Description
“An Tas a nev y’m gelwir,
formyer puptra a vydh gwrys.
Onan ha tri on yn hwir,
an Tas ha’n Mab ha’n Spyrys;
ha hedhyw my a dhesir
dre ow gras dalleth an bys.
Y lavarav, nev ha tir
bedhens formyes orth ow brys.”
Origo Mundi (The Origin of the World) is day one of the Ordinalia, three medieval mystery plays from the late 14th century. Together, they are Britain’s oldest drama. The plays were written in Middle Cornish, with Latin stage directions. The rest of the Ordinalia consists of Passio Christi and Resurrexio Domini.
The play is written in 2,846 lines of verse, arranged in seven- and four-syllabled lines. It begins with the Creation of the World, the Fall of Man, and Cain and Abel, followed by the building of the Ark and the Flood; the story of the temptation of Abraham closes the first act. The second act gives us the history of Moses, and the third represents the story of David and of the building of Solomon’s Temple.
Origo Mundi contains the full play in the Standard Written Form of modern Cornish, an English translation and a guide to staging all of the three Ordinalia plays with fifteen actors. There is also a Student Edition which provides a transcription of the original manuscript and extensive notes.
The book is essential reading for everyone interested in Cornish history and culture and British theatrical history and literature, for both speakers and non-speakers of Cornish.
