The Redentin Easter play pr76f380j

Table of contents :
Frontmatter
INTRODUCTION (page 3)
THE DEVELOPMENT OF EASTER PLAYS (page 3)
THE STAGING OF THE PLAY (page 7)
THE ACTION OF THE PLAY (page 17)
THE TEXT (page 22)
SOURCES (page 23)
THE CHARACTERS (page 33)
THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY
PART ONE (page 41)
PART TWO (page 81)
NOTES (page 115)
BIBLIOGRAPHY (page 131)

Citation preview

THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

| NUMBER XXXII OF THE | RECORDS OF CIVILIZATION

) SOURCES AND STUDIES Austin P. Evans, Editor

13LANK PAGE.

BLANK PAGE

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| From which the Jews are going to profit. |

oO [SCENE 5, THE TOMB] | | | ,

Pilate (near the tomb) — ae oe Solomon, yow’re the best, I think; 125 |

| You shall lie here in the west. | |

There you shall guard the place so | oo

| That Jesus cannot give you the slip, . a

IfYou youshall letbehim steal away, , | | a | banished from this land! 130 | ,

First Soldier | | a| __ Pm going to lie in the west, | | For I am the best, I think. | 46 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

: I shall guard this place; oe | || IIfshall anyone passes here, | | meet him in such a way 135 That he’d rather have his whooping-cough cured.

My sword’s name is Mummink, | |

| And it looses plates, armor, and rings; I shall keep it close by me

| And Ifshall sit here with it. 140 He tries to rise from the dead, ,

Pilate | |

_ I shall strike Him down to the ground. Samson, you shall be here in the north

And thus fulfill my command,

| | If you want to receive the reward from me. ——-145 I am your friend without any deception.

| Be faithful and true in my service; I will pay you a rich reward. a

And consider this above all: |

A good deed is never wasted. | 150

Second Soldier Pll lie here in the north. |

If anyone comes here, Pll murder him | |

: Be~ Forhe tame or wild; _ , I am called Strike the Shield, |

| And I’m going to sit down here 155 - So that I can beat Him up | ,

Pilate a |

| With my murderous sword :

_ If He tries to rise from the earth. |

7 Hear, my good man Boas von Thamar! | | | You are pretty clumsy when it comes to thinking; 160

| THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | 47 ) _ Now try to be a bit nimble , oe 7 ,

| . And follow my instructions. OO |

You shall stretch out in the east, Oo And if somebody should try to carry off Jesus, | | | That He will never do us any harm again. © | |

_ Then you'll see to it | 165 |

Third Soldier , | ——s PL ie down in the east | an | | | And rely on my bright sword. , - 7 —. My sword is called Klynghe | |

oo And is just as sharp as a scythe. : 170 | | All right! Just let someone wait for me, | |

a It rattles in my sheath, | ~| SoPU soil his leg, —_ | | that his pants will suffer for a year! | Pll pick this very spot; 175 7 | My honor will not suffer the least stain, st ee

tell you this as the truth: | | | If He arises, it will go hard with Him.

Pilate i | | | |

| My faithful knight Sadoch, i | Up to the present you’ve always proved capable. 180 | I shall place you in the south; | | | ~ --- You shall prove your valor a | , | By keeping watch on this occasion, 7 7

: For it is not without danger. | | If He should arise in the third night, | 185 oO ; We should all suffer disgrace! | | | :

Fourth Soldier | | | | oe I shall lie here on the south side. | | | | | He is not going to walk or ride away from us. _

Oo When I get my sword in my hand, © |

oe Pll force Him to the wall | 190 So that all His ribs will crack. | |

48 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY So all of you help me keep watch | And don’t be tricked by sleep. —

He'll not escape from us unharmed. Oo

oo [SCENE 6, THE TOMB] Watchman sings, and when one verse is finished he says

You knights and you heroes, 195

Think of the money Which has been promised you!

Each one of you act the part of a man. |

If this thing should happen, | | | ,

PU help you with my music. | — 200, First Soldier Watchman, my dear friend, Wake with us in this hour. Be faithful and kind to us;

7 That will get you silver and gold. | And then he lies down to sleep; then the Watchman sings, and

. after one verse he says a

Wake, bold knight! ee 205 Between Hiddensee and Mone. | There I see two; |

They are floating in the wild sea |

, In a boat, as it seems to me. OO

Now bold knight, take care! | 210

Second Soldier | | | | Watchman, my dear fellow, | ,

| Tell me, when they reach Pole. Then Pll get ready to defend myself _ | And will speak to my companions. | | And thus he lies down to sleep, and the Watchman sings and after

One Verse SAYS | Wake, proud knight _ a 215 And earn your gold with honor!

_ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 49 | _. Wake, knight, it is the hour of midnight! | oo

I hear the dogs barking loud. | — 7 BT_They howl and bark. — 218a | Talk to your companions! ~ -ar8b a

Third Soldier | | | | | _ My dear brother Watchman, | | |

|| Pll give you all my treasure 220 , | If I may only sleep a little bit. | | Oo

| Truly, I can scarcely draw my breath | | a | On account of all this great confusion. - So help me Emperor’s Lady, | -.-T must give some feed to my eyes, 05 | | Even though I be exiled on account of it. | oe

| [SCENE 7, THE TOMB] oe The angels together; Raphael sings above the tomb | , , ,Oe- Opus Dormite, [milites, dormite, oo | domini non impedite! Alleluia! ] — an | - Sleep ye watchmen by a grave! | a ne Since God has work in hand here, ae

| Do not attempt to hinder it, | | a | a | Nor pay the least attention. | oe 230 |

A gain they sing together; Uriel | | | | . _Exsurge! [quare obdormis, domine? , a | Exsurge et ne repellas in finem! | | | Awake! Why sleepest Thou, O Lord? | |

Arise, cast us not off forever! ] | |

Fourth Angel = a ; Arise, Son of God, |

|a || Arise, Whose subjects we are! | | | Divine Consolation! | | 7 a All guilt is now redeemed; Oe

_ Everything will now be perfect, 235 |

| The divine glory - | , a

- | Since You have added to Your human form :

50 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY Which now You show forth bodily, |

| Arise, our Lord, we wish it— | / Oo We who serve You always! 240 Arise, Lord, from Your sleep,

To the joy of all mankind! - | :

| Open the Ark of the Covenant of Your holiness, |

| Which is prepared in this grave!

Arise, Man of God! | 245 Thou shalt suffer no more pain or anguish. | |

| Arise from all Thy sufferings!

Thou art an everlasting light for Your chosen ones.

| SS Then there is an earthquake; Jesus arising sings Resurrexi [et adhuc tecum sum! Alleluia! ,

| Posuisti super me manum tuam; alleluia! | Mirabilis facta est scientia tua; alleluia, alleluia! I have risen and am still with thee, alleluia!

| Thou hast laid thy hand upon me, alleluia! — a | , Thy knowledge is become wonderful, alleluia, alleluia! ]

Jesus

Now all things are accomplished | Which had been conceived of in eternity: © 250 That I should die a bitter death | | |

And gain salvation again for mankind. | Therefore I have now arisen | And shall proceed to hell

: And fetch from there Adam and Eve 255 | And all my dear ones Who have been born for that joy,

Which Lucifer through his pride has lost. |

, [SCENE 8, THE ANTE-CHAMBER OF HELL] After this, while the souls are exulting in Hell, Abel says

I ask you all together a |

Who are sitting in this torture: 2.60 What may this great brightness signify, __

an THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY || 5I |

a Which we have observed today? a _

7 Why should God send us in our exile |

| _ So great a light? | | | _ _. That is a wondrous radiance. | 265 = a | I am Abel, whom his brother Cain | ae _ Murdered, though I was without guilt. :

a This torture I have suffered with patience.

| I _hope there will be an end of it; | -That?’s what this bright light signifies. 2900002020

Adam : Bc | , ~ Rejoice in this hour, | a

| Those who are sitting in this dark cave! | | | We shall be rid of our pain; | Oo That is the light of the Eternal Father se |

: That was to come from Him, ~— I

A boon to all of us. oe | oe The Father in eternity | | Created me, Adam, for great joy, Oo :

-. "Which I lost in paradise. |

Now I hope that He has been born | — 280

Who will surely give to all of us | ; Once more our paradise. — -

Tsaiah | _ Oe | Oo : I am Isaiah, one of the prophets. | a

| _ In truth you shall know © |

_ _ That this is God’s wonderful light an (285 |

Of which my books speak. | | -_

I said: Populus gencium, qui ambulabat in tenebris, __

OB _ forsaesteiss Vidit lucem magnam, habitantibus in regione mortis, lux ;

| “The nation of heathen wandered in darkness | And saw a great light with certainty; 290 oe | Those who wandered in a land of death-like shadows,

| They perceive a great brilliance.” oe | oo That is He in whom I well believe | | | _ And who shall straightway redeem us. __ | /

Simeon , — | ee I am Simeon, the ancient. _ 295 ] 52 _ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY |

oe | Now all of you shall soon rejoice,

|| |a~ All praise this Lord, Whom I with such great honor oo | Took in my arms as a child in the temple,

so When He in His grace came to me. | ; 300,

| I rejoiced. greatly, oo ee , oo _ And I spoke in this wise: “Kind Lord, | Dismiss me with Thy peace, - a

| That I may depart from this world!

_ Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation; —__ 305

God-Man, let me attain Thee.” | a |

| Salvation is for all people;

| | He will come today a | And redeem His people of Israel. ,

He is the real Emanuel. a 310

| And they sing | | — , Lumen ad revelationem [gentium |

| | Et gloriam plebis tuae Israel! , A light to the revelation of the Gentiles,

| And the glory of Thy people Israel! ] | | (Simeon to John the Baptist) an | |

Who is this strange man - : | Who’s wearing this rough garment! oe He has just come from the world. | | | | Tell us, haven’t you heard any news of God? |

John the Baptist |,| : Surely, I am a Baptist, And I am a precursor |

Of Jesus Christ, the eternal God, , And a preacher of His commands. _ |

a _ In the desert I have prepared the way | For Him with my preaching; 320

a | THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY —_ 553 I baptized Him at the Jordan; | | |

|| Except He had no need of that, a : | a | that He wished to fulfill all things, | Therefore it had to be. | | I pointed Him out with my right hand 325 | And said: “See, this is the Savior, || This the true Lamb of God,, |, |_oe | Thatiscame from heaven. | He is the one who bears the sin of the world. oO oe He is my Lord, and I am His servant.” 330 |

oo Now I have come to you; Oo | | | _ May you all profit from that. - - - | - Believe me this, by God: | | | I am His true messenger. 7 OO | _ _ He is now close by, 335 = Who will redeem you and me. © | Be

_ And they sing ce ee | 7 | | Ecce agnus dei! | a | ss [Ecce qui tollit peccatum mundi! | |

Behold the Lamb of God! | ee

Seth — Sn | oe | / And in pain of death; © 7 a Behold Him who taketh away the sin of the world! ] Se

My father Adam lay in great sickness )

He said, “Hear me, my son, | | | | | -There’s one thing I ask of you; _ 340 | Go to paradise . Oo 7 a Oo And‘God speak in this wise: — | oe 7 Father Almighty, :

| Adam, my father, asks You, | | oO ;

That You should give him 345 | | Through Your angel the oil of mercy that he may live!??” _ This I did according to my father’s command. a

OS And the Angel of God said— : | . It was the angel Michael—

| 54 | THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

| He said: “Seth, stop your weeping at once, 350 Oo - . You may not have that oil.” Oo | : a He added: “But plant this sprig in the ground.

— _ When 5000 years shall have passed = _ | | And 600, it may profit your father And all his descendants!” oe 355

| If I have observed correctly, | | Then the time is now quite fulfilled. ,

God has bethought Himself of us; ,

Isaiah | | Faith! If that is so, | | , ,

| He wants to redeem us with His bright light | |

| From the pain of darkness. - 360

| Then let us rejoice in it! oe

I prophesied while on earth: — | |

“Of a Virgin there shall be born a child, |

, He shall be named Wonderful, 365 A Prince of Peace, Mortal God, |

A Prince in all peace; | | | His kingdom shall never have an end.”

oe Let us all rejoice because of this;

We shall rest with him in eternity. 370

| Lucifer |

| [SCENE 9, THE DOLIUM|

Come here, come here, come here |

| The whole devilish army! | | Come up out of hell, | | | |

(Satan) : | Lucifer | - ,

| Satan, my dear companion! | Lucifer, here I am and my companions, 375

Who have been lying in hell. oe

Satan, where did you sneak off to, — | | So that for three days I couldn’t consult you?

Do you perchance know any news: :

Satan | oe oe | THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY gs |

| _ Aha, Lucifer, my dear lord! | 380 -

There I have indeed oe Garnered a great treasure. oe | I have been among a crowd of Jews. a - _

Lucifer | | , | Satan | , oe a | Dear companion, what is that! - |

Lucifer, and the whole company of devils, | 385

| Now you may be downright glad. ts” | Jesus, the prophet and great lord, - |

Who said that He was God, / | a Him we are going to trap completely. _ | |

, HeHe is hanged on a cross; 390 7 | is in dire straits - | | And fears death exceedingly. _

He said: “My soul is sad unto death!” oo ,

Lucifer | | | | _ God cannot die, | oe He cannot die. | | | _. Hell, you are to get ready for Him! © Oo |

How can He be God’s son, 395, | |

a If He fears the pain of death? Bn

| Oh Satan, you evil-doer, | | |

| He is going to harrow hell for us, - 400 a __ He is going to deceive you entirely, : |

That is certainly no lie. | _ _ I have heard of signs concerning Him : | .

__ That came of no mere man. | | Satan, you are deceiving yourself. 405

Satan © a . a 7 _ Master, believe me this. oe a | I was not far away, ; Oo |:

| When He was reading His last will; 7 He drank vinegar and gall. | He must fall into our hands; AIO

|

56 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY © | |

| I directed the spear into His heart, |

_ Then He suffered the pain of death. - | :

Crook Nose oe | | | Lord, by my crooked nose | | | | That is probably the case. : -

_ I also was near by, © Se AIS

As I was gathering inasoul for you, | | I brought you one, his name is Judas, | | Who had been one of His disciples; |

That very one I helped to hang |

a |,, Firmly with a rope. | | 420 7 There I heard from Jesus a great lament. _ , He writhed like a worm. Oe :

Lucifer 7 : ,

After that He had to die, © —— } |

| And He shall be our booty. oe

Satan | ee a

| Dear Satan, if He gave up the ghost a 425 | What, then, has become of His soul? | | Lord Lucifer, I ran and hurried. | oo

Lucifer , a |

Unfortunately you called me just at that very moment,

me And thereby I lost them all. ,

Satan, He was born for our misfortune. 430

Satan , : oO | Lucifer | : | | Now you just tell me: _ |

Is He the one who resurrected Lazarus from the dead?

| Yes, Lucifer, He is the same man. |

oo Good God, Satan! | | | I ask you by all the heavenly host = = 435 That you not bring Him into our jail.

| ‘Lazarus was given usin hell, ,

Until such time as Jesus should _ | a

| And would raise him from the dead. > 7

| _ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY Ye | Straightway Lazarus began to stretch himself 440, |

|oOFree from the bonds of hell, | | And he quickly soared away, ts” | | | a More rapidly than aneagle. a a Alas, if He comes here, oe OO : -. _ He will do us irreparable damage. AAS | |

Satan Oo oo _ Oo We must start on a different tack; | On || Guard We willwell in oneour great throng: , | gate. an a — Noytor a ae oo | - Lucifer, I wonder what this means; _ oo : | ~The souls of many people — ABO

aa They Aresingmaking a great noise. | a : and are happy together; _ ‘They shout terribly loud = == ee | That they are going to get out quickly. a

They have noticed a bright light AGS

oo | And are in a regular St. Vitus dance. , | |

Puck , | a re

| — Wouldn’t it be a good idea if we’d see _ ,

What new thing is going to happen? ss _ | Sf Lucifer, how long is this going to last? = |

_. Shan’t we go back to hell? _ 460 Our guests are all invited; I can smell what they are cooking: , a |

|

Thereis Adam, sis | — _Tsaac, and Abraham; | Se |

: Jacob and Noah with his ark; sits 465

Moses and all the patriarchs; Be 7

-| _ Isaiah and Asarias; —_ | 7 David and Ananias; a SS | | _ And all the prophets i | a Oo

||, And (I know why theythe are old yelling); | 470 Simeon man. Oe,

|

- They shout like the birds in the green woods. , |

58 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY , There is one man in a rough garment; |

We certainly felt sorry for him. | |

| | He _isWhose theheadsame man a 475 Herod had chopped off; _ | | _. He hascome fromthe world © oe

Luctfer —_

| Where all are to be redeemed. : | , | _ They have a great deal of joy and deep counsel.

