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English Mystery Plays The English Mystery Play developed from the 13th century as a means for the Christian church to put over the stories of the bible to an almost entirely illiterate congregation. They began as playlets performed by the priest in the church. Then, as they became more established the local trade guilds began to sponsor performances of a particular story such as shipwrights sponsoring the story of Noah and the flood. Eventually the guilds took over the performance of these plays moving them out of the church and onto the streets as part of the grate Corpus Christi celebrations. The Guilds described themselves as Mystery Guilds as they protected the mysteries of their craft and to the plays became known as “Mystery Plays.” Full cycles were written in virtually every city of England (I don’t know about Scotland and Wales) and although many fragment of the play cycles exists only four full cycles have come down to us. These are from York, Chester, Wakefield and somewhere in the East Midlands which is often attributed to Coventry. The reformation put pay to the Mystery Plays and English theatre went off in a very secular direction propelled by the likes of Marlow and Shakespeare. Mystery Cycles are still being written and performed. One of the best modern renditions is by Tony Harrison and well worth a read.    People have been talking about this Guide Entry. Here are the most recent Conversations: Can I adopt this article? (Last Posting: Nov 30, 2008) Peer Review: A1031707 - English Mystery Plays (Last Posting: Oct 24, 2003) Click here to see more Conversations Add your Opinion! There are tens of thousands of h2g2 Guide Entries, written by our Researchers. If you want to be able to add your own opinions to the Guide, simply become a member as an h2g2 Researcher. Tell me More!   Entry Data Entry ID: A1031707 Edited by: Researcher 220071 Date: 24   April   2003 Text only Like this page? Send it to a friend Most of the content on this site is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here to alert our Moderation Team. For any other comments, please start a Conversation below.

Most of the content on h2g2 is created by h2g2's Researchers, who are members of the public. The views expressed are theirs and unless specifically stated are not those of the BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of any external sites referenced. In the event that you consider anything on this page to be in breach of the site's House Rules, please click here. For any other comments, please start a Conversation above.

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