The fifteenth-century play Wisdom survives in two manuscripts: the Macro (Folger: MS. V.a. 354) and Digby (Bodleian: MS. Digby 133) versions. The Macro manuscript is earlier in date (from 1465-70) and more complete, however the Digby version (from 1490-1500) has been more carefully copied and modern editions tend to correct the Macro text with reference to Digby. Neither of these manuscripts give a name to the play, and from the nineteenth century critics have cited it as either Wisdom, Wisdom: Who is Christ or Mind, Will and Understanding. The first of these is in most common usage today. The language and provenance of the play, like the majority of surviving medieval English non-cycle drama, is East Anglian. The earliest known owner of the Macro copy is thought to be Thomas Hyngham, a monk, from Bury...

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Citation: Cummings, James. "Wisdom". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 August 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8821, accessed 12 February 2026.]