Cenodoxus is one of several medieval miracle plays by
Jacob BidermannJacob Bidermann was born in the village of Ehingen, about 30 miles southwest of Ulm. He was a Jesuit priest and professor of theology, but is remembered mostly for his plays....
, an early 17th century
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
Jesuit and prolific playwright. Jacob Bidermann's treatment of the Legend of the Doctor of Paris is generally regarded as the primary source of inspiration for Goethe's
FaustFaust or Faustus is the protagonist of a classic German legend who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge...
.
Published in 1602 at a Jesuit seminary in
AugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria in Germany. It is a College town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, and with earlier handwritten drafts available prior to 1600,
Cenodoxus found its first performances by the seminary students there, put on principally for the benefit of the many students residing at the institute.
Cenodoxus is one of several medieval miracle plays by
Jacob BidermannJacob Bidermann was born in the village of Ehingen, about 30 miles southwest of Ulm. He was a Jesuit priest and professor of theology, but is remembered mostly for his plays....
, an early 17th century
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
Jesuit and prolific playwright. Jacob Bidermann's treatment of the Legend of the Doctor of Paris is generally regarded as the primary source of inspiration for Goethe's
FaustFaust or Faustus is the protagonist of a classic German legend who makes a pact with the Devil in exchange for knowledge...
.
Performance history
Published in 1602 at a Jesuit seminary in
AugsburgAugsburg is a city in the south-west of Bavaria in Germany. It is a College town and home of the Regierungsbezirk Schwaben and the Bezirk Schwaben. Augsburg is an urban district and home to the institutions of the Landkreis Augsburg. It is, as of 2008, the third-largest city in Bavaria with a...
, and with earlier handwritten drafts available prior to 1600,
Cenodoxus found its first performances by the seminary students there, put on principally for the benefit of the many students residing at the institute. The initial performance in July 1602 was so well received that it was performed a second time the next day.
Far from being inaccessible to the typical theatergoer, the performances of Cenodoxus in
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
were so enthusiastically received that the choice of the language had the effect of making the play one of the hottest hits in Europe. Especially noteworthy performances were recorded in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
and
LucerneLucerne is a city in Switzerland. It is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and seat of the district with the same name. With a population of 57,890, Lucerne is the most populous city in Central Switzerland and a focal point of the region...
in 1609, after the conclusion of which fourteen young men immediately asked to enter the Jesuit order. The play was also performed with comparable results in Pruntrut in 1615, in
IngolstadtIngolstadt is a city in the Free State of Bavaria, Germany. It is located along the banks of the Danube River, in the center of Bavaria. As of December 31, 2005, Ingolstadt had 121,801 residents. It is part of the Munich Metropolitan Area with a population of more than 5 million.Ingolstadt is...
in 1617, in
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in 1636, and both Ypern and
Hildesheimis a city in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is located in the district of Hildesheim, about 30 km southeast of Hannover on the banks of the Innerste river, which is a small tributary of the Leine river...
in 1654. Considering all these performances, it is no surprise that there are a fair number of copies of
Cenodoxus surviving to this day, but the earliest such copies date back to 1610 or 1611, and are, to this day, preserved as such in a convent in Kehlheim. The attention given to this work by the wealthy nobility eventually filtered down to the common people, leading to a German vernacular translation by Joachim Meichel in 1635.
Bidermann's plays were not printed as a single work until 1666, when they were collected under the title of
Ludi Theatrales - still in Latin - some 27 years after his death.
As productions go, the performances involved elaborate costumes because each of the
Seven Deadly SinsThe Seven Deadly Sins, also known as the Capital Vices or Cardinal Sins, is a classification of the most objectionable vices which has been used since early Christian times to educate and instruct followers concerning fallen man's tendency to sin...
was personified by a student that was appropriately dressed so he could be recognized as such, and an intricate dance sequence involved the deadly sins approaching the dying body of Cenodoxus. Some of the sins approached singly, others in pairs, and each came to the ear of the sleeping Cenodoxus, to whisper into it, and lead him astray, or stir within him a doubt, or magnify in him whatever flaw they could find to foster. This kind of movement, with up to seven personifications of the Seven Deadly Sins, taking the form of devils or demons, each dancing around on a stage that was mocked up to be a bedroom, naturally required a lot of
choreographic preparationChoreography is the art of designing sequences of movements in which motion, form, or both are specified. Choreography may also refer to the design itself, which is sometimes expressed by means of dance notation. The word choreography literally means "dance-writing" from the Greek words "χορεία" ...
and rehearsal. It was a fairly complex play.
Plot summary
Cenodoxus was a man who had a sterling reputation for healing the sick, helping the poor, speaking kindly, and ministering to all in need. He was equally loved and admired by all.
