THE USE OF THE RHETORICAL
EXORDIUM IN MIDDLE ENGLISH
DRAMA
Raymond C. St.-Jacques
When R.B. M c K e r ro w wrote his no w classic pap e r "Form an d M a t t e r in
the Publication of Research," he recommended that the f ollowing m a i n d i ­
visions precede the actual bod y or demonstration:
1.
The i n t r o d u c t i o n , in which the author b r i e fl y states the
pr e sent pos i t i o n of research on his subject and the views c u r ­
rently he l d on it.
2.
The proposal, in whi c h he describes in outline wh a t he hopes
to prove.
3.
The boost, in w h i c h he p roceeds to m a g n i f y the importance
of his discovery or argument and to explain what a revolution
it will create in the views g e nerally he l d on the whole per i o d
with whi c h he is dealing.
This is, as it were, a taste of
sauce to stimulate the reader's ap p e t i t e . 1
In this he was, of course, reflecting one of the oldest divi s i o n s of d i s ­
course, the exordium, mea n t to provide the audience w i t h a brief, lucid,
and interest-arousing summary of the oration to come.
The doct r i n e is
well entrenched in all leading general discussions of rhet o r i c t h roughout
the Classical p e r i o d an d the Middle Ages and finds its wa y into the mor e
specialized sub-divisions of rhetoric, the artes poetriae, the artes dict a m i n i s , and the artes praedicandi.
Writers of Latin or v e r n a c u l a r prose
and verse, poets, philosophers, and historians all p a y homage t o the d o c ­
trine.
In this p a p e r I w i s h to single out one g r o u p of M iddle E n glish
writings, the me d i a e v a l drama, to examine more closely the interesting a p ­
p l i c ations of the doctrine as exhibited in the "banns" of the miracle
plays and of certain moralities, and in the tradit i o n al prologues, but e s ­
p e c i a l l y in the more "organic" solutions arrived at b y the authors of M a n ­
k ind and Everyman.
The the o ry of e x o r d i a or introductions is m a s t e r f u l l y summarized in
the standard me d i a e v a l h a n d b o o k of oratory, the R h e t o r i c a a d Herennium,
until m o d e m times a s c r i b e d to Cicero.
Here we are t o l d that w h ether one
uses the "Direct" or "Subtle" approach "the e x o r d i u m p r e p a r e s the hearer
to attend [the orator's]
speech" enabling hi m "to have h e a rers w h o are
attentive, receptive, and well-disposed."
2
To secure these attitudes r h e ­
torical manuals, w h i l e discu s s i n g a number of ways and means, all stress
one basic method, the p r e s e n t a t i o n in summary form of what is to follow
in such a w a y as t o capture the audience's attention:
Dociles auditores h abere poterimus, si summam causae breviter
exponemus et si adtentos eos faciemus; n a m docilis est qui adtente v u l t audire.
A d t entos habebimus, si p o l l i c e b i m u r nos de
rebus magnis, novis, inusitatis v e r b a facturos . . . ; et si
rogabimus ut adtente a u d i a n t ; et si n u m é r o exponemus res quibus de rebus dicturi sumus.
[We can have receptive hearers if we b r i e f l y summarize the cause
and make t h e m attentive; for the receptive h earer is one who
is wil l i n g to listen attentively.
W e shall have attentive
hearers b y p r o m i s i n g to discuss important, n e w and unusual
matters,
. . . b y b i dding t h e m to listen attent i v e l y and by
enumer a t i n g the p o i n t s we are going to d i s c u s s . ] 3
In this, rhetoricians c l aimed to be imitating the great epic poets w h o had
p r e c e d e d them and whose g enius had led them to d i s c o v e r these artistically
satisfying openings.
Quintilian, for example, following tradition, cites
Homer and Vir gil as the foremost models, stating:
D oc i l e m sine dubio et haec ipsa p r a estat attentio; sed et illud,
si b r e viter et dilucide s u mmam rei, de q u a cognoscere debeat,
i n d i c a v e r i m u s , quo Homerus atque V e r g ilius o p e r u m suorum principiis faciunt."
["but we shall contribute still mo re to this effect (of o b t a i n ­
ing audience attention) if we give a brief and lucid summary of
the case w h i c h we have to try; in so doing w e shall be f o l l o w ­
ing the m e t h o d adopted by H omer and V irgil at the beginning of
4
their poems.]
