ABSTRACT
Scholars have often noted the enlightened portrayal of human emotion and detail in late medieval religious art, a phenomenon which appears to grow out of Anselmian theology, Bernardian devotion, and Franciscan interest in Christ's humanity. Among the English Mystery cycles, York and Towneley are most influenced by the trend. Nominalism was dominant in the universities throughout the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and, even more important for the religious drama, nominalist theology was preached widely. The emphasis on God's power arose in response to the new works of Aristotle which entered the western medieval world in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The fascinating idea of God's omnipotence as expounded by Ockham gave rise to numerous paradoxes in the works of his English followers. Within the cycle, as for nominalism, "miracles are probable reasons which engender the act of faith." In light of the need for such research the Chester cycle becomes a cultural artifact of great significance.
