Anonymous, The Croxton Play of the Sacrament

Claire Sponsler (University of Iowa)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1461

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Masque
Morality

Resources

The Croxton Play of the Sacrament is an odd drama that fits no known genres of medieval performance, although it shares the concern with miracles and conversion characteristic of saints' plays and the interest in moral dilemmas typical of moralities. Written in the East Midland dialect of Middle English not long after 1461, the year in which the event that is the central topic of the play is supposed to have taken place, the Play of the Sacrament tells the story of a miracle in which a rich Jewish merchant and his companions purchase the consecrated host from a Christian merchant and subject it to a series of tests in order to determine the truth of the Christian claim that Christ is present in it, then are converted once t…

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1629 words

Citation: Sponsler, Claire. "The Croxton Play of the Sacrament". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=1151, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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