, _ Alas and alack, what can this be? _ - 480° | Is it possible that Jesus is coming?

| _| Let Now gentlemen, be bold! So | us fly quickly

| And lock up hell!

| oe [SCENE 10, THE HELL-MOUTH] | Then Jesus approaches Hell; when David sees him coming from -

_ @ distance he says | ee oO

| Now comes our praised Lord. 485 He said: “I shall break the gates of brass.”

In the same Scripture oe

| | They have given us a Redeemer; He shall break down these bronze doors And entirely destroy them. | 490

Also I spoke thus: oe | “Exurgam mane dilucolo: | | I shall arise early in the morning.” | Son of God, now do this, | ' Redeem your own people, 495 Since we are in pain. Se

: And he simgs ) | ,| [etOsceptrum clavis David, | | | domus Israel; © |

: qui aperis, et nemo claudit; , | claudis, et nemo aperit: | a veni et educ vinctum de domo carceris, |

sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.

| THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 59 | , O key of David and scepter of the house of Israel: |

Adam | |

Who openeth and no man shutteth; | , | Who shutteth and no man openeth; | Come and lead the captive from prison, | |

| , _ Sitting in darkness and the shadow of death.] — =

a Now shall you rejoice all together, 7 |

Who have lived according to God’s will. ; :

| | I see the hand of Him that has created me a ) | , Out of nothing without anyone’s help 500

a And is going to redeem us inthis hour |

ss Out of the pit of this bitter hell | |

Therefore we will sing aloud | , a |

| To welcome the Eternal King. | | |

‘The souls sing eS - , | | _ Advenisti, desiderabilis, [quem expectabamus in tenebris, _

: ut educeres hac nocte vinculatos de claustris. _ 7 ,

| _ ing in darkness, | ee

_. Thou hast come, O Desired One, whom we were await- oO

a: Eve enchained.] | | | a | | | Oo | That Thou mightest this night lead from prison those

- Welcome to Thee, Consolation of the sad! 505. | I hope we shall now be rescued from our pain. |

| _ Thee have we been awaiting many a year |

In darkness, with anxiety and with danger: | Hence hast Thou seen our misery oo | | > And wilt draw us up to eternal bliss. 7 SIO0_ |

Gabriel © : oe

a

_ Then Jesus comes up to Hell with angels preceding him. 7

Devils | _ |

7 You prince of darkness, open up this gate! _ a | | | Here is the King of Glory, standing before it. |

|| -.Quis est iste. [rex gloriae? a | , dominus fortis et potens, . -

60 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 7 ,

| dominus potens in praelio. oe |

| | Who is this King of Glory? — | 7

The Lord strong and mighty, — _ |

| The Lord mighty in battle!] 7 | | — — Luetfer | | | | a

.: Who | Who is this ravager, | | comes thus rushing hither : As though the whole world were His own? 515

| By my troth, He might have spared us this— ,

| _ Thus to come storming against my castle And not to allow me quiet in my nest. :

Raphael, the Third Angel ee | This is the child of the living God. _ | He is going to redeem the souls who are within 520 And will bring them into the kingdom of His father,

Where they shall dwell with Him enternally. |

| He will take them from your bonds

| ‘To a place where their joy shall never end. —

The angels sing again OO Tollite [portas, principes, vestras, , et elevamini portas aeternales, | '

| a et introibit rex gloriae. - . | Lift up your gates, o ye princes,

Devils | a And be lifted up, ye eternal gates; oo And the King of Glory shall enter in.] |

Quis est iste [rex gloriaeP |

| dominus fortis et potens, Bn 7

Lucifer oo _

- dominus potens in praelio.] | a oe

My good men, stop your storming! =| 525

| These souls that are here’ with me are all mine. I am afraid that if you‘come here _

~ -It will not do us any good. © | | | |

! , THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 61 ,

| You shall all stay outside a | a 7

. And leave usin here in peace © ©. ~~ 530 oe The angels sing for the third time |

oe Tollite [portas, principes, vestras, | , et elevamini portas aeternales, _ | et introibit rex gloriae.] | _ Gabriel, the Second Angel — , : - | | If you are not going to open up straightway, | ;

- Youthis shall be very petrayed inhour here. — a | - a ' |Oo_In You shall be bound in this place | SO | With a chain for all eternity, _ (535 oo , | As long as God’s kingdom shall last. | a Devils | | : OO | Quis est iste [rex gloriae? | | | .

Lucifer Be re

dominus fortis et potens, | a - . --— dominus potens in praelio.] | a | oe PrayThattell, is it not a queer thing | . we may not remain in peace? We have lived in here longer than five thousand years,

| _ And never have we suffered such misfortune 540 |

ce As they now want to inflict upon us: OO | Nevertheless, we shall all remain here | | So long as our castle stands,

Whether you all like that or not. _ - | Lucifer (to David) | |

David re 7 He is the strong Lord, | Oo - a

, David, who may this King of Glory be? : 545 oe

JT have certainly read about Him. , a

oO Mighty in battle and in honor; | _ | _ He it is Who has created all men and all things. |

|- AndLucifer | , | all of our defense | 62 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | |

| Jesus | |

Oe Alas, then all our weapons are in vain 550

| When that mighty King comes. | oe

I command you, bolt of hell, | | | That you open straightway!

I will break down hell’s gate | 555 |

And bring out my people.

And He sings | | | | Ego sum Alpha et Omega, [principium et finis, | dicit dominus Deus, qui est et qui erat, |

, et qui venturus est Omnipotens. | , I am Alpha and Omega,

| The Beginning and the End, oe Saith the Lord God, Who is and Who was,

And Who is to come, The Almighty!] — 7 | I am Alpha and Omega, Oo

| That shall you all understand . _ Who are in this castle. | I| _amI am the the firstkey andof theDavid. last; | 560 OS a

Satan |

| My people shall all be free. oo

| Who is this Man with the red garment ~ | Who is causing us so much suffering? _

| It is most: discourteous , 565 | The way He rushes in here. | | Silence,Silence, Satan, you dragon! | | you damnéd snake! |

Jesus | | oe |

_ Fly open, you doors of hell! | |

The souls shall all come out | | 5°70 | That have been imprisoned for so long. | | _ I have hung on the gallows | |

_ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 63

oO For the sake of those who do my will. Sn , _

a Great pain have I suffered, | Be In my body five wounds. _ 575 oe On account of that Lucifer shall be bound , | - = UpThat tomeans theforday of judgment. him eternal torture and a great defeat. ee

Jesus } | | oo , Quickly away from here | All the rabble of hell! 580 Oo Then with great violence He harrows hell. a | oo

And He seizes Lucifer; Jesus says — | Lucifer, you wicked fellow, ee |

You shall remain bound with this chain. /

Oo You shall be confined here more closely now than ever; |

, My beloved shall be delivered from you. | oo ,

The Chorus sings ; | |

_ Sanctorum populus, [qui tenebatur in morte captivus! =| a

) Voce lachrymabili clamaverunt. _ |

| 7 Multitude of saints, which was held captive in death; |

| They have cried out with a voice of weeping.]_ ;

The souls sing | | 7

_.. Advenisti, [desiderabilis, quem expectabamus in tenebris, |

a ut educeres hac nocte vinculatos de claustris. = |

_. Thou hast come, Desired One, Whom we have been _

awaiting in darkness, Oo ,

|Jesus prison. | , | | oO | sings | 7 7 | a _ That Thou mightest lead those enchained this night from © |

, Venite benedicti [Patris mei, | | , Oo possidete paratum vobis regnum, : Se _

a constitutione mundi. , | _ .

64 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | | | Come ye blessed of my Father, © | | Possess the kingdom prepared for you | Oo From the foundation of the world. | — |

He speaks the verse a | | | Come here my blessed ones! | | «585

ee Ye shall suffer no more pain; | Oo | IT will lead you to the kingdom of my Father, : There shall you in eternity _ | Enjoy the pure light : |

Which is prepared for you without end. 590

And He grasps Adam by the right hand |

Adam, give me your right hand! © |

_ I forgive you , All you have sinned against me. _

| Learn of your salvation and blessing: ;

,- | Praise Adam | | OO be to Thee and honor, | 595 | Of all the world the only Lord!

I and all my descendants a |

| WereNowmost justly condemned; Thou in Thy great mercy

| Eva, Eva, -

| | Art redeeming us from this misery. | 600 Blessed wife, come here to me! — _

| And he sings a | Te nostra vocabant sus[piria, - | |

, te larga requirebant lamenta.

Tu factus es spes desperatis, magna consolatio in

tormentis. ; | | Thee our sighs were calling, | Thee our profuse laments were seeking. —

Thou art become a hope to those in despair, a great con-

, solation to those in torment.] —s—© oo

, THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY , 65 ,

— Jesus says OO | ' | - You would have died because of your sins. , Oo

Eve | | | _ | oo

Now have I redeemed you again by means of my death,

| _ And I shall bring you to the throne of my Father. 605 |

Oh Lord Jesus, Son of God, | :

«ST have sinned against Thee, | | | ; When I allowed myself to be deceived

| Into breaking Thy commandments. | OO

Therefore have I lived in the pit of hell — _ 610 |

| As much as five thousand years. - | oe Now verily am I saved. a BS

oe Follow me with the whole company; Oo Those who have done my will a Oo |

| Shall all come with me. «615 —- Tutevillus seizes John, saying |

| Here, you man with the rough pelt! | | oe

a You are going to stay with usin hell. |

a _ This elephant’s skin OC oO Will be useful to us, | | | | , Whenever we shall have rain in hell. 620 ,

Oo Don’t you know my name is Tutevillus? | |

OO You shall do whatever I will. , |

:, “You You must see remain you are the last. / | in the nest. _ ee ,

. :John the Bapust | | _ | Leave me untouched! | 625 |

| I have been altogether redeemed; _ | — | 7 Jesus has paid ransom for me, | oe

| _ I may no longer serve as hostage. | | | | If you do not go immediately, | | Pll strike you in a vital spot. | 630 | Satan follows the crowd, holding John and saying : |

; Here, my good man, Mr. Baptist! Oo

You know many asly trick. :

66 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

Do you want to escape from us now? | | |

| _ By my faith! You must burn with me in hell!

If you persist in trying to escape, | | 635

| I shall hold you fast by your hair. | |

TheSatan, Baptist says oo | you shall let me go OS And no longer enjoy my company,

, But rather go down to hell, |

| Where you shall suffer in eternity. 640

, But I shall now turn to my joy oo, | With Jesus, my dear Lord. | | If you won’t leave me be quickly, | |

Puck says | | Lord master Lucifer, | 645 | You'll meet with a great catastrophe. |

| You are a real dupe. | You stand there like a ruined fool.

One really ought to hang you up in the smoke by your

You ought to go with the shorn sheep) [ feet.

_ And learn anew to lap up milk. 650

You've evidently been touched by the plague, | | Which will not make your life more peaceful. | |

| Lucifer | , |

Oo _ For I have often heard it said, and it is right,

That the master of alder tames the oaken servant. |

oe Help now and forevermore! | 655 | What a violent fellow this is! | |

| He takes from us what through many years we have | | Was ever a man cheated in this way? [ garnered. By what a secret trick He managed that! |

| To be sure we might have suspected it before, 660 When He was born of the Virgin, |

: | A thing that never yet had happened in the world.

- My companions, let 1t not disturb you; |

_ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 67 :

We shall take better care in the future. |

| We had won this crowd in an unfair way; ssss«665

_ Therefore they have escaped us again. | | | -

Jesus | oe Michael, my bright angel, oO

ss [SCENE II, PROCESSION FROM HELL TO HEAVEN] |

All who are his. a | ; a You are to bring them to paradise; 670 I commend to you Adam and his host—

Michael , | a | There they are to wait for me . - |

- And never again suffer pain, , Son of the true God, it shall be done,

a | What Thou commandest in heaven and earth. | I shall bring them to paradise, | 675 _ Where they will have everlasting peace.

Thou art almighty God; _ , oe | | All that Thou commandest me, ee | | | I shall carry out for the best, | | And with good will. — | | — ee He, Magna leadsconsolatio the souls, who sing | | | [in tormentis | | _ Great consolation in torment! ] | , ,

When they meet Elijah and Enoch, Simeon says | 7

Who are these two? | ; / _ Tell us why you have not suffered.. |

a. _~Why You have not been in hell; | are you preferred before other people? |

Enoch , | | . a | ~ Iam old Enoch, 685 | And I still have the same body | | a I had while I was on earth. | 7

oe _ God let me survive and attain | |

68 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

To this paradise

| | According to His divine wisdom; — 690 There I and my companion ~ a | | Are to stay for a long time.

We are to inhabit paradise | a |

: Until the coming of the anti-Christ;

_ Then shall we suffer death 7 695

Elijah | , I am called Elijah, And be freed from earthly pain.

Who was with you in the world.

' ‘Then came God’s might |

, And his omnipotent power, 700 | Which took me to heaven alive In a chariot which was fiery. |

: The same fiery chariot

| Has borne us to this place, | Where we shall linger | — 905— | Without any kind of pain | Until the anti-Christ comes into the land. | | Then we shall be sent down again _ Against his false teachings. - 710

| To be true preachers | oo Because of that He will not let us suffer damnation;

We shall thus come to the retreat of heaven, |

| _ In which you are now to rest. |

You may well rejoice over this. |

| |— David (to the Thief) 7 Dear friend, who are you a , 715

-‘Thief a

That you are wandering thus happily By the garden of paradise?

