Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Maud Sellers, in 1912, introduced the notion that the York guilds which produced the civic Corpus Christi plays found them to be ‘an intolerable and vexatious burden.’ The idea has persisted. However, the picture of guild support for the plays is complex, especially during the period of economic and civic decline which in fact impoverished some guilds and left others with a membership deficit due to the inability to maintain their numbers. York, like other cities, was unable to maintain its population without immigration from outside since the death rate exceeded the birth rate. Pestilence and disease played a part …