Play 21, The Baptism of Christ

by: Clifford Davidson (Editor)

from: The York Corpus Christi Plays  2011

The Barbours
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	JOHANNES   Almyghty God and Lord verray, Full woundyrfull is mannys lesyng, For yf I preche tham day be day And telle tham, Lorde, of thy comyng, That all has wrought, Men are so dull that my preching Serves of noght. When I have, Lord, in the name of thee Baptiste the folke in watir clere, Than have I saide that aftir me Shall he come that has more powere Than I to taste; He schall giffe baptyme more entire In fire and gaste. Thus am I comen in message right And be forereyner in certayne, In wittnesse bering of that light The wiche schall light in ilka a man That is comand Into this worlde, nowe whoso can May undirstande. Thez folke had farly of my fare And what I was full faste thei spied. They askid yf I a prophette ware, And I saide nay, but sone I wreyede; High aperte I said I was a voyce that cryede Here in deserte. Loke thou make thee redy, ay saide I, Unto oure Lord God most of myght, That is that thou be clene haly In worde, in werke, ay redy dight Agayns oure Lord, With parfite liffe that ilke a wight Be well restored. For if we be clene in levyng, Oure bodis are Goddis tempyll than In the whilke he will make his dwellyng; Therfore be clene, bothe wiffe and man. This is my reed. God will make in yowe haly than His wonnyng steed. And if ye sette all youre delyte In luste and lykyng of this liff, Than will he turne fro yow als tyte Bycause of synne, boyth of man and wiffe, And fro you flee, For with whome that synne is riffe Will God noght be. I ANGELUS   Thou, John, take tente what I schall saye. I brynge thee tythandis wondir gode: My Lorde Jesus schall come thys day Fro Galylee unto this flode Ye Jourdane call, Baptyme to take myldely with mode This day he schall. John, of his sande therfore be gladde And thanke hym hartely, both lowde and still. JOHANNES   I thanke hym evere, but I am radde I am noght abill to fullfill This dede certayne. II ANGELUS   John, thee aught with harte and will To be full bayne To do his bidding, all bydene; Bot in his baptyme, John, take tente, The hevenes schalle be oppen sene. The Holy Gost schalle doune be sente To se in sight, The Fadirs voyce with grete talent Be herde full right, That schall saie thus to hym forthy . . . JOHANNES   With wordes fewne I will be subgett nyght and day As me well awe To serve my Lord Jesus to paye In dede and sawe. Bot wele I wote, baptyme is tane To wasshe and clense man of synne, And wele I wotte that synne is none In hym, withoute ne withinne. What nedis hym than For to be baptiste more or myne Als synfull man? . . . JESUS   John, kynde of man is freele To the whilke that I have me knytte, But I shall shewe thee skyllis twa That thou schallt knawe by kyndly witte The cause why I have ordand swa, And ane is this: Mankynde may noght unbaptymde go Te endless blys. And sithen myselffe have taken mankynde For men schall me ther myrroure make And have my doyng in ther mynde, And also I do the baptyme take. I will forthy Myselfe be baptiste for ther sake Full oppynly. Anodir skill I schall thee tell: My will is this, that fro this day The vertue of my baptyme dwelle In baptyme watir evere and ay, Mankynde to taste, Thurgh my grace therto to take alway The Haly Gaste. JOHANNES   All myghtfull Lorde, grete is thi grace; I thanke thee of thi grete fordede. JESUS    Cum, baptise me, John, in this place. JOHANNES   Lorde, save thy grace that I forbede That itt soo be, For Lorde, methynketh it wer more nede Thou baptised me. That place that I yarne moste of all, Fro thens come thou, Lorde, as I gesse, How schulde I than, that is a thrall, Giffe thee baptyme, that rightwis is And has ben evere? For thow arte roote of rightwissenesse That forfette nevere. What riche man gose from dore to dore To begge at hym that has right noght? Lorde, thou arte riche and I am full poure, Thou may blisse all, sen thou all wrought. Fro heven come all That helpes in erthe, yf soth be sought, Fro erthe but small. JESUS   Thou sais full wele, John, certaynly, But suffre nowe for hevenly mede That rightwisnesse be noght oonlye Fullfillid in worde, but also in dede Thrughe baptyme clere. Cum, baptise me in my manhed Appertly here. Fyrst schall I take, sen schall I preche, For so behovis mankynde fulfille All rightwissenesse, als werray leche. JOHANNES   Lord, I am redy at thi will, And will be ay Thy subgett, Lord, both lowde and still, In that I may. A, Lorde, I trymble ther I stande, So am I arow to do that dede, But save me, Lord, that all ordand, For thee to touche have I grete drede For doyngs dark. Now helpe me, Lorde, thurgh thi Godhede To do this werk. Jesus, my Lord of myghtis most, I baptise thee here in the name Of the Fadir and of the Sone and Holy Gost. But in this dede, Lorde, right no blame This day by me, And bryngis all thase to thy home That trowes in thee.	true; (t-note) dishonesty (see note) Then feel (show forth) complete spirit correct forerunner bearing coming wonder; matter quickly were revealed openly (see note) wholly pure prepared perfect life living bodies which advice wholly then dwelling place life quickly endemic; (t-note) (t-note)    pay attention to; (see note); (t-note) tidings wondrously good (t-note) Galilee; stream (river) Jordan humbly message afraid; (t-note) willing forthwith But seen (displayed) To be seen great passion [lacuna, see textual note] few subject ought satisfy word taken I know well [lacuna, see textual note] nature; frail; (see note); (t-note) joined two reasons human intelligence ordered so; (t-note) one To man’s nature example (t-note) Another reason (see note); (t-note) experience receive; (t-note) Holy Spirit preparation; (t-note) forbid necessary yearn (t-note) are in subjection righteous righteousness sinned never (see note) from him; absolutely nothing bless truth little reward deed (t-note) manhood Openly thereafter must as true healer always subject tremble where; (t-note) afraid ordained dread (see note) apportion these
	Tunc cantabunt duo angeli Veni creator spiritus.1; (see note); (t-note)
155 160 165 170 175	JESUS   John, for mannys prophete, wit thou wele, Take I this baptyme, certaynely; The dragons poure ilk a dele Thurgh my baptyme distroyed have I, This is certayne, And saved mankynde, saule and body, Fro endles payne. What man that trowis and baptised be Schall saved be and come to blisse. Whoso trowes noght, to payne endles He schal be dampned sone, trowe wele this. But wende we nowe Wher most is nede the folke to wisse, Both I and you. JOHANNES   I love thee, Lorde, as sovereyne leche That come to salve men of thare sore; As thou comaundis I schall gar preche And lere to every man that lare That are was thrall. Now, sirs, that barne that Marie bare, Be with you all.	power in every way; (see note) (see note) damned soon, trust well go teach healer (savior) heal; their misery (i.e., so shall I go to preach) teach; lore before child; bore (t-note)