In the earliest treatise on the h ighly s pecialized m e d i a e v a l offshoot of
classical rhetoric, the a rs d ictaminis or art of letter writing, the same
theory of the ex ordium is traced back to the p r a c t i c e of epic p oets such
as Virgil, but the list of authorities is b r o a d e n e d to include two w r i t ­
ers of expository prose, Augustine and Boethius:
Augustinus sic incipit:
"Habemus loqui vestrae fratres carita-
t i , quid salutem vulneret, q u i d v i t a m generet, q u i d sequens
vivendo surgas, q u id fugiens m o ri e n d o p r ocumbas."
Virgilius
sic incipit
"Arma virumque c a n o ,"
etcetera.
Boethius
"Carmina qui q u ondam studio florente p e r egi
Flebilis heu m a estos cogor inire modos."
Vides ut ex sequentibus p r a e m i ss a p a r i a n t u r ut m e n t e m praelibando auctores historiae futurae premoneant.
Si enim alienum
p r i n cip i u m fuerit, idem est ac si l a p idem p o rr ig a s cui aurum
promiseris.
[Augustine begins in this way:
"We m u s t address ourselves to
you in love, m y brothers, concerning that w h i c h is dangerous
to your salvation and that w h i c h will b r i n g you n e w life, that
w i t h w hic h y o u will rise w i t h the living, w i t h o u t w h i c h y o u will
sink with the dying."
arms and the m a n . . . "
losophiae I .1):
V irgil begins (Aeneid 1.1):
"I sing of
Boethius w rites (De Consol a t i o n e Phi-
"I who once wrote v erses in the p a s s io n of
youth / Begin n o w w e eping to use a m o u r n f u l strain . . . "
You
see that the messengers sent before are b o r n of the thoughts
that will follow, that authors fores ha do w the story that is to
come b y g iving to the m i n d a preview.
Indeed if you w o u l d o f ­
fer any other kind of beginning, it would be the same as g i v ­
ing a stone to one to w h o m you have p r o m i s e d g o l d . ] 5
Mediaev a l w r iters of treatises on the art of p oetry list what we
m a y call "plot-summary" e x ordia as the me th o d p r i z e d by the epic poets of
old.
John of Garland, for example, after listing eight "modern" b e g i n ­
nings, adds a n i n t h type:
N onu s Modus.
Sicut p r e d i c t u m est exhordiri debemus in p oema-
tibus aput modernos; q u i d a m tamen antiquorum, sicut Virgilius
et Lucanus, a rtificiale p r i n c i p i u m observaverunt narrationi
pre p on e n t e s p r o p o s i c i o n e m , invocationem, et causam hystorie.
Dicit e n i m V i r g i l i u s in libro Eneydos:
memora, q u o n umine leso, etc.
Musa, mihi causas
E u m sequens Lucanus dicit:
Fert
animus causas t a n t a r u m p r o m e r e rerum.
[We m o d erns are supposed to begin, in poems, in the ways I
have just prescribed; nevertheless, certain of the ancients,
Vir g il and L u c a n for instance, o b s erved the artificial b e g i n ­
ning by p u t t i n g before the narration the proposition, the invocation, and the m o t i v a t i o n of the plot.]
6
N e vertheless, like J o h n of G a r l a n d himself, they p r e f e r to p r e s cribe the
"theme" related exordium.
G e o f f r e y of Vinsauf in his Poetria Nova p r o ­
v i d e s the best statement of h o w such an opening by "proverbia" or "exempla" casts light o n the m e a n i n g of the entire work, forming a thematic
summary:
Si p ar s p r i m a v e l i t m a jus d iffundere lumen,
The matis i n t acta serie, sententia sumpta
A d speciale nihil declinet, sed caput edat
Alt ius ad q u o d d a m generale; novoque lepore
Mat eri a e f ormam n olit meminisse, sed ejus
A bn e ge t in gremio, quasi dedignata, sedere:
Supra thema d a t u m sistat, sed spectet ad illud
Recta fronte; n i h i l dicat, sed cogitet inde.
[If you s h ould wish the opening to send forth a g r eater light,
w i t hou t disturbing the natural order of the t h e m e , let the
sentiment you begin with not sink to any p a r t i cu la r statement
but rather raise its head to a general pronouncement.
With
this new grace it is unwilling to think of the det a i l s at hand,
but almost d i s dainfully refuses to remain in its bosom.
Let
it stand above the given subject; pond e r i n g thereon bu t saying
7
nothing, let it gaze w i t h bro w uplifted.]
What is recommended, t h e n , is an exor d i u m stating the truth central to the
narrative itself, what amounts to its ma i n structural principle.
Such t he matically centred exordia were ideally suited for another
genre, the m e d iae va l university sermon, and are d escribed at great length
in another late m ediaeval offshoot of classical rhetoric, the ars pra e d i candi.
