After 290, stage-direction. Mis. d. 1. Nat. p. 50: 'Cy descende 1 coulom qui soit fait par bonne manière.'

291-298. Med. 4: Tunc filius Dei statim totus et sine mora intravit uterum virginis, et ex ea carnem assumpsit, . . . et in eodem instanti anima creata et infusa erat, perfectus homo secundum omnia corporis lineamenta, sed parvulus valde ita quod in utero postea naturaliter crescebat, ut alii, sed non fuit dilata infusio animæ, vel membrorum distinctio, ut in aliis. Erat enim perfectus Deus sicut perfectus homo, et ita sapiens et potens.'

The closeness of the above to the version in the play is best recognized by comparing other versions of the same thing. See for instance St. Augustine, Sermo CXCIV: De Annuntiatione (Migne, Fatr. Lat. 39. 2106): 'Nec mora, revertitur nuntius et virginalem thalamum ingreditur Christus. Efficitur subito prægnans beata Dei genetrix.'

311. The appellation turtle-dove is from the interpretation of the Song of Solomon 6. 8: 'One is my dove, my turtle is but one.' See Livius, The Blessed Virgin in the Fathers, Index, under title: Mary as dove.

328. Cf. C. IV, 48-51, note. De Nat. Mar. 1: 'Igitur beata et gloriosa semper Virgo Maria de stirpe regia et familia David oriunda.'

No mention is made in Scripture of Mary's descent, nor of her being of the tribe of David. It is Joseph's descent from David that is given in Matt. 1. and Luke 3. The Church Fathers, to explain Christ's descent from David, decided that Mary was Joseph's cousin.

After 338. A hymn of the 12th or 13th century, according to Daniel (Thesaurus Hymnolog.). Not often used in the Church liturgy.

COVENTRY JOSEPH PLAY (II).

In the Prologue to the Cycle, Tertius Vexillator says:

In the xij pagent, as I gow telle,
Joseph comyth hom fro fer countré,

Oure ladyes wombe with chylde doth swelle,
And then Joseph ful heuy is he.

He doth forsake here with hert ful felle,
Out of countre he gynnyth to fle,

He nevyr more thenkyth with here to dwelle,
And than oure lady ryth sore wepyth she.
An Aungelle seyd hym ryf,
'God is with thi wyff sertayn,
Therfore, Joseph, turne hom agayne.'
Than is Joseph in herte ful fayn

And goth ageyn onto his wyff.

C., not following Bonaventura, agrees with T. in putting the play of Joseph's trouble before the Visitation. Ch. and Y. follow the Protev. and the suggestion in De Nat. Mar. 9 in putting the Visitation first. There is no Scriptural authority for either arrangement, and no Apocryphal authority for the C. T. arrangement.

1. Protev. 13: 'And her sixth month came, and behold Joseph came from his house-building; and entering his house he found her pregnant.'

Pseudo-Matt. 10: Cum hæc agerentur, Joseph in Capharnaum maritima erat in opere occupatus, erat enim faber ligni: ubi moratus est mensibus novem. Reversusque in domum suum invenit Mariam pregnantem.'

3. Susanna.] Pseudo-Matt. 8.: 'Tunc Ioseph accepit Mariam cum aliis quinque virginibus, quæ essent cum ea in domo Ioseph. Erant autem istæ virgines Rebecca, Sephora, Susanna, Abigea et Zahel.'

15-16. Cf. the bright light which shone from the stable when Joseph brought the midwives (C. IV, 161–166, and note), and which was strangely enough no more convincing to Salome than this light is to Joseph.

25 ff. This kind of dialogue between Mary and Joseph, its origin and relation to the drama, are discussed by Cook in 'A Remote Analogue to the Miracle Play' (Jour. Eng. and Ger. Phil., 4. 420). Such dialogues appear in S. Athanasius (Migne, Patr. Gr. 28. 951), in a sermon attributed to S. Chrysostom (Migne, Patr. Gr. 60. 758), in Proclus (Migne, Patr. Gr. 65. 736), in Germanus (Migne, Patr. Gr. 98. 331),

and in a sermon attributed to Augustine (Migne, Patr. Lat. 39. 2109). There is another example in the Old English Christ of Cynewulf (11. 164-213).

In Athanasius, Joseph is merely perplexed to understand how the virtuous Mary can have sinned, and he is rebuked by Mary for lack of faith in her. In pseudo-Chrysostom he discusses whether he shall leave her or expose her. If he does the latter, he fears that she may prove to be innocent. The same doubt as to whether or not to expose her is the chief theme of Proclus' sermon. In Germanus, Joseph tries to discover who the child's father is; in Augustine, he protests his own innocence, and again is uncertain about exposing her.

