PUBLICATIONS
SURTEES SOCIETY
ESTABLISHED IN THE YEAR
MDCCCXXXIV.
MDCCCXXXVI.
^^/3/
Nr.wc.vsTi.i: : riiiNTi:i) at nrii: : i ini:i:s j-nnss,
UY J. MI.ACKW 111. ANJi lO.
TOWNELEY
M Y S T E R I E S.
LONDOX :
J. II. NICHOLS AXD SON, PARLIAIMEXT STHEET
UlLLIAM PICKi::;IXG, CIIANCEIIY LANE.
At a Meeting of the Council of the Surtees Society, on
the third of November, 1835, it was
RESOLVKD—That five hundred copies of The Towkeley
Mysteries be printed by the Society.
JAMES RAINE,
Secretary.
PREFACE.
The Manuscript Volume in which these Mysteries have
been preserved formed part of the hbrary at Towneley
Hall, in Lancashire, collected by the family of Towne-
ley ; a family which, in the two last centuries, produced
several remarkable men, through whom it becomes con-
nected with the arts, with literature, and with science.
The library was dispersed in two sales by auction, at
Evans' Rooms, in Pall Mall, the first in 1814, when
there were seven days* sale; the second in 1815, when
the sale lasted ten days.
This manuscript, as well as the famous Towneley
Homer, was in the first sale. It was bought by John
Louis Goldsmid, Esq. From his possession it very
soon passed to Mr. North, but before 1822 it had
returned to the family in whose library it had for so
many years found protection.
By what means the Towneley family became possessed
of it, or at what period, is not known. There is nothing
known with certainty respecting any previous owner-
ship. iWhen, however, the catalogue of the Towneley
books and manuscripts was prepared for the sale in 1814,
Mr. Douce was requested to write a short notice for
insertion in it. In this notice, after assigning the com-
position of the Mysteries to the reign of Henry VI. or
Viil PIIEFACE.
Edward IV.,*: lie says of the volume itself, that it is.
supposed to liave forinerly " belonged to the Abbey of
Widkirk, near Wakefield, in the County of York."
This supposition, however, he appears to have subse-
(juently considered as not worthy of much regard : for
when Mr. Peregrine Edward Towneley, in 1822, printed,
from this manuscript, the Judicium, as his contribution
to the Roxburgh Club, an introduction was written by
Mr. Douce, in which he says that the volume is *' sup-
posed to have belonged to the Abbey of Whalley," and
to have passed at the dissolution into the library of the
neighbouring family of Towneley.
On what foundation either of these suppositions rests
we are not informed. The first, however, is that which
has been most generally accepted, and the three principal
collections of Mysteries now known have been usually
quoted or referred to as those of Chester, Coventry, and
Widkirk.
In the absence of precise information, we may assume
that the supposition of its having formerly belonged to
" the Abbey of Widkirk" was the Towneley tradition
respecting it : and previously to any investigation it may
be assumed, that if we are to trace the possession of such
â– * Tliere is a passage in iho Ji diciim which may assist in determin-
ing tlie periotl at whicti it was written. Tutivillus, in describing a
fashionable female, tells his brother daemons "she is hornyd like a
kowe" (p. 312). He appears to allude to the same description of
head dress which Stowe thus records : " 1388. King Richard (the
second) married Anne, daughter of Vcselaus, King of Bohcm. In
her <l:iyes, nol.le women use<l liigli attire on their heads, piked like
homo, with long trained gownes."
TREFACE. IX
n volume as tnis in a period before the reformation, next
perhaps to the archives of some guild or other corpora-
tion in one of the cities or towns of England, we may
expect to find it in the possession of some Conventual
society. The question of that early possession is, in
fact, the question of the composition of these Mysteries,
as to the place and people. We shall now endeavour to
determine it.
