ABSTRACT
Pageants, however elaborately contrived, were probably cheaper to use for cycle-plays than large static structures. The wagons were constantly available, being used regularly for royal entries and other civic occasions, and they were cared for individually by the city guilds, which 'dressed' them with the appropriate pageantry and also provided the actors and the plays. By contrast, building elaborate staging and seating for a performance at a single site was likely to involve much more planning and far more expense, as we have seen at Romans, and England was not as rich as her continental neighbours.
