Anonymous, Wisdom

James Cummings (University of Newcastle upon Tyne)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.02: English Writing and Culture: High and Late Medieval, 1066-1485.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Rory Critten (Université de Lausanne), David Fuller (University of Durham), Natalie Hanna (University of Liverpool), Hugh Magennis (Queen's University Belfast), Jamie McKinstry (University of Durham), Sarah Peverley (University of Liverpool), Sebastian Sobecki (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1460

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Play

Resources

Save to Bookshelf

The fifteenth-century play

Wisdom

survives in two manuscripts: the Macro (Folger: MS. V.a. 354) and Digby (Bodleian: MS. Digby 133) versions. The Macro manuscript is earlier in date (from 1465-70) and more complete, however the Digby version (from 1490-1500) has been more carefully copied and modern editions tend to correct the Macro text with reference to Digby. Neither of these manuscripts give a name to the play, and from the nineteenth century critics have cited it as either

Wisdom

Wisdom: Who is Christ

Mind, Will and Understanding

. The first of these is in most common usage today. The language and provenance of the play, like the majority of surviving medieval English non-cycle drama, is East Anglian. The earliest known owner of the Macro copy is thought to be Thomas Hyngham, a…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

1478 words

Citation: Cummings, James. "Wisdom". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 August 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=8821, accessed 22 November 2024.]

Anonymous, Wisdom

Dates

Places

Genres and Modes

Resources

Save this article

Leave Feedback