Wim Husken

Epilogue: Negative Characters as Gauges of Dramatic Traditions

The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies, Dec 20, 1997

By far the majority of the English and Dutch medieval and sixteenth-century plays catered for a d... more By far the majority of the English and Dutch medieval and sixteenth-century plays catered for a desire to develop a better understanding of Man. In order to do so the playwrights normally presented the ideals Man ought to strive for, but they, realistically, outlined the various reasons why Man rarely attains such ideals. This interest in a better understanding of Man, his ideals, and his failings is not limited to moral drama. These issues crop up regularly in other forms of literature of the period as well, such as Langland's Piers Plowman, Deguileville's Pelerinage de la Vie Humaine, and the sermons by Johannes Brugman. As such, moral drama forms only a small fragment in a larger corpus which highlights the medieval and early modem concern with Man, his spiritual history, his virtues, and his sins. Two metaphors were often used to indicate the relevance of such literature to reality. One of these is the notion of literature as a mirror reflecting reality. This idea is present in various non-dramatic works, such as Jan de Weert's Nieuwe Doctrinael of Spieghel van Sonden (New Doctrinal or Mirror of Sins), and in some plays, such as Den Spyeghel der Salicheyt van Elckerlijc (The Mirror of the Sanctity of Everyman) and De Spiegel der mimen (The Mirror of Love). The other notion is that of the theatrum mundi ('theatre of the world') in which all humanity found themselves playing roles in 'a faint but morally pregnant anticipation of eternal life'.2 This concept, blurring the distinction between literature and reality, as our lives are but a play before God, became especially popular through John of Salisbury's Policraticus (1159) and was much used by Wyclif.3 These two concepts are quite distinct. In the mirror imagery, one watches and (hopefully) learns. In the theatrum mundi imagery, one watches, participates, and (hopefully) leams. To some extent these two metaphors replicate the differences between English and Dutch drama. Dutch drama functions much as a mirror, English drama as a theatrum mundi.The theatrum mundi concept underlies the typically English mystery cycles in which the whole history of the world as well as Man's spiritual history is presented. It is reflected in the stage plan of Perseverance (and of the Cornish Ordinalia) which represents the cosmos with God in the east and hell in the north. The notion was particularly pertinent for some of the English moral playwrights:the workplace of playwrights such as Heywood, Udall, and Lindsay, was a theatrum mundi indeed, coterminous with the world they inhabited in their extra-dramatic lives as courtiers, scholars, and politicians. Their drama lived in the spaces in which the real events which they allegorised also took place, and it drew rhetorical and symbolic strength from that fact.4This provided an ideal practical and philosophical opportunity to try to blur the boundaries between the dramatic and ordinary worlds, and to interact directly with the audience. In general, the English playwrights were keen to situate their plays in a recognisable, local landscape: the moors in Towneley shepherds' plays, the Cambridge area in Mankind, and London in, amongst others, Nature, Hick Scorner, and Tide. There are many instances of interaction with the spectators in the English plays. Perhaps most potent for the confusion of the boundary between the ordinary and dramatic worlds are the instances which undermine the status of the audience as audience. Thus, Mery Reporte is initially a member of the audience in Wether, whereas Pryde regards the audience as an unwelcoming host:Who dwelleth here? Wyll no man speke?...A gentylman comys in at the dorys...And none of thys knaves nor cutted horysByddys hym welcom to house. {Nature, 1.723-30)Courage spurs his 'good cousin Cutpurse, if you be in place' (1. 971) on to immoral behaviour, just as he does with other stage characters such as Greediness and Willful Wanton. …

Esther in the Drama of the Early Modern Low Countries

Performing "The Book of Esther" in Early Modern Europe, edited by Chanita Goodblatt. Skenè. Journal of Theatre and Drama Studies 9 (2023) 1, pp. 141-63., 2023

Even though topics from the Hebrew Bible abound in the sixteenth-century drama of the Low Countri... more Even though topics from the Hebrew Bible abound in the sixteenth-century drama of the Low Countries written in the vernacular, the character of Esther does not appear on stage in the Dutch language before the start of the seventeenth century. Neo-Latin plays on Esther did, however, precede them. In this article I will concentrate on four plays, written by Dutch and Flemish dramatists. The first is a neo-Latin play: "Tragœdia Esther sive Edissa", written in 1544 by Petrus Philicinus and printed in 1563. I will subsequently discuss three vernacular plays about Esther: an anonymous play entitled "Hester en Assverus" from the town of Hasselt, probably written before 1615; Nicolaas Fonteyn’s "Esther, ofte ’t Beeldt der Ghehoorsaamheid" from 1637; and Joris Berckmans’s “happyending tragedy” "Edissa" from 1649. In discussing these plays, I will focus on the way in which the character of Esther was portrayed. In Philicinus’s play Esther is depicted as a mediatrix between the Jewish people and the Persians, yet at the same time fully aware of the dangers she may inflict upon herself. The Hasselt play and the play by Berckmans demonstrate Esther’s loyalty towards Ahasuerus. These two plays contrast her sweet and obedient character to Vasthi’s less sympathetic attitude towards the king. Fonteyn also describes her as a loyal queen to Ahasuerus; her virtue is beyond any doubt. What is more, in all four plays Esther emphatically voices her trust in God.

