., The York Plays (1972) (incorporating numerous emendations from other sources); RB²: Richard Beadle, “Corrections to The York Plays,” in Gerald Byron Kinneavy, A Concordance to the York Plays (1986), pp. xxxi–xxxii; s.d.: stage direction; Sykes: A. C. Cawley, ed., “The Sykes MS of the York Scriveners’ Play”; Towneley: Martin Stevens and A. C. Cawley, eds., The Towneley Plays.

The base text for this edition is London, British Library, MS. Add. 35290, called the “Register” in the York civic records and here identified by the abbreviation Reg. Some variations in lineation from the manuscript are not noted here; see RB and Beadle and Meredith’s The York Play: A Facsimile. In most cases the line numbering in the present text is consistent with RB. Lineation of alliterative verse throughout is based on Reg, with line numbering adjusted accordingly to account for half lines. Scribes are identified as follows: Scribe A; Scribe B: main scribe; JC: John Clerke; LH: later scribal hand (unidentified).

Top of previous page, in JC’s handwriting: This matter of the gyrdlers agreyth not with the Coucher in no poynt; it begynnyth, Lysten lordes unto my lawe.

1 HEROD. Reg: centered above text, added in JC’s hand.

90 NUNCIUS. So LTS, RB; Reg omit.

91 HERODES. So LTS, RB; Reg omit.

153 and. So LTS, RB; Reg: and and.

167 I MILES. So RB; Reg, LTS: I CONSOLATOR.

171 boght. This edition; Reg, LTS: boght he; RB: bathe.

173 wathe. RB; Reg, LTS: waghe.

176 II MILES. So RB; Reg, LTS: II CONSOLATOR.

193 The following line is missing in Reg.

223 I MILES. So LTS, RB; Reg: II MILES.

240–41 Lines reversed in Reg.

245 thydingis. So Reg (as corrected by ?LH).

274 I CONSOLATOR. So LTS, RB; Reg omit.

275 than. Misplaced in Reg at end of previous line.

276 HERODES. So RB; LTS: II CONSOLATOR; Reg omit.

279 banne. So LTS, RB; Reg: bande.

Play 19, THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS: EXPLANATORY NOTE FOOTNOTE

Footnote 1 YA, pp. 58–60, fig. 16.