- Don’t you know for whom I’m waiting? I am the robber who on that quiet Friday

Spoke to God’s Son with my plaint: 720

—_ _ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 69 - | , | “Tord, think of me, Divine One, | ,

_ When Thou comest into Thy Father’s kingdom!” | oe

Then He said to me: _ | , | a | | “Verily I say unto thee: oe | |

oo Today shalt thou be with me 725 - In the brightness of paradise!” ,

| He said: “This cross.thou shalt bring with thee. a |

- If the angel wants to push thee aside, | | | _-‘Then say: ‘Angel of God, this is my sign: | |

~ On this cross God’s Son was pierced through His 730 oe

| Here shalt thou await me, [heart!? | | Until I myself shall come.” | oe - Therefore am I waiting here. | 7 | _ Then we shall wait with you. , - -

Angel | | OO

The Saints oo | | ' | ‘When God was pleased - / 735 |

| To create the world and all that’s in it, | : | He created a paradise for joy, |

- In which the heart of man was to find rest. | |

You, Adam, were placed in it, a , |

| A man created in God’s bright image; 740

)| |_Your sin cast you out of it. | | | a Hither, ever since that hour | | (More than five thousand years ago) | | OF all the people in the world | : | | Not one might come. 745

| Now God has again redeemed you through His death. | |

_._. We are to return you to this paradise, ; In front of which they hung a sharp sword; oO |

But do not be afraid of that. Oe , |

|

Step up to the gate of paradise. a 950 | _ | Tarry in that joyous hall | OO Until God himself shall greet you. |

70 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY [SCENE I2, THE TOMB|

, The Watchman sigs a verse and then says oe , _ Awake, knights, it’s almost day!

a _ I hear the song of the morning star. © Oe , He blows his horn three times and then says | :

There is dew in the fields. 755 Proud knight, break your rest. | If a knight were lying snugly In the arms of his beloved, |

| Then I couldn’t complain, |

That they wanted to lie longer in the nest 760

When morning came; |

| But you are caught in dire straits.

| Arise, morning is already here! |

Help! Help! : | | Are you going to sleep all day? 765 | The Watchman again blows his horn three times; then he says

The sun is already shining on your tail. , : Probably our burghers have already fed their pigs. I cannot rouse you with my horn; | | One ought really ring the bell on the tower for you.

After the blowing of the horn the First Soldier says

Arise, knights and squires! | 7 770 All of us have slept here too long. |

| Jesus has arisen. | | | It was a damnable hour Scandalous things have happened to us; __

In which I undertook this job, 775 | Here my goods and my honor are lost; On account of this we'll be terribly disgraced.

Second Soldier

Alas and alack, I dreamed most unpleasantly.

I know in what way it happened, |

| THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 71 ee Oo But I do not know what I am saying. 780 a | _ A great earthquake came before daylight, 7 _ Which caused us all great distress. | Oo |

| ~ J could neither sit nor stand. , - - OO a Aiah! I told you so beforehand, | a

But you wouldn’t listen to me: 7 785 |

His disciples have come | | | And have taken the man away from us! 7 |

Third Soldier Oe | oo, | Woe to us, for the sleep we slept! ae |

oe Oh, that we had not called on the watchman! |

oe We just felt too sure of him! | | Of course, I once read in a book | ee

a That a man should never be too sure of anything! | .

That certainly has now been proved in our case. _ | | Someone tell me, how can we save our honor |

| _ When we must appear before our lord 795 oe

| Now that we have lost Jesus? oe | |

Fourth Soldier | 7 OS 7 Well, lost is lost! Why do you shout? oe Even though things went wrong | | We shall insist on our innocence. | | |

| Why should we be exiled from this land! | 800 |

_-—— 'We shall anticipate the situation in a clever way. - |

| We shall appear before Caiaphas | And let the Jews know what we think.

SO [SCENE 13, THE SYNAGOGUE] a They go to the Synagogue, where the First Soldier says | |

Grace, Lord Bishop! _ | | a .

—_ My Caiaphas ee | | | heroes, speak up; a 805 ,

oo How did things go with you? | OO

oo Have you guarded the tomb well? a | a

Second Soldier |

| 72 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

, Caiaphas | , | , | Yes, you may, verily. _ |

| _ Lord Bishop, may we speak with impunity?

Tell whatever you know. 810

(First Soldier) , | Lord, and all you other Jews, believe me this: In this very night , We were brought to a fearful pass. |

Before dawn came We were struck down to the ground 815 By a mighty earthquake |

Cataphas , , Imagine, you great heroes! 820

That brought us to the brink of death. © |

We were bereft of our senses. | Come now, up and away with you!

| Couldn’t you at least have run away | | , And told us about it? | Then we would have placed more men by the tomb.

, Couldn’t one of you have bucked up the other? | | You deserve to have your nest burnt down. 825

Second Soldier | | | | Caiaphas, now listen to me! If this same thing had happened to you, |

You would certainly leave off your scolding.

| I must reveal the whole truth. |

| | He is risen | | i Annas , , Caiaphas, you ought to be told; | 830

Jesus 1s not in the grave, | |

_ And has gone to Galilee.

Just listen to this monkey!

What is he starting to chatter about? | 835

| THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 73 | How could a man arise from the dead

a Or walk out of his grave? | | We have warded the grave well with stones, > - So that no man could escape from it; Oo

a We have hung our seal over it. | — 840

Surely He did not get out | | | Without some human aid. — | | OO Heavens, you are proper louts! | | You guarded it very badly. | | a A set of noble knights you are! _ | 845 |

Fourth Soldier — = | a Annas, you stupid man, , |

oe Drop this kind of talk. en | I will tell you heavy tidings: | a | That Jesus is a great Lord. | | | Pll tell for truth | , — 850 a | That the angel from the bright heavens a ,| And _ Came with a great light | Be called the women to himself OO -

“Jesus of Nazareth, | | 855 | | ~ He 1s risen | | | | _ By the grave and spoke thus:

7 And has gone to Galilee!” . On | We give a fig for your mockery: |

| If you want to investigate it, — | -

You will find the grave undisturbed. | 860 | |

| ‘The angel has lifted off the stone. , a

, It cannot be otherwise but that | | God has conquered death’s sting. -

_ After they have held a council Cataphas says

| ' You knights-and trusty heroes! oe

. Look here, take this money , 865 | And keep silence regarding all matter | | | ‘That you heard by the grave. _ |

: 7 4 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | Should someone ask you where the corpse is,

a , Then say (you should believe me, in this): | |

| “His disciples have stolen Him out of the grave.” 870 _

| Then these things will remain hidden. | -

| Furst Soldier 7 | We shall keep absolutely still. | : Only if Pilate should wish to know this, a

Annas -

| | Then we must tell him about it |

| From the very beginning to the end. 875 , | Knights, we will save you from Pilate! _ : , Only do not shout your news among the people! ,

; | The people are so savage and so defiant: [towardus. _ | Should they learn of it, they would not feel kindly

a

For this.reason, dear knights, _ 880 Keep this great news | | Quietly as a secret! oo

We shall make you rich! |

(First Soldier) | ) -

a Annas, it’s easy for you to make that request!

| | We'd rather be silent than talk about it. _ 885 oO Be that, however, as it may,

| Many people in Galilee know about it! | : |

hold a@ council. , | , [SCENE I4, THE HOUSE OF PILATE| | - “Then the soldiers leave for their station at the Tomb and the Jews

Servant 7 | Pilate | |

Pilate says to his servant | | , Page, page! _ What do you want, my dear lord? |

, Page, go to the grave, | ~s 890

DHE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY re

- -And bring me the latest news. a , | oo -

-oSAnd tell the knights, 7 | oe They are to come to their lord. ~ , a OO

Servant — | a | ee 7 | a Lord, that shall be; BE «sD see that they read the letters aright. 895 | |

| a [SCENE 15, THE TOMB] Oo He runs to the sepulcher; when he sees it, he says to the soldiers

| - Good knights, God greet all four of you.

So You are all to come immediately | a

| To Pilate, your lord; | | _ He can spare you no longer. | | 7

— Get ready and come quickly, , 900 .

‘Then yowll get a bit of the paschal roast! | | os

‘Third Soldier ; | , , , - Page, what must be, must. | | | a

| I fear, you heroes, that he will read us.a nasty lecture. __ | -

.neFourth Soldier — rs _ Dear companions, let it not disturb you! |

‘What is to happen, must perforce happen. _ 905 a

be [scENE 16, THE HOUSE OF PILATE] . ; | They appear before Pilate; Fourth Soldier says Oo OS

_ Grace, lord King! | re Pilate oe ; re

; You knights, how does the matter stand? ee a |What _ What has happened to you? Bn did you see this night at the grave? Co

First Soldier — ' , | 7 Pilate, lord King! gto |

Strange things have happened to us. | oe oe

Here is news indeed, ss 4 | a

76 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | | Great and most important: a

Pilate ) 7 Z Jesus, Whom your soldiers

| . Were to guard, He is risen. | QI5 | - Yes, I should have known that beforehand. -

Surely you have cravenly lost that man. 7

Second Soldier | | Yes, Lord Pilate, that is so.

—- Pilate | |

| , It makes both us and the Jews most unhappy.

| Knights, just how this came about, 920 You must now report to me.

Second Soldier | | Pilate, from the highest throne

There came beautiful angels; | They took the man away from us.

By that we were terribly frightened. 925 In truth I do not know how, something happened to me.

I could neither see nor hear. | |

Lord, believe me, if you will; It was not altogether our fault.

As we were lying close to the grave 930

| (Where we could see everything quite plainly), | |

| The angels came in great force, _ |

| In wonderful clearness and beauty. | They robbed us of our wit and senses _

And caused us to fall into a sleep. | 935 The angels came to the grave,

And they took Jesus out. | They had Him alive in their midst; With great joy, it seemed to me,

They led Him to a bright spot, | | 940

All of which I noticed in my sleep. |

Pilate | a |

| a THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY , 77 7 oe If you were asleep, how could you see it? | | | That cannot possibly make sense. oe ' | _ When I see something, then I’m not asleep. | | - You have yourselves, between you, invented that 945 | | | And have you now slept enough? —s[Story. | | The thumb screws ought to be applied to you. | |

| For merely getting to the grave | | —

You scarcely earn high praise. | | | |

You are a fine set of knights! | 950 Oo

Utterly lacking in manhood! , 7 _ What honor have I gained now, 2 i ists

«Since you are afraid to tell the truth? a ee Are you such far-famed heroes? 7 | That question has now been settled: O55 | |

a | You are indeed heroes in the face of danger. | : You don’t any of you deserve a penny’s worth of breads a You are heroes only in running away quickly. | |

-See,Third Soldier that’s what we get for it, | 960 Sit down and let the thumb screws be applied.

| _ For having gone to sleep by the grave, oe 7 _ Where we were supposed to be on guard! a | | ~ Now we shall surely get punished for it | | | With sound abuse that we must humbly accept. a Oo Qh, that we had thought of that before! 965 |

: Then we would not be listening meekly to these words _ | _ And would not need to suffer mockery and reviling. | |

Pilate a | | Now we have lost our fiefs and our honor;

| We shall always be considered fools. |

8. | Where they will praise other knights, 970 _ They will point at us the finger of scorn. OO 7 It seems to me that Jesus has disgraced you | :

oe And all the land of the Jews. .

78 , THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | What avails it for you to stay here any longer?

| In dishonor PU order you from my court. 975 | [SCENE I7, THE SYNAGOGUE].

Then they go to the Jews. | | _ , |

Fourth Soldier | _ Caiaphas, Pilate has berated us |

| And punished us very severely. | Now you think up some other way

| So that we may again return to our lord’s court. | If that doesn’t happen very quickly, 980

| Then I and my companions :

Caiaphas _ | : Will mention, louder than you would like to hear it,

| Just how Jesus came out of His grave. Good knights, leave off your wrath.

We promised you in the first place 985

| That we would get you a pardon. | We must now see how to silence Pilate.

Annas

Good knights, if you cherish Pilate’s favor :

| Then take with you this letter |

And let him have it read; CO 990 | Then all will end well for you. |

Convey to him atthe same time > |

| , That we are at his service and wish him lasting peace.

a [scENE 18, THE HOUSE OF PILATE] | ,

Fourth Soldier | | Pilate, dear Lord, a

Pilate |

The Bishop of the Jews offers you his services and 995

This letter he sends to you; [his respects.

: Let them read to you what is in it. |

| | Here, scribe, you are to read me this letter. |

Scribe OO . | oo ae Pilate, dear Lord, oe 1000

THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | 79 | Lord, I am ever at your service. | | | - |

(Pilate) | | | } Oo ! Yes, scribe, read away. Se

a Do you wish to hear this letter? | Bn

7|It’sI shall (Scribe) | , | | do that as best I can. | | written here as follows: : | Oo | : “Lord Pilate, greetings! : | 1005 | -

_ The bishop of the Jews, Caiaphas, Oo | And Annas, who formerly was bishop, : OO And the whole people of the Jews, | a

| | They vow to you, Lord King, Be Their eternal service and wish you lasting peace. 1010

And furthermore they ask of you this petition: _ ee

oe That these four knights | - - You may receive again straightway |

Pilate | | , | | - Be my true men , oe

| Back into your good graces. — | | |

ss Kor that they’ll be ever in your debt.” | IOI 5 | _ Knights, in conformity with the petition of the Jews | ,

I shall take you back into my service. | | a

And possess as formerly _ Oo 7| Oo Your fiefs and your land. 10200 It seems to me the Jews are disgraced; OB

| They may turn the matter as they wish, | | I can find no truth in their speech. | |

_ 7 If I have understood it rightly, | | - , a ‘Then they have done a foolish thing _ 1025 | In bringing about Jesus’s death. So a They have gained for themselves eternal suffering. | / | Jesus,He whohas hadrisen comefrom fromthe God, |: |a dead. | Now they would like to have it hushed up, ~ 1030

| 80 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY ~ | _ But they’ll have to suffer for it. What they themselves said formerly

Will justly be avenged on them. |

: | I myself would gladly have saved His life. — | | - [ said: “I wish to be innocent of His blood!” 1035

ae Then they all called | | With tremendous shouting: | |

“We're not the least bit worried about it. | His blood be upon us and upon our children!”

And that is what will probably happen, 1040

a To their great distress. 7

— | PART TWO , | 7 oe _ [SCENE I9, THE DOLIUM] |

|| I Dolium and laments | , a ; thank you, my dear servants, I Then the devils lead out Lucifer in chains; he sits down on the

| _ For being thus duly at my service. _ a a

Whatever I had I shall never renounce: |

| Let me assure you all on that score. 1045 | | I have also heard of you, — oe : | . That you stand at all times for my interests; | : | For that you shall never be sorry, — |

Since I am your proper ruler. | , | |

The one who serves to suit me, __ 1050

Him will I also reward properly Oo

And grant all of his requests, Oo — So that he will be grateful to me forever. oO | Now probably you have all heard , |

That great grief has come to us; a | | That the door of Hell has been smashed, oo : _ Which was done by Jesus, the Mighty God. : | _ That was a grave misfortune for us; a OO | _ He has snatched from us all the souls | Who for more than 5,000 years 1060,

_ Had to suffer our tortures. |

|, And | Patriarchs and prophets | | all who were called men; _ Whether they were sinful or not. |

| _ We summoned them all before our court. 1065 ,

| They have all at once escaped us, | |

oO Since Jesus has unloosed their bonds |

| And brought them to His Father’s kingdom ,

| 82 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | a From which we poor creatures at one fell swoop

; . Were driven out in deep disgrace. _ 1070

| _ Now we must plague ourselves in Hell. — . |

| ‘But we shall be unafraid | Be _ And never capitulate. : | | Now since the saints have slipped away from us,

We shall look out for sinners. 1075 - Obviously God will scorn those

| Who are not subject to Him.

a ; Since things are thus, we must be satisfied -

And adapt ourselves accordingly -

|| |To teach them things 1080 Through which we can bring them into hell. | May each of you be faithful in this respect

| And realize that he will be sorry for failure; Let him mislead the wise and the foolish

That we may fill up hell again. | , 1085

a AfterYouashallpause he continues | } | now fly quickly hence And strive to fulfill my orders.

