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If memory serves, didn't the butchers use sausages to showan eviscerated Judas in one of the York pageants? Meanwhile, for the bloody heart on a dagger in the last scene of John Ford's earlyStuart tragedy 'Tis Pity She's a Whore, ARthur Kinney suggests(in his anthology of Renaissance Drama) that an animal heart,I guess from the Shambles or some such place, would have beenused. I'm not sure if there's documentary evidence of any kindsurviving. When my Brit Lit class acted out that scene this spring,we went with a nice, juicy red delicious apple on a butter knife--still surprisingly effective.--Michael WinkelmanDepartment of EnglishBowling Green State Univeristy, [log in to unmask] > Date: Fri, 14 May 2010 16:26:41 -0700 > From: [log in to unmask] > Subject: Query about blood > To: [log in to unmask] > > Does anyone know of records that indicate how the portrayal of the > shedding of blood was managed on the late English medieval stage? There > are of course a good many references to the blood that Christ sheds in > the passion through last judgment pageants, and I'm assuming this was > graphically represented. And the slaughter of the innocents was another > likely scene of grotesque bloodshed. Were animal bladders or leather > sacks used? > > There are a number of references to French theater in John Spalding > Gatton's 1991 essay, and Abigail has put me on to a reference to blood > in a leather sack in a Becket play in Canterbury. > > Are there other records in English sources? > > Michael O'Connell _________________________________________________________________ The New Busy is not the old busy. Search, chat and e-mail from your inbox. http://www.windowslive.com/campaign/thenewbusy?ocid=PID28326::T:WLMTAGL:ON:WL:en-US:WM_HMP:042010_3