The supposition that this book belonged to *' the
Abbey of Widkirk, near Wakefield," has upon it remark-
ably the characteristics of a genuine tradition. There is
no distinct enunciation of the fact which the tradition
proposes to exhibit, and yet out of the words of the sup-
position we may decisively and easily extract what the
fact in it originally was. There is no place called Wid-
kirk in the neighbourhood of Wakefield, and neither
there nor in any part of England was there ever an Abbey
of Widkirk. But there is a place called Woodkirk in
that neighbourhood, and at Woodkirk there was a cell
of Augustinian or Black Canons, a dependance on the
great house of St. Oswald, at Nostel. Whatever weight
there may be attached to the supposition or tradition
respecting the original possession, must, therefore, be
given to the claim of this Cell of Canons at Woodkirk.
Woodkirk is about four miles to the north of Wake-
field. A small religious Community was established
there in the first half century after the Conquest, by the
Earls Warren, to whom the great Lordship of Wakefield
belonged, and they were placed in subjection to the house
of Nostel. King Henry I. granted to the Canons of
Nostel, a charter, for two fairs to be held at Woodkirk,
X niElACE.
one nt llio Feast ol" the Assumption, tlie otlier at tlie
Feast of tlie Nativity of the Blessed Mary. This grant
was eonlirmed by King Stephen. These fairs, in a rural
district, continued to attract a concourse of people to the
time of the Reformation. In the Valor of King Henry
\'III. the profit of the tolls and stallage was returned at
£13 Gs. Sd., which was more than one-fourth of the
yearly revenue of the house. The buildings in which
the few Canons resided have gradually disappeared.
Some portions of the cloisters were remaining not long
ago. The church still exists, on a retired and elevated
site, and remains of large reservoirs for the Canons' fish
in the vale below are still very conspicuous.*
f In the language as well as the style of these Mysteries,
a diversity may be perceived, arising in part, perhaps, from
the greater elevation of the characters or the subjects in
one than in another ; and in part also, perhaps, from their
not having proceeded from one hand, and from the col-
lection having been made up partly of compositions
strictly original, and partly of compositions obtained from
other similar collections.j In some of them, however,
' LoiDis AND Elmete, p. 240.
8 The language of the Processus Poetarum seems (o be more
modern than that of the other pieces. It is also of an entirely diftor-
ent structure. PriARAO seems also to be by a diflercnt hand. CtSAit
Ai'GUSTL's is plainly by the same hand as Pharao. The heroes in
both swear l)y " Mahowne." There are no Yorkshireisms in cither,
nor can any l>e traced in the Annunciatio. 1'he two Pagea.nts of
llie SiiEi'iuiRns are among the most remarkable. Disputes about
Common-right might be illustrated from the topography of almost
fvcry sheep-feeding parish in the kingdom. The Shepherds dinners,
SI hool-learning, Cato, are all interesting points. The shepherds were
PREFACE. Xi
the language is that of common life and of country clowns.
In these there are traces which cannot be mistaken of a
northern, and it may be said of a Yorkshire origin. Few
persons who have had any opportunities of hearing the
language of the rural population of the West Riding of
Yorkshire, can fail to trace it in such pieces as the Mac-
TATio Abel and the Prima, but especially the Secunda
Pastorum.
A few particular words and phrases may here be added ;
not that it can be safely affirmed that they are peculiar
to the West Riding of Yorkshire, but of which it would
not perhaps be over-stating to say, that they are more
frequently to be heard there than in any other district ;
and that they are all still existing in the vernacular of
that district, in the senses in which they are here used,
and often in the very connections in which they occur.
" Umbithynke thee what thou saysse" — *' Ather" — ** Let
it be" — " be pease your dyn" — *' hoille" — " go furth,
<;reat astronomers. The best illustration of this would be found in
" The Shepherds Calendar/' of which there were several black letter
editions, with cuts, of the shepherds feeding their flocks and observing
the heavens. The first chapter is entitled " A great question asked
between the shepheards touching the stars, and an answer made to
the same question." The twenty-second " How shepheards by cal-
culation and speculation know the xii signes, &c." The notion was
not entirely lost in the time of Shakespear.
" Nine changes of the watery star have been
The Shepherds' note."— Winter's Tale, I. 2 Pol
The two alterations in the Johannes Baptista, p. 169 and 171, seem
intended to accommodate this piece to the new order of things after
the Reformation. The Mactatio Abel is one of the most interesting
of the set. We have in it an imitation of the vulgarest language of
the vulgarest clowns of the period.