7 You shall teach the people in such a way

| That they turn away from God, oe

Both laymen and priests, | 1090

Lords, knights, and. squires. |

| | | Carry this out in all lands — |

: BothWhether secretly and openly; | , they be the good or the bad _ You shall give them the worst possible advice. 1095 __ None shall you despise,

| Whether they run, ride, or walk, | a The halt and also the blind— a ) | ~ You shall bind them all together .

, So that they’ll never live in that kingdom 1100 | From which we have been driven out. |

| | THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 83

Then he turns to Satan and says - Satan, my faithful servant, 7

7 Were you listening closely to what I said? | Now, since you are the cleverest among them ©

a Give them all some of your cunning, 1105 | | | To make them all strive very hard . os _ To bring something to our kitchen. — |

— Satan answers. — | | | | | Lucifer, dear lord, | :

| ae a No journey shall be too far for us. | | , |

oo Wherever there may be a sinner, ) 1110. |

oe But Him will we bring to you. | | i you must give us good advice

: Before we soar away from here. | a SO

Lucifer — _ | | Alas, alas, Satan, sy. | | So : - "We shall bring whomever we can catch, = ——

Oe - But who knows whether they will suit you! III§

a Must we get the beadle to flog you? | | | Can’t one make you understand? - oe | Do you believe that I am a Wend! Bring the poor and the rich, 1120

|-

~. And let none escape from you: |

The usurer and also the robber; — | | | |

The counterfeiter and the milk thief; _ The magician and the pastry cook; The liar and the dog trainer; 1125

,|a

The brewer, the maltster, 7 a | a ! | And also the dealer in tripe; | | SO - The tinker and the jack-of-all-trades; ae co

: The teamster and the fuller; ;

- The tanner, the flax braker, 1130 - OO

And also the wheelwright; ; | OO The verger, the sexton, a | —

84 / THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | ,

_ And the carp roaster; a | | | ||_The reader and the writer; | The plowman, the coachman, 1135 : And also the puppet player | OO | | | Who takes away from the fools their money;

The knight and the landed proprietor— | |

‘Let none of them elude you. —

| . The tailor and also the blacksmith— 1140 |

~ Tie them all to one chain; a |

| The fortune teller and the evil wives— | | — See to it that none shall escape. ‘What would it avail you to hesitate?

| _ Off with you, now, in a hurry! : 1145 , All of them recede from Lucifer; Satan says to the others Come, gentlemen, all of you be wise.

You should avoid at any cost. | _ Ever contradicting Lucifer, our prelate. — | : From here we shall set out on the road, oe _ And work for the interests of our master— 1150 A whoreson whoever is last.

a [SCENE 20, THE DOLIUM] _ Lucifer, calling to his followers, cries out in a loud voice

| East, south, north, west! | | | Come here, come here, from all fortresses!

oo Well done, well done, well done, | |

| Flop Ear and Satan! «ISS All who are my servants,

Let them listen to my voice! _

. | Let them come running quickly! [head.

| It’s enough to make me tear the hair out of my aching ©

a - When the devils do not hear him, he calls again |

| a Well then, well then, well then, | 1160 My dear servant Satan! a

THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | 85

_ Make haste! Come to me! | | | Be ---Jt shall profit you much today. | oe |

Satan | , a _ | , : ' What news, my dear master, | | Oo | i That you call so loudly? | 165 |

Now I have come hither to you, | a

Lucifer ooSatan! | | | OO oe Alas, dear | | - _ _I never should have suspected | | OO a Say on, what do you want of me? | | Oo

| That your answer would be so disagreeable. 1170 a

For my heart is full of grief | |

| ‘Because you did not come quickly, a a |

| When you heard my call. | | For that reason I feared very much Oo | _. That some evil had happened to you. II75 a

, Satan GNSWETS , a : a | | | Lord Lucifer, in all truth => a | | | : Believe me this, in all frankness, _ oo

7 _ When I heard your call , an I failed to come for the following reason: - a I had just gotten a good start a 1180 |

And was intent on our business. CO a There is lying sick an old man | Oo | Who has striven all his life long — | re | In the pursuit of his calling of usurer. _ | Now has come the day of his death, | 1185 -

| When he may live no longer— : Oo |

| And I wished to remain © | | OS | Until he had died, | | : oe

For then I would have gained his soul. Oo oe But when your voice was heard for the second 1190 | | I certainly ran away from there quickly, _[time, Oo Oo

Because I feared your wrath. — | | 7 Give credence, lord, to my speech! Oo |

| Lucifer | | | a , 86 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

- Thank you, my dear servant! | |

| You fulfill your duty properly, «LIQ | | When you try to do my will a And work in the interest of all of ux— _ Which your companions are not doing. .

| - _ My mind is very doubtful on that score. I don’t know what I am to say, | 1200 Since your companions, without exception,

~ Remain away and do not come. |

‘Tell me, don’t you know ©

may have stayed | Or what Where theytheymay be doing? 1205

| Because they failed to come

| | When I called them each by name. _ |

Satan answers OS | Lucifer, Pl tell you that. a : |

: You don’t need to ask very long about it, PU tell you, my dear lord, “1210 | Your servants are not far from here— _

| Collected all together in a group— a } | | _ And are afraid of your anger, oo

Because they’ve been gone for a long time ©

And because neither by kindness nor by force = 1215

, Can anyone be prevailed upon | | To dance to their pipe |

/ - _ And be subject to them. | That is brought about by the fact | That people in general, | 1220 ; Both great and small, | | All have now been converted

| And are in accord with God

And despise our teaching. |

oe _ I am telling you, Lucifer, dear lord, - 1225 | | That this is why they dare not appear before you. |

Lucifer — , | - | |

"THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY. 87 Is that so, dear servant Satan? — | Oo | They should nevertheless not flee; oO oe | | My wrath is already gone. © Oo 7 a . Therefore run to them quickly __ 1230 |

| And tell them all | Oo

That they should maintain their honor _ And come here immediately _ Whenever they hear my voice resound, | | 7 - Because,] want to try hard | 1235 |

oe To teach them slyness, | BS _ That they may reconvert | : _

Satan | Oo | | | - Those who formerly did our will — 7 |

But who now have fallen away from our teachings.

I shall do it, dear Lucifer: _ 1240 |

| If they may come without danger, a

Then Pll run straight away. | | | None of them shall come too late. | |

As‘soon as they hear your voice : , They’ll come immediately. a TAS Oo

Lucifer again cries out and says to those who have come

Welcome to you, my dearest servants! | Now you have acted according to our old law | 7

By reporting immediately, | | As soon as you heard my call. | -

_ _That’s what you failed to do the first time. | 1250

a I want to have an explanation of this: | a | Why was it that you did not come ~ .

Astrot says | -

, When you heard. my voice? _ | | 7 Lord, that was for this reason: oO . | _ We ran, early and late, | | 1255 Z

: About a hundred times around the world, | a

88 ‘THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY ,

| Both straight and crooked, | , Wherever we knew that people were a Whom with our evil snares | Oo

_ We had converted to our way 1260

. And taught our works. | | | | But we have lost them altogether, — | | Since they have come to despise us.

| _ Therefore we were without any gain whatsoever. And for that reason we did not come 1265 When your voice resounded over us.

| One day seemed to us as long as a year,

_ As we came to realize that

Luctfer ,

| If we should bring no souls to you,

Your wrath would be increased | | 1270

| , And we should not be welcome. a |

Yes, to be sure you have been out. ~ , | _ It is good that you have returned safely,

| And have come back willingly. | One ought to hang you for thieves. 12°75 | You have gone to my school : a And have come to understand my teachings so well

That I took you for regular magicians. | Now I must teach you somewhat differently, _

| As one does with young children | 1280

| , _ Who are as stupid as cattle!

! But I shall forgive you | Jf you will act more to please me , | And see to it that you all strive hard, That the souls shall no longer escape you. 1285

All the devils call out , | Yes, indeed, Lucifer, dear lord, | |

Lucifer , Oe |

Oo That we will do now and ever more. © , | Well then, this shall be forgotten. | 7 But you will have to be told again—

os THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 8g | Iam going to tell you one more little thing. 1290 |

oe Note all of you what Tsay: _ | | | Now though things have gone badly with you |

You must nevertheless not give up. | | | _. Following my orders, you are to | | . |

Make tracks for Liibeck immediately. 1295 —

| _ There the people are about to die in great numbers; | | Hence you will be able to gain many souls: a _

a Shopkeepers and weighmasters; | | | |

| -, _Butchers and porters; a a | The mistress of the inn, with her taps, 1300 | oo _ And also the monk, with his cowl, |

Grab them all by the short hair, |

And every one of you take heart. — : |

| Bring them to me with one great shout. _ —_ When I call, all of you come. , | 1305

A strot Z a | Yes, lord, it shall be done | Even if it causes us a lot of trouble. ; | |

Surely we’ll manage somehow, 7 |

; _ For we are eager to bring things to the kitchen. _ -

Let all of us now be ready, —- 1310

That none need wait for the other. | oe [SCENE 21, THE DOLIUM] | | | Lucifer calls as before; Puck says a , |

Lord Lucifer, my name is Puck; — , I have backed my rump through many a thorn bush. a Don’t get angry this time. oe | We have caught many souls, | 1315. | Which we will all fetch to youu | | a | See to it that Hell is escape proof. a. | Oo

Lucifer , | | ae | That is a speech I am pleased to. hear. | a

| Now go and help to drive them up. | _ On

Be strong and clever, a ——- 1320 Oo

| 90 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | Then you will win my praise. | |

a If any of the souls are tuckered out, | . |

| | Then you must carry them up on your backs.

And thus they carry the souls to Lucifer; Puck says | 7

| - Rejoice, Lucifer, dear lord! ,

OO We have attained praise and honor; 132500 | See how they stand here before you— | a

Astrot says ,

: These who have followed our advice. | | See, lord, this beautiful parade.

| You might well now give usa friedege | And with it some ham, | | 1330,

Flop Ear | Lest we. drink on an empty stomach.

| | Lucifer, weve sallied forth successfully; oe

We've garnered in this bunch of souls |

From hither and yon. : ; 7 : Just look at them, dear Lucifer! | 1335

Lucifer ,

Yes, my servants, now you have done well. | a

, You shall receive my praise, an

| Because your art and your teachings | Were borne out so valiantly; |

For that you all have my thanks. 1340 | - Since time is hanging heavy on my hands, | | Let one of these after the other step up

, |—_ And say what he has done | , |Whereby he has deserved. a | To be brought here by you. | 1345 | Then I shall tell you | | : | Which torture you are to inflict on each.

Noytor (to Lucifer) | 7 ~ Lord, I come with my plunder | | |

_ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | 91

a Which I acquired for our cause. — | 7 |

- Here is the soul which I grabbed. 13500 |

(Lucifer to Noytor) | | | a Take this egg, from which even the hen ran away! ,

To the baker © | |

a There is bran sticking to the end of your nose; | | I believe you must have been a baker. |

| What can you say for yourself, now | , | That they have seized you? _ 1355 | ~ Now really, without fooling, . a |

. Baker : , -

Oo Couldn’t you find your way to heaven?

SO Mercy, Lord Lucifer! | a |a| And I wassoamy baker up till now; | | misery is great. | 1360 | When I baked I hollowed out the loaf, | a | | I mixed the dough with extra yeast, oe a

| Which caused the bread to rise so high. | |

a Even when there was none-too-much dough, _ | | I still broke off a piece of it 1365 | And tossed it back into the trough. |

|

Oe And so I must now cry out “O woe, oh woe!” | | Oo |

I would make cakes out of bran, Be |

, _ For which the people cursed me roundly. | : --.-I did not let the bread bake thoroughly, 1370 In order thus to cheat the people. | | Oo

| If I now had my life to live over, :

Lucifer i a

7 --[ should never again be a baker. , | - |

ss All right, my clever servants, | Oo | oo Toss this baker into Hell | 1375 a | | And set him down by the glowing oven. | | | oe

, 92 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY , There he will sit warmer than in the bathhouse. | — He baked his bread with too thin acrust;

| For that, beat him with your fists. | | : | Which he certainly deserves well, | 1380

Tutevillus :

Since he baked his loaves soggy and hollow. - |

Lord, this is my report: - |

IIam didcalled not goTutevillus; out in vain.| ,| Se | I’m leading the shoemaker in by the hand, 1385 _ | Just to show you my devotion. .

Lucifer (to Tutevillus) OO , For that have a stench, my dear fellow. To the Shoemaker , |

Welcome, my dear companion! — | | , | How do matters stand with your _ a | If I am to believe my senses, | 1390 | _ Then you must be a shoemaker. a

| Wouldn’t Jesus take you into Heaven! _

Shoemaker | : | | Ah, my noble lord and prince, | You ought to be ashamed of yourself. _

| I wish I knew whether I dare tell it. 1395

| I sold my shoes so dear, | \ And burned the soles by the fire - |

. When I wanted to soften the leather. | Then I took salt and urine, | And added yeast and suds to it; | 1400 With that I greased my shoes | 7 That all seemed to me the proper thing to do. | / I sold sheep leather for Cordovan goatskin. I made my thread of flax, |

- THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY (93 CS So that the seams burst straight away. 1405 oe

My leather was not well tanned; , | an

| Therefore, now I have to suffer punishment. . |

| Ah, if I were only a man once more, |

Lucifer — | | a |

| a I should never again turn to the trade of shoemaker! |

ve Yes, yes, you are telling the whole truth. 1410 |

| _. Tutevillus, come here, my servant. | | | Toss him into the tan vat |

«Jn which you have recently been boiling pitch. © Oo

There let him tread the leather ) | | Both night and day. | | | | 1415 | He sold shoes to the people — ee

Of which the soles were made of sheepskin. a |

Astrot — | OO OS a oo Oo My dear lord, I am the third; |

Oo See, here I am bringing the billy goat. oe a _ Lord, you called me altogether too suddenly;/ = 1420 |

Sc Four of them got away from me. OS a -. Now I am bringing this one alone, | Oo Since he didn’t put up any. fight at all. oe «STE you had waited a little while longer a ~ -- T could have led twenty of them here. © | 1425

| Lucifer (to Astrot) © | ee oo Sn Surely you are a faithful man; | |

| - You shall have a big stench. , _

To the Tailor | | | If I have read the cards correctly; _ | I believe that you have been a tailor. | oe _ -You have cut many a garment, 1430

ee For your hand shows that you handled scissors.

