Clifford Davidson

The first essay in Professor Davidson's book of reflective analysis takes up the question, What has the individual scholar to do with tradition?: Arguing that the Western tradition is the basis upon which our late 20th century culture ultimately rests, Davidson in this and subsequent essays examines the attitudes toward and the uses of tradition from the Middle Ages to the present. As a scholar with a major interest in drama and iconography, he shows how traditional forms appear and are distorted in the drama, literature and art of the last 700 years. Finally, he suggests that while tradition connects us to our past, such connections... may serve to heal the wound of post-modernity and to make its skepticism seem irrelevant. The essays range in time from Late Medieval English theater, through Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, George Herbert, T.S. Eliot's Murder in the Cathedral - but Davidson's net is wider than that; his catch, the very heritage of the West.

Essays on the Use and Valuation of the Past

On Tradition

Thomas H. Seiler

The Iconography of Hell

The Fool in the Middle Ages and Early Modern period was either a person who capitalized on his natural deficiencies, which were then considered amusing, or a professional entertainer the artificial Fool who specialized in clowning. His distinctive clothing and bauble are known to us through numerous Psalter illustrations where he is shown in connection with Psalm 52, which asserts that The fool has said in his heart there is no God. Attitudes toward the Fool varied, but his place was to become assured on stage, where his role is best known to us through the plays of Shakespeare. The articles in the present volume provide indispensable analyses of the Fool from a number of different perspectives.

Fools and Folly

Pamela M. King

A new edition of the Coventry plays, comprising the Shearmen and Taylors' and Weavers' plays, which were staged by the town guilds at Corpus Christi.

The Coventry Corpus Christi Plays

The York Cycle of Mystery Plays

From Creation to Doom

Rand Johnson

John H. Stroupe

Comparative and Critical Essays

Drama and the Classical Heritage

Medieval Drama on the Continent of Europe

Based in records and iconography, this book surveys medieval festival playing in Britain more comprehensively than any other work to date. The study presents an inclusive view of the drama in the British Isles, from Kilkenny to Great Yarmouth, from Scotland to Cornwall. It offers detailed readings of individual plays-including the York Creed Play, Pentecost and Corpus Christi plays and the little studied Bodley plays, among others - as well as a summary of what is known of their production. Clifford Davidson here extends the usual chronological range to include work typically categorized as early modern, enabling a juxtaposition of earlier plays with later plays to yield a better understanding of both. Complementing documentary evidence with iconographic detail and citation of music, he pinpoints a number of common misconceptions about medieval drama. By organizing the study around the rituals of the liturgical seasons, he clarifies the relationship between liturgical feast and dramatic celebration.

Festivals and Plays in Late Medieval Britain

The Guild Chapel Wall Paintings at Stratford-upon-Avon

Clifford Davidson

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