King Lear With Sheep

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Flock_of_sheep.jpg

Yes, it's true. See

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/king-lear-with-sheep-the-courtyard-review/

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/theatre/king-lear-with-sheep-shakespeare-play-performed-entirely-by-sheep-in-hoxton-10395815.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/putting-the-baa-into-the-baaard-its-king-lear-with-sheep-9537600.html

Baa!

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/All_together_now.........Awwww_!_%285680356215%29.jpg

St Margaret Clitherow

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Margaret_Clitherow.png

Today (30th August) is the feast of St Margaret Clitherow, 'the Pearl of York,' executed in 1586 for sheltering Catholic priests in her home. She is honoured as one of the Reformation's 'Forty Martyrs of England and Wales.'

She was executed near the Ouse bridge by the gruesome method of being 'pressed to death:'

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/eb/f2/96/ebf296300566d400e188a15c6eb0620b.jpg

She was married to John Clitherow, one of the York Butchers (did his ancestors play in the Corpus Christi 'Death of Christ' play, which was the responsibility of the Butchers?), and had three children with him. Originally a Protestant, Margaret converted to Catholicism three years after her marriage. John, however, remained a Protestant, which must have led to some interesting marital dynamics, especially when Margaret started helping Catholic priests.

Their home was in the Shambles (the home of the York Butchers) and it was here that Margaret hid Catholic priests from the Elizabethan police. What was thought to be her house was turned into a shrine:

Unfortunately the shrine is actually in the wrong house; Margaret's home is really a few doors down and is now a shop selling cufflinks!

However the shrine is still a peaceful place to pop into for a few minutes, away from all the hurry and bustle of the Shambles outside.

"We'll hear a play" | Hamlet at the Barbican

After a 'pre-run' of three weeks, the play has officially 'opened.' This seems to me an odd way of doing things (how can it open now when it's already been playing for three weeks?), but never mind...

Telegraph review (Dominic Cavendish)

Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet in pictures

Telegraph - review of the reviews

Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue; but if you mouth it as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and, as I may say, whirlwind of your passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are capable of nothing but inexplicable dumb-show and noise. I would have such a fellow whipped for o'erdoing Termagant. It out-Herods Herod. Pray you avoid it.

Hamlet III.2.1-14 (Oxford School Shakespeare edition, ed. Roma Gill, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009).

N.B. Did you know that the bit about out-Heroding Herod refers to the medieval mystery plays? The Herod character was famous for his ranting and raving; there is one glorious stage direction (and these are very rare in the medieval plays) that runs along the lines of Now shall Herod descend into the street and rave among the people.

She came laughing

She came laughing in the morning’s glow,
Her voice was singing clear.
Dancing she came, and remaining here
She taught me joy to know.
Her eyes as tender as morning dew,
With lightest step she flew –
Stepping graceful as the dawning’s mist,
Slender form sunlight kissed.

Firmly braced in the noonday sun
She passed her strength to me;
In open desert, wildly free
I realised how to run.
Her leaping eyes revealed passion’s fire,
The fight would never tire.
Rippling hair streamed tempest tossed,
Chiming voice ever soft.

In the evening’s calm she lingered still
With sweetness in her smiles.
Following close through the miles
I mounted Patience Hill.
Then moved she on to a wider sphere;
She went, and left me here.
And now I alone must run the race
Without her winning grace.

High Flight (An Airman's Ecstacy)

Blue sky over Pendle!

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds - and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of; wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sun-light silence. Hovering there
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air;
Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue
I've topped the wind-swept heights with easy grace,
Where never lark nor even eagle flew;
And while, with silent lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

John Gillespie Magee jr, "High Flight (An Airman's Ecstacy)" [1941], Poem of the Week, accessed August 26, 2015, http://www.potw.org/archive/potw433.html

Grey skies over the Yellow Hills

Corporal Acts of Mercy Window

This window is in the north aisle of All Saints North Street, one down from the Pricke of Conscience Window, and like the Pricke of Conscience window it is very famous. It shows the corporal acts (or works) of mercy by which medieval Catholics hoped to get to heaven. Oddly, however, it shows only six of the seven acts. (Perhaps the glazier thought that to show all seven would ruin the window's symmetry!)