, — Tailor |

94. THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY |

| Truly lord, you speak the truth. | | | Pll make a clean breast of it. Oo | a Of five ells of cloth I could probably _ oe Every time steal half, : . 1435

-| For And of this I made two muffs; 7 that the devil now wants to claw me. Whatever the color might be,

I'd always say it had shrunk a lot. oo

| If I cut a coat or mantle for someone, 1440 Then I stole gloves and socks. | oe | oo _ With a hot needle I sewed the garment, , So that the seam would rip straight off. :

Whether it was Easter or Christmas,

, , _. Td pay no attention to the holiday. - 445

Lucifer ! , |

| Now, thanks to my short yardstick, oe

I must be tortured in Hell. | :

Come here, you who are my servants! |

Do to this tailor according to his deserts oo _ And toss him into the bottom of Hell. T450 |

‘There he shall lie like a dog | | | ,

Puck , ! ,

7 And roast in the eternal heat. , |

He has cheated so many people. | | I am the fourth, and my name is Puck.

| See, lord, I have a big stomach! | TA55 I suppose I dare tell you my business: I am accustomed to lie in the cellar. —

, When the barmaid forgets herself a

| | And fills the cup completely, _ Then I make a habit of touching her hand 1460

In order to push the cup aside; | | | | | If she would sell full measures, — | ,

| _ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY —_ gs :

Then her soul might escape us. - | But it seems to me it would be better,

My lord, that I bring her to you” 1465 |

And commend her to your power. | | a |

(Lucifer to Puck) Oe oe a You may have, then, what the sow drops. '

| To the Barmaid oo : | Oo I can tell by my cunning— | | |

- I believe that you are a barmaid.

_ It seems I see in your face | - 1470 |

Barmaid | | Oo

That you serve a miserly measure of beer. | |

Oo Why should I try to cover it up? — |

| | I don’t think I could deceive you anyway. I. was always able to make a lot of beer, _ | |

So Chiefly for this reason: 1475 | ee I used an ample quantity of water— _ ss Otherwise my need for water was small. Bn

oo Also, when I sold beer or wine, | ‘Then this was my custom: ae | _ I put my thumb into the glass | 1480

And served beer with a lot of foam. — Oo oo | ‘Whenever I measured out beer for someone, a

a I believe that I never once forgot a |

a To serve part from the second boiling; | i

_ And thus I earned many a penny. (1485 — |

Lucifer cries out — ee | | ‘Truly, truly, you are a real fool! | Oo You smell rottener than carrion! | |

Surely, you should be really disgraced ; | - You haven’t confessed half your sins. | -

- You spoke only of the foam; its TAQO 0 2 2

96 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY You had also the thumb of the thief

| ‘Suspended at the top of the vat. | By that means you have earned hell.

|| Lucifer speaks again _ oo | | My dear servants, get ready | | And give this barmaid her reward quickly. 1495

, Set her in a hot barrel , And give her to drink with a shovel. |

Hang her up by hertwothumbs ~ |

Which she used to stick into the foam. —

Since she served such skimpy beer, 1500 —

| Beelzebub | Poot, poot, poot! oo _ My dear servants, give her her due reward.

| Lucifer, my lord, I am coming now. |

| If I hadn’t heard your voice, _ | : I would have enticed a whole lot more of them. 1505 -

Now I have caught only this one. _

Lucifer -_

| Ah, here’s my accomplice in crime! | |

(To the Weaver) Oe | Well, this will not be so pleasant for you. a

It seems to me you can shoot the spools; a If I’ve read the letters correctly, | 1510

Weaver oO a , Dear lord, that is true; | | Then you have been a weaver. |

| J have been a weaver for many a year. _

| And I acted with great dishonesty, | Inasmuch as I took every fourth hank of yarn: =1515

If the woof was too long, a

| THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 97

- ‘IThen I kept the extra threads. : could always weigh things short |

— And thus skin the laymen and cheat the priests; :

Lucifer | | — | | For that I must now with my companions _ 1520 |

on Be tortured eternally in hell! _ | Truly you are telling good news; a

: | It pleases me very much to hear it.

a If you thus ensnare your dupes, - |

Then we might be able to fill hell again, . 1525) | | And even build an annex to it, | | | So that you’d have a lot of rooms and halls. i | - Now all of you grab hold at the same time, | Oo

- | So that none of you will get hurt, | | | | And throw this weaver with his loom - 1530, , Down into the depths of hell. a |

_ Crook Nose ; : Oo , _ , _ Lord you have made a great stir, | |

a _ Because time was hanging heavy on your hands. | | .

If I had been able to stay longer, a : a

a I could have filled hell all by myself.. 1535

| - Now I am bringing you but one. | |

| Lucifer (to Crook Nose) :

My dear servant, that is enough for me. | :

(To the Butcher) OO | | | - - Unless all my imagination deceives me, | | - You have occupied yourself in cracking bones. |

, I can easily tell by your mouth oe 1540

| That you have eaten many intestines. __ - |

Butcher = - a |

_ Sure enough, lord, you have guessed correctly; | I could roast cow mouths very well. ,

| 98 _ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

When I was making sausages, ,

I put into them everything that I wanted to— 1545 Intestines, lungs, and meat scraps— |

| But I added not one bit of fat. | |

| When people tried to fry them, — | | _ As little grease came out as from an old shoe; |

_ But if I wanted to eat them myself, 1550 Then the fat was never forgotten.

If I had for sale the meat of an old sow, | Then I called to the people: Se “Come here and buy suckling pig!” | And so now I must suffer tortures. a 1555

Luctfer , , a My servants, now stand by! | | Seize this swindler |

| , And this pickled pig’s foot, | | _ For he never was good for anything.

| Beat him with hot intestines, 1560

Belial | |

| _ Since he used to handle sausages.

Stick him into a pig’s stomach, |

| In which he’ll be thoroughly tortured.

| Lord, my name is Belial. | , You have not yet all the souls; | I, too, am living in hope of luck.

1565

| _ Here I bring you a real drone,

Who has acted according to our spirit;

, Therefore he shall swell our numbers.

| Lucifer (to Belial) | | , - You canspeak your piece well; 1570 You shall have your mouth filled with swines’ pearls. _

, (To the Huckster) | ' | | Say, it seems to me from the way you talk— | And then you smell of herring brine too—

_ _ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 99 | ‘ThatAnd you have been a huckster | have sorted herring. an 1575 Oo

Fluckster oo | | In order to win your favor | I should like to confess my sins: |

a Whenever I had a good tun of herring, — | | Then I immediately bethought me a oo To mix some rotten ones among them; — , 1580 — , | I would do that early and late. |

. When I had a buckling or an eel, : | | | I cheated people out of their money. _ , 7 Also my thoughts were always directed |

| On how to dupe them on the weight. 1585 a Since I thus swindled the people Oo And blatantly lied to many a one, — | | | ---T must now go to the bottom of hell

And lie there like a dog, | | |

Lucifer - | | |

| My servants, you ought not to miss this oppor- 1590 |

| Take this regular old owl, - [tunity. | 7 Give him his due measure of fire, |

OO And see how he likes it. : | | | He certainly does deserve it; - | |

| Set him with his behind on the hot hearth. 1595 | -

Pot Licker | | 7 |

| Ah, lord Lucifer, you deserve to be cheated; | -

_ You are standing in your own light. _ If I always had to spend my time this way, -

| Then I'd prefer to stay at home. | -_

| You shout a lot into our ears; ~~ 1600. | | | You make fools of us all. oo

: | Your yelling almost killed me; ee , JT have caught but one. a | OO |

Lucifer | - | | 100 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

| - Your mouthings are as worthless as chaff; | By my troth, Pl requite you for it. | 1605 You act far too cocky in my presence. ee

| Pll teach you a different tune, _

And I tell you, on my honor, | This speech I shall never forgive you. —

ToTruly, theyouRobber ; | | are going to suffer. | ~ 1610 My wrath is causing me a headache, _ Which is altogether on your account. «= I wish I could flay you as I’d like to. | If I read the cards aright, You have taken from many a one what was his. 1615

Robber oO

| | Lord, how well you guessed it!

I can smell, too, what you are frying—

You want to drag me to hell. I shall confess to you all my shame:

I was a robber in my day; 1620 | I paid no attention whatsoever to God; _ , I burned barns and houses, As well as churches and hermits huts;

| I took the chalice from the altar.

And.so now I am in such dire peril; | 1625

| In fact, I am lost for eternity. Had I known that before,

I would have left everyone his property

Lucifer , a And begged for bread in the streets!

Yes, yes, now here you are! _ | 1630

“Afterward”—that is thin beer; |

| THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 101 oo

- Such speeches are new to me. | 7 Oo

, “Afterward”—that is old wives’ repentance. a | 7 ~ - He is clever who thinks it over beforehand, | So | Then afterward he will not dirty his pants. 1635

| Listen, man, I want to tell you something: | |

oe Yow ll never again invent any new pranks; | Pll hand you over to the avenger.

_ I think we shall certainly check your activities.

| See, what good does it do you now? — 1640. ~ .-You have hurt many a poor man | | | | | By taking his property, and you have even killed one; — 7 | For that you shall now suffer pain. | _ - My servants, all of you take care | |

; _ That this robber shall not escape; | 1645 /

I should like to help you myself, | | a | _ But you are all good strong giants. a Hold him fast and Pll love you! a | | Grab this low-down cow-thief; _ os | , : Snatch him by the hair of his head; 1650 |

See to it that he doesn’t run away! a

Drunk-as.an Owl , | | ae Oo : Lord, I am called Drunk as an Owl. ee |

a I have been lying by the fence | ;

- - And have listened here and there, | oe

| But I discovered nary a soul— | 1655

- Neither layman nor priest. | : -_ _ Finally I got so mad I went to sleep; a : a I nearly sat still too long; | SO |

| The wolves might have gotten me. | | | Lord, don’t consider this a joke; | 1660 oe You will not find many servants like me. oe | :

‘Tf you hadn’t called so loud, | : - Tam sure something would have come my way. | a

|. I think you might well praise me for it: | |

| _ Iran so fast that I am sweating like a bake-oven. 1665 | |

Lucifer |

ro2 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY |

| _ Verily, you shall suffer for it;

I wish the hangman would string you up. | |

|| oe I tell you, by my troth, , You shall ascend into an old woman. 7 | | , Yow’ll suffer so much from the stench 1670 That yowll have a dull time. | After all, you are good for nothing else; | You shall go about as filthy asa March cow. You are lazy and slothful; oe I never in my life saw a more worthless plug. 1675 Nor among the lame and the blind

Could I find such a drone as you; _ , --Your tongue is hinged in the middle; — |

, Fie, You youwon’t stink like a dog! : do what I want you to— | 1680 | Go on and learn to flay horses;

Then you can sleep all day long. Don’t I have to toil hard at my job?

| You are banned from my presence; | I?ll have no trouble getting better servants. 1685 In truth, I won’t stand you a minute longer,

Get right out of my sight! If you ever again come where I am, . It shall go very ill with you. © 7

, [SCENE 22, THE DOLIUM] |

Lucifer, after looking all around and failing to see Satan, says

Help, help, woe is me! SO 1690

Satan has stayed away too long a time. Alas, if only someone would inquire _

| Whether possibly he is sick, a

| , Whether he is laid low by a fever. | |

| I wish I knew some doctor to examine him. 1695 If he had accomplished anything, Then he would have come among the first.

THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 103 ,

Lam very much worried, but I think | | _ That he is out looking after my interests. | ne He was best skilled in devils’ arts; | 1700 -

| Alas, now he is the last. 7

He wanted to chase too many souls here;

_ Tam afraid he has been killed on the way. | Oo

~~: But I will never give up. | oo - Wherever he is, in whatever street, 1905 oe

oe If he hears my voice OS IT hope that he will beat his way back here. |

| Satan, Satan, faithful vassal! | a Alas, alas, 1 fear he is dead. a | |

voice a | | _ -

Then comes Satan carrying a clergyman and saying to him in a soft oe

| Brace up, brace up, Mr. Domunie! 7 - 1710 | an I fear me my lord will scold. | : a oe | Cut your prayers just a bit shorter. | | What boots it that I wait here so long? |

| | Your prayers weigh no more with me than wood a Now you must dance as I pipe. [shavings; 1715 | -

|But , You move your lips a lot, | | so far as I can observe , , a , Your heart is not in it at all. 7 | | |

Priest | | re

. | Come on, Mr. Baldpate, follow me. | |

| Now in the name of the Holy Christ, _ 1720

a I adjure you tell me who you are. SO ee You might well have let me be | And allowed me to read my vespers; | a a

7 - I was occupied with holy words. | oe

God will never permit 1725 _ oO That you with your wicked desires , | | | ~ Do me the least bit of harm. , | :

Satan , |

104 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

| Now then, what’s the use of so much talk? a

| By my troth, you must come along. | You are trying to paint yourself as altogether too 1730 | I know about some other things, too. [holy; It makes no difference to me what you are reading, | Very often you forget your hours; You enjoy being in continual gluttony

oo Priest

| And never want to leave the tavern; 17350

| You swill your beer down like water. : Go on, yow’re a toddling elephant!

, I believe—may the good Lord help me—

| You are just trying to make a mockery of me.

Verily you’d better beware of me! 1740 I shall have to try a different way. |

Wait, my good man, wait, wait! :

oe If I only had holy water and blessed salt,

Satan , |

I certainly would tame your levity, So that you'd very quickly turn tail. 1745 Phooey, Mr. Yowler, phooey! Now really, what piffle are you talking? You are launching such eloquent speeches,

| Verily, yowre almost winning me over.

But PI! not let you quack any longer; «1750

Lucifer | | Ah, my heart leaps up with joy; | , Now you shall make tracks. | |

Methinks I hear Satan’s voice. _ |

| He is singing now, it seems to me;

} I do hope that he is still alive. 1755 So long as he has saved his life, | } I will not inquire about his booty.

, THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY «105 7 | Why, this could move a stone to tears; re |

| Satan | Oo | , | If he comes [’ll have to weep for love. | |

| | Watch, my dear lord, watch! | | 1760 |

_ Iam bringing one of the clerical brood; | -

- _ Iam bringing you a priest _

| Who has overslept many a mass. | oO | | | When it was time for church service, a | :

| He had not yet read his hours; 1765 | | | And so he gorgeda huge meal, | Oo oO _ And thus managed to miss the vespers also. | | _ He drinks, too, till he’s well filled up; a

7 At evening devotions he’s in the tavern. | | | Whether the cups be straight or bellied, — 1770 oe | - He always will call for the hugest tankard. | | a

| | Then the other one says, “God prevent, | Id rather drink but half a glass!” | i

So I have decided | | | _ That we should not be without priests. 1775 :

Lucifer — | | | | Ah, how can that be possible? | | | 7 Can priests now be drawn to hell? a | | I vow you shall not escape us,

oo No matter how much holy water you have swilled. |

You priests can teach a great deal; | 1780 |

_ It seems to me that you lead the people astray. rt

| Tf matters stand as I’ve been told, | , 7

: __-Your preaching is not to our advantage; -

The people dance to your piping, = | | .

