Matthew Medbourne’s St. Cecily : or, The Converted Twins : The
Medieval Saint as a Restoration Papist

k 2020

Matthew Medbourne’s St. Cecily : or, The Converted Twins : The Medieval Saint as a Restoration Papist

KRAJNÍK, Filip

Basic information

Original name

Matthew Medbourne’s St. Cecily : or, The Converted Twins : The Medieval Saint as a Restoration Papist

Authors

KRAJNÍK, Filip (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution)

Edition

In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference & 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice, 2020

Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Prezentace na konferencích

Field of Study

60206 Specific literatures

Country of publisher

Czech Republic

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14210/20:00114683

Organization unit

Faculty of Arts

Keywords (in Czech)

restaurační divadlo; náboženské drama; svatá Cecílie

Keywords in English

Restoration theatre; religious drama; St Cecilia

Abstract

V originále

The paper will discuss the tragedy St. Cecily: or, The Converted Twins, a rare example of a Restoration religious play, concerned with the martyrdom of St. Cecilia, written by the Catholic actor and playwright Matthew Medbourne in 1666 and dedicated to Catherine of Braganza, the then new wife of King Charles II. As Monika Fludernik has recently demonstrated, early-modern English plays about female martyrs could be (and probably originally were) seen as veiled and ambiguous commentaries on the then current political and religious conflicts in the country. However, virtually no attention has been paid so far to Medbourne's play, perhaps because of its rather mediocre literary quality and the fact that it was never staged in its own time. This paper will examine it through the prism of the conflict between the Protestant establishment and the English Catholic minority in the 1660s, which ultimately culminated in the Exclusion Crisis in the late 1670s and the Glorious revolution of 1688. I will argue that, especially in Cecilia’s final confrontation with judge Almachius, the medieval saint becomes a speaker for the Catholic cause, exposing the tyranny of the Anglican establishment, while appealing to the English King for the tolerance of Catholic faith.

Links

GA19-07494S, research and development project

Name: Anglická divadelní kultura 1660-1737

Investor: Czech Science Foundation

Citovat

KRAJNÍK, Filip. Matthew Medbourne’s St. Cecily : or, The Converted Twins : The Medieval Saint as a Restoration Papist. In In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference & 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice. 2020.

@proceedings{1729214,
   author = {Krajník, Filip},
   booktitle = {In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference & 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice},
   keywords = {Restoration theatre; religious drama; St Cecilia},
   language = {eng},
   title = {Matthew Medbourne’s St. Cecily : or, The Converted Twins : The Medieval Saint as a Restoration Papist},
   url = {https://ff.upce.cz/ff/literature-and-cultural-studies-conference},
   year = {2020}
}

TY  - CONF
ID  - 1729214
AU  - Krajník, Filip
PY  - 2020
TI  - Matthew Medbourne’s St. Cecily : or, The Converted Twins : The Medieval Saint as a Restoration Papist
KW  - Restoration theatre
KW  - religious drama
KW  - St Cecilia
UR  - https://ff.upce.cz/ff/literature-and-cultural-studies-conference
L2  - https://ff.upce.cz/ff/literature-and-cultural-studies-conference
N2  - The paper will discuss the tragedy St. Cecily: or, The Converted Twins, a rare example of a Restoration religious play, concerned with the martyrdom of St. Cecilia, written by the Catholic actor and playwright Matthew Medbourne in 1666 and dedicated to Catherine of Braganza, the then new wife of King Charles II. As Monika Fludernik has recently demonstrated, early-modern English plays about female martyrs could be (and probably originally were) seen as veiled and ambiguous commentaries on the then current political and religious conflicts in the country. However, virtually no attention has been paid so far to Medbourne's play, perhaps because of its rather mediocre literary quality and the fact that it was never staged in its own time. This paper will examine it through the prism of the conflict between the Protestant establishment and the English Catholic minority in the 1660s, which ultimately culminated in the Exclusion Crisis in the late 1670s and the Glorious revolution of 1688. I will argue that, especially in Cecilia’s final confrontation with judge Almachius, the medieval saint becomes a speaker for the Catholic cause, exposing the tyranny of the Anglican establishment, while appealing to the English King for the tolerance of Catholic faith.
ER  -

KRAJNÍK, Filip. Matthew Medbourne’s St. Cecily : or, The Converted Twins : The Medieval Saint as a Restoration Papist. In \textit{In/Outside the Frame Conference, 15th International Cultural Studies Conference \&{} 4th International Conference on Linguistics and Language Teaching and Learning, 5th-6th November 2020, University of Pardubice, Pardubice}. 2020.

Detailed Information on Publication Record