The window was donated to the church in about 1410 by Nicholas Blackburn, who seems to have been one of York's most prominent citizens. Certainly he was an extremely wealthy merchant, since he donated not only the Corporal Acts of Mercy Window but also the Great East Window behind the altar.

Reading clockwise from the top left-hand panel, you can see the feeding of the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; the shelter of the homeless; visiting the imprisoned (here shown in medieval stocks!); visiting the sick; and the clothing of the naked. (The seventh work, not shown, is to bury the dead.)

The man shown performing the works of mercy is probably intended to be Nicholas Blackburn himself. The window thus shows off not only his wealth but also his piety!

The bottom three panels, from left to right, show a kneeling monk or priest (possibly one endowed by Nicholas Blackburn to sing Masses for his soul); a floral (?) decoration; and a kneeling couple, probably Nicholas and his wife Margaret.

Visiting the poor unfortunates in the stock. Is the happy free gentleman on the left Nicholas Blackburn?

Nicholas Blackburn was a Mercer (merchant), but whether he was a member of the York Mercer's Guild is not known. The guild does have a link with the window, however, since their play in the Corpus Christi pageant was Doomsday or the Last Judgement. The corporal works of mercy feature prominently in the play; they are the means by which Christ separates the good souls from the bad. To the good souls He says,

Whenne I was hungery ȝe me fedde;
To slake my thirste youre harte was free;
Whanne I was clotheles ȝe me cledde,
Ȝe wolde no sorowe vpon me see.
In harde presse when I was stedde,
Of my penaunce ȝe hadde pitee.
Full seke when I was brought in bedde,
Kyndely ȝe come to coumforte me.

Whanne I was wille and werieste,
Ȝe herbered me full hartefully;
Full gladde þanne were ȝe of youre geste,
And pleyned my pouerte piteuously.

[When I was hungry you fed me;
To ease my thirst your heart was free;
When I was without clothes you clad me,
You would no sorrow upon me see.
When I was hard pressed,
You had pity on my distress,
When I was sick in bed,
Kindly you came to comfort me.

When I was wandering and weary
You harboured me full generously;
Full glad were you of your guest,
And commiserated with my poverty.]

And to the bad,

Whanne I had mistir of mete and drynke,
Caytiffs, ȝe cacched me fro youre gate.
Whanne ȝe were sette as sirs on benke,
I stode þeroute, werie and wette;
Was none of yowe wolde on me thynke,
Pyté to haue of my poure state,
Þerefore till hell I schall you synke,
Weele are ȝe worthy to go to þat gate.

Whanne I was seke and soriest
Ȝe visitte me noght, for I was poure;
In prisoune faste whan I was feste,
Was none of you loked howe I fore.
Whenne I wiste neuer where for to reste,
With dynts ȝe draffe me fro your dore.

 [When I had need of meat and drink,
Caitiffs, you drove me from your gate
When you were feasting and merrymaking
I stood without, cold and wet;
Not one of you thought of me,
Or had pity on my wretched state,
Therefore I shall sink you into Hell,
Well are you worthy to go to that gate.

When I was sick and sorriest,
You visited me not, for I was poor;
When I was held fast in prison,
None of you looked to see how I fared.
When I knew not where to rest,
With blows you drove me from your door.]

It is not known whether Nicholas was involved with the Mercers' play but his son (confusingly, also called Nicholas) was one of the station holders along the pageant route. This means that he paid for the plays to stop outside his door and was probably another sign of his wealth and prestige.


Maren Donley has produced an interesting, if rather involved, explanation of the links between the window, the Mercers, and Nicholas Blackburn. See Maren L. Donley, “Mercers, Mercantilism and the Maintenance of Power: the York Last Judgement and the York Register, Exemplar 18, no 2 (2006): 343ff.

