ABSTRACT
The so-called ‘mystery plays’ were for long the best-known medieval dramas in Britain; but in fact they were only one form among many in the pre-Elizabethan period, and they comprised a comparatively small proportion of performed medieval drama. More important than the individual playwrights, however, is the overarching achievement of the epic drama. Christian drama, it was said, had moved ‘from minster to market place’. The form this defensive reaction took suggests the relationship between the cycles as Christian drama and the Corpus Christi day celebrations, which often included processions with floats sporting static or moving tableaux vivants. The original Corpus Christi Day performances at Chester were changed to Whitsun sometime between 1475 and 1521, and by the 1530s the cycle was being performed over three days, rather than one, perhaps in response to the problems posed by pageant wagons in the streets discussed earlier.