XII I'UEKACE.
frreyn liornu"— ♦' Leining" as tlie name of a cow occurs
in a Will of a West Riding yeoman,—** here my hencl,"
liand— •♦ other-gates"— " a craw to pluck"—** lig," lie—
*'mon" must— ** fun," found— ** pik," pitch— *' sam"—
** dedir"— ** skelp"— ** bir"— ** mydyng"— ** chyldre"—
»* barme" bosom—'* kyn"— ** kythe and kyn"— ** near-
hand" - ** balk" - ** Whet hir whystyll"— "lake" - *' threpe"
— *' eaten out of house and harbour" — *' what alys thee"
— These are a selection ; many others, perhaps some
more striking, might be found ; but these words and
phrases are still to be iieard in the language of the com-
mon people in the district in which Woodkirk was situ-
ated.
It may be said that such words and phrases are not
peculiar to that district. No — few words or phrases can
be declared to be peculiar to any circumscribed tract.
But the question here really is, whether tliey may not be
said to belong rather to that district than to any other ;
and it is presumed, tliat comparing the language of the
Mysteries with the Glossaries of the provincial terms of
various counties, the Yorkshire Glossary would supply
more illustrations or parallelisms than that of any other
county, not excepting even the Glossary of Lancashire.
It is a remarkable fact, indeed, that there is so strongly
marked a diversity between the language of the people
inhabiting the plains which extend at the feet of the
English Appennines on the East and West sides, from
Northumberland and Cumberkuul, till the ridge disap-
pears in Stairordshire.
Perhaps the supposition in the Towneley family, on
whatever it niav have been founded, and the striking
PREFACE. XUl
resemblance which there is between the language of seve-
ral of these pieces, and the language of the same class of
society as it may still be heard on the hills and in the
plains of Yorkshire, may be sufficient to render it at
least a point of probability that the composition of these
Mysteries, and the original possession of this volume, are
to be attributed to the Canons of Woodkirk ; or that
the possession is to be traced to them, and the compo-
sition, perhaps, to some one of the Canons in the far
larger fraternity at Nostel. But the manuscript itself
contains that which connects it with Wakefield ; and
there are topographical allusions in one of the pieces,
the Secunda Pastorum, which belong to the country
near Wakefield and Woodkirk.
Thus, at the beginning of the first is written in a
large hand " Wakefelde" and " Berkers," the mean-
ing of which seems to be, that on some occasion this
Mystery was represented at the town of Wakefield by
the company or fellowship of the Barkers or Tanners.
To the second is prefixed " Glover Pag..." without
the word Wakefield. The imperfect word is *' Pagina,"
which appears to have been used as the Latin term for
these kinds of exhibitions or pageants. The meaning
appears to be that this was exhibited by the Glovers.
At the head of the third, however, we find ** Wakefeld"
again, without the name of any trade. These are the
only notices of the kind, except that at the head of the
*' Peregrini" the words " Fysher Pageant" occur.*
* The words Lytster Play occur at the head of the Pharao.
They were oTerlooked by the copyist, but the mistake is noticed in
the Errata.
XVI PREFACE.
and frequent intercourse between them. Waketield liad
acquired the association with its name of " Merr}-" at an
early period, and it may be that the exliibition of these
very Pageantries may have liad much to do with the
origin of the expression which is put by Fuller among
the provincial expressions of Yorkshire, " Merry Wake-
field." But it may also be surmised that the good
Canons of Woodkirk would draw upon the store of hu-
mour in this volume, and upon the more striking and
solemn and serious scenes which occur in it, to attract
the multitude to their Fairs, and thus increase the re-
venues of their house. A rural Fair has always been a
scene quite as much of amusement as of business. Oc-
casionally of strife, too, as was the case with the Wood-
kirk Nativity Fair, in the 9th of Edward II., at which
John de Heton, and Amabil, his wife, with another per-
son, perhaps their servant, appear to have made a gene-
ral assault on the persons there and then assembled.'
