The Digby Mary Magdalene Play

Rare surviving example of the Middle English saint play. It provides a window on the deep embedding of biblical drama and performance in late medieval devotional practices, social aspiration and critique, and religious discourses. Fully annotated and glossed, an essential resource for the study of late medieval English religious drama.

The Digby Play of Mary Magdalene is a rare, surviving example of the Middle English saint play. Its origins and auspices remain unknown, but linguistic evidence situates the play in the now widely-recognized late medieval East Anglian dramatic tradition. Beyond its importance for the history of early English drama, the Digby Mary Magdalene provides a window on the deep embedding of biblical drama and performance in late medieval devotional practices, social aspiration and critique, and religious discourses. Taking full advantage of the saint’s complex symbolism and rich resources of late medieval religious culture, the Digby Mary Magdalene play has attracted attention from scholars in a variety of disciplines. Yet until now an accessible, affordable edition of the play has been beyond their reach. Fully annotated and extensively glossed, this edition fulfils that need and adds to the METS Drama series an essential resource for the study of late medieval English religious drama.