A c cordi ng to Thomas Waleys the sermon consists of three p r i n c i p a l
parts:
the introduction of the theme, its division into parts, and the
development of these parts.
Q
It is clear from Waleys' subsequent d i s c u s ­
sion and from other artes that the "development" is the body of the s e r ­
mo n and those p a r t s p receding it make up the introduction.
It is also
clear that the whole reason for this introductory m aterial is to give the
audience in summary form the essence of the exposition w h i c h is to follow
9
in the body of the sermon.
Latin and vern a c u l a r p o e t r y of the Middle Ages consistently pays
homage to the r h etorical doctrine of the exo rd i u m and tho u g h the rigidity
of rhetorical pr e scriptions f r equently led to the creation of p e d e s t r i a n
verse, it is difficult not to admire the beauty of the opening five-line
exordium of Chau c er ' s Troilus and C r i s e y d e , classical in its clarity and
conciseness :
The double sorwe of Troilus to tellen,
That was the kyng Priamus sone of Troye,
In lovynge, ho w his aventures fellen
Fro wo to wele, and after out of joie,
M y purpo s is, er that I parte fro ye.
(1-5)
But consummate artist that he was, Chaucer could and did t r a n s f o r m the
classical ex o r d i u m into something m u c h mo re organic to hi s work.
In The
Cant e r b u r y Tales, for example, the exo r d i u m is spoken by Chaucer the p i l ­
grim, one of the central characters of the Tales, and the r e velation it
provides, not only of the future development of the work bu t also of the
character of the speaker himself, gives to it an immediacy not n ormally
found in such introductory passages.
The same m a y be said of Will's in i ­
tial visi o n and dialogue wi t h Holy C h u r c h in Piers Plowman.
As in The
C ante r b u r y Tales, the exordium here takes on the guise of a first-hand
experience by one of the central characters, whi c h results in a m asterful
fusion of ex o r d i u m and body.
10
I nterest ing l y enough the doctrine of introductions is not carried
over in a tradi t io n a l form into early Middle E n g l i s h drama.
A study of
the opening p l a y of eac h of the four craft cycles, the e arliest extant
form of Midd l e E n g l i s h drama, reveals nothing that corresponds to the cl a s ­
sical exordium.
The initial pl a y s do not give a narrative or t hematic su m ­
m a r y of the entire cycle but deal e x c lusively wi t h the m a t t e r of the c r e ­
ation of the world, the subject of the first pag e a n t only.
However, the
"banns" read some time before the actual p r o d u c t i on of the cycle cor r e s ­
p o n d to what is expected of the classical exordium.
Aud i e n ce interest
was un d o u b t e d l y aroused by the "Riding of the banns," a c o l ourfully fe s ­
tive s p e c t a c l e . 11
The banns of the Hegge Cycle call for three vexilla-
tores to summarize in turn the "hool m a t e r pat we thynke to play"
12
(517),
while at the same time p r o v i d i n g certain information essential to a p r o ­
p e r u n d e r standi n g of the cycle.
For example, the audience is advised that
the mat e r i a l s to be dram a t i z e d are no t to be treated lightly for "Of holy
w r i t t e , pis gam e xal bene / and of no fablys by no way (520-21) an d the
pa rt ici p a n t s are urg e d to "prente wy l . . . in 30 ur mende" certain le s ­
sons e s sential for salvation taught by the plays, such as the following
whi c h the vexil l at o r e s cla i m the D o o m s d a y p a g e a n t will illustrate:
W h o so to god h a t h be u n k e n d e ,
F r e nch ep per xal he non fynde,
Ne per get he no grace.
(513-15).
The worsh i p f u l tone of the cycle is p r e p a r e d for in the frequent prayers
for God's bl e s s i n g upon the audience, nota bl y in the opening and closing
lines of the banns:
Now, gracyous god, g r o undyd of all goodnesse,
As pi grete glorie nevyr begynning had,
So pou socour and saue all po that sytt and sese.
(1-3)
N o w god pem save from trey and tene
ffor us pat p r a y t h u p o n pat day,
and qwyte them wel per mede.
(522-24)
The banns, then, pr o v i d e an ingenious solution to the formal p r o b l e m of
an e xordium by combining w i t h the classical elements of the introduction
the feature of early advert i s i n g and the time-saving feature of p r e s e n t a ­
tion at an earlier date of m a te r i a l s which, if p r e s e n t e d at the time of
performance of the cycle, w o u l d p u t g r eater p r e ssure on an a l r eady crowded
schedule.