Passages from the Last Judgement play in Richard Beadle, The York Plays: A Critical Edition of the York Corpus Christi Play as Recorded in British Library Additional MS 35290, volume I (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), l.285-96, 325-38. Modern English translations my own.

Hairy Maclary auf Deutsch

Hello Kiwi German speakers,

Did you know that Hairy Maclary has his own Wikipedia.de page, written by yours truly?

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hairy_Maclary

Unfortunately a lot of the NZ slang doesn't translate very well into German!

(Project for German 701B, September 2014)

Arma Christi

Passion scenes are one of the most common topics for medieval stained glass windows. This (click on it to make it bigger!) is a Passion and Resurrection sequence, now forming the West Window in All Saints Pavement, York. The glass, which is from the late 14th century, was originally just across the road in St Saviour's Church, where it formed part of the great East Window behind the altar. 

The glass work is incredibly detailed, especially the small shield on the far right of the window (for a close-up see below). This depicts the Arma Christi - the instruments of the Passion. In the Middle Ages it was common to meditate on the gory and gruesome details of the Passion so that one might be provoked to sorrow for sin and gratitude for Christ's sacrifice. This is known as affective piety and is a hallmark of medieval religious art, literature and drama.

In the centre of the Arma Christi shield is, naturally enough, the cross. The crown of thorns hangs over the crossbar and the three nails used to pin Christ to the cross are in position at the two ends of the crossbar and at the bottom of the downpiece. 

Crossed in front of the downpiece are a pole with the sponge used to give Christ gall and vinegar, and the spear used by the Roman soldier Longinus to pierce the side of Christ. 

To the left of the cross is Christ's seamless garment; underneath and to either side of the support are the three dice used by the soliders to cast lots. Beneath the tip of the lance is a chalice with a host suspended above it.

On the right of the cross is the pillar used for the scourging; wound round it is the cord which bound Christ to it; the scourges are higher up, one on each side of the downpiece of the cross. Also in this right-hand section are a Pinner's (the Pinners made nails and other ironwork) hammer and a pair of Blacksmith's pincers, which would have been used to shape and forge the nails (or pins).

The strange spoon-like object over the left arm of the cross bar I cannot identify. All I can think of is that it is an izmel, or knife of the circumcision, although it doesn't look very knife-like... if anyone has a better idea, please let me know!!

The pattern of one horizontal line with three downward strokes attached which covers the background of the shield represents Christ's wounds and the blood which flowed from them.

St Helen

Today is the feast day of St Helen (c. 250 - 330), most famous for finding the True Cross and for being the mother of the Emperor Constantine... and marginally less famous for being the patron saint of yours truly!!

Christ and Cross - York Minster

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

The saddest little fellow in York Minster

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Dylan Thomas, "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Goodnight," in Penguin's Poems by Heart: Poetry to Remember and Love for Ever, edited by Laura Barber (London: Penguin Classics, 2009): 16.

England

    
Tiny little island, nestled among the foam,
    Ancient land and honoured, whom millions call their home.
Land of gentle lowland, rising to withered height,
    Gentle, sleepy island, yet full of hidden might.

Venerable oaks rise tall and strong,
    The rivers laugh their gurgling song.
Soft winds blow from their lofty seat,
    Lanes of centuries carry hurrying feet.

Up to the sky the rugged hills soar,
    Across lonely moorlands the harsh winds roar.
Breezes play with the grass of the lea,
    The rain sweeps in o’er the sea.

Over leaning gravestones old trees keep watch,
    Gnarled old trunks with many a notch.
Sunshine dapples children’s play,
    The sparkling waters dance in the bay.

Mother land, for whom thousands fought and died,
    How did you inspire such heroic pride?
To you, down the ages, men have stayed true,
    Tiny little island from which an empire grew.

(As seen in This England magazine, Spring 2010!)