Queen Elizabeth and Essex: A Dutch Rhetoricians' Play

Porci ante Margaritam: Essays in honour of Meg Twy¬cross, edited by Sarah Carpenter, Pamela King, and Peter Meredith (Leeds: University of Leeds, 2001 [Leeds Studies in English, N.S. 32]), p. 151-70., 2001

In the village of 's-Gravenpolder, in the province of Zeeland, a Chamber of Rhetoric was active d... more In the village of 's-Gravenpolder, in the province of Zeeland, a Chamber of Rhetoric was active during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, named De Fiolieren (The Stock-Gillyflowers). Its members composed poetry and performed plays, some of which relate to historical topics. The manuscripts of these plays, totalling no less than thirty-one, were, by pure chance, discovered in the 1920s. Unfortunately, most of them were in a relatively pure condition with the start of the play and/or its conclusion missing. One of them deals with the story of Queen Elisabeth I and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Of it two versions exist, composed and presumably also performed in, respectively, 1629 and 1694, years after the tragic death of Elisabeth's intensely beloved courtier.

Cornelis Everaert and the Community of Late Medieval Bruges

The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies, Dec 20, 1998

Drama and Community: People and Plays in Medieval Europe, edited by Alan Hindley (Turnhout: Brepols, 1999), 110-25 [Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe, vol. 1]., 1999

The plays written by the Bruges' playwright Cornelis Everaert (ca. 1480-1556) reflect local condi... more The plays written by the Bruges' playwright Cornelis Everaert (ca. 1480-1556) reflect local conditions while at the same time addressing issues that concerned Flemish citizens in general. In them we get a glimpse of social, religious and economic relations during a time in which, from a religious point of view, things had not yet gotten complicated. As a critical observer of his environment, Everaert did not hesitate to voice his opinions. His plays allow us to study the way he looked at the world of early sixteenth-century citizens in one of northern Europe's most thriving regions, Flanders.

transcript Verlag eBooks, Dec 31, 2003

Staging History Essays in Late Medieval and Humanist Drama

Preliminaries to the study of the comic drama of the rhetoricians

The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies, Dec 20, 1999

Staging Scripture

Staging Scripture, 2016

Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, Apr 1, 1984

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall … History in Late Medieval Drama from the Low Countries

BRILL eBooks, Jan 30, 2021

Les Mystères

Peter Happe: Introduction Veronique Dominguez: Mystere, Farce, Moralite: A Reflection upon the Po... more Peter Happe: Introduction Veronique Dominguez: Mystere, Farce, Moralite: A Reflection upon the Poetics of Drama in the Middle Ages, Based on Ms. BnF fr. 904, Passion de Semur (Fifteenth Century), and Some Other Burgundian Manuscripts Vicki L. Hamblin: The Theatricality of Pre- and Post-Performance French Mystery Play Texts Peter Happe: Michel Adapts Greban: Some Aspects of the Passion Sequence Olivia Robinson: Chantilly, Musee Conde, Ms. 617: Mysteres as Convent Drama Charlotte Steenbrugge: "Haro! Haro! Sus, dyablerie": The Theatricality of Devils in Temptation Sequences Marla Carlson: Le Mystere de Saint Sebastien's Villain: "No Cuckoo is a Sparrowhawk" Richard Hillman: La Pucelle and the Godons in the Mistere du Siege d'Orleans: Civic Pageant and Popular Tradition Alan Hindley: "Laisser l'Istoire ...et Moralisier ung Petit": Aspects of Allegory in the Mysteres Jelle Koopmans: Turning a Chanson de Geste into a Mystery, or Non-Religious and Chivalric Mystery Plays Charles Mazouer: Sermons in the Passions of Mercade, Greban and Jehan Michel Francesc Massip and Lenke Kovacs: A Typology of Catalan Play Manuscripts from the Fourteenth to the Sixteenth Century Contributors

De Gedichten van Tesselschade Roemers; uitgegeven en toegelicht door A. Agnes Sneller en Olga van Marion

Revue Belge De Philologie Et D Histoire, 1998

Staging History

English Parish Drama

Royal Entries in Flanders (1356-1515)

