ABSTRACT
Among the religious guilds of medieval England, the York Corpus Christi Guild was one of the most prestigious and from 1408 to its dissolution in 1547 enrolled, according to Robert H. Skaife, editor of the guild’s register, more than 16,850 individuals of both sexes.1 The list of members included a king of England, Richard III, and his wife Anne, misidentified as Elizabeth.2 It has significance for drama on two counts, neither of them involving the mounting of the pageants of the York Creation to Doom cycle on Corpus Christi. These plays were entirely the project of the city Corporation, which was their patron and overseer-and, according to one view noted in the previous chapter, may have brought them into existence initially in order to provide control over the participating guilds. The documents definitively state that they were intended to honor the city and to provide shows that would enhance civic piety.3 The Corpus Christi Guild, interested as its members might have been in the success of the Creation to Doom series of pageants, had no direct role in them whatsoever.4
