Play 42, Judgment Day

by: Douglas Sugano (Editor)

from: The N-Town Plays  2007

	[Hic incipit Dies Iudicii, et Ihesu descendent cum Michaele et Gabriele, Archangelis, et Michael dicet, et cetera:1
5    10    15    20    25	MICHAEL Surgite! All men aryse! Venite ad judicium, For now is sett the hygh justyce And hath assygnyd the Day of Dom! Rape yow redyly to this grett assyse, Bothe grett and small, all an sum! And of youre answere yow now avyse What ye shal sey whan that ye cum, Yowre ansuere for to telle. For whan that God shal yow appose, Ther is non helpe of no glose: The trewth ful trewlye, he wyl tose And send yow to hevyn or helle. GABRYELL Bothe pope, prynce, and prysste with crowne, Kynge and caysere and knyhtys kene: Rapely ye renne youre resonys to rowne, For this shal be the day of tene — Nowther pore ne ryche of grett renowne Ne all the develys in helle that bene From this day, yow hyde not mowne, For all your dedys here shal be sene Opynly in syght. Who that is fowndyn in deedly gylte, He were bettyr to ben hylte! In hendeles helle he shal be spylte — His dedys, his deth shal dyght.	Arise! (t-note) Come to judgment Judgment Hasten; readily; trial high and low you now consider when when; interrogate you deceit search out priest; (see note); (t-note) emperor; brave knights Quickly; run; reasons; give tribulation Neither; rich; renown Nor; devils; that are you may not hide deeds; seen found in mortal guilt to be buried endless; destroyed deeds; bring about; (t-note)
	[Omnes resurgentes subtus terram clamauerunt “Haaa! Haaa! Haaa!” Deinde surgentes dicant “Haaa!” et cetera.2
30    35    40    45    50    55    60    65    70    75    80    85    90    95    100    105    110    115    120    125    130	RESURGENTES Haaa! Cleve asundyr ye clowdys of clay! Asundyr ye, breke, and lete us pas! Now may oure songe be “weleaway” That evyr we synnyd in dedly trespas!          [Omnes demones clamant: DEMONES Harrow and owt! What shal we say? Harrow, we crye owt, and alas! Alas! Harrow is this that day To endles peyne that us must pas? Alas! Harrow, and owt we crye!          [Omnes anime resurgentes dicant, et cetera: ANIME RESURGENTES A, mercy Lorde, for oure mysdede, And lett thi mercy sprynge and sprede! But alas, we byden in drede! It is to late to aske mercye! DEUS Venite, benedicti, my bretheryn all! Patris mei, ye childeryn dere! Come hedyr to me to myn hygh hall. All tho myn suterys and servauntys were — All tho fowle wyrmys from yow falle! With my ryght hand I blysse yow here: My blessynge burnyschith yow as bryght as berall. As crystall clene, it clensyth yow clere, All fylth from yow fade. Petyr, to hevyn gatys thu wende and goo, The lokkys thu losyn and hem undo. My blyssyd childeryn, thu brynge me to, Here hertys for to glade. PETRUS The gatys of hevyn I opyn this tyde. Now welcome, dere bretheryn, to hevyn, iwys! Com on and sytt on Goddys ryght side Where myrthe and melody nevyr may mys. OMNES SALVATI On kne we crepe, we gon, we glyde To wurchepp oure Lorde that mercyful is, For thorwe his woundys that be so wyde, He hath brought us to his blys. Holy Lorde, we wurcheppe thee! DEUS Welcome ye be in hevyn to sitt Welcum, fro me shul ye nevyr flitt So sekyr of blys ye shul be yitt. To myrth and joye, welcum ye be! ANIME DAMPNANDUM Ha! Ha! Mercy, mercy we crye and crave! A, mercy, Lorde, for oure mysdede! A, mercy, mercy! We rubbe! We rave! A, help us, good Lord, in this nede! DEUS How wolde ye wrecchis any mercy have? Why aske ye mercy now in this nede? What have ye wrought, youre sowle to save? To whom have ye don any mercyful dede, Mercy for to wynne? DIABOLUS 1 Mercy? Nay! Nay, they shul have wrake And that on here forehed — wyttness I take, For ther is wretyn with letteris blake Opynly all here synne. DEUS To hungry and thrusty that askyd in my name, Mete and drynke wolde ye geve non; Of nakyd men had ye no shame; Ye wold nott vesyte men in no preson; Ye had no peté on seke nor lame: Dede of mercy wold ye nevyr don! Unherborwed men ye servyd the same; To bery the deed pore man wold ye not gon: These dedys doth yow spylle! For youre love was I rent on rode, And for youre sake I shed my blode. Whan I was so mercyfull and so gode, Why have ye wrought agens my wylle? DIABOLUS 2 I fynde here wretyn in thin forheed: Thu wore so stowte and sett in pryde, Thu woldyst not geve a pore man breed, But from thi dore thu woldyst hym chyde. DIABOLUS 3 And in thi face here do I rede That if a thrysty man com any tyde — For thrust thow he shulde be deed — Drynk from hym thu woldyst evyr hyde: On covetyse was all thy thought. DIABOLUS 1 In wratth, thi neybore to bakbyte, Them for to hangere was thi delyte. Thu were evyr redy, them to endyte. On the seke man, rewyst thu nought. DIABOLUS 2 Evyrmor on envye was all thi mende: Thu woldyst nevyr vesyte no presoner; To all thi neyborys, thu were unkende; Thu woldyst nevyr helpe man in daunger. DIABOLUS 3 The synne of slauth thi sowle shal shende: Mass nore mateynes woldyst thu non here; To bery the deed man, thu woldyst not wende. Therfore, thu shalt to endles fere! To slowth thu were ful prest. DIABOLUS 1 Thu haddyst rejoyse in glotonye, In dronkesheppe and in rebawdye; Unherborwyd, with velonye Thu puttyst from here rest. DIABOLUS 2 Sybile Sclutte, thu salte sewe: All youre lyff was leccherous lay; To all youre neyborys, ye wore a shrewe; All youre pleasauns was leccherous play; Goddys men ye lovyd but fewe. Nakyd men and febyl of array Ye wolde nott socowre with a lytel drewe Nott with a thred, the soth to say, Whan they askyd in Godys name. OMNES DAMPNANDI A! Mercy, Lord, mekyl of myght! We aske thi mercy and not thi ryght, Not after oure dede, so us quyth! We have synnyd! We be to blame! DEUS [End of manuscript.]	Split open; clods; (t-note) Sunder yourself; let; pass alas mortal transgressions All the demons cry out (cries of distress); (t-note) pain; we; pass Let all the resurrected souls say, etc. sins remain in dread too late Come, blessed ones To my home here those [who] my followers; (t-note) foul worms bless you burnishes; beryl purifies gates; make your way locks; loosen; undo them; (t-note) Their hearts; gladden now indeed God’s lack go; crawl through; wounds bliss (paradise) from; shall; fly away sure of bliss; shall; yet sins; (t-note) weep; (see note) time of need wretches time of need done win shall; punishment their; I take as evidence; (see note) written; black letters their thirsty; (see note); (t-note) Food; give none For visit; prison pity; sick Deeds; do Homeless; treated bury; dead; do deeds; ruin you torn; the cross blood When; good gone against my will written on your were; stout give; bread read thirsty; anytime Even though [from] thirst neighbor; backbite to anger; delight indict had no pity mind visit neighbors; unkind sloth; destroy matins; not hear bury; dead; go fire By sloth; possessed rejoiced in drunkenness; ribaldry [Those who were] unprotected; villainy deprive them of their filthy sow; (see note) life; given to lechery neighbors; were pleasure God’s poorly clothed; (t-note) help; morsel of food thread; the truth When; God’s great justice requite (t-note) (see note)

