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the hero in expensive clothes and lead him to the scaffold of
Covetousness, where Mankind accepts the Seven Deadly Sins. All is not lost, though, for Shrift and Penance convince Mankind to repent and he is placed in the Castle of Perseverance where he will be protected from sin by the Seven Moral Virtues. Mankind's enemies (World, Flesh, and the Devil) attack the castle but are repulsed by the Virtues armed with roses (emblems of Christ’s Passion). Next, Covetousness tempts Mankind with an offer of wealth, and Mankind thinks about accepting. At this point, Mankind is struck down by a dart thrown by Death, illustrating that death may strike at any moment. As he dies, Mankind prays that God will deliver his soul from Hell. The
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334:, with two leaves missing, meaning that some 100 lines that have been lost. The full performance would have required about three and a half hours and upwards of twenty actors. The large size of the cast required suggests that the play was performed by traveling players in the speaking roles, with locals acting the mute minor roles.
276:", the pointed ends of shoes that were popular in this time period. There are six other references to crakows in the literature of this period, dating between 1382 and 1425. Scholars therefore set 1425 as the latest possible date of composition. Stylistic differences in dialect, rhyme scheme and stanza pattern between the
342:
The earliest drawing of a stage and set design in
England, along with the earliest known written reference to theatrical props, is preserved in the manuscript. In the centre of the drawing is the castle from the play's title. The writing above the castle explicitly says that the audience should not
212:
This morality play traces the entire life of its hero
Humanum Genus (Mankind) as he wages a fluctuating battle with evil forces. As the play begins, Mankind ignores the counsel of his Good Angel and allows his Bad Angel to lead him into the service of World. World’s servants (Lust and Folly) dress
377:
shows the progression of
Mankind from birth to death, illustrating his temptations and the process necessary for Christian salvation. The play pictures men in this world as besieged on all sides by sin with the only comfort and salvation coming from virtues. The play is allegorical battle between
365:
Whether the drawing truly represents theatre in the round or not is debatable. Although the ditch circles the castle completely and it is stated that the audience should not cross it, nowhere does the text state that the audience should sit on all sides of the play. It is possible that they sat on
263:
manuscript in the Macro MS dates to around 1440, but certain textual errors suggest that this version was copied from an earlier manuscript. Dialectic particularities in the playtext show that it was composed in the first quarter of the 15th century, in the
217:(drawn from a medieval tradition) debate Mankind’s fate, and, in the end, God sides with Mercy and Peace (over Righteousness and Truth) and decides to pardon Mankind. The actor playing God ends the play with the admonishment,
569:"The Castle of Perseverance: Introduction | Robbins Library Digital Projects." The Castle of Perseverance: Introduction | Robbins Library Digital Projects. Library of Rochester. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
280:(an advertisement for the coming performance that begins the play) and certain sections of the play text lead to the argument that the play may have had two or even three authors.
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in the early 18th century. Macro bound the three manuscripts together somewhat arbitrarily, along with three other manuscripts. Early 19th-century owner Henry Gurney separated
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sit in the area. At the base of the castle is a bed on which
Mankind rests. The circle around the castle is labelled as a ditch, which the audience should not cross.
200:
contains nearly all of the themes found in other morality plays, but it is especially important (and unusual) because a stage drawing is included, which may suggest
327:
for ÂŁ1,125 (approximately $ 5,625). The manuscripts had been purchased by
Quaritch earlier in 1936 at a Sotheby's auction on March 30 for ÂŁ440.
354:, and World. The map is oriented with north towards the bottom, which suggests that it is not merely some abstract suggestion by the
315:". In August of 1936, Joseph Quincy Adams, the Director of the Folger Shakespeare Library, purchased this manuscript along with
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good and evil over the soul of mankind. The two sides are equal, with 15 good characters balanced against 15 bad characters.
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572:"Castle of Perseverance, Stage Plan (Macro Ms.)." Castle of Perseverance, Stage Plan (Macro Ms.). Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
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from the other manuscripts and bound them together as a collection in a separate volume, now known as "the
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The five short text blocks around the circle label scaffolds for some of the characters, including
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Beadle, Richard and Piper, A.J. eds. "Monk Thomas
Hyngham’s hand in the Macro Manuscript",
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and the earliest known full-length (3,649 lines) vernacular play in existence. Along with
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Fifteenth-Century
English Drama: The Early Moral Plays and Their Literary Relations.
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Theater of Devotion: East Anglian Drama and Society in the Late Middle Ages
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Census of
Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada
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New Science out of Old Books: Studies in Manuscripts and Early Printed Books
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76:(Humility , Patience, Charity, Abstinence, Chastity, Industry, Generosity)
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The Macro Plays: A Facsimile Edition with Facing Transcription.