All these elements appear in most of our Joseph plays; but as they also appear in the Apocryphal Gospels, I should doubt very strongly whether there is any conscious borrowing from the sermons. At least there is no conclusive evidence either way, and it seems more probable that the Joseph plays are merely realistic expansions of the Scriptural and Apocryphal accounts.

There are a few rather insignificant parallels between the sermons and the mysteries. See notes on C. II, 97, 114-115; Y. II, 61-62; T. I, 292, 305–310.

36-38. Cf. 42, 47-48; Y. II, 103, 158-159; T. I. 186-187;

195.

55-56. In John Heywood's Epigrams on Proverbs (1562), in two proverbs which have nothing else in common with this one, the bent of one's bow stands for one's disposition or course of action.

59 ff. Pseudo-Matt. 11: 'Cumque ordinasset in nocte exsurgere ut fugiens habitaret in occultis, ecce in ipsa nocte apparuit angelus Domini.'

The Scriptural and other Apocryphal accounts make Joseph decide to divorce Mary, 'put her away privily,' not run away from her.

67. Sephor.] See note on 1. 3.

71 ff. Pseudo-Matt. 10: 'Ut quid me seducitis ut credam vobis quia angelus Domini impregnavit eam? Potest enim

fieri ut quisquam se finxerit angelum Domini et deceperit eam.'

82-83. Les Proverbes Communs, Jean de la Veprie, Paris 1498: Vous battez les buissons dont une autre a les oysissons.' Also quoted in English in John Ray's Collection of English Proverbs, 1742.

95 ff. Protev. 14: 'And Joseph was greatly afraid, and separated from her, and reasoned what he should do with her. And Joseph said: "If I hide her fault, I find myself fighting with the law of the Lord; and if I betray her to the children of Israel, I fear lest that which is in her is holy, and I shall be found betraying innocent blood to the sentence of death."

1

...

96 f. Deuteronomy 22. 13, 20-21: 'If any man take a wife and go in unto her, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel; then shall they bring the damsel out to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: for she hath wrought foully in Israel.'

97. Augustine (Migne, Patr. Lat. 39. 2109): 'Whatsoever virgin shall defile her father's house with adultery shall be stoned.' Cf. also C. 23, where this is quoted as Mosaic law.

114-115. Germanus (Migne, Patr. Gr. 98. 331): 'Reveal, O Mary, the plotter against my house. ... He hath dishonoured my house, and the twelve tribes shall have me in derision.'

120-121. This sounds like a proverb, but I have not been able to find it elsewhere.

127-136. Y. II, 202-208, 231-236.

151 ff. Expansion of Matt. 1. 20-21. Gospels follow Matthew.

The Apocryphal

160 ff. Pseudo-Matt. 11: 'Exsurgens autem Joseph a somno gratias egit Deo suo, et locutus est Mariæ et virginibus quæ erant cum ea et narravit visum suum. Et consolatus est super Mariam, dicens: "Peccavi, quoniam suspicionem aliquam habui in te.'

173-174. Matt. 1. 21-22: For he shall save his people

from their sins. Now all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.'

178-179. Cf. T. I, 338–340. 184-188. Cf. Y. II, 294–298.

COVENTRY VISITATION (III).

No mention is made of this play in the Prologue, where all the other plays are described in turn. A large part of this play is composed of a monologue by Contemplacion. We have noticed that in the Prologue dealing with C. I, the Contemplacion part of that play was not mentioned. It seems quite probable that at the time the Prologue was written this play was being revised, and the Contemplacion scenes added here and in C. I. Nothing is lost in the main action if we eliminate these scenes, and much is gained in consistency in this play, where Contemplacion's speeches are often in direct variance with the plot. Cf. II. 147-149, 152 and notes.

7-8. Luke 1.39: 'Exsurgens autem Maria in diebus illis abiit in montana cum festinatione, in civitatem Juda.'

23-27. I Chronicles 24.

23-25. Bonaventura, Expositio in Cap. I. S. Lucæ (Opera, vol. 6) Cum David cultum Dei ampliaret, sicut dicitur in Paralipom., ministeria sacerdotum in viginti quatuor sortes divisit: inter quas familia Abias, de qua fuit Zacharias.'

26-27. In another part of the Expositio Bonaventura explains: Sacerdotale explicit officium, adjungendo regale dominium.'

27-36. Luke 1. 11, 13, 18, 20, 23-24.

35. The only reference in the Apocryphal Gospels to Zachary is in the Protev. 10: 'And at that time Zacharias became speechless, and Samuel was in his stead, until Zacharias spake.'

37. At the time of the Annunciation; cf. Luke 1. 36, also C. I, 253.