T o c laim that the banns fulfilled the role of the tradi t i o n a l e x o r ­
dium is not, however, to claim that the authors of cycles d i d not employ
14
Several pageants, such as the York "Judgment Day"
exordia elsewhere.
for example, provide e x c e llent examples of this r hetorical device.
The
pla y opens with an e ighty-line speech by Go d the Father, w h o after a fortyline summary of the entire H i st o r y of Salvation delivers a forty-line e x ­
o rdium in wh i c h He laments the evils of men, decides to p u t an end to " m a n ­
nes folie"
(56) , calls for His angels to b l o w their trump e t s announcing
the end, exalts His Son's Passion, and alludes to the separation of the
saved and the damned.
This is the shape the p a g ea nt then takes:
the a n ­
gels do God's bidding, C hrist is exalted, and after r e p e a t i n g the story
of His Passion He p r o c e e d s to separate the ba d from the g o o d souls.
God's
opening speech, then, p r ov i d e s an e x c e llent example of an "organic" e x o r ­
dium to the "Judgment Day" pageant.
S i milar c r a ftsmanship is not n e c e s ­
sarily evident in all "Judgment D a y ” plays.
pageant,^
The c o r r e s p o n d i n g C h ester
for example, opens w i t h a t wenty-four line s peech b y G o d in
which He announces His d e c ision to judge all men, calls for His a ngels to
b low their trumpets, and exalts the Cross and other instru m e n t s of Christ's
Passion.
This opening section does not, however, p r e p a r e us for the way
in which the p l a y unfolds.
A f t e r the b l owing of the t r u mpets by t w o a n ­
gels, we hear a long series of lamentations from saved and d amned popes,
emperors, empresses, kings, queens, and so on.
C hrist then appears and
recounts His sufferings for man.
He p r o ceeds to w e lcome the elect and
then, after two demons call for the condemnation of the d a mned and after
several of the da m n e d v o i c e their objections, He condemns them to e v e r ­
lasting torment, m u c h to the satisfaction of the devils.
The p l a y ends
w i t h short speeches by the four E vangelists testifying to the r i g h t e o u s ­
ness of Christ's judgment.
It is pos s i b l y in p a r t because of its success in the cycles that the
"banns" type of exordium, rather than some other form, was carried over
to the earliest e xtant M iddle E n glish morality, the C astle o f P e r s e v e r a n c e ,
although we should also add the author's sure dramatic sense, w h i c h has
him give the o p ening stage not to the speaker of a lengthy e x o rdium but
rather to the rantings of three of his most fascinating evil c h a r a c t e r s ,
M u n d u s , Belial, a n d Caro.
The complexity of the Castle, which a mbitiously
covers almost all the themes later morali ti e s w o u l d treat individually,
w h i c h combines several p l o t s spanning the whole life of man, and w h i c h
marsh a l s some thirty-five characters arranged into opposing camps, r e ­
quires a fairly lengthy summary of the action.
Some days before the p e r ­
formance of the p l a y the future audience is again t r eated to the spectacle
of a "riding of the banns" w i t h m u sical a c c ompaniment (156) as two vexillatores pres e n t a one-hu n d r e d - a n d - s e v e nt ee n - l i n e summary of the p l o t of
the Castle along w i t h n u m erous brief explanations of the allegory.
Like
those of the H egge C y c l e , the banns of the C astle open and end w i t h p r a y 16
ers for God's ble ssing u p o n the audience.
With the late fiftee n t h - c e n t u r y Conversion o f St. Paul we m o v e from
an e x o r d i u m of the banns type to an interesting example of an attempted
fusion of introd u c t o r y m a t e r i a l s with the p e r f o r m a n c e of the play, which
we saw in germ form in certain pageants in the Cycles.
In a fourteen-line
opening address the c h a r a c t e r P oeta asks God's b l e s s i n g on the audience
and then states the p u r p o s e of the play, a d r a matic presen t a t i o n of the
conversion of St. Paul b a s e d on the Acts of the A p o s t l e s . 17
P oeta s u b ­
sequently reappears at the end and b e g i nning of each of the p lay's three
stations, seemingly w i t h the sole function of indica t i n g the end of one
station and the b e g i n n i n g of another.
He does not partic i p a t e in the a c ­
tion of the play, and the opening speeches of the characters themselves do
not reveal an attempt at an organic inclusion of the e x o r d i u m of the type
found in Chaucer and Langland.
The two mos t interesting uses of the exordium, in w h a t I have termed
its "organic" form, appear in the late f i f teenth-century m o r a l i t i e s M a n ­
k i n d and Everyman.