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Footnotes

Play 42, JUDGMENT DAY: FOOTNOTES

Here begins the Day of Judgment, and Jesus descends with Michael and Gabriel, Archangels, and Michael will say, etc.

All the resurrected cry out underground: “Haaa! Haaa! Haaa!" Then, the resurrected say, “Haaa!" etc.

Play 42, JUDGMENT DAY: EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: MED: Middle English Dictionary; S: N-Town Play, ed. Spector (1991); s.n.: stage name.

This play, likely the last play in the manuscript (according to the Banns), is incomplete. It is written on paper that matches most of the other parts of the manuscript, but not the paper of the previous play, the Assumption of Mary. This N-Town version does not deviate much from the other English Doomsday plays, those from York Play 47, Chester Play 24, and Towneley Play 30. Each version, based on Matthew 25:31–46, begins with God’s (or the angels’) raising the dead. Then, Jesus proclaims his fitness to judge souls, by virtue of his suffering on the cross. He deems the souls good or evil according to their good works, based upon the corporal acts of mercy. God/Jesus then welcomes the good souls into heaven and leaves the bad souls to be taken away by demons. If this N-Town version parallels the others, then little of the plot is lost: only the condemnation of the bad souls and their capture by the demons is missing. The play ends abruptly, indicating that the last leaves or quire became detached.

This play appears in thirteener stanzas, such as those found in the Banns.

14–15 Compare Castle of Perseverence, lines 3611–12. See Macro Plays, ed. Eccles, p. 110.

68 rubbe. Spector glosses this as “run about" (S 2:536). MED indicates that it could also be “wiping one’s eyes" while crying.

76–78 on here forehed . . . with letteris blake . . . all here synne. See Apocalypse 14:9–11, the proclamation of the third angel, which places the mark of the beast on the foreheads of the damned.

79–86 Spector observes that the other English plays list only six corporal acts of mercy. The seventh, burying the dead, is mentioned only in N-Town (S 2:536).

118 salte sewe. Spector renders this “lecherous sowe" (S 2:536). MED also mentions that “salte" can mean “filthy," a likely reading.

131, s.n. DEUS. The play is incomplete. See introductory note, above.

Play 42, JUDGMENT DAY: TEXTUAL NOTES

Abbreviations: Bl: Ludus Coventriae, ed. Block (1922); Da: Corpus Christi Play, ed. Davies (1972); S: N-Town Play, ed. Spector (1991); s.d.: stage direction; s.n.: stage name.

1–130 MS: written on different paper by main scribe. Fol. 223r blank except for lo me redy with yow to wend (41.517) in another hand. Fol. 223v marked 220.

1, s.n. MICHAEL. MS: written in larger, squarish hand, textura quadrata.

2–7 MS: large play number 42 written in right margin.

14 prysste. MS: sst written over nc.

26, s.d. clamauerunt. So S. MS, Bl, Da: clamauit.

Haaa!Haaa!Haaa! So MS, S. Bl: Ha aa- Ha aa- Ha-aa.

dicant. So S. MS, Bl, Da: dicat.

27, s.n. RESURGENTES. MS: omitted.

31, s.n. DEMONES. MS: omitted.

43 were. MS: be written, but does not fit the rhyme scheme. Both Bl and S correct this.

50 lokkys. MS: kk written over other letter(s).

67 oure. MS: ore oure.

79 ff. MS: as the outside leaf for the entire manuscript for some period of time, it is worn and stained.

123 array. MS: ar above the line.

After 130 MS: play is incomplete. Last folios lost.