Cliff Davidson, experiencing e-mail problems, has asked for the
following news of his new publication with Ashgate to be circulated:
Festivals and Plays in Late Medieval Britain
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Based in records and iconography, this book surveys medieval festival
playing in Britain more comprehensively than any other work to date.
The study presents an inclusive view of the drama in the British
Isles, from Kilkenny to Great Yarmouth, from Scotland to Cornwall. It
offers detailed readings of individual plays-including the York Creed
Play, Pentecost and Corpus Christi plays and the little studied Bodley
plays, among others – as well as a summary of what is known of their
production.
Clifford Davidson here extends the usual chronological range to
include work typically categorized as early modern, enabling a
juxtaposition of earlier plays with later plays to yield a better
understanding of both. Complementing documentary evidence with
iconographic detail and citation of music, he pinpoints a number of
common misconceptions about medieval drama.
By organizing the study around the rituals of the liturgical seasons,
he clarifies the relationship between liturgical feast and dramatic
celebration.