The text of M a n k i n d (ed. Eccles, n. 16 above) as we
have it has no banns and no p r o logue spoken by a commentator such as Poeta.
Instead, one of the chief characters, Mercy, delivers an o p e ning speech,
w h i c h addresses several of the p lay's key themes.
A f t e r r e m i nding m a n
of the course of salvation h i story and of the place of m e r c y in this
scheme, he pleads:
"Dyverte n o t yowrsylffe in tyme of temtacyon"
He refines his theme by explaining:
(19).
"Pryke not y o wr felycytes in thyngys
transytorye / Be holde n o t pe erth, but lyfte yowr eye uppe"
( 3 0-31).
He
then points out the p u n i s h m e n t to be m e t e d out to those w h o have n o t f o l ­
lowed his advice.
He is i n terrupted at this p o i n t by the early and brief
appearance of the evil characters Mischief, Nought, New-Guise, a n d N o w a ­
days, who provide an e x c e llent illustration of those v e r y "thyngys t r a n s y ­
torye" that Mer cy has been w a rning against.
Also, b e cause of the c e n t r a l ­
ity of festive laughter t o the m e a n i n g of the play, it is i m p o rtant that
18
these comic villains appear as p a r t of the exordium.
A f t e r their exit
Mercy resumes his summary of the play and di sq u is i ti on on the dangers of
vicious guise as o p p o s e d to the good new guise nowadays and repeats his
warning about final judgment w h e n Mercy will be of little use.
The audi­
ence has, then, at this p o i n t the p l o t and central themes in capsule form.
19
Like the Conver s i o n of St. Paul, E v e ryman
b e g i n s w i t h a prologue
summarizing the pla y ' s action and its main themes, spoken by a messenger,
who, like Poeta, does n o t partic i p a t e in the action.
If w e leave aside
this prologue, however, we discover, as in Mankind, that the first a p p e a r ­
ance of the play's central character, Everyman, is p r e c e d e d b y a 58-line
dialogue spoken by God and Death, which in fact c onstitutes an o r ganic and
dramatic exordium.
G o d first bemoans the falling away from H i m of His b e ­
loved creatures and decides to
Haue a rekenynge of e uery mannes persone;
For, and I leue the p eople thus alone
In theyr lyfe and w y c k e d tempestes,
Veryl y they will become moche worse than beestes!
(.46-49) .
There follows in an 18-line dialogue between God and D e a t h a brilliant
summary not o n l y o f the p l a y ' s central themes but also o f its p l o t with a
subtle allusion to the p l a y ' s denouement.
T h rough the use of terms such
as "pilgrimage," "sure reckening," "no escape," and "without delay" God
sets out the basic truths about life and death that m u s t be imparted to
E ver y m a n if he is to save himself, truths echoed throughout the p l a y by
Death, Good Deeds, and others, as E v e ryman attempts to u n d e r s t a n d fully
w hat at first is only a "blinde mater" to him.
In his reply and brief
aside (72-84), Death, after v o w i n g to carry God's m e ssage to Everyman,
singles out the two p r o b l e m s that Everyman must face to compre h e n d these
truths and achieve salvation:
he m u s t identify his true friends and e n ­
dure the p a i n that accompanies the true p ilgrimage to God.
M u c h of the
p l a y is taken up w i t h Everym a n ' s search for the "good frende" menti o n e d
by Death (78), and the ultimate answer comes to h i m only at the p lay's end
when he is about to d e scend into his tomb.
payne"
Death's references to "grete
(83) also forecast the suffering that Everyman m u s t face to prepare
himself prope r l y for his m e e t i n g w i t h God —
from the p a i n of abandonment
by pseudo-friends, t h rough the s e l f -inflicted p a i n of penance, to the
final agony of seeing h i mself stripped and n a k e d at the m o m e n t of death.
This brief introductory passage, then, not only clearly states in summary
form those truths about life and d e a t h that the p l a y then goes on to d e ­
velop fully but also m a r k s out those paths that the action will take as
E veryman searches for and finds salvation.
In conclusion a note of c a ution is in order.
I do not espouse an
e volutionary vi e w of d r a m a here, although the later type of exordium, which
I have termed "organic," has r e ceived a more sympathetic treatment as a
ma t t e r of per sonal preference.
The prologue type of exordium, for example,
w i t h its roots in the classical G reek chorus, was used s u c cessfully by
Shakespeare an d his contemporaries and later dramatists down to our own
time.
Even w ithout s upporting an e v o lutionary view, however, a study of
the exordium in the M iddle E n g l i s h d r a m a does lead the student to u n d e r ­
stand more fully that w h e n faced w i t h certain formal p r o b l e m s mediaeval
dramatists devised sophis t i c a t e d and ingenious solutions.