Oo For which reason there are few for us to catch. 11785 a

|- I Listen, Mr. Priest, listen: | , want to make just one little request of you; | -

a _ Please stand aside a little bit, | - OS - _ I simply can’t bear to have a priest so near me. a

Priest | Oo

106 THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY | Listen, what was that you said? | 1'790

Why, here you are standing supported by your servant, _

| - While I am all alone; | And yet I do not shudder so much. |

If you are planning to have me in hell, Then PIl have to come a good deal closer to you. 1795

Lucifer 7 |

Ah, Satan, you are going to be hanged; This priest has scorched my hair,

~ _He does it with mere words; |

, If he should come into our place, | | |

| We couldn’t stay there much longer, | 1800 | We should have to relinquish hell to him. | I wouldn’t know where we could stay |

Or in what rump-hole we might take refuge. Here we see the old proverb illustrated— _

| The last sheep messes up the stable. 1805 I thought you had a clever mind, |

Priest oo , | Do you believe, my dear Lucifer, | And now you let a priest outwit you.

That I am so dull ,

That I cannot defend myself | 1810 _ And will have to go down to hell?

| Then my schooling would have been wasted sy If the devils were able to catch me.

Hell is no place for me, |

Since there are enough laymen | — 18IS5

| Who deserve to go to hell ahead of me; I can very well save my own life. oo

Lucifer to Satan |

| Satan, let this go! OO

I cannot stand this scorching another minute.

THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 107 | Oo Couldn’t he possibly be a holy man? 1820 —

| Holy water is dripping from his nose, | a

And incense is on his back. 7 -

ae _ Take away this old pigeon-toes. | oo

- He has read so many psalters | | |

Oo That we’d better be spared his presence; __ 1825 _

| | In no way could we profit from him. -

| ‘Don’t you want to let him go? _ | | a

If you won’t release him, I’ll say to you herewith | /

| That I shall banish you as I did Drunk as an Owl.

For too long have I put up with your annoying 1830 | -

| Pll award your service to another. L ways; | oe

| You Who fetched hither this priest, exasperates me with mocking speeches; ,

| Yow’ll continue to act the wiseacre | oe | Until hell is harrowed once more; 1835 | | We will now all make a good try Oo | |

7 At pulling your fur to pieces. | | a ~ | should like to douse your head, [been told. _ | |

Satan a | | | /

| So that you’d never do anything before youw’d | oe See, my good man, here is your psalm book. —-1840_ a

| Drat it, you old run-around-the-altar, | | |

, Go on, I hope you won’t live much longer! | | _- Pve had a lot of trouble on your account | oo

And have lost my lord’s favor. 7 | ee

— Priest , , — | | Yes, yes, wind and curse— | 7 Go on, and may the hangman take you in charge! 1845 |

Tie them together in one cloth! a

| When you untie it again | | Oo oe | Then see what yowll find init. Oo —_ Surely, by no means should. you fail _ 1850. —_

| _ To bring a lot of priests to hell. : | What are you so mad about? | a |

108 _ THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY

‘Priests are safe from you. | | |

, }?ll make you a true confession: |

Priests won’t go to hell of their own accord. 1855

_ If you think to drag them there against their will, _ Then you'll have to exert yourself quite differently.

Pay attention! ’m going to put my curse on you. , You shall be dragged into the wild swamp

Where you can do no harm to anyone. 1860 There you'll find out what yowre good for.

Satan |

| , If then you won’t behave yourself,

Pll read you the credo in a different form.

| - Alas, all my bones are trembling. | I wish that I had brokenaleg © | 1865 Or that I had slept all that time | I was sneaking after the priest. |

| I should have smelled a rat sooner— —

| But once more I was fooled. | - I would have done better for myself 1870 If I had entered into an old woman. |

To be sure, I was having all too pleasant a time..

_ Now he rages at me in his pride | And begins to shout down my throat.

Better to have crawled into a mouse hole; 1875 Then at least he would not banish me from the land. Now he inflicts too great a disgrace on me.

- Iam to fly into the wild swamp. | _ Am I to guard birds’ nests there?

Luctfer 7

Listen, Satan, listen, listen! 1880 I don’t believe that I am altogether a fool. | | If you had let the priest go in time, ,

Then you would not be standing there so humiliated. ~ You didn’t listen to me, though I am your master.

"THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 109

Now listen to the hangman’s doom: 1885 -

7 Let the priest chase you wherever he likes— | - | Verily, I shall not litt my voice in protest. | _ -

If he can chase you into a swamp, | | I shall never raise any question about it. | |

Oo You just would not be warned in time; 1890 |

| Now you must be snatched into the wild woods. an | :

Oo There you must rot like a pig; | a

There you may cool your itching limbs. | | You would make such an impertinent retort: So

“One ought to listen when the old dogs bark.” «1895

| Now you must get out of this country; | ee

| | You have disgraced our entire society. |

Lucifer again , | _ Let them flay me if I speak against it; | | Mister Priest, have your way with him. | |

I now don’t want to protect him any longer. 1900

a See with what hangdog air the fellow stands! | | | Now I must see how I can manage |

‘To get another viceroy in hell. Oo OO

| This poor duffer was deceived; | : |

Priest _ , , a ' _ He must go where dead nags go. © 1905 a

| | Lucifer, you yourself had better be careful, | | Otherwise Ill do something to you, too. | | _ | If Jesus appears once more before your gates, 7

| He will then destroy the whole of hell. |

Of one thing I am sure: 1910

| _ That God is more powerful than the devil. | Oo

(Lucifer) _ Oo You priests have jolly customs; | | |

| You speak to us'in too sharp a manner. So

Jesus is wiser, I hope at least, | an

, IIO THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY Than to run to hell every day. © IQI5 By my troth, there 1s no help for it;

Be your speech ever so clever, |

Be you priests or laymen,

You shall dance with us in hell | | |

_ If you have committed sins. 1920 I’d like to see how yow’ll escape us in future; |

Jesus has taken some souls away from us,

But not nearly all of them have escaped.

| It will not be so very long, now, — - Before Pll get about twenty, despite the priests. 1925 | My men shall lie in ambush; _

| I hope that we will ensnare plenty of them. [SCENE 23, THE DOLIUM| Lucifer again, lamenting

Through my pride I am lost. © ,

Woe is me, that I was ever born! |

| O woe, alas, oh poor me! 1930 So Who will take pity on me, Since I have done evil?

Could I repent and undergo penance, _ | ,

| Now and ever. _ 1935

| How gladly I would suffer it

There ought to be standing here a tall tree,

| Which should be made in this way: | Beginning at the ground |

| It should be fitted with sharp shearing knives

Which cut on both edges. | 1940 Td like to slide up and down it Until Judgment day. | It would make me shriek in woe and pain; But that even this cannot happen to me

, Is a punishment caused by my pride. 1945 Pride is the beginning of all sin; Pride has sunk us devils into the pit.

| THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 11t _. Human beings have entered upon the pleasures |

Which we devils have lost; | _ But we shall garner in each one | 1950. 7

| Who has loaded himself down with sin, |

-——s Be he layman or priest, a | | Lord, knight, or squire, | _ ~Bishop, cardinal, or pope, | Oo Henry, Herman, or Nicholas, — | 1955

| Convent nun or lay sister, . | | — Be she ugly or beautiful— | | | , If they have committed sin | | They shall go with us devils to hell. — - We'll lie in wait for them all, 1960 _

oe So that they shall fly with us to hell. | | | |

Lucifer, again Oo | 7 | Come here, now, my dear servants; , _

| You are all serving me properly. | |

_ Now how are we going to employ our leisure | | ‘So that we'll not have another such battle? 1965. oo You heard, probably, what this priest said: '

Jesus is to come once more. | | | | _ Therefore it seems good to me, by my troth, | Oe , That we rush away toward hell a _ And watch there over our souls 1970,

‘Whom we have just now gained. _ | | Oh, my servants, my sorrow is so great | | I have become sick with grief. _ | 7 ee Would you please carry me to hell? | |

‘Noytor | 7 oe

(Lucifer) | | |

oe Yes, lord, we'll gladly do that for you. 1975 |

So O dear servants, please don’t hurt me. | |

(N oytor) , ! 112 THE REDENTIN EASTER-PLAY

Lord, crook your knees | |

And hang down over our backs. ~ Even if you were as heavy as a miller’s sack

| And had swallowed the whole of a miller’s nag, 1980

| Yet would we carry you to hell. ,

, Dear companions, take hold, take hold together,

| So that his head won’t drop on the ground. | And thus they carry him off, singing “Drag out the old fornicator.”

| [SCENE 24, THE DOLIUM | , The Epilogue ascends the dolium and says Listen a minute, all of you,

Both great and small! | 1985 In a short time we shall bring this play

To an end at last. | |

| If something has been overlooked here,

Do not blame us too severely; |

| For I have read full oft 1990 That no man can be perfect. |

_ Likewise, I have never seen anyone, anywhere,

| _ Who could do to please all the people. , Therefore, we ask you as a last favor

That you always wish us well; 1995

For if we can possibly do so | We shali later on perform a better one.

Let us rejoice in God _ | | And fulfill His divine commands ,

And all live in the grace of the Lord. 2000

Then the evil spirit cannot harm us. |

For you have seen it so here, ,

| And all of you would do well to remember _ How the evil ones are constantly striving __

, To lead the people into sin; | | 2005 They do this to man out of hatred,

THE REDENTIN EASTER PLAY 113 | ss Because they cannot attain to the joy they formerly oo

Now, finally, there was given us a picture [possessed. Showing how people of all professions are driven to hell. ,

Let none take offense at it as personal mockery; 2010 a

Oo Rather let everyone probe his own sins! | | |

ss For a great deal more evil is going on

_ Than one can or dare present in a play, | Or than anyone could possibly describe. | | | Oo | May God grant that we all stay with Him 2015 oc

oe In God His help eternal Kingdom! us all to this end! | |

For God has avenged us all ; OS

, , And has harrowed the hell of the devils —— - And has given us paradise, | 2020 oo ‘Where we shall live with Him in eternity. a / Let us therefore rejoice throughout all lands | | |

| . ‘THE END | } | And sing, “Christ is risen!”

BLANK PAGE

| NOTES TO THE PLAY ARABIC NUMERALS refer to lines. Stage directions and ritual passages

are cited by the number of the line that immediately precedes them. 1. The Angels call for silence and with their prologue take the part ~ of our printed programs. They probably speak this from the dolium in the center of the stage. Possibly the First Angel was the regens, or expositor ludi (stage manager). In the earliest plays one man functioned as praelocutor, regens, angelus, and conclusor, but as the plays became more elaborate these functions were divided. Since our play is late, as well as relatively long, one might conjecture that several persons functioned in these various parts. See Otto Koischwitz, Der Theaterherold

im deutschen Schauspiel des Mittelalters, p. 13. ; - 2. Regular formula in plays of this kind. Our author employs such

set phrases on a number of occasions. a

the spectators. _ a | :

g. Seems to indicate that seating was provided, at least for some of

15. There was a medieval belief to the effect that those who witnessed the Easter Play would not die in the course of the coming year.

19-40. Council of Jews, Matt. 26: 62-66: “And the high priest arose and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that

thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith - unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses?

behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye? They

answered and said, He is guilty of death.” — _ a 22, Matt. 12: 39, 40: “But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no

sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas _ was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son

_ of man be three days and three nights in the heart-of the earth.”

116 | NOTES TO PAGES 42-46 John 2: 19-22: “Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in ~ three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When, therefore, he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.” 39. Krogmann supplies name of speaker in plural; F roning gives it

as (First Jew). ,

gio. Oo

41. Pilate, as in almost all Easter plays, appears here as a medieval prince. He is addressed even as “Lord King,” according to lines 906, 83. Krogmann reads “dere mede geven” instead of Froning’s “dre.” 108. Proverbial expression denoting an impossibility. Our author’s salty language is very rich in proverbs. Freybe (pp. 421-27) lists 149

proverbs from the text. , : 114. This line is evidently a vestige of an earlier, semi-narrative type of dramatic technique. Schréder conjectures that it is not spoken

by a chorus, to whom Froning assigns it, but by the stage manager

(expositor ludi). I15—119. Soldiers march to grave with song as also in the Wiener

Osterspiel and the Innsbrucker Osterspiel. 119. Possibly addressed to some of the spectators who were crowding

around the actors. The scene moves from Pilate’s House across the neutral stage to the Tomb.

125 ff. Comic characterization of “bold” knights. | 136. A free translation of this medieval phrase might be given as: ‘‘He’d rather suffer all manner of evil.” It seems to tell something about

the ‘‘cures’? of medieval doctors.

137. Mummink or Mimminc was the sword made by the smith Wielant for Witige, one of the heroes in Bzterolf, a thirteenth-century German epic. That the cowardly mercenaries of our play assume the heroic trappings of the great traditions of chivalry is, of course, one way —

of poking fun at contemporary knights. Allusions to epics of chivalry are rare in religious dramas, and his use of them shows our author to

be unusually well read.

- 150. Proverb mentioned by Wander, V, 342. This line from our play is given as its earliest occurrence. French: “Bonté faite en charité

n’est jamais perdue.”’ : |

a _ NOTES TO PAGES 46-48. sc 159. Endowing these “knights” with names with “von” is, of course, | satire on German nobility. Arndt, Die Personennamen der deutschen | Schauspiele des Mittelalters, p. 17, notes that our author combines the -

Biblical name Boas with the Biblical city name Thamar. Since the Jews a are to be represented as the ones who caused Christ’s suffering and

death, Pilate’s soldiers are given Jewish names. , | — , 173. £. Krogmann explains this difficult passage as burlesque on the | knights, which is in conformity with their general characterization. |

169. Klynghe, cf. note to line 137. | | oe

195 ff. A droll anachronism is this introduction of the medieval — oO German night watchman who sings his chant every hour. The con- | vention is probably that he sings for the first time about ten in the , : evening, for after his third verse he announces that it is midnight—the soldiers have thus slept several hours. ‘The verse the watchman sings is

doubtlessly one of the kind which used to be sung hourly, after the _ blowing of the horn, by night watchmen everywhere in German cities from medieval times down into the nineteenth century. ‘These. verses

announced the hour of the night and then made some practical or moral _ application for the benefit of those who might hear them. There are | many versions of such songs in various regions, but the following, taken _ a from a Cologne hymnal of 1612, gives a good notion of what type of

song was rendered at this point. Ihe German verse and two verses in : the translation of ‘I. A. Rattler are quoted from the American-German

Review, December, 1935. One commonly sung verse contains the line: , “Bewahrt das Feuer und das Licht” which is practically the same as ,

_ couvre-feu, from which our term curfew is derived. — - |

, Hort, ihr Herrn und laszt euch sagen, | ,

, Unsre Glock hat zehn geschlagen.

, Zehn Gebote setzt Gott ein, | a | Dasz wir soll’n gehorsam sein. - SO _ Menschen wachen kann nichts niitzen, _ 7

Gott musz wachen, Gott musz schiitzen. _ _ a

‘Herr durch deine Git und Macht, Be

: | | Schenk uns eirie gute Nacht. a | , Hear ye people, mind it well: a | | | |aTen o'clock has struck the bell. , | | Ten commands gave God the Lord: ;

, 118 _ NOTES TO PAGE 49. a _ May our lives with them accord. | |

, __-Vigilant we be however, | | | Without God our work thrives never. | God of mercy, in Thy might

Grant, we pray, a happy night. oo ,

| Hear ye people, mind it well: | | _ Eleven o’clock has struck the bell. | | Only elev’n of Christ’s were true; ,

, Be ye always faithful, too. ,

| : Vigilant we be however, etc.

