Anonymous, The Brome 'Abraham and Isaac'

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The Brome ‘Abraham and Isaac’

is a fifteenth century English play recounting the story of the sacrifice of Isaac. The play derives its name from Brome Hall in Suffolk originally owned by the Cornwallis family, where the manuscript appears to have been kept for most of its life. The manuscript is a common-place book and contains not only this play but part of John Lydgate’s

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, various other poems and a number of late fifteenth-century accounts of nearby Stuston written by Robert Melton, a steward for the Cornwallis family. Since 1966 the manuscript has resided in Yale University Library.

The story of Abraham’s obedience to God in his willingness to sacrifice his favourite son Isaac was an extremely popular biblical episode throughout the Middle Ages. Aside from

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Citation: Cummings, James. "The Brome 'Abraham and Isaac'". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 11 August 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=9225, accessed 19 March 2024.]

9225 The Brome 'Abraham and Isaac' 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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