ABSTRACT

This chapter examines the Chester plays' use of urban space, before turning to the role of the expositor, and his likely significance in performances from the 1560s and 1570s. The figure of Higden enables the Late Banns to navigate the fraught spiritual and jurisdictional geographies of post-Reformation Chester. Chester becomes a microcosm of the world as Lucian equates the historical moment of Christ's birth in Jerusalem with contemporary life in Chester. Lucian then describes how he was inspired to write by an unnamed canon of St John's. This canon inspired him to consider the etymology of Chester, which Lucian explains derives from cis tria, relating the name to the merits of Chester's bishop, archdeacon, and clergy; to its lords, citizens, and monks; and to the supplies which come from Ireland, Wales, and England.