Play 22, The Temptation In The Wilderness

Footnotes

Play 21, THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST: FOOTNOTE

1 Then two angels will sing “Come Holy Spirit”

Play 21, THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST: 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 lesson from Matthew 3:13–17 recounting the Baptism of Christ was read in the York rite at Mass on the first Sunday after the Octave of Epiphany1 — that is, one week prior to the reading of the lesson from Luke which tells the story of Christ in the Temple which formed the subject matter of the previous pageant. Further elaboration crucial to the play is found in the other gospels, especially John 1:29–34. The Baptism and John the Baptist, the saint who effected it, were popular in York. The Minster’s fabric rolls reveal that it had several relics, and the saint was frequently depicted in ecclesiastical art in the city. Enough remains so that it is possible to determine how St. John was expected to appear.2 In glass such as a panel of c. 1470 in the church of Holy Trinity Goodramgate, he is shown as he would have appeared in the desert: he wears a camel skin with head attached, with a cloak over it, and holds a roundel before him with the symbolic Agnus Dei.3 Because the Barbers were involved in the healing arts, their sponsorship of the Baptism play, depicting the institution of a Sacrament designed to heal the spiritual defects of humankind, seems appropriate. The York playtext, representing its status at or near the end of the third decade of the fifteenth century, would probably be rewritten during the time John Clerke came to supervise the production of the cycle, as his notations in the manuscript seem to imply. The verse is in seven-line stanzas.

3–4 yf I preche . . . of thy comyng. John was famous as a preacher and recognized by the Christian community as a prophet; see the Baptist’s words in John 1:23: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Isaias.” These words are quoted in lines 27–28 of the pageant. Modern scholarship regarding John the Baptist has cast new light on his activities and on the prevalence of ritual washing in first-century Palestine, and the question remains whether the secretive Mandaean religious minority that survived in Iraq until modern times may be traced to the cult of John the Baptist.

29–49 As King notes, John’s speech here tends increasingly “to vanquish historical verisimilitude” and to rely on manuals of instruction such as the Lay Folks’ Catechism (York Mystery Cycle, p. 172). The necessity of baptism for salvation is indicated.

50–71 John is told what he already in part knows, but now he is provided with specifics by the two angels. The description of the descent of the Holy Spirit along with the sound of the loud and passionate voice of the Father may be regarded as a stage direction for what is to happen at lines 149–54: a dove will descend and the voice of the Father will proclaim, perhaps in Latin, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17; compare Love, Mirror, p. 67), omitted from the extant text of the play. The voice of the Father probably was heard without his actual presence as represented by a visible actor.

84–105 Jesus continues to explain baptism as an example (myrroure) for all men (i.e., all people) that is necessary for entering “endless blys.”

