The Second Shepherds' Play

rdf:langString The Second Shepherds' Play

rdf:langString The Second Shepherds' Play

rdf:langString The Second Shepherds' Play

rdf:langString The shepherds realise that the babe in the cradle is actually a sheep. (Players of St Peter, London .)

rdf:langString Mary, mother of Jesus

rdf:langString

rdf:langString Mak

rdf:langString The Angel

rdf:langString Christ-child

rdf:langString Coll, First Shepherd

rdf:langString Daw, Third Shepherd

rdf:langString Gib, Second Shepherd

rdf:langString Gill, Mak's wife

rdf:langString Unknown

rdf:langString A production photo from a 2005 production of The Second Shepherds' Play by London's Players of St Peter.

rdf:langString Medieval England and Bethlehem

rdf:langString The Wakefield Master

rdf:langString The Second Shepherds' Play (also known as The Second Shepherds' Pageant) is a famous medieval mystery play which is contained in the manuscript HM1, the unique manuscript of the Wakefield Cycle. These plays are also referred to as the Towneley Plays, on account of the manuscript residing at Towneley Hall. The plays within the manuscript roughly follow the chronology of the Bible and so were believed to be a cycle, which is now considered not to be the case.This play gained its name because in the manuscript it immediately follows another nativity play involving the shepherds. In fact, it has been hypothesized that the second play is a revision of the first. It appears that the two shepherd plays were not intended to be performed together since many of the themes and ideas of the first play carry over to the second one. In both plays it becomes clear that Christ is coming to Earth to redeem the world from its sins. Although the underlying tone of The Second Shepherd's Play is serious, many of the antics that occur among the shepherds are extremely farcical in nature.