Anonymous, York Cycle of the Mystery Plays

Claire Sponsler (University of Iowa)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.03: English Writing and Culture: Renaissance (Elizabethan and Jacobean periods) , 1485-1625.
Vol. editors: William M. Hamlin (Washington State University), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University), Ema Vyroubalova (Trinity College Dublin)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1370 - c. 1570

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Morality
Play

Resources

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It is now nearly impossible to envision the forces that kept the fifty some pageants that make up the large-scale biblical drama known as the York cycle play in more of less continuous production in more or less the same form for over two hundred years. It is equally difficult to comprehend the sheer scale of the production, which in the surviving version runs to over 14,000 lines of Middle English verse, includes over 300 speaking parts, and represents an enormous commitment of time and money by the guilds responsible for its production. Like the other three extant English biblical cycles – Chester, N-Town, and Towneley – the York cycle stands as one of the most important cultural achievements of late medieval England.

A good deal of information about the staging of the York cycle

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975 words

Citation: Sponsler, Claire. "York Cycle of the Mystery Plays". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8902, accessed 25 April 2024.]

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