T h e i r solutions
to the pro b l e m of the e x o r d i u m p r ovide us w i t h yet another proof of their
greatness and of the greatness of their art.
University of Ottawa
NOTES
1 PMLA 65 (1950) 5; rpt. from R E S 16 (1940) 116-21.
2
"Principium est sum statim auditores nobis i d oneum reddimus ad
audiendum.
Id ita sumitur ut adtentos, ut dociles, ut benivolos a u d i ­
tores habere possimus."
Rhetorics ad Herennium, ed. Harry C aplan (London-
Cambridge, Mass. 1954) I, iv, 6 (pp. 11-13).
C icero gives the three aims
as "ut amice, ut i n t e l l e g e n t e r , ut attente audiamur" in De Partitione Oratoria, ed. H. R ackham ( L o ndon-Cambridge, Mass. 1948), viii, 28 (p. 332).
Although these are aims of the P r o o i m i o n or Direct Opening, they also a p ­
pl y to the Ephodos or Subtle A p p roach but through "dissimulation":
"at
i nsinuatio eiusmodi debet esse ut occulte, p e r dissimulationem, e adem ilia
om ni a conficiamus, ut ad e andem coiranoditatem in dicendi opere venire p o s sumus"
(A d Herennium, I, vii, 11 [p. 20]).
3 A d Herennium, I, iv, 7 (pp. 12-14).
C i cero espouses the same v i e w
proposing a clear summary of p a r t s of the case to be heard; "Sed facillime
auditor discit et q u i d agatur intellegit si complectare a p r i n c i p i o genus
naturamque causae, si definias, si dividas, si neque p r u d e n t i a m eius impedias confusione p a r t i u m nec m e m o r i a m multitudine"
20 [p. 334]).
(De Partitione, viii,
See also Quintilian, Institutio Oratoria, ed. H.E. Butler,
(London-Cambridge, Mass. 1921), IV, i, 23 and 34-35 (pp. 16 and 25).
4
Interpretationes V i r g i l i a n a e , ed. H e n r i c u Georgius (1905; rpt.
Stuttgart 1969).
Donatus sees in V i r gil's p r o o e m i u m to his A e n e i d the
b readth of the entire work:
"itaque c o n p o n i t , n o n ut alii putant, car-
minis caput, sed, ut nos adserimus, carminis t h e m a tanta subtilitate artis, ut in eodem, hoc est in eius brevitate, l a titudinem m a g n a m futuri
operis demonstraret"
(p. 3 ) .
Fulgentius goes even further, finding the
e ntire epic encaps u l a t e d in the first three words; see Continentia Virgiliana in Opera, ed. R. H e l m (Leipzig 1898) 87-90.
^ A lberici C asinensis F l ores Rhetorici ed. D.H. Inguanez and H.M.
W i l l a r d (Montecassino 1938), II, 1 (pp. 33-34).
The text is generally
dated c. 1087; see James J. Murphy, "Alberic of Monte Cassino:
F ather of
the Medi e v a l Ars Dictaminis," A m e r i c a n Benedi c t i n e R e v i e w 22 (1971) 12946.
The translation is from J o s e p h M. Miller, M i chael H. P r osser and
Thomas W. Benson, e d s . , R e a dings in Medieval R h e t or i c (Bloomington, Indi­
ana 1973) 133.
In the anonymous R a t i o n e s Dictandi w r itten in Bologna in
1135 and translated in Three Medieval Rhetorical Arts, ed. James J. Murphy
(Berkeley 1971) the t heory of the exordium, relegated to a section on the
securing of goodwill, is b r iefly a l luded to w i t h o u t references to past
writers; see especi a l l y section vi (p. 17).
Murphy's translation must,
however, be u sed with caution as T r a ugott L a w l e r p oints out in his review
in S p e c u l u m 48 (1973) 388-94.
Parisian s P o e t r i a , ed. T r a ugott L a w l o r (New Haven 1974) 56.
7
1971).
T he Poetria is e dited and transl a t e d by E rnest Gallo (The Hague
Gallo sees this use of p r o v e r b and example to introduce a literary
w o r k as "Geoffrey's c o ntribution to rhetorical theory"
(p. 150).
It should
be n o t e d that p rov e r b a n d example here m a y not be used w i t h their t r a d i ­
tional meanings.
Gallo says that G eoffrey's e x e mplum "is not a short n a r ­
rative me a n t to illustrate a point.
like"
(p. 1 4 0 ) .
