Versus de pelegrino
Encyclopedia
The Versus de pelegrino or Verses about the Stranger is a medieval Latin
drama
composed by an anonymous playwright of Vic
c. 1130. The Versus is a short piece of only forty lines on the meeting between Mary Magdalene
and the glorified
Jesus Christ on the road as recorded in the Gospel of John
(chapter 20). It is a follow-up to the Verses pascales de tres Maries
and was probably designed as a liturgical drama
for Easter Vigil
as well.
. In the Vetus Latina
and in one manuscript grouping of the Vulgate
this chapter has the rubric
Mariae Magdalenae ad Ecclesiam: Mary Magdalene to the Church. The Vic dramatist evidently picked up on this allegorical exegesis and adapted it to his theme. As the play opens, Mary is searching a garden for the tomb of Christ. First some angeli (angel
s) and then an ortolanus (gardener) ask her why she is weeping and for whom she is looking. She mistakes the gardener for Christ when he says to her "Mary, Mary, Mary!" and she responds "Raboni, raboni, master!" The drama does not incorporate a sequence of her on the road meeting Christ, but jumps to her return to the garden from meeting him. There she scoffs at the gardener who deceived her and, meeting the discipuli (disciples
), relates to them the fact of Christ's resurrection
and the empty tomb. The disciples do not hesitate to believe her, Marie veraci (truthful Mary), over the "whole deceitful multitude of Jews" (Iudeorum turbe fallaci). The play ends on a prayer, sung by a chorus (choir
), and the Greater Doxology.
s of the Middle Ages in its choice of subject matter. The Epitalamica, composed probably later that century at the Monastery of the Paraclete, is a non-dramatic treatment of the same theme, probably derived from the Versus if its relict dramatic feature are any indication.
Besides the Song of Songs and John 20, the Versus relies on the Gospel accounts of the Jews spreading lies that Christ had not risen but merely been stolen from his grave. Outside of the Bible, the anonymous dramatist borrowed a verse form from the north Italian Latin ballad
Foebus abierat
(c. 1000), in which a lady sees a mirage of her lover's face and embraces it only to find it disappeared. This ballad had made its way to the Abbey of Ripoll by the twelfth century and would have been accessible to a dramatist working there or at Vic. This composer also drew on an earlier twelfth-century piece, the Victimae paschali, for the scene of Mary and the disciples. This borrowing became commonplace in thirteenth-century Easter drama, but the Vic play may be its first dramatic adaptation.
The Versus is written in asclepiadic
strophe
s, quatrains, monorhymed but with lines of varying length. The music for the play survives (the whole thing was sung) in Aquitainian neume
s and its melodic structure mirrors its poetic. The play is preserved along with the Verses pascales in codex 105 of the Episcopal Museum of Vic.
Medieval Latin
Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the liturgical language of the medieval Roman Catholic Church, but also as a language of science, literature, law, and administration. Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors,...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
composed by an anonymous playwright of Vic
Vic
Vic is the capital of the comarca of Osona, in the Barcelona Province, Catalonia, Spain. Vic's location, only 69 km far from Barcelona and 60 km from Girona, has made it one of the most important towns in central Catalonia.-History:...
c. 1130. The Versus is a short piece of only forty lines on the meeting between Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene was one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, and the most important woman disciple in the movement of Jesus. Jesus cleansed her of "seven demons", conventionally interpreted as referring to complex illnesses...
and the glorified
Glorification
-Catholicism:For the process by which the Roman Catholic Church or Anglican Communion grants official recognition to someone as a saint, see canonization.-Eastern Orthodox Church:...
Jesus Christ on the road as recorded in the Gospel of John
Gospel of John
The Gospel According to John , commonly referred to as the Gospel of John or simply John, and often referred to in New Testament scholarship as the Fourth Gospel, is an account of the public ministry of Jesus...
(chapter 20). It is a follow-up to the Verses pascales de tres Maries
Verses pascales de tres Maries
The Verses pascales de tres Maries are twelfth-century Latin lyric verses from Vic that form a liturgical drama for performance at Easter...
and was probably designed as a liturgical drama
Liturgical drama
Liturgical drama or religious drama, in its various Christian contexts, originates from the mass itself, and usually presents a relatively complex ritual that includes theatrical elements...
for Easter Vigil
Easter Vigil
The Easter Vigil, also called the Paschal Vigil or the Great Vigil of Easter, is a service held in many Christian churches as the first official celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus. Historically, it is during this service that people are baptized and that adult catechumens are received into...
as well.
