Afterwards followed the story of Lancelot of the lake, and that 'of
Athens.' And no sooner had the King reached Chieri than he was received
with another pantomime, in which a woman in childbed was shown
surrounded by distinguished visitors.
If any church festival was held by universal consent to call for
exceptional efforts, it was the feast of Corpus Christi, which in Spain
gave rise to a special class of poetry. We possess a splendid
description of the manner in which that feast was celebrated at Viterbo
by Pius II in 1462. The procession itself, which advanced from a vast
and gorgeous tent in front of San Francesco along the main street to
the Cathedral, was the least part of the ceremony. The cardinals and
wealthy prelates had divided the whole distance into parts, over which
they severally presided, and which they decorated with curtains,
tapestry, and garlands. Each of them had also erected a stage of his
own, on which, as the procession passed by, short historical and
allegorical scenes were represented. It is not clear from the account
whether all the characters were living beings or some merely draped
figures; the expense was certainly very great. There was a suffering
Christ amid singing cherubs, the Last Supper with a figure of St.
Thomas Aquinas, the combat between the Archangel Michael and the
devils, fountains of wine and orchestras of angels, the grave of Christ
with all the scene of the Resurrection, and finally, on the square
before the Cathedral, the tomb of the Virgin.
Pages:
444
445
446
447
448
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468