Many of his exempla are quite p r overb
Jane B. Kopp says that by "proverb" G e o ffrey m a y also
have in m i n d an original g e n e r a l i z e d moral, to be drawn by the p o e t h i m ­
self after reflections on the implications of his plot; see Three M e d i e ­
val Rhetorical Arts (n. 5 above) 37, n. 16.
g
In his De M o d o Componendi Sermones, W a leys states:
"ita quod ser-
mo, juxta consuetudinem modernam, in tres pa r t e s dividitur principales,
v i d e l i c e t in i n tro ductionem thematis, et ejus divisi o n e m in div ersas p a r ­
tes, et in part i u m i l larum p r o s e c u t i o n e m " : A r t e s Praedicandi: C o n t r i b u ­
tion à 1'histoire de la rhéto r i q u e au m o y e n âge, ed. Thomas M. Charland
(Paris 1936) 356.
I leave aside here the qu e s t i o n of initial p r a y e r and
protheme, which, accor d i n g to Waleys at least, d o not a ppear to be a b s o ­
lutely necessary.
There is some indication in W a leys and in the work a t ­
t ri buted to Henry of Hesse that by the m i d - f o u r t e e n t h century the protheme
had become fused with the introduction to the theme.
See Charland, p. 137,
and W oodburn O. Ross, e d . , M i d d l e English Sermons E E T S , O.S. 209 (London
1940) xlv.
For the views of H e n r y of Hesse see Harry Caplan, "Henry of
Hesse On the Art of P r e a c h i n g ," PMLA 48 (1933) 348.
See also C a p lan's "A
Late Medieval Tractate on Preaching," in Studies in R h e t o r i c and P u b l i c
Speaking in Honor o f James A l b e r t W i n a n s , ed. A.M. D r u m m o n d (New Y o r k 1925)
74.
9
terial:
In his A rtes Praedicandi C h a rland writes of the i n t roductory m a ­
"L'introduction est une p r é s e n t a t i o n globale du thème.
Elle sert
soit à dégager le sens général du thème en même temps q u ' à p r é c i s e r l ' i n ­
tention du pré dic a t e u r dans son utilisation, soit à en p r o u v e r la v érité
ou simplement l'opportunité.
du thème en parties.
Elle est suivie immédiatement de la d i v i s i o n
Le thème a été p r o d u i t à la fin de l'introduction,
soit comme c o n f i r m a t u r , total ou partiel, d'une d e d u ction déclarative,
soit comme conclusion d'un argument probatif.
division p a r la formule:
On en annonce a u s sitôt la
In quibus verbis tria t a n g u n t u r , o u une autre
semblable.
La division du thème en p a r ties a l'avantage de fournir au p r é d i c a ­
teur plus de ma tière à développer.
Suivie avec ordre et clarté, elle p e r ­
m e t encore à l'auditeur de saisir et de retenir avec facilité non s e u l e ­
ment la m a t i è r e , mais aussi la forme du sermon et la façon de p r o c é d e r du
prédicateur"
^
(at n. 8) 150.
See also Ross (at η. 8) xliv-xlvi.
The importance of the e x o rdium as the gateway to the m e a n i n g and
structure of m edi aeval texts in g e neral is p o i n t e d out b y P a u l Zumthor,
Essai de poétique m é d i é v a l e (Paris 1972) 23:
"J'emploierai, il est vrai,
dans ce livre, le mot de thème, m a i s dans un sens très spécial et p l u s ou
moins étymologique:
p o u r d é s igner l'assertion initiale, qui 'pose' le
texte dans son plan, en vertu d'une tendance générale dans les arts m é d i é ­
vaux, pour qui la teneur, le porche, la p h r a s e d'ouverture, toujours f o r t e ­
ment formalisés, fixent l'axe sémantique fondant les effets des sens s u b ­
séquents."
The qu o t ation from Troilus is taken from F.N. Robinson, e d . ,
The Works o f Geo ffrey C h aucer (2nd e d . , Boston 1 9 5 7 ) .
F o r a b rief d i s ­
cussion of the beginning of the Prologue to The Cante r b u r y Tales as an
exordium, see Ralph Baldwin, The Unity o f the C anterbury Tales, A n g l i s t i c a
5 (Copenhagen 1955) 29-35.
F o r Piers Plowman B, Passus I as a s u m m a r y of
the structure of the e n tire poem, see R.E. Kaske, "Holy Church's Speech
and the Structure of P i e r s Plowman" in Ch a u c e r a n d M i d d l e E n g l i s h Studies
in Honour o f R ossel H o p e Robbins, ed. Beryl R o w l a n d (London 1974) 320-27.