Story
The opening lines, spoken by the Magdalene, are an adaptation of the third chapter of the Song of SongsSong of songs
Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It may also refer to:In music:* Song of songs , the debut album by David and the Giants* A generic term for medleysPlays...
. In the Vetus Latina
Vetus Latina
Vetus Latina is a collective name given to the Biblical texts in Latin that were translated before St Jerome's Vulgate Bible became the standard Bible for Latin-speaking Western Christians. The phrase Vetus Latina is Latin for Old Latin, and the Vetus Latina is sometimes known as the Old Latin Bible...
and in one manuscript grouping of the Vulgate
Vulgate
The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...
this chapter has the rubric
Rubric
A rubric is a word or section of text which is traditionally written or printed in red ink to highlight it. The word derives from the , meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or earlier...
Mariae Magdalenae ad Ecclesiam: Mary Magdalene to the Church. The Vic dramatist evidently picked up on this allegorical exegesis and adapted it to his theme. As the play opens, Mary is searching a garden for the tomb of Christ. First some angeli (angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
s) and then an ortolanus (gardener) ask her why she is weeping and for whom she is looking. She mistakes the gardener for Christ when he says to her "Mary, Mary, Mary!" and she responds "Raboni, raboni, master!" The drama does not incorporate a sequence of her on the road meeting Christ, but jumps to her return to the garden from meeting him. There she scoffs at the gardener who deceived her and, meeting the discipuli (disciples
Apostle (Christian)
The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος , meaning one who is sent away, from στέλλω + από . The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary", from the Latin mitto + ex...
), relates to them the fact of Christ's resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
and the empty tomb. The disciples do not hesitate to believe her, Marie veraci (truthful Mary), over the "whole deceitful multitude of Jews" (Iudeorum turbe fallaci). The play ends on a prayer, sung by a chorus (choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
), and the Greater Doxology.
Analysis
The Versus is alone among the liturgical dramaLiturgical drama
Liturgical drama or religious drama, in its various Christian contexts, originates from the mass itself, and usually presents a relatively complex ritual that includes theatrical elements...
s of the Middle Ages in its choice of subject matter. The Epitalamica, composed probably later that century at the Monastery of the Paraclete, is a non-dramatic treatment of the same theme, probably derived from the Versus if its relict dramatic feature are any indication.
Besides the Song of Songs and John 20, the Versus relies on the Gospel accounts of the Jews spreading lies that Christ had not risen but merely been stolen from his grave. Outside of the Bible, the anonymous dramatist borrowed a verse form from the north Italian Latin ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
Foebus abierat
Foebus abierat
Foebus abierat is a medieval Latin poem, authorship unknown, composed near the end of the 10th century in Northern Italy. Described as "hauntingly beautiful" and "one of the joys of medieval poetry," it is an erotic dream-vision lyric spoken by a woman who grieves the departure of her lover...
(c. 1000), in which a lady sees a mirage of her lover's face and embraces it only to find it disappeared. This ballad had made its way to the Abbey of Ripoll by the twelfth century and would have been accessible to a dramatist working there or at Vic. This composer also drew on an earlier twelfth-century piece, the Victimae paschali, for the scene of Mary and the disciples. This borrowing became commonplace in thirteenth-century Easter drama, but the Vic play may be its first dramatic adaptation.
The Versus is written in asclepiadic
Asclepiad (poetry)
An Asclepiad is a line of poetry following a particular metrical pattern. The form is attributed to Asclepiades of Samos and is one of the Aeolic metres....
strophe
Strophe
A strophe forms the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. In its original Greek setting, "strophe, antistrophe and epode were a kind of stanza framed only for the music," as John Milton wrote in the preface to Samson Agonistes, with the strophe...
s, quatrains, monorhymed but with lines of varying length. The music for the play survives (the whole thing was sung) in Aquitainian neume
Neume
A neume is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The word is a Middle English corruption of the ultimately Ancient Greek word for breath ....
s and its melodic structure mirrors its poetic. The play is preserved along with the Verses pascales in codex 105 of the Episcopal Museum of Vic.