But in general they would be peaceable and festive
assemblies ; and as we peruse these dramatic pieces we
cannot but perceive that in the representation of them
there would be much not only to entertain, but to aflect
seriously and serviceably the minds of the simple rustics
who, on these occasions, were wont here to congregate,
as well as to give them, hi the way in which they could
best receive it, information concerning the principal
events of sacred history.
I Dramatic representations of this nature are sometimes
j'lcalled Miracle Inlays, and sometimes Mysteries. Not-
' South YoRKsmnr, Vol. II., p. 207.
PREFACE. XVII
withstanding the authority of the Wife of Bath (Chaucer,
The Wife of Bath's Prologue, 1. 558). We have given
a preference to the latter appellation, as more strictly in
accordance with the general character of these pieces. On
the general question of these Mysteries, and the impor-
tant link which they constitute between the theatrical
representations of antient and modern times, and the
light which they throw upon the manners and customs
and religious opinions of their period, the reader is re-
ferred to the publications of Mr. Sharp, Mr. Markland,
and Mr. Collier. It is enough for a Society of this na-
ture to lay bare the mine, and leave the skilful to extract
its ore. One thing, however, has been deemed essen-
tially requisite, a brief but comprehensive Glossary for the
benefit of the general reader. It js only by such publi-
cations as this that correct notions can be formed of the
progressive state of the Enghsh language, and in such
cases a good glossary concentrates their very spirit and
utility.
The manuscript is of the folio size, written in a bold
hand upon strong parchment, and containing initial letters
highly ornamented with the pen. Fac-similes of the
hand-writing of a portion of the Flagellacio (p. 205),
and of an initial letter, are subjoined to these prefatorial
remarks and notices.
The lines which rhyme with each other are in general
connected by ligatures. The speeches are separated
from each other by lines of red ink, which is still fresh
and brilliant.
This manuscript was recommended to the notice of
he Society, by William Bentham, of Upper Gower
will I'RLI'ACE.
SircM'l, Ldiidoii, K<(j., F. S. A., &c., and next to tin-
(continuation of Wills and Inventories it received tin*
Ln'ontest ininihcr of votes in conformity with the seventh
Rule.
The thanks of the Society are especially due to Pere-
jLjrine Edward Towneley, of Towneley, Esq., the owner
of the manuscript, for his courtesy in permitting it to be
transcribed for the press. This permission was obtained
by the Reverend Dr. Lingard, to whom the Society is
under great obligations for this and other manifestations
of his anxiety for its welfare.
It may be almost needless to remark, that great care
was taken in obtaining a correct copy of the Townelej^
Manuscript. And yet, notwithstanding caution, ther'
were mistakes in the transcript, and their number wa
not diminished by the press. The printed sheets, how
ever, have themselves been carefully compared with tin
original manuscript by Joseph Stevenson, Esq. to who
the institution is under great obligations ; and the follow
ing Errata have been discovered, which, as extrem
accuracy in its transcripts and publications is deeme
essentially requisite by the Society, it points out her
m limine that the reader may correct them with h
j)en before he becomes involved in the dilliciiltie- of
coiriipt reading.
ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA.
p. 4, I. 15, add ? at the end of the line.
... 5, second indent, (orfu'lcs, read foivles.
... 8,1. 8, add ? at the end of the line.
... 10, 1. 10, from bottom, for neyn, read 7nei/?i.
6, , for atone, read a lone.
5, , add comma after we.
... 1 1, 1. 1, for a}i eld, read a neld.
27, for loe may, read wemay.
... 13, 1. 4, dele the second comma, and for? read ;
... 14, 1. 10, for neveryit, read never yit.
... 15, 1. 9, for Cayin, read Caym.
... 16, 1. 2, for shren, read shrew.
... 22, 1. 8, for an, read Alan.
sixth indent, for afone, read afone.
... 26, 1. 5, dele comma.
... â– 1. 8, for threfor, read threfor.
... 27, fourth indent, for On one, read onone.
... 28, fifth indent, for Sent, read sam,
... 30, 20 from bottom, for thase, read thare.
13 , for luedmen, read wed men.
... 31, 1. 9, after fhise, insert [wederes,]
... 32, 1. 18, for hufe, read lufe.