D a v i d B e v i n g t o n w rites of the banns that they combined "showman­
ship and adver tis e m e n t w i t h a serious ceremonial purpose.
Despite the
fact that this o cc a s i o n usually took place several days in advance of the
actual dram a t i c p e r f o r m a n c e of the cycle, an audience e v i d ently gathered
together and sat p a t i e n t l y in order to hear this important announcement.
The audience w i t n e s s e d a procession, heard m u s i c p e r f o r m e d by minstrels,
and received a br i e f account of each individual p a g e a n t in the ensuing
cycle"
(M edi e v a l D r a m a [Boston 1975] 2 4 2 ) .
12
K.S. Block, e d . , Ludus Coventriae o r The P l a i e called Corpus
Christi E E T S , E.S. 120 (London 1917).
The banns of the L udus do not agree
w i t h the contents of the cycle as we have it.
T h e y m o s t p r o b a b l y belong
to a time before some m a j o r revisions were m a d e to the cycle, but scholars
have not yet d e t e r m i n e d w h y the scribe did n o t alter the banns accordingly.
See Hardin Craig, E n g l i s h R e l i gious Drama (London 1955) 243-46.
E a r l y a d v e r t i s i n g rather than length or complexity of m a t erial
seems to be the on l y r eason for m a king use of this m e t h o d for the Play of
the Sacrament, a late f i f t e e n th-century "miracle" of the type p o p u l a r in
France.
A g a i n a u d ience interest is assured by spectacle, d e s c ribed in the
following terms b y Bevington:
and colorful presentation.
"these banns . . . are designed for festive
Minstrels are in attendance.
The banns also
feature a process i o n , a g a t h ering o f the audie n c e several days p r i o r to
the actual play, and p o s s i b l y some kind of t a b leau d i s play of the action"
(at n. 11) 756.
T w o vexillatores p r esent "the p u r p o s e of this play" in
a forty-five line p l o t summary (11-56), adding certain didactic comments
to guide audience interpretation, for example that m e m b e r s o f the audience
should "with all y o u r m y g h t / vnto your g o stly father shewe y o u r synne; /
B eth in no wanhope, daye nor n y g h t ” (65-68).
See N orman Davis, e d . , Non-
Cycle Plays an d F r a g m e n t s EETS, Supp. 1 (London 1970) 58-89.
14
L ucy T o u l m i n Smith, e d . , York Plays (1885: rpt. N e w York 1963)
496-513.
^
Herma nn Deimling, e d . , The C h ester Plays EETS, E.S. 62 (London
1892) 427-453.
Mark Ecoles, éd., The M a c r o Plays EETS, O.S. 262 (London 1969).
Ecoles agrees w i t h m o s t critics that the banns are m o s t likely the w o r k
of a second author (p. x v i i ) .
^
See also Craig
(at n. 12) 243-44.
F.J. Furnivall, e d . , The Digby Plays EETS, E.S. 70 (London 1896).
The M a r y M a g d a l e n e also from the same manuscript does not m a k e use of Poeta
or a like figure, and the opening speeches of its characters do n o t p r o ­
vide the narrative or thematic summary of the tradit i o n a l exordium.
a figure did oc casionally appear in the Cycles.
Such
See, for example, Con-
templacio and his introduction to the second P a ssion P l a y in the Ludus
C o v e n t r i a e , ed. K.S. Block, EETS, E.S. 120 (London 1917) 271.
18
In "Doctrine and Festive Laughter in M a n k i n d read at the F i f ­
teenth International Congress on Mediaeval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan,
in Ma y 1980, Th e res a Coletti said of the centrality of the comic v i l lains
and their antics:
"Rather than being at odds w i t h the doctrine of M a n ­
kind, the festive laughter confers upon it its fullest meaning.
one side of the play's Janus face.
mands to be heard.
the voice of Lent."
It is
The voice of carnival in M a n k i n d d e ­
For a time, at least, it is as strong and as clear as
I wish to thank Professor C o letti for m a k i n g a t y p e ­
script of her p ape r available to me.
19
A.C. Cawley, e d . , Every m a n (Manchester 1961).
the Messenger's prologue:
C awley w rites of
"The prologue to Everyman is not p a r a l l e l e d in
the Dutch Elkerliijc; and, in v i e w of its inaccuracies
(Iolyte and P l e a ­
sure 16-17 have no p a r t in the action of E v e r y m a n ) , it m a y have been w r i t ­
ten by someone other than the translator of the play"
(p. 2 9 ) .
For a
summary of the arguments concerning the translation of the p l a y from the
Dutch, see pp. x-xiii.