362:, but rather a real set design that may have been implemented.
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559:. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969. Pp. 1–110.
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Furnivall, Frederick James and Pollard, Alfred William eds.
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Houghton Mifflin Company/Boston. 1975, pp. 791–900
71:(Pride, Anger , Envy, Gluttony, Lechery, Sloth, Greed )
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545:. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1979. Pp. 75–210.
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edited by David N. Klausner (University of Rochester)
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EETS o.s. 262. London: Oxford University Press, 1969.
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Stage drawing from the only surviving manuscript of
496:. Aldershot: Scolar Press, 1995, pp. 315–41.
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552:Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 2008.
394:Pollard’s Introduction to Furnivall, pp. xxxii
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593:D. Bevington. "The Castle of Perseverance."
584:University of Toronto - Full modernized text
555:Schell, Edgar T., and J. D. Schuchter, eds.
557:English Morality Plays and Moral Interludes
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531:For the Early English Text Society, 1904.
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538:. University of Chicago Press, 1994.
272:. The play contains a reference to "
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508:Early English Drama: An Anthology.
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503:New York: Johnson Reprint, 1972.
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366:only one or some of the sides.
109:(Mercy, Truth, Justice , Peace)
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230:Thynke on youre last endynge!”
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775:A Satire of the Three Estates
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440:, ii (New York, 1937), p.2272
330:The manuscript has 38 extant
287:, the Reverend Cox Macro of
189:) that is now housed in the
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550:The Castle of Perseverance.
517:Boydell & Brewer, 1982.
405:Redactions, Place, and Date
251:Think on your last ending!”
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810:The Three Ladies of London
782:A Looking Glass for London
705:Liberality and Prodigality
663:The Castle of Perseverance
605:Folger Shakespeare Library
451:The Castle of Perseverance
449:Klausner, Introduction to
426:The Castle of Perseverance
424:Klausner, Introduction to
375:The Castle of Perseverance
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323:from the antiquarian firm
285:The Castle of Perseverance
261:The Castle of Perseverance
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248:Forever from the beginning
198:The Castle of Perseverance
191:Folger Shakespeare Library
179:The Castle of Perseverance
158:The Castle of Perseverance
35:The Castle of Perseverance
22:The Castle of Perseverance
16:15th-century morality play
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245:To save you from sinning,
224:To save you fro synnynge,
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607:Digital Image Collection
566:Oxford: Blackwell, 2000.
510:New York: Garland, 1993.
470:"Castle of Perseverance,
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221:“Thus endyth oure gamys!
726:The Play of the Weather
684:The World and the Child
548:Klausner, David N, ed.
534:Gibson, Gail McMurray.
185:(named after its owner
499:Bevington, David, ed.
227:Evyr at the begynnynge
114:Second Standard-Bearer
719:The Seven Deadly Sins
698:The Disobedient Child
242:“Thus ends our games!
215:Four Daughters of God
161:is a c. 15th-century
111:First Standard-Bearer
86:Pleasure (Lust-Liker)
513:Davenport, William.
506:Coldewey, John, ed.
325:Bernard Quaritch Ltd
202:theatre in the round
181:is preserved in the
107:The Daughters of God
755:Autos sacramentales
543:Four Morality Plays
291:, Suffolk acquired
98:Confession (Shrift)
865:15th-century plays
691:Interlude of Youth
562:Walker, Greg, ed.
520:Eccles, Mark, ed.
436:Seymour de Ricci,
268:, probably around
59:Belial (The Devil)
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803:The Sun's Darling
789:Four Plays in One
541:Happé, Peter, ed.
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69:Seven deadly sins
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283:Along with
859:Categories
821:Characters
768:Elckerlijc
654:Interludes
487:References
356:playwright
301:The Castle
64:Good Angel
52:Characters
42:Written by
603:from the
187:Cox Macro
96:Backbiter
66:Bad Angel
46:Anonymous
712:Horestes
677:Everyman
403:Bennet,
208:Synopsis
122:Business
103:The Soul
670:Mankind
644:of the
338:Drawing
317:Mankind
309:Mankind
293:Mankind
274:crakows
270:Norfolk
256:History
168:Mankind
130:1405-25
100:Penance
92:The Boy
55:Mankind
370:Themes
360:scribe
352:Belial
332:leaves
321:Wisdom
307:, and
305:Wisdom
297:Wisdom
174:Wisdom
839:Death
834:Folly
382:Notes
278:banns
145:Genre
94:Flesh
89:Folly
79:Death
62:World
829:Vice
319:and
295:and
171:and
119:Mute
358:or
348:God
234:In
193:in
861::
350:,
303:,
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204:.
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