The Chester Mystery Cycle: Essays and Documents

by Robert M. Lumiansky, David Mills, Richard Rastall

This comprehensive and original philological study of the Chester cycle of biblical plays performed in the Middle Ages and Renaissance significantly modifies traditional views. The authors' four essays address the textual relationships, sources and influences, music, and development of the cycle. Also included are all known surviving external documents: edited and glossed transcripts, a new edition of the Chester banns," an annotated list of music cues, and a survey of stanza forms."

Originally published in 1983.

A UNC Press Enduring Edition -- UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

Reviews

[Lukerik · Rating 2 out of 5]

This the book of things that had to be cut from the authors’ edition of the cycle for reasons of length. Its target audience is scholars and people who are staging the cycle – anyone really who needs to make difficult decisions about it. It is exceedingly technical. Some pages look like they were written in Algol. Here is a representative line:

aaa4b3ccc4b3 [28] 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, *17, *18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 30, 31.

If, like me, you’re reading the Cycle and are looking for something to make accessible a rather inaccessible text I think I might recommend The Cambridge Companion to Medieval English Theatre, particularly Meg Twycross’s essay.

But all is not lost. The essay on music in the cycle is illuminating and mostly readable by a non-specialist. It also has the Banns, which were something that really was lacking from the edition itself.