London and the Problem of the Clerkenwell Plays

Comparative Drama, Fall, 2000 by Lawrence M. Clopper

There are two documents remaining, items 2 and 3, the first referring to a "ludum valde suptuosum" made by the clerks at Skinnerswell at St. Bartholomew tide and the second, executed before the feast of St. Barthlomew, forbidding "luyte" and "Jew" in the city environs. Reading back from the 1390 and 1409 documents, scholars have thought that both of these items allude to biblical plays and thus help substantiate a tradition for their representation over time. I think we need to be more cautious. The "ludum valde suptuosum" must have been sufficiently different from usual practice to call attention to itself. Perhaps 1384 was the first time a biblical play was performed; however, we cannot be sure of this because a sumptuous ludus could be any number of things. I am rather more confident that the civic proclamation of 1385 is not an attempt to forbid biblical dramas that year; rather, it restricts recreation outside the city, including the usual "Jew," the luctas et ludos, at Skinnerswell. First, the rubric indicates that the proclamation is directed at all kinds of recreation, including women passing the time of day with their children. The first clause forbids "luyte," that is, "wrestling" (ModF "lutte") by the "gentz." If the second clause were directed specifically against clerical ludi, we would expect them to be named; instead, the "gentz" again are forbidden to engage in the "iew gest ordeine destre fact" at Skinnerswell. If we look back to the prioress' complaint in 1300/ 01, we can surmize that while the clerici organize the miracula, luctas et ludos, the "gentz" of London, about whom the prioress specifically complained, also took part and it is this assemblage that is being forbidden.

Several documents suggest the clerks' ludi were a part of St. Bartholomew's fair in Smithfield, the latter of which was where the great tournament of 1390 (and others) took place.(24) St. Bartholomew's Priory, a monastery of canons regular of St. Augustine (or Austin Canons), was founded in the 12th century by Rahere (d. 1143) whom legend says was the king's jester and a great musician. In the Book of Foundation, he was condemned--this was before his conversion--for attending on court, for being shameless, for attending spectacles, banquets, jests and the rest of the trifles of court. The Fair, granted in a charter of 1133, was held on the eve, the day and the morrow of the feast of St. Bartholomew (Aug. 24) within the walls of the priory on the north side of the church. The Fair was principally for woolens and cloth, the clothes sold there being subject to the oversight of the Drapers' and Merchant Taylors' guilds of London. By 1377 the fair had spilled over into Smithfield which was just outside the gates of the priory church. Late reminiscences indicate that after the opening ceremonies there were wrestling matches, and then wild rabbits were loosed for young boys to chase. The wrestling was put down in 1549 after the fair had been sold to Richard Rich in 1544. We may wonder whether these transgressive games were "justified" or "sanctioned" by appeal to Rahere's early interest in courtly trifles and amusements.