Additional humor is contained in his warning that he sees two men (evidently the angels who are to open Christ’s tomb) approaching in a boat between Hiddens Oie on the west coast of Riigen and Méen on

| _ the Danish coast, points a hundred or so miles distant. The island Pole is but a short distance from Redentin. This passage is cited in Grimm’s

| W orterbuch to illustrate the use of forve (line 209) for boat—com- __

monly the word for basket. , | 219. Literally, “Dear nephew.”

Frau, Our Lady. oe , - 226 ff. The Fourth Soldier is not heard from—did he quietly go to 224. Keysers vrowe (Kaiser's Frau) is a euphemism for unsere

sleep, or have we here a lapse from the otherwise very symmetrical

| construction of this play? , |

226 ff. All Easter plays present the Resurrection in the same fashion.

| The sources for the scenic effects are the Easter Mass and Matt. 28: 2—4: “And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his

, raiment white as snow. And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and

| became as dead men.”

226. The four archangels appearing here are Raphael, Uriel,

| | Michael, and Gabriel.

a 226. Latin phrase traditional in Easter plays: “Dormite . .. etc.” (Sleep, soldiers, sleep, do not hinder the work of the Lord!) The Ger-

| man text gives an approximate translation in the lines immediately

, - following the Latin. , | 231. Exsurge, etc.: Ps. 44:23: This is used in the introit of the _ Mass on Sexagesima Sunday.

| -_ NOTES TO PAGES 49-52 11g

First. , Oo a — 236. Krogmann: “an dine minschheit.” | , 231. The Fourth Angel begins, namely, Michael. Raphael is called

- (line 518) Third Angel, Gabriel (line 530) Second; Uriel must be ;

his own person. | | , 248. ‘This passage is the introit of the Mass on Easter Sunday—very | familiar to all worshipers. Christ is thus performing the Easter service in

- 258. Of all the souls in hell awaiting redemption through Christ, |

| Abel is the first to speak—-a good choice on the part of our poet, for

Abel was the first to die and hence had been waiting longest. The Gospel of Nicodemus has as the first speaker “father Adam that was | first created”’; Abel is not mentioned there or in other Easter plays. ,

, 261. Christ’s resurrection had to precede the harrowing of hell in ~ | this play (as in some others), since the soul of Christ could not well ee

appear without the body. The dramatist availed himself of poetic license _ |

‘in deviating from the Apostles’ Creed: “He descended into hell. The third day he rose again.”’ In the Towneley plays the harrowing of hell ,

the Redentin play. | , , a , 287. Isa. 9:2, quoted also Matt. 4:16: “The people which sat in a precedes the Resurrection, but in the Chester plays the order is as in ©

darkness. saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.” In the original of this play, also,

Isaiah first quotes in Latin and then translates into the vernacular.

, 295. The Simeon story is told in Luke 2:25-—-35: |

“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the con- |

_solation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. _ | os “And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should :

not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. :

“And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents _ 7 brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, , “Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

thy word: © ' “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, , — “Tord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to

“Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; _ : oo

“A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. _ _ “And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were :

, spoken of him. | | 7 ,

oy

1200 NOTES TO PAGE 52. | | “And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, Behold, | this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a

, sign which shall be spoken against; -

, “CY ea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also) that the

thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.” | |

, 310. ‘They sing, ie., the souls of the patriarchs awaiting Christ in _ the antechamber of Hell. 310. “Lumen...” Antiphony at Candlemas. Luke 2:32: “A light to

lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.” ,

of Judaea, - |

315. John’s preaching and Christ’s baptism are described in Matt. 3: “In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness

| _ “And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

: “For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying, ‘The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord,

| make his paths straight. oo : “And the same John had his raiment of camel’s hair, and a leathern | girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey. “Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the

region round about Jordan, ,

“And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins.

“But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his

, _ baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned _ you to flee from the wrath to come? ;

“Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: “And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our |

| father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up

children to Abraham. :

into the fire. | “And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore

| every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast

“T indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh

after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he

, shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: :

: ‘Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff.

, with unquenchable fire.

tized of him. : , “Then cometh Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be bap-

| NOTES TO PAGES 53-56 ‘121 | “But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, , and comest thou to me? | , , , “And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to be so now: for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he suffered him. — ‘And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the

water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the |

Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: | | Oo

whom I am well pleased.” : “And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in , )

| 325. The German text has John point out Jesus with his vorderen , hand, his “front hand” or “forehand”—a quaint touch that cannot be -

reproduced in translation. . a 336. “Ecce agnus...” John 1:29: “The next day John seeth Jesus | - coming unto him, and sayeth, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh |

away the sin of the world.” Part of prayer in communion service. | , 346 ff. The Gospel of Nicodemus mentions only the Oil of Mercy. a _ According to Freybe the motif of the sprig of the Tree of Knowledge, . | which later grows into the tree from which the Cross of Christ was , | carved, is joined to the other legend in the Legenda aurea of Jacobus

a Voragine, 1230-98, archbishop of Genoa. Through this writer it . passed into German tradition. From Seth’s mission came, of course, _ salvation for all the world rather than the cure of Adam’s disease. ,

353. Five or six hundred years. The chronology in religious plays ,

- demus, p. 26. Oe 7

varies considerably; cf. the alternate reading in the Gospel of Nico- | |

- 364. Isa. 9:6: “For unto us a child is born” is here quoted a bit freely. | 371. Lucifer’s speech is found in almost the same words in other | oo

| plays and is a somewhat conventional formula. — , 393. The devil here quotes Scripture and, curiously, words of Christ. , spoken in the Garden of Gethsemane, Matt. 26:38: “Then saith he _ —unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye |

| here, and watch with me.” | | | : : 408. “Reading his last will” is a popular expression for dying. _ a . 413. By the introduction of Crook Nose and some changes in the _ | dialogue our poet makes this scene much more dramatic and popular — oo

than it is in the Gospel of Nicodemus. — : 7 a ,

421. Literally, “Then I heard from Jesus a great storm.” This and . the following line are characteristic of the gruesome realism with which ,

Christ’s death is frequently described in the Middle Ages. —

122 , NOTES TO PAGES 57-62 | 440. The picturesque details in the description of Lazarus’s escape

, are an improvement over the description in the Gospel of Nicodemus.

| 456. The German is “a monk’s dance.” |

| 479. Krogmann inserts the name of a new speaker, Lucifer, at this

point, a good emendation. Oo _ 486. Taken from Ps. 107:16: “For he hath broken the gates of brass, and cut the bars of iron in sunder.” oe

, | 492. Taken from Ps. 57:8: “Awake up, my glory: awake, psaltery .

and harp; I myself will awake early.” 496. “O clavis David” is derived from an antiphony based on Rev.

3:7: “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These

- things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no

| man openeth.” The quotation in the text is from the Breviarium — _ Romanum, the antiphon for the Magnificat at vespers on December 20.

The translation is from The Roman Breviary, All English Version, —

| compiled by the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Our Lady of Con- | solation, at Stanbrook in Worcestershire; revised and edited by Charles

Francis Brown, Benziger Brothers, New York. Information was kindly

| _ supplied by Father A. K. Ziegler, Catholic University. =

Introduction, p. 23. , | , 504. “Advenista desirabilisy? from the Canticum triumphale; see

511. “dut up desse dore”! Tollite portas. Ps. 24:7 (Vulgate 23:7).

The form attollite is there used where our text has ¢ollite. This psalm was very familiar from use in the breviary. Biblical passages, when used in the breviary, sometimes undergo slight changes.

, 512. “Quis est iste?” Ps. 24:8. This psalm is often used in the breviary. In the psalm the words here assigned to the devils follow im-

mediately upon those assigned to Gabriel in lines 511 f. in the ver-

a nacular. They are repeated in Latin by the angels following line 524. _

557. “Ego sum Alpha et OO...” Rev. 1:8. | | 560. Rev. 1:17: “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am

the first and the last.”” Or Rev. 3:7, cited for note to line 496. | 563. Representation of Christ in a red robe is based on Isa. 63:2: | “Why then is thy apparel red, and thy garments like theirs that tread

suffering. | a in the winepress?”? It may have served also to allude to his bloody

an NOTES TO PAGES 63-67 123 584. Sanctorum populus and Advenisti are from the Canticum - triumphale; see Introduction p. 23. | | | 584. Venite benedicti .. . based on Matt. 25:34: “Then shall the

King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, 7

| inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the | , world.” Lines 584 ff. are a translation of the ritual passage. : , 601. Adam’s speech to his wife and Eve’s supplication are human ,

- touches introduced by our poet. a oo

- 602. Le nostra vocabant sus|piria|, likewise derived from the

Canticum triumphale; see Introduction, p. 23. 7

618. Just as in the thought of many today there is uncertainty re- garding the distinction between crocodile and alligator, so in medieval = _ German the word elephant was used to designate the camel. Grimm, ss” | Geschichte der deutschen Sprache, pp. 42 and 408. Of course,.a correct translation would be “‘camel’s skin,” but this medieval confusion ,

is too droll to be omitted from the text. a | , , 62 3 f. “You see you are the last, you must remain in the nest,” that _ is, you are the one who has to pay the bill. _ |

654. When the mere man John the Baptist overcomes a devil, Puck |

- quotes a proverb: The master of alder (a soft wood) conquers the

servant of oak. He means to say that since John the Baptist has a Oo right to redemption there is no use in trying to hold him in hell by force. :

duction, p. 23. oe | 7 | 680. Magna consolatio, from the Canticum triumphale; see Intro-

681 ff. Our author lets Simeon speak here, just as he did in lines |

- characters. _ | , |

311 f., whereas the Gospel of Nicodemus has “the saints” do the ques- — a

tioning. Changes of this sort (see line 715) serve to individualize the _

- 685. Two men who never saw death, but were translated directly SO to heaven, were Enoch (Gen. 5:21-24: “And Enoch lived sixty and - | five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after 5

he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and |

_ daughters; And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and | five years: And Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God — 7 | took him.”) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11: “And it came to pass, as they _ still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, | and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up

- by a whirlwind into heaven.”). Elijah was to return to earth before _

7 124 NOTES TO PAGES 68-70 | _ Judgment Day and the time of the rule of the antichrist, Mal. 4:5: | “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the

, _ great and dreadful day of the Lord.” Our author, following the Gospel _ of Nicodemus, identifies Enoch and Elijah with God’s two unnamed | witnesses (Rev. 11:3 ff.) who during the time of the antichrist prophecy _ for a period of one thousand two hundred and threescore, days, clothed in sackcloth. If any will hurt them, fire proceeds from their mouths to

kill their enemies. ‘They also have the power to shut heaven so that _ there will be no rain and to turn water into blood. However, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that ascends out of the bottomless pit will kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in the streets for three

: days and a half, to the great joy of the people who had been tormented by these prophets. “Thereupon God will resurrect them and call them

, , to heaven. Thus even Enoch and Elijah do not escape death before they

finally reach heaven. (See lines 695 ff.) ! 715. Our author has David speak at this point, while the Gospel of Nicodemus mentions “the saints” as the speakers. (See line 681.) 718. The story of the Thief on the Cross who was to be with Christ in paradise on the very eve of Good Friday is based on Luke 23:39—43:

, ‘And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, | , If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same con-

_. demnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of _

, our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto | Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And

| me in paradise.” a | |

, - Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shall thou be with 735 ff. Krogmann assigns these lines to the saints instead of to the angel, as previous editors had done. A good emendation.

754. In a bold metaphor our poet imagines the morning star asa

: bird. Since some commentators seem to find difficulty with this line, it , , might be pointed out that Grimm’s Wdérterbuch cites the usage of

lay.

schlagen for the singing of a bird from a writer almost as early as our

° ; 54. That the watchman blows three times probably indicates that it ,

_ is three o’clock in the morning. | 755. Additional satire by our author at the expense of knighthood is found in this song which is a burlesque of an aubade expressing the feel_ ings of knight and lady when dawn brings the time for parting. Allu-

, | NOTES TO PAGES 70-80 5 sions, serious or satirical, to the conventions of chivalry are extremely a

rare in religious drama. Cf. Hartl, pp. 22 ff. a :

756, 760. Singular “knight” and plural “they” is in the original; _ _ perhaps both lovers. | : 792. The German proverb is: “A man ought never be too sure of anything,” or as Schréder and Freybe suggest, the word wis could _ | mean wise, which then would render the meaning somewhat like = Eccles. 7:16: “Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over | |

wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself?” , , a 796. Krogmann assigns this line to the Third Soldier instead of the

_ Fourth, as previous editors had done. A good emendation.

853. The women are the so-called three Marys, Mark 16:1-8: “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the | , mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might _

- come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of |

the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And | | they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from , _ the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the |

stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a

long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, , -° Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he _ ) is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go

your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into | Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you. And they went out

| stand, afraid? | | , ' | hear. , a quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were | amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were — 895. “Read the letters” is a proverbial expression for to learn, under-

| 901. That Pilate, a Roman official, serves the Jewish Pascal lamb is ‘one more amusing example of the uncritical spirit of the Middle Ages.

_ the original. — 7 a , , , _ 903. Cf. line 895, which employs the same proverbial expression in | 947. The use of the thumbscrew as a form of torture is also an -

_, 1035anachronism, of course. a | . ff. Matt. 27:24, 25: “When Pilate saw that he could prevail a

nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying I am innocent of the blood of a

126 NOTES TO PAGES 83-90 this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, - | His blood be on us, and on our children.” | 1119. The Wends were Slavs settled in the region of Wismar and were despised by the Germans as social inferiors. Schréder mentions that —

Wend. ,

there was considerable rivalry between monks who had come into the - region from Saxony and the local Wendish monks. If, as has been con- -

jectured, the author was a Saxon monk there is a certain piquant humor in the indignant demand of Lucifer not to be taken for a

: 1122 ff. Such a list of souls to be captured is more or less conven-

_ tional in Easter plays; Schréder calls attention to the Imnsbrucker

_ Auferstehung, lines 297-357. | |

| cow mouths.” : :

: 1127. ““Tripe” is not an exact translation; literally “one who salts

: the fiber in flax. , | , 1130. Webster: flax brake, a machine for removing the boon from 1221. “Both great and small” is a conventional expression.

— Tausendkiinstler. , :

, 1278. Magician is “master of a thousand arts,” modern German 1295 f. The plague did come to Liibeck in 1464 (see Schréder’s

, introduction ), but probably there is in this line also a bit of local humor in the implication that Wismar’s rival town Liibeck might supply

| numerous sinners fit for hell. Schréder calls attention to the fact that in the Innsbrucker Auferstehung (1. 299) the devils are sent on a similar mission to Avignon, the city of the Pope.