... 33, 1. 20, for befon, read be fan.
... 40, 1. 16, add ? after arayde.
... 41, 11 from bottom after And, insert [this.]
... 46, 1. 16, for inqnarte, read in quarte.
... 46, 1. 5 from bottom for barne to me, read barneteme.
... 48. 1. 5, for alle — to, read alle-to.
... 51, ninth indent for bonden, read bondon.
... 55, after Pharao, insert Lytster play in the margin.
... 58, 7 from botcom, for never, veaAncven.
... 59, 1. 15, for or seasse, read or I seasse.
... 61,4 from bottom for vere, read ivore.
... 62, 1. 1, for yflt, read Jyt.
... 65, 1. 8, for ferstley, read fejsley.
1. 22, for Naiv, read mom;.
... 66, 1. 2, for ^ow, read yoiv.
... 67, fifth indent, after hastely place a comma.
... — , 8 from bottom, for She, read The.
... 68, 1. 8, for youot, read you not.
... 1. 18, for best, read bost.
... 69, 1. 5 from bottom, for stille, read fnllc.
... 71, 1. 18, for luelldand, read weldand.
... 76, 3 from bottom, dele the comma after woman.
... 81 1. 2, for eee, read ec.
1 6 from bottom, insert a comma after ashyng. .
last line but one, dele comma after blys.
... 82, 1. 2 from bottom for sayd, read seyd.
... 83, 1. 5. for hend, read //e?;^.
... 85, 1. 13, for over twharf, read overtwhari.
23, for avd, read awrf.
... 88, 1. 7 from bottom, after gj// insert yoz/,
... 89, 1. 19, for To, read TViow.
... 90, 1. 16, for kely, read /fe/j/.
P, 90, 1. 22, for haJtom read hoUom.
91, !• 9. de'e the first comma, and instead of the second insert !
20, for you, read ye.
92, 1. 19, for leinyd, read lemyd.
seventh indent, for rccoide, read recorde.
... 95, 21, insert; at the end of the line.
95 16 from bottom, for /jyc/i, read li/g/it,and insert a comma after monc.
I.. Ijj after /ct, insert la.
96, 5, insert comma after than.
99, 9, fo"" '"■^» '■^^'^ '"■''•
... 101, 1. 23, for rant/c, read rani/s.
... 104, 1. 17, for devylle, read dewijlk.
105, 1. 18 from bottom, for connselle, read countcllc.
... 106, 1. l» /"Von should perhaps be read Frou.
I. 20, ioTjek, read reA-.
...107, 7, for /ar, read /or,
... 109, 22, for nocht, for noght.
... 110, 16, for an, read oh.
...Ill, 17 from bottom, for //orfe, read /rc^«/r.
7, for if rtA07i, read i«on.
last line but one, (or yadc, read yodc.
... 112, I. 1, for menys, read mendijs.
... 1 14, 1. 18, for devillc, read deivillc.
21, for / wys, read iu'w.
28, for qwant, read qwanite.
52, for Ainrf, read 6ym/.
53, for fois, read fals.
last line but one, for deville, read dcteille.
last line, for wza/rw ay/r, read Mak's ai/rc.
... 115, 5, from bottom, insert ? after tene, and for So, as I say you f
read Do as I say you.
...116, 1 5, dele comma after fcryn.
24, for This, read thre.
... 1 17, 5, for Ac, read he.
11, from bottom, for So, read Go, and insert comma after now.
... lis, 2, for warle, read ivarlo,
... 119, in running title, for Prima, read Secunda.
... 121, 1, for aUcdos, read aUc dos.
... 124, 9, from bottom, for Ballaam, read Balaam.
... 131, Primus Rex, for Allercdy, read /!//<• rc(/y.
... 136, lines 1 and 2, insert comma after way, and ? after wcynde.
... 137, lines 6 and 7, for; read , and for Me, read AV.
line 16 from bottom, for Were, read here.
... 141,5, dele comma after uyugcs.
... 142, line 10 from bottom, for dw'dlc, read dcwUk.
... 164, line !», for eeyllc, read ccylle.
... 168, 7 from bottom, for herehis, read //ere- his.