At a ripe old age, he had succeeded in all the things he had set out to do. He was a
teacherIn education, a teacher is a person who educates others. A teacher who educates an individual student may also be described as a personal tutor....
, a scholar, a
doctorA physician — also known as medical practitioner, doctor of medicine, medical doctor, or simply doctor — practices the ancient profession of medicine, which is concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease or injury...
, a
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
, and a philosopher. He excelled at all the things a man could excel at. But he began to lose his health, and this alarmed all of his friends. When he got sick, friends visited his house to see him, but there was nothing they could do to save him. All they had for him was good words, and wished they could be more like him. People prayed for him day and night. Everybody believed that Cenodoxus was the nicest person they'd ever met.
Mortal intervention from all quarters could not help the good Doctor of Paris, who had helped so many other people. The
priestA priest or priestess is a person having the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities. Their office or position is the priesthood, a term which may also apply to such persons collectively.Priests and priestesses...
came, but was unable to hear him confess any sins that were not already confessed. The priest left, saying he had done all he could do, "But with the Lord's help, he may yet regain his health." Yet Cenodoxus died, and the mourning began.
Last rites
When the dead body of Cenodoxus was taken to the cathedral and prepared for its
last ritesLast Rites can refer to* Anointing of the Sick Note: The term "Last Rites" is not another sacrament in itself. It is not equivalent to the more commonly administered sacrament of "Anointing of the Sick", since the term "Last Rites" includes two other distinct sacraments: Penance and...
—namely, a blessing in the nature of a
viaticumWithin the Catholic Church, viaticum is a term for the Eucharist administered during the sacrament of the sick, given to a person who is dying or who faces the possibility of death...
—and it was laid out on the stone table there, it managed to cry out three times in three days, each time prompted by the priest saying his name, and each time leading to an ever larger crowd of onlookers to witness what was happening.
No sooner had the priest begun to perform his last rites, and started to say "Cenodoxus" than the corpse jolted, opened its mouth, and -- moving its dead lips -- cried out to interrupt the services. Each time this happened, the priest considered it to be a bad omen, and delayed the man's
last ritesLast Rites can refer to* Anointing of the Sick Note: The term "Last Rites" is not another sacrament in itself. It is not equivalent to the more commonly administered sacrament of "Anointing of the Sick", since the term "Last Rites" includes two other distinct sacraments: Penance and...
by an extra day.
- On the 1st day, the Priest said, "Cenodoxus was a good man," and it cried out, "I have been accused."
- On the 2nd day, the Priest said, "Cenodoxus was a good man," and it cried out, "I have been found guilty"
- On the 3rd day, the Priest said, "Cenodoxus was a good man," and it cried out, "Oh, My God, My God, My God, I have been damned to Hell Eternal."
Jacob Bidermann's poetic account of this passage is written in Latin verse, following a perfect iambic meter.
The onlookers witnessing this event were dumbfounded, as they could not think of anything Cenodoxus had done warranting eternal damnation. He was not known for swearing, cheating, or coveting. He was not a gambler, but was in fact so generous with everything he had, that he had nothing when he died. They did not understand why Cenodoxus would have cried out the things that he did.
St. Bruno
Bruno was one of Cenodoxus's many friends, and like all the others there had been in the crowded cathedral when Cenodoxus's body cried out the things described. Seeing this with his own eyes, Bruno was beside himself with confusion as to why these things had happened, and why Cenodoxus—of all people—should have met with such a stern judgment.
"If that good man Cenodoxus is lost, despite the many good things he has done, how can I be saved, who am so much worse a man, and by far the less deserving?"
Bruno left society behind to build a
monasteryMonastery , a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer Monastery (plural: monasteries), a term derived from the Greek word μοναστήριον, neut. of μοναστήριος - monasterios...
in the woods outside of
ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and he founded an order of monks there, devoutly believing that doing good deeds for others generally tended to magnify
pride (or
superbia as Bidermann put it)—a kind of haughtiness or vainglory—that is immaterial in the long run, and, as such, being a misplacement of priorities, is a kind of deadly sin that will permanently bar entry into
HeavenHeaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English...
. The order of monks that St. Bruno founded is called the
CarthusianThe Carthusian Order, also called the Order of St. Bruno, is a Roman Catholic religious order of enclosed monastics. The order was founded by Saint Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns...
s.
External links
Related Reading
- Siegfried Wenzel, Fasciculus Morum, a Fourteenth-Century Preacher's Handbook (in Latin and English), ISBN 0271006420, published by Pennsylvania State University (1989)
- Richard Erich Schade, Studies in Early German Comedy, ISBN 0-938100-41-6, published by Camden House and University of Cincinnati (1988)