1. Medieval Mystery Plays Contexts for The Miller’s Tale

2. What is a Mystery Play? A series of dramatic reenactments of episodes from the Bible -- think greatest hits from the Bible --- in English Starts with Creation and ends with the Last Judgment Performed from sunrise to sunset annually on the feast of Corpus Christi in late Spring Performed by amateur actors either on mobile wagon-stages in a procession through streets of the city or on fixed scaffolding Episodes, or pageants, are produced by the city’s guilds, organizations of workers with a shared craft or occupation, i.e. smiths, tanners, and carpenters No price of admission --- they were free!

3. What is a Mystery Play? A series of dramatic reenactments of episodes from the Bible -- think greatest hits from the Bible --- in English Starts with Creation and ends with the Last Judgment Performed from sunrise to sunset annually on the feast of Corpus Christi in late Spring Performed by amateur actors either on mobile wagon-stages in a procession through streets of the city or on fixed scaffolding Episodes, or pageants, are produced by the city’s guilds, organizations of workers with a shared craft or occupation, i.e. smiths, tanners, and carpenters No price of admission --- they were free!

4. What is a Mystery Play? A series of dramatic reenactments of episodes from the Bible -- think greatest hits from the Bible --- in English Starts with Creation and ends with the Last Judgment Performed from sunrise to sunset annually on the feast of Corpus Christi in late Spring Performed by amateur actors either on mobile wagon-stages in a procession through streets of the city or on fixed scaffolding Episodes, or pageants, are produced by the city’s guilds, organizations of workers with a shared craft or occupation, i.e. smiths, tanners, and carpenters No price of admission --- they were free!

5. What is a Mystery Play? A series of dramatic reenactments of episodes from the Bible -- think greatest hits from the Bible --- in English Starts with Creation and ends with the Last Judgment Performed from sunrise to sunset annually on the feast of Corpus Christi in late Spring Performed by amateur actors either on mobile wagon-stages in a procession through streets of the city or on fixed scaffolding Episodes, or pageants, are produced by the city’s guilds, organizations of workers with a shared craft or occupation, i.e. smiths, tanners, and carpenters No price of admission --- they were free!

6. What is a Mystery Play? A series of dramatic reenactments of episodes from the Bible -- think greatest hits from the Bible --- in English Starts with Creation and ends with the Last Judgment Performed from sunrise to sunset annually on the feast of Corpus Christi in late Spring Performed by amateur actors either on mobile wagon-stages in a procession through streets of the city or on fixed scaffolding Episodes, or pageants, are produced by the city’s guilds, organizations of workers with a shared craft or occupation, i.e. smiths, tanners, and carpenters No price of admission --- they were free!

7. What is a Mystery Play? A series of dramatic reenactments of episodes from the Bible -- think greatest hits from the Bible --- in English Starts with Creation and ends with the Last Judgment Performed from sunrise to sunset annually on the feast of Corpus Christi in late Spring Performed by amateur actors either on mobile wagon-stages in a procession through streets of the city or on fixed scaffolding Episodes, or pageants, are produced by the city’s guilds, organizations of workers with a shared craft or occupation, i.e. smiths, tanners, and carpenters No price of admission --- they were free! All estates could attend.

8. In The Miller’s Tale “Somtyme, to shewe his lightnesse and maistrye, He pleyeth Herodes upon a scaffold hye” (ll. 3383-4) “’Hastou nat herd,’ quod Nicholas, ‘also, The sorwe of Noe with his felaweshipe Er that he myghte brynge his wyf to the shipe? Hym hadde be levere, I dar wel undertake…, That she hadde had a shipe hirself allone’” (ll.3538-43)