... 175, 21 from bottom, cantelys. Sec Glossary.
... 209, 10, for wes hen, read wcshen,
... 233, 21, for athrugate, read /l/Ziu* gfl^<'.
... 836, cifihth indent, for todcdir, read togedir.
... 266, 85, for nornc, read viorne.
... 277, 5 from bottom, for und, read <jwd.
... 283, 16, for wounded, read woundct.
... 299, 10 from bottom, for he, read A(r.
... 302, 1 7, for itevyud, read stevynd.
... 309» 26, for icu'v*, read scmys.
. . 3 1 1, 20, for Air, read Ai*.
CONTENTS.
Creatio ... ... ... ... ... p. 1.
Mactatio Abel ... ... ... ... ... 8.
Processus NoE CUM FitiiB ... ... ... 20.
Abraham ... ... ... ... .>. 35.
Isaac ... ... ... ... ... 43.
Jacob ... ... ... ... ... ... 45.
Processus Prophetarum ... ... ... 49.
Pharao ... .•. ... ... ... 55.
CiESAR Augustus ... ... ... ... 66.
Annunciatio ... ... ... ... ... 72.
Salutacio Elizabeth ... ... ... 81.
"Prima Pagina Pastorum ... ... ... 84.
-Secunda Pagina Pastorum ... ... ... 98.
Oblacio Magorum ... ... ... ... 120.
FuGACio Joseph et Maria in ^gyptum ... 135.
Magnus Herodes ... ... ... ... 140.
purificagio mariie ... ... ... ... 154.
Pagina Doctorum ... ... ... ... 158.
Johannes Baptista ... ... ... ... 165.
CONSPIRACIO ET CaPCIO ... ... ... .-.. 172.
Coliphizatio ... ... ... ... 190.
Flagellacio ... ... ... ... ... 203.
Processus Crucis. Crucifixio ... ... 216.
Processus Talentorum ... ... ... ... 233.
ExTRACTio Animarum ab Inferno ... ... 244.
Resurrectio Domini ... ... ... ... 254.
Peregrini ... ... ... ... ... 270
Thomas Indite ... ... ... ... 280.
Ascencio Domini ... ... ... ... 294.
juditium ... ... ... ... ... 303.
Lazarus ... ... ... ... ... 322.
suspentio jvvje .. ... ... ... 328,
err f^till
TOWNELEY MYSTERIES.
IN DEI NOMINE AMEN.
ASSIT PRINCIPIO, SANCTA MARIA, MEO.
WAKEFELDE.
BARKERS.
Deus. Ego sum Alpha et O,
1 am the first and last also,
Oone God m mageste ;
Marvelose, of myght most.
Fader, and Sone, and Holy Goost,
One God in Trinyte.
I am without begynnynge,
My godhede hath none endynge,
I am God in trone ;
Oone God in persons thre,
Which may never twynnyd be,
For I ame God alone.
Alle maner thynge is in my thoght,
Withhoutehe me ther may be noght.
For alle is in my sight ;
Hit shalle be done after my wille.
That I have thoght I shalle fulfille
And manteyne with my myght.
At the begynnyng of oure dede
Make we hevene and erlh, on brede.
And lyghtes fayre to se ;
For it is good to be so,
Darknes from light we parte on two,
In tyme to serve and be.
Darknes we calle the nyght,
And lith also the bright,
It shalle be as I say ;
After my wille this is furth broght,
icnVM-.LKY MVSTERlESi
Even an niorne both ar tliay wroght.
And thus is maid a day.
In mcdys the water, bi oure assent,
Be now maide the firmament,
And parte ather from othere,
Water above, i-wis,
Even and morne maide is this
A day, so was the tothere.
Waters, that so wyde ben spred,
Be gedered to geder in to one stede,
That dry the erth may seym ;
That at is dry tlie erth shalle be,
The waters also I calle the see ;
This warke to me is quenie.
Out of the erth herbys shal spryng,
Trees to florish and friite furth bryng,
Thare kynde that it be kyd.
This is done after my wille,
Even and morne maide is ther tille
A day, this is the thryd.
Son and moyne set in the heven,