The Presentation in the Temple: A Pageant (Classic Reprint)

Thomas Sharp Coventry

ISBN 10: 1332028462 / ISBN 13: 9781332028467

Published by Forgotten Books, 2020

About this Item

Print on Demand. This book provides a history of the Weavers Pageant, an important part of Coventry's past. Coventry was famous for its mystery plays, of which the Weavers Pageant is one of the best known. This book describes a copy of the Weavers Pageant playbook that was discovered in 1832. The text has been transcribed, and the author provides a historical context in which to understand the play. Detailed accounts and material relating to the costumes, expenses of production, and staging of the Weavers Pageant are given in the book, showing how closely it was tied to the Weavers' Guild. This allows us to understand the lives of late medieval townspeople. The pageant aimed to commemorate the sequence of events from the birth of Jesus to his appearance as a child in the temple. The author presents the Weavers Pageant as a valuable insight into the religious drama of the period, medieval play-making, and urban history. This book is a reproduction of an important historical work, digitally reconstructed using state-of-the-art technology to preserve the original format. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in the book.

Seller Inventory # 9781332028467_0

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Presentation in the Temple: A Pageant (Classic Reprint)
• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication Date: 2020
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1332028462
• ISBN 13: 9781332028467
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: New
• Book Type: print-on-demand item
• Seller catalogs:
  • Ancient and Medieval Drama

About this title

Synopsis

Discover a rare medieval pageant from Coventry’s Weavers, now reissued for modern readers.

This edition presents The Presentation in the Temple as originally performed by the Coventry Weavers’ Company, with a prefatory notice and scholarly context that frame its history and staging.

The book reproduces the ancient play-book and collects a general history drawn from the company’s account books. It foregrounds the Nativity sequence shown in the Weavers’ Pageant, including dialogue between prophets, Simeon, Anne, the Holy Family, and the Magi, as well as stage directions and accompanying songs. A prefatory note explains how a 16th‑century translation and subsequent preservation contribute to our understanding of Coventry’s mysteries.

Readers will encounter historical commentary on how the pageant was produced, what the costumes and economy of the spectacle might have looked like, and how this piece fit into Coventry’s medieval pageantry tradition. The text also offers insight into the editorial history and the edition’s place in 19th‑century literary circles.

• A clear window into Coventry’s medieval pageantry and the Weavers’ Pageant.
• Detailed sequences of prophecies, the birth narrative, and songs performed on stage.
• Context about translations, preservation, and the edition’s scholarly framing.
• Notes on the pageant’s historical reception and its 1836 reprint for the Abbotsford Club.

Ideal for readers of medieval theater, local history enthusiasts, and researchers studying pageants and civic ritual.