101–05 The vertue of my baptyme dwelle / In baptyme watir evere and ay . . . Haly Gaste. Water used for baptism was considered holy even though the lengthy Continental rite of consecration was not present in English rites. Christian baptism was regarded as efficacious for the washing away of original sin and as a seal to signify being “Christ’s own forever.” For a brief description of the English rite, see Dudley, “Sacramental Liturgies,” pp. 219–27.

120–21 What riche man gose from dore to dore / To begge at hym that has right noght? Proverbial, and here expressing John’s reluctance to baptize Jesus. John will tremble with fear at what he has been asked to do (see lines 141–42). Woolf speaks of the “feeling of devout unwillingness” (English Mystery Plays, p. 219).

149–50 I baptise thee here in the name / Of the Fadir and of the Sone and Holy Gost. The Trinitarian formula required in baptism, following the York Manual. Jesus would appear to be standing in the river Jordan, but there is no reason to believe that he would be nude, as in representations in glass at Holy Trinity Goodramgate or St. John Ousebridge, the latter now inserted in a window in the Minster (YA, pp. 66–67, fig. 17). Blue cloth might have been used to represent the water rising up to Jesus’ waist, and the posture of standing as if in the water would have been retained surely. Water probably would have been poured over his head from a shell by John. The anointing with oil and chrism which appear in the Towneley play are missing here.

154 s.d. Tunc cantabunt duo angeli Veni creator spiritus. Hymn for Whitsunday; see York Breviary, 1:503; translated by Dutka in Music, pp. 119–20. For York music, see Hymni, fols. 32v–35r; compare Liber usualis, pp. 885–86, for the usual musical setting, which may differ slightly from that used in the English rites. Rastall suggests that professional singing men may have been hired to sing, but the music, especially if abbreviated to the first stanza, would have been within the reach of amateurs, either from the Barbers’ own guild or another (Heaven Singing, pp. 331–32). It is a devotional moment.

157 The dragons poure. Compare Psalm 73:13 (AV 74:13): “thou didst crush the heads of the dragons in the waters.” As King observes, this passage was adapted in an antiphon for the Epiphany season (York Mystery Cycle, p. 43, citing York Breviary, 1:193).The power of the dragon has now suffered defeat through the means of the baptism of Christ since he is sinless prior to the act. Yet that defeat may not be immediately obvious, and much more will be required of Jesus — that is, his death on the cross. The Baptism may be regarded as part of the elaborate trick that God is playing on Satan through hiding Jesus under the cover of his humanity.

162–68 Jesus reminds the audience that trusting and believing in him are necessary along with the ritual of baptism in order to “come to blisse.” On the other hand, those who fail “schal be dampned.”

Play 21, THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST: 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).

1 Reg: at right, in LH: De novo facto.

48 with. So RB; Reg: wth; LTS: w[i]th.

49 Reg: mark X at left; below, at bottom of page, in JC’s hand: Her wantes a pece newely mayd for saynt John Baptiste.

50 I ANGELUS. So RB; Reg, LTS: ANGELUS.

52–53 thys day. Thus entered at beginning of line 53, canceled, moved to end of line 52 and emended to thys. A later hand was responsible to adding day after thys.

59 JOHANNES. Omitted by Scribe B in Reg; Joseph later designated, corrected by ?JC.

71 Lacuna noted, as indicated by marginal note at right of line by LH in Reg: Hic caret.

83 Reg: later scribe wrote Her wants a pece newely mayd for saynt John Baptiste.

84 In right margin in Reg, probably referring to lacuna in text: De novo facto.

88 The. So RB; Reg, LTS: By.

94 And. So RB; Reg, LTS: I.

101 vertue. Reg originally read wittnesse (deleted); vertue interlined by LH.

104 alway. So RB; in Reg, misplaced at beginning of next line.

107 At right, hic caret (deleted) in Reg.

114 Lorde. So LTS, RB; Reg: Lorede.

131 Thrughe baptyme clere. In red at right by Scribe B in Reg.

141–44 Lines not in correct order in Reg, and lines 141 and 143 entered twice; correct order indicated by letters a to d at left in Reg in red.

154, s.d. cantabunt duo angeli . . . spiritus. Stage direction, in red by Scribe B in Reg.

175, s.d. In JC’s hand in Reg, hic caret finem; below, in same handwriting: This matter is newly mayd and devysed wherof we have no coppy regystred.

Play 21, THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST: EXPLANATORY NOTE FOOTNOTES

Footnote 1 York Missal, 1:34.

Footnote 2 YA, pp. 61–67 and 184.

Footnote 3 Inventory of the Historical Monuments, vol. 5, pl. 57; Knowles, “East Window of Holy Trinity.” For a survey of the iconography in relation to the York play, see C. Davidson, From Creation to Doom, pp. 80–85; and for England generally, Rushforth, Medieval Christian Imagery, pp. 89–92, and Nichols, Seeable Signs, esp. pp. 193–206.