'New' Tolkien story to be published

See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/tolkien-unfinished-story-of-kullervo-published-august/

"What a tale we've been in, Mr. Frodo, haven't we? ... I wish I could hear it told! Do you think they'll say: Now comes the story of Nine-Fingered Frodo and the Ring of Doom? And then everyone will hush, just like we did, when in Rivendell they told us the tale of Beren One-hand and the Great Jewel. I wish I could hear it! And I wonder how it will go on after our part."

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King (London: Harper Collins, 1996), 986-7.

Telegraph | Why Hamlet is the greatest role of all (of course it is!)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/theatre/what-to-see/why-hamlet-is-the-greatest-part-of-all/

                What is he whose grief 
Bears such an emphasis, whose phrase of sorrow
Conjures the wand'ring stars and makes them stand
Like wonder-wounded hearers? This is I,
Hamlet the Dane.
V.1.238-42 (Oxford School Shakespeare edition, ed. Roma Gill, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009)
 

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5100000/Hamlet-laurence-olivier-5111437-434-305.jpg

And yes, Olivier was the greatest Hamlet! :P

Great Stage of Fools production

The University of Auckland postgraduate drama programme is performing a selection of snippets from the early English theatre, 20th - 23rd August, 8pm in the drama studio. For more information see http://www.arts.auckland.ac.nz/en/about/events/2015/08/drama-production--great-stage-of-fools.html

I'll try to go (on the Thursday, probably). Anybody else who wants to come, let me know, and we can make a party :)

This fellow is wise enough to play the fool,
And to do that well craves a kind of wit;
He must observe their mood on whom he jests,
The quality of persons, and the time;
Not, like the haggard, check at every feather
That comes before his eye. This is a practice,
As full as labour as a wise man's art:
For folly that he wisely shows is fit;
But wise men, folly-fall'n, quite taint their wit.

Twelfth Night III.1.50-68 (Cambridge School Shakespeare edition, ed. Rex Gibson, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.)

Kiwis Abroad

Spotted this at York railway station and couldn't stop smiling!

(Click on it to make it bigger and see it in its full glory)

York Minster from the city walls

German play

The university's German Drama Company is putting on Der Wahre Jakob at the Musgrove Studio, 18 - 22nd August. Book through the Maidment:

http://www.maidment.auckland.ac.nz/en/maidment/whats-on-maidment/musgrove-studio/DerWahreJakob.html

Hamlet according to Benedict

The Telegraph ponders Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet, now playing at the Barbican theatre in London:

Worth the hype?/Davies

With Hamlet, the play's not the thing/Davies

'A promising rough draft'/Cavendish


"We defy augury. There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come. The readiness is all. Since no man, of aught he leaves, leaves aught, was is't to leave betimes? Let be."

Hamlet V.2.l.204-8.

Fancy a piece of York Minster?

York Minster is auctioning off various bits and pieces of stone and wood that were removed during recent conservation of the Great East Window: Stone and timber auction

A Green Man - an ancient pagan fertility symbol - in the York Minster Chapter House. Obviously the advent of Christianity did not completely supersede England's pagan traditions! For probably the most famous 'Green Man' in literature, see the fourteenth century poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.

Did you know...?

... that the word 'gossip' in late medieval and Tudor English meant 'godmother'?

Pricke of Conscience Window

The Pricke of Conscience Window

 This famous window is in the Lady Chapel of All Saints North Street, York. It dates from around 1410 and is unique for being the only medieval stained glass window in Europe known to include the text of a poem - The Prik of Conscience. As its name implies, the poem is is a devotional work intended to provoke repentance and sorrow for sin. Snippets of text from the poem appear under each of the fifteen window panels.

The window depicts the last fifteen days of the world, in characteristic apocalyptic medieval style. However, to a modern eye the terrible 'roaring' fish look more as if they have toothache and the rocks and trees like overgrown mushrooms!

The fish, roaring with toothache (top); overgrown mushrooms! (bottom)

More overgrown mushrooms (top and bottom). The top panel is supposed to be rocks and stones on fire, while the bottom one is the sea on fire (the things that look like red chilies are presumably the flames!)