PowerPoint Series

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PowerPoint Series Developed by Gloria J. Betcher
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PowerPoint Show 2.1 The York Plays in York
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Some Terms to Know
York Corpus Christi cycle A play made up of a
series of episodes (pageants) covering the
history of the Christian world from Creation to
Doomsday featuring especially the life of
Christ played by members of the craft and
religious guilds of the City of York, on pageant
wagons in procession through the streets of York
on the Feast of Corpus Christi, possibly as early
as 1376.
pageant an episode within a cycle

• trade or religious guilds fraternal
  organizations for members of particular crafts or
  trades (much like our trade unions today) or
  groups formed within parishes each guild was
  responsible for producing one pageant.

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Some Terms to Know (contd)
pageant wagon a mobile stage a wagon upon
which pageants were played pulled through the
streets to playing stations much like our floats
today
stations places along the streets where the
pageant wagons were scheduled to stop and
perform. York had 12-16 stations.
end-on vs. side-on presentation debate over
whether plays were presented with the side or the
end of the wagon facing the audience, i.e., was
the stage deep or broad
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Some Terms to Know (contd)

• The Temptation of Christ while Christ is in the
  desert, Satan tempts him to flaunt his holiness,
  but Christ resists all temptation.

The Harrowing of Hell following the Crucifixion
on Good Friday, Christ descends into Hell before
rising again on Easter Sunday. Christ breaks the
gates of Hell, battles with Satan, and releases
the souls of the pre-Christian faithful, notably
Adam Eve, John the Baptist, and King David.
Hellmouth the vision of hell as a gaping mouth,
consuming sinners, often portrayed as a beast
with sharp teeth
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The York Cycle in the Streets
For the first time since the plays were last
performed by the guilds in the streets of York in
the late 1560s, the York Cycle was performed in
1998 by groups of citizens and some of the
remaining city guilds. Although many of the pa
geants have been performed in modern productions
since the revival of the cycle in 1950, those
performances have been stationary ones, given at
both outdoor and indoor sites around the City of
York, with no guild involvement. Pageants have
not been pulled through the streets by guildsmen
since the last performance of the early modern
period.
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Trinity Prioryfirst station of performance for
the York cycle
route
Image of the City of York with its drama stations
created by Prof. Dennis G. Jerz, UW-Eau Claire,
from John Speed's map of Yorkshire

Each dot indicates a station at which the
pageants were performed. The number of stations
used each year varied.
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Shepherds Shawm players
Sacbut player
Drummer
Before each play begins, audience members are
entertained by a group of minstrels playing
traditional medieval instruments.
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All photos taken in York, UK July 1998 P
hotographers
G. Betcher and D. Biggs
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Presentation Gloria J. Betcher 2001