7 For he is bote of all balys to on-bynd, That blyssyd Lord that here ded a-pere. Here all the pepull, and the Iewys, Mari, and Martha with one woys sey thes wordes: "We be-leve in you Savyowr! Iesus! Iesus! Iesus!" [IESUS.] Of yower good hertes I have advertacyounes,8 921 Where-thorow, in sowle holl 19 made ye be; Be-twyx yow and me be never varyacyounes, Wherfor I sey, "vade in pace." 11 The manuscript, now preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, was written in the latter half of the fifteenth century, and apparently was the work of Irish scribes. The play itself, however, was unquestionably of English origin, the dialect belonging to the East Midland section. According to the Banns the performance was designed for Croxton; there are no less than seven places of this name in England, five being in the East Midland section. I have based the text on The Non-Cycle Mystery Plays, re-edited from the manuscripts for the Early English Text Society by Osborn Waterhouse, 1909; but I have carefully collated this with the editions by Manly and Stokes, and have adopted the stanzaic divisions of Manly, which seem to me more logical than those employed by Waterhouse. I have modernized the punctuation and have added, in brackets, stage directions. HERE AFTER FOLoweth the PLAY OF THE CONUERsyon of Ser Jonathas THE JEWE BY MYRACLE OF THE BLYSSED Sacrament. [The Stage of the Jewish Merchant, Jonathas. Jonathas with his four servants, Jason, Jasdon, Masphat, and Malcus.] JONATHAS. Now, almyghty Machomet, marke in thi mageste, Whose laws tendrely I have to fulfyll, After my dethe bryng me to thy hyhe see,' My sowle for to save, yff yt be thy wyll! For myn entent ys for to fulfyll, As my gloryus God the to honer. 10 To do agen1 thy entent, yt shuld gr[e]ue me yll Or agen thyn lawe for to reporte; 76 For I thanke the hayly 12 that hast me sent 1 Say. Know, learn. Satisfaction. 8 Murky, dark. 10 This line, or line 76, seems to be corrupt. 11 Against. 12 Wholly. 3 Agates. 7 Ganyngale, or galingale, an aromatic root. 8 Gratification. 11 Sack. 13 Grains of paradise. 15 Cinnamon. Very. 12 Raisins. 14 Mastic. 16 Right. 10 Rice. |