In The Play of the Sacrament, economic exchanges bring characters together and spark the main action of the play. Of all the dichotomies in this play, the most interesting to me was the shift that both main characters undergo as they evolve from merchants into Christians. There isn’t much that distinguishes Aristorius from Jonathas. They are both very powerful men who have accumulated massive fortunes and their influence extends over a huge chunk of the world. The one main factor that separates them is that Aristorius is a Christian and Jonathas is a Jew. Even when they’re haggling over the price of the host, their dialogue isn’t very different,
Aristorius: Now sey me, Jonathus, by this light,/ W[h]at payment therefor wollde yow me make?
Jonathas: Forty pound, and pay it ful right,/ Evyn for that Lorde sake.
Aristorius: Nay, nay Jonathas, there-agen/ I w[o]ld not for an hundder pownd! (308-312).
After this economic exchange, the play draws from the events of the Last Supper. Aristorius (in lines 340-344) and Jonathas (lines 340-344, 402-404) participate in reenacting events of the Passion. Neither plays an innocent role and they both serve to jeopardize the sacrament. Historically, this is where the shift between Christianity and Judaism begins, which could explain their similarities up to this point, but Aristorius plays the part of Judas even though he’s a Christian. Jonathas and his companions play the role of converts, ultimately forming a yin-yang in relation to Aristorius.
When his wealth seemed like a blessing or sign of approval from God, he sells the host and becomes the archetypal traitor. Jonathas’ economic success can be attributed to anti-Semitic stereotypes. Their flaws both spark tension in the narrative and calls into question the moral decisions that the characters make. The audience also has to make a choice in deciding whether or not these characters deserve redemption.
The sacrament symbolically represents a spiritual unification though Jesus. Aristorius and Jonathas both transgress the holiness of that symbol and they both get forgiven. Which one is more Christian at the end? Aristorius spreads Christianity beyond the physical world of Christendom, but he plays Judas before he decides to live humbly at the conclusion of the play. Jonathas plays the stereotypical, negative Jew but he and his fellows convert and become Christians at the end. They're both demonized but they're both forgiven in the end. This play does a lot to draw a line between a life in a moral grey area and illustrate the meaning of being Christian and how that lifestyle is superior to any other. Is this the best choice for two men who have built their lifestyles on trading and have thrived in a zone ambiguous morality? What does this say about the Christian God (and, for that matter, the world of Christendom) as personified in the Play of the Sacrament?
We are introduced to a unique form of violence via this tale, but also two unique characters. In many ways, a plethora of the things Aristorius does are indicative of Christ's betrayer, Judas. The whole "testing" aspect of the tale was peculiar to me. We've seen several aspects of violence throughout this course, but the author of Croxton's Play of the Sacrament introduces us to an odd form of violence: violence perpetrated against the host, and, consequently, wickedness perpetrated towards the ideal of transubstantiation.
ReplyDeleteThe stage direction is something we aren't used to, but also something that, theatrically, adds to the play. One part in particular I caught onto was the stage direction which said: "Here shall þe iiij Jewys pryk þer daggerys in iiij quarters, þus sayng:
Haue at yt! Haue at yt, with all my myght!
Thys syde I hope for to sese!" (469-470) The stage direction serves as yet another condemnation of the Jewish people, a trope that we've already discovered to be almost emblematic of this form of writing. The usury appears here, and it runs tandem with one of the most peculiar instances of violence we have encountered thus far.
This story involves one of the most peculiar instances of violence we have encountered. Whereas in other tales we have covered throughout the semester, where violence is perpetrated against a specific person or group of people, in Croxton's Play of the Sacrament, the violence is perpetrated against, it can be argued, an ideology. The host, and therefore the very ideal of transubstantiation, are violated, making this act one of the more unique instances of violence throughout the play.
ReplyDeleteThe stage direction found throughout adds to the play, and is something we have never seen before. Prior to lines 469-470, the lines "The Jews pricked their daggers in the four quarters." This is an indication of an ongoing theme: the negative portrayal of the Jews in this literature. By stabbing the quarters, they are once again depicted as usurers, money-hungry imps that, despite efforts to include them, were looked upon negatively in medieval society.