1328. The German rey is translated here not by “dance” but by | “parade.” Wirth and Mone hold that the devils at this point. per-

| formed a dance such as is indicated in the Alsfelder Passionsspiel, | “Deutsche National Literatur,” XV, 571: “Then all the devils move around the dolzwm dancing and singing.” Similar dances by the devils

are found in the Anglo-Norman Play of Adam, no doubt a form of comic relief. Froning suggests that we have here a procession of the captured souls who move from one place of the stage to another. From

| Lucifer’s command (1. 1323) and the stage direction it is evident that | the devils appeared carrying the “souls” on their backs, an action to

which rey might readily apply in a humorous way. OO 1329. Eggs and hams were foods eaten especially at Easter time.

Astrot demands some for the devils just as the soldiers (1.. 901) were

, to receive a share of Pilate’s paschal lamb. ,

; NOTES TO PAGES 91-98 © 127 | 1351. For the exact meaning of this line no commentator finds an explanation that he considers quite satisfactory, but there is general _ :

agreement that Lucifer awards to Noytor a rotten egg just as he is |

about to give rather unsavory gifts to other devils in return for the | ~ gouls they bring in. ‘he translation is freely rendered. Krogmann gives

“ruffled feathers” for the troublesome word fels. ;

Wander, IV, 776. Oo

| 1387. Lucifer’s thanks are proverbial: “Stank ist des Teufels Dank.” 1419. “Billy goat” is the German nickname for a tailor.. : 1458. Puck speaks of a female innkeeper or barmaid while Lucifer,

line 1469, addresses a male (Arogher). Krogmann resolves this dis_ crepancy by considering the latter form a corruption on the part of the | _ copyist. It seems quite convincing, particularly since this play in which SO symmetry is a2 governing principle of construction requires in the second

part a female role to balance that of Eve in the first part. “Mistress of |

an inn” is probably the proper translation of de kroghersche, but for the

sake of simplicity “barmaid”’ is here used. | 1459. The phrase den beker nicht vul enmet, given by Froning and —

other early editors, means “does not fill the cup.” Since this does not make good sense, Krogmann reads den beker vulen met, the positive

| form. A wicked barmaid forgets herself when she fills the cup honestly. | , 1484. Second boiling; in German kavent. The etymology of the

word is explained by Froning on the ground that monks and nuns kept the first boiling: for themselves and gave the second boiling to the other |

inhabitants of the cloister—the convent (avent). | | |

1491. According to popular superstition a thumb cut off the body of = a thief hanging on the gallows had miraculous powers when suspended |

over a barrel or even dipped into the drink. Innkeepers used such _ charms to attract customers. Grimm, Deutsches Wérterbuch, II, 1094.

_ Theodor Storm’s Im Brauhause deals with this superstition. | : , 1503. The German text reads ¢pru, vort, tpru, according to Schréder

the graphic expression of a crepitus ventris. This is in keeping with the ,

indelicacy shown throughout this play by the devils. _ -

a 1524. This line is literally, “If you stroke the peasant thus,” and oo _ seems to be a proverbial expression meaning to dupe or catch, , | | 1530. Evidently the weaver is brought on with his loom, which is | then picked up and pitched with him into the Hell-Mouth. oe 1571. Swine’s pearls are a reward comparable to previously men- |

tioned delicacies. a a

. 128 NOTES TO PAGES 98-106 '

latter has spoken. . , |

1572. Lucifer recognizes the huckster by his speech even before the __

7 1596. The translation is a euphemism: “one ought to urinate on _ you.” The devils as fallen creatures are intentionally represented as reveling in vulgarity. In an age when scholars and men of parts, such as__

Rabelais and Luther, used language that appears to us now as uncon- >

| ventional, it is not surprising to find this vulgarity in a popular Easter play.

1597. Literally, “You are lying in your own way.” | , 1607. Literally, “Pll bring you still to another place.” | 1613. Lucifer cannot do as he likes, since he is chained.

oe 1631. Proverbial expression: “afterward it is too late.” , 1631, 1633. Iwo of the many proverbs found in this play.

1632. Obviously ironic. , ,

1635. The text has the short and direct word. | , 1637. Literally, “You shan’t compose any new dance tunes.” 1638. Krogmann translates baner as the one (possibly the next of

kin) who carries out the revenge. |

| winter stable. | | } 1673. A March cow is probably one that has picked up filth in the

, urine ).” |

1681. That is, practice a very much despised calling. 1695. Literally, “If I only knew who could examine his glass (of

1710. The German form her domime is a humorous turn given the ,

_ medieval title of a cleric, domuinus. |

| 1770 ff. The elephantine priest is evidently not only a good trencherman but also able and willing to drink others under the table. The text

| holy. |

, gives us in the tavern language of the clergy some droll specimens of | dog Latin. What is translated as “the hugest tankard” is dy wert totum

mediam partem). _ a | | 1779. Proverbial expression: to drink holy water, that is, to appear

(you get a totum), and for one half the text has myddel pars (Latin:

1805. Proverbial expression: the last one commits the most exas- ,

perating stupidity. Wander cites (IV, 55, No. 36), “Dat beste schap schit jo in den stal,” giving our play as the source; in making it the “best” sheep Wander is following Ettmiiller in one of his very doubtful “improvements.” For the value of Ettmiiller’s text see Froning’s ironic

remarks, p. 119. , | |

| | NOTES TO PAGES 107-112 129 | 1821 f. The priest touches his forehead, mouth, and chest with holy ,

_ water, and incense is wafted over his back; therefore he is invulnerable - a

to. attack from the devil on all sides. a 1823. The German is “‘crooked-heel,”’ which the translation renders

freely as “pigeon-toes.” oo , 1834. Literally, ““You could cluck so long.” a | _ 1841. The priest moves about the altar as he celebrates Mass. OO - 1846. Krogmann reads vist instead of dist, for which editors had no ae explanation. The former is part of a robust expression which we find

also in Luther’s works. | a

1894. Froning paraphrases: “I can see by your expression that |

with your usual impudence you are about to throw in my face your | ,

word. We have finished!” | , | 1901. The translation is a euphemism for “See, how the fellow proverb, “One ought to listen when the old dogs bark,’ but not another _ |

stands there doused with urine.” | | | 1905. The text has molinpaghe, which is explained variously as the

miller’s horse or donkey ready to be flayed and tossed in the carrion pit. | oe 1972 ff. The discomfiture of the devil must have been a great source | 7 | _ of humor and pleasure to the medieval spectators; especially the ridicu- | |

lous posture in which he is carried off. | . | | ,

1984. The moral pointed by the conclusor is a stern warning to all — oe | Christians lest they allow themselves to be caught by the devil and _ brought to everlasting damnation. It shows that, with all its humorous _

situations, the play was fundamentally serious. A medieval anecdote | a - illustrating the stern impression created by religious plays is told by , Canon Johannes Rothe in his Thuringian Chronicle: “Margrave | _ Frederick of Meissen had terminated his wars well, and thus in 1322

, all his subjects were rejoicing. ‘Therefore the inhabitants of Eisenach — : after Easter performed a beautiful play of the ten virgins, five of whom | _ were wise and five foolish, according to the gospel which Christ had

preached. And Margrave Frederick was present and saw and heard , _ that the five foolish virgins were cast out from eternal life, and that —

despite the fact that Mary and all saints prayed for them it availed | | nothing to change God’s judgment. Thereupon he was seized by grave doubts and was moved to great anger, and said: ‘What does Christian ,

_ faith amount to? Will God not take pity on us, with all the prayers of | __ Mary and the saints?’ And he went to the Wartburg and was angry oe _ for five days, and the scholars could scarcely pacify him, so that he © ;

, 130 : NOTES TO PAGE 113 would understand the Gospel properly; and after that he suffered a stroke due to his continued anger, so that he lay helplessly in bed for three years. ‘Ivhen he died when he was 55 years of age.” (Heinrich | Alt, Dheater und Kirche in threm gegenseitigen Verhiltnis historisch

dar gestellt, pp. 355 £.) An anecdote illustrating how the sublime char_ acter of Easter plays may be separated from the ridiculous by just one step is retold by Karl Konrad, Die deutsche Studentenschaft in threm

| Verhaltnis zu Biihne und Drama, p. 26. Konrad remarks that though there are numerous stories about student life in many phases, yet his search in old collections of anecdotes yields only this one concerning students as actors, from Wilhelm Kirchhoff’s Wendunmut (“Bibliothek

, des Stuttgarter Literarischen Vereins,” I, m, 102): During Lent there came to a village pastor a poor student, almost frozen to death. The pastor decided to keep him for a while in order to use him in the Easter play, and when the student protested that his clothes were too shabby to appear before the congregation, the pastor lent him one of his coats which was still in very good condition. ‘The role assigned him was”

_ that of the angel who answers the Marys from the Tomb. But when the student had the coat in his possession, he disappeared without letting the pastor notice it. “he Easter play proceeded as usual, except that ,

, when no one replied to the Marys from the ‘Tomb the pastor stuck his head in and exclaimed, “Now where may the devil have led him off to?”? Immediately the seriousness of the worshippers was turned into hearty laughter, for they, knowing nothing about the student, thought ©

, the pastor had thus spoken of Christ. Another anecdote of incongruous. humor is retold by Creizenach, I, 200. It happened that the role of | Christ was being played by a baker. As he was carrying his cross to Golgotha, another player representing one of the Jews amused himself by shouting continuously after the impersonator of Christ, “You flourthief.” Finally the latter could not bear any longer. the imputation that

he was making his loaves too small, and therefore he turned on his tormentor with the un-Christlike words, “Shut up or Dll bash you to —

| the ground with this cross.” SO

2023. This German hymn (“Christ is erstanden”’) that closes the play is the first bit of vernacular ever to have been inserted into the Latin

- text of any Easter play. It is found in the Niirnberg play of the thir-

teenth century. See Froning, pp. 17-20. |

BIBLIOGRAPHY | Asterisks indicate books which are referred to in footnotes by the name of the author, editor, or translator only. ,

| a TEXT EDITIONS

Excerpts. oO

Mone,* F. J. Schauspiele des Mittelalters. Vol. II. Karlsruhe, 1846. Oesterley, R. Niederdeutsche Dichtung im Mittelalter. Dresden, 1871. Froning,* R. Das Redentiner Osterspiel, in Deutsche National Litter-

atur, Vol. XIV, Stuttgart, 1891. © ,

_Freybe, A. Die Handschrift des Redentiner Osterspiels im Lichtdruck.

Schwerin, 1892. Facsimile edition. _ , Schréder,* C. Das Redentiner Osterspiel. Norden, 1893.

Excerpts. | - a , ,

Stammler, W. Mittelniederdeutsches Lesebuch. Hamburg, 1921.

Krogmann,* W. Das Redentiner Osterspiel. Leipzig, 1937. “Alt-

previous texts. — ot | |

_ deutsche Quellen,” Heft 3. This critical edition definitely supersedes

s/s TRANSLATIONS INTO MODERN GERMAN Ettmiiller,* L. Dat Spil fan der Upstandinge. Quedlinburg and Leip-

zig, 1851. A translation into modern Low German.

in III, 318 ff. . |

-—— Herbstabende und Winternachte. Stuttgart, 1865-67. Excerpts | Freybe,* A. Das Mecklenburger Osterspiel vollendet im Jahre 1464

— edition, 1885. en :

zu Redentin. Ubertragen und behandelt. Bremen, 1872. Second

Giimbel-Seiling, M. Das niederdeutsche Qsterspiel aus Redentin vom

Jahre 1464 in hochdeutscher Ubersetzung. Leipzig, 1918. Text freely treated for modern staging. —

Struck, G. Dat dllste Makelbérger Osterspil. Rostock, 1920. Trans-

lation into modern Mecklenburg dialect. |

Lindemann, F. Dat Osterspail vun Redentin. Bremen, 1922. Translation into modern Low German.

132 BIBLIOGRAPHY | Krogmann, W. Dat Redentiner Osterspill, Wismar, 1927. Translated

into modern Low German and adapted for the stage. | , Boldt, E. Dat Redentiner Osterspill. Wismar, 1928. Translated into | modern Mecklenburg dialect and adapted for the stage. ! | Becker, K. H. Das Spiel von Christi Héllenfahrt. Miinchen, 1931.

Partial text for “Miinchener Laienspiele” series. _ ae CRITICAL LITERATURE AND SOME GENERAL WORKS

Alt, H. Theater und Kirche in ihrem gegenseitigen Verhiltnis historisch

dargestellt. Berlin, 1846.

Arndt, W. Die Personennamen der deutschen Schauspiele des Mittel_ alters. Breslau, 1904. “Germanistische Abhandlungen,” Vol. X XIII. Bechstein, R. “Das Redentiner Osterspiel und seine literaturgeschichtliche Stellung und Wiirdigung,” Rostocker Zeitung, 1891, Beilagen for numbers 247, 259, 265.

| Tutevillus. | :

Bolte, J. “Der ‘Teufel in der Kirche,” Zeitschrift ftir vergleichende | Literatur geschichte und Renaissance-Literatur, XI (1897), 249-66. Brandstetter,* R. “Luzerner Biihnenrodel,” Germania, XXX, 205 ff., 325 ff., XX XI, 249 ff.

36. , pp. 127-31. 7

Oo Burg, A. “Von dem einzigen niedersichsischen Osterspiel,” Nieder-

| sachsen, XI (1905-6, No. 14), 253-54. | | , ,

| Chambers, E. K. The Medieval Stage. 2 vols. Oxford, 1925.

, Creizenach,* W. Geschichte des neueren Dramas. Vol. I. Halle, 1911.

Drosihn, F. “Uber das Redentiner Osterspiel,” Programm des fiirstlich hedwigschen Gymnasiums zu Neustettin, Neustettin, 1866, pp. 24-

—— “Bemerkungen zum Redentiner Osterspiel,” Zeitschrift fiir

deutsche Philologie, IV (1873), 400 ff. |

Francke, K. Personality in German Literature. Cambridge, 1916. Hartl,* E. Osterfeiern, Leipzig, 1937. Vol. I in Reihe: Das Drama

des Mittelalters; deutsche Literatur in Entwicklungreihen. ‘This very accessible volume contains a useful bibliography of the subject as well as numerous references to the latest pertinent literature. Heinzel,* R. Beschreibung des geistlichen Schauspiels im deutschen

, Mittelalter. Hamburg und Leipzig, 1898. Hermann, M. Forschungen zur deutschen Theatergeschichte und der Renaissance, Berlin, 1914.

: BIBLIOGRAPHY , 132 | Jellinghaus, H. “Redentiner Osterspiel,” Zeitschrift fiir deutsche 7

-Kock,Philologie, XXVII (1895), 136. | , E. A: “Zum Redentiner Osterspiel,’ Korrespondenzblatt des |

_ Vereins fiir niederdeutsche Sprachforschung, XXV (1904), 94 ff. | - K6nnecke, G. Bilderatlas zur Geschichte der deutschen Nationalliter- |

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_ Kriiger, E. “Eine Eigentiimlichkeit des komischen Gehaltes in den — | , niederdeutschen geistlichen Spielen des Mittelalters, insbesondere im | | , -Redentiner Osterspiel,” Korrespondenzblatt des Vereims fiir meder-

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Halle, 1889. . | | Woeste, F. “Beitrage aus dem Niederdeutschen,” Zeztschrift fiir deutsche Philologie, VIII (1877), 106 ff. a Young,* K. The Drama of the Medieval Church. 2 vols. Oxford, 1933.

| Zucker, A. E. “A Reconstruction of the Staging of the Redentin Easter

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