Brepols Publishers eBooks, 2010

Acts and Texts

Laurie POSTLEWATE: Introduction The Power of Performance Dallas G. DENERY II: The Preacher and Hi... more Laurie POSTLEWATE: Introduction The Power of Performance Dallas G. DENERY II: The Preacher and His Audience: Dominican Conceptions of the Self in the Thirteenth Century Joyce COLEMAN: Public-Access Patronage: Book-Presentation from the Crowd at a Royal Procession Amy SCHWARZ: Eternal Rome and Cola di Rienzo's Show of Power L. Caitlin JORGENSEN: Diversity in Unity: Elizabeth's Coronation Procession Alejandro CANEQUE: On Cushions and Chairs: The Ritual Contruction of Authority in New Spain Performance and the Page Adrian P. TUDOR: Talking Pictures: Performance on the Page Kathryn A. DUYS: Medieval Literary Performance: Gautier de Coinci's Guide for the Perplexed Paul CREAMER: Privatizing the Conte du Graal: How Renaissance Printers Reformatted Chretien's Public Text for Private Reading Nancy Freeman REGALADO: A Contract for an Early Festival Book: Sarrasin's Le Roman du Hem (1278) William E. ENGEL: Death Slips Onto the Renaissance Stage: Morris Dancing, Mimed Moors, and Nascent Rituals in Fletcher and Shakespeare Evelyn BIRGE VITZ & Linda MARIE ZAERR: Experimenting with the Performance of Medieval Narrative The Performance of Gender Marilyn LAWRENCE: Yseut's Legacy: Women Writers and Performers in the Medieval French Romance Ysaye le Triste Felicity HENDERSON: 'A Bawdy Lecture unto Ladies': Music Speeches at Early-Modern Oxford List of Illustrations Contributors

Moving Subjects

transcript Verlag eBooks, Dec 31, 2003

Epilogue: Negative Characters as Gauges of Dramatic Traditions

The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies, Dec 20, 1997

Esther in the Drama of the Early Modern Low Countries

Performing "The Book of Esther" in Early Modern Europe, edited by Chanita Goodblatt. Skenè. Journal of Theatre and Drama Studies 9 (2023) 1, pp. 141-63., 2023

Queen Elizabeth and Essex: A Dutch Rhetoricians' Play

Cornelis Everaert and the Community of Late Medieval Bruges

The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies, Dec 20, 1998

Drama and Community: People and Plays in Medieval Europe, edited by Alan Hindley (Turnhout: Brepols, 1999), 110-25 [Medieval Texts and Cultures of Northern Europe, vol. 1]., 1999

transcript Verlag eBooks, Dec 31, 2003

Staging History Essays in Late Medieval and Humanist Drama

Preliminaries to the study of the comic drama of the rhetoricians

The Year's Work in Modern Language Studies, Dec 20, 1999

Staging Scripture

Staging Scripture, 2016

Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies, Apr 1, 1984

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall … History in Late Medieval Drama from the Low Countries

BRILL eBooks, Jan 30, 2021

Les Mystères

De Gedichten van Tesselschade Roemers; uitgegeven en toegelicht door A. Agnes Sneller en Olga van Marion

Revue Belge De Philologie Et D Histoire, 1998

Staging History

English Parish Drama

Royal Entries in Flanders (1356-1515)

Brepols Publishers eBooks, 2010

Acts and Texts

Moving Subjects

transcript Verlag eBooks, Dec 31, 2003

Cornelis Everaert on Power and Authority

Martin Gosman, Arjo Vanderjagt & Jan Veenstra (eds.), The Growth of Authority in the Medieval West: Selected Proceedings of the International Conference, Groningen 6-9 November 1997 (Mediaevalia Groningen, 25). Groningen: Egbert Forsten, pp. 241-56, 1999

With the exception of "Tspel van Tilleghem", people invested with authority do not come off very ... more With the exception of "Tspel van Tilleghem", people invested with authority do not come off very well in Everaert’s plays. They are either prone to corruption (as in the "Esbatement van den coopman die vyf pondt grooten vercuste") or pursue personal profit (various professions in "Tspel vanden crych"). Apparently more menacing for the authorities, however, were those plays in which the author’s criticism was implicitly given rather than explicitly stated: "Tspel van dOngelycke Munte" openly criticised the central government’s financial policy, thus undermining man’s trust in secular authori¬ties. It may, in retrospect, not be surprising at all that this play, together with "Tspel vanden crych" with its vehement attack of religious authorities, was officially banned from the stage.

Streitgedicht-Influences in Comic Dialogues in the Netherlands

Atti del IV Colloquio della Société Internationale pour l’Etude du Théâtre Médiéval, Viterbo 10-15 luglio 1983, a cura di M. Chiabò - F. Doglio - M. May¬mone, Viterbo: Centro Studi sul Teatro Medioevale e Rinascimentale, [1984], p. 65-74., 1984

Comic dialogues in Low Countries late-medieval drama show certain resemblances with the genre of ... more Comic dialogues in Low Countries late-medieval drama show certain resemblances with the genre of Streitgedicht in that they also focus on verbal confrontations between two stage characters. In this essay the various types of comic dialogues in Dutch drama are researched from this particular point of view.