I have thought it well, therefore, to print (in a slightly shortened form) and to explain the following play.
It embodies most of the points mentioned in this article, it has distinct literary and artistic value, and, above all, the character of Herod made it the most popular play of the cycle, and is often alluded to.
Shakespeare uses the phrase “out-Heroding Herod.” Chaucer says of Joly Absalon:—
Sometyme to shewe his lightness and maistrye
He pleyeth Herodes on a scaffold hye.
In the Paston letters we find Sir John Paston’s agent, in describing the high-handed proceedings of the Duke of Norfolk in 1478, saying, “There was no man that played Herod in Corpus Christi play better and more agreeable to his pageant than he did.”
It will be seen, I think, that the verdict of the general public was a sound and good one.
The Eighth Pageant—“The Three Kings.”
Presented by the Vintners.
This must have been a striking sight, for the Three Kings, richly apparelled, accompanied the pageant-carriage on horseback through the city, and the First King tells how they are looking for the fulfilment of Balaam’s prophecy and seeking a sign.