What is truth and what is fiction? In this optimistic play, of uncertain origin, Goobet enquires into the nature of truth, encountering a range of philosophical characters who happen to be passing by the village green. The play is upbuilding for Goobet, an unlettered bumpkin, but also for us in our own day. It turns out that a “walkynge-trewth” is one that is lived and performed in real time, rather than statically mirrored, which means that our work of reading is implicated in the general afflatus with which the play concludes. In this troubling epoch of “slydyrnesse” and “(f)flottys-fact,” in which we stumble in the shadow of blind gods, Goobet’s guileless uncovering of the vanity of human claims to certainty, at the same time as revealing a higher or vertical truth which we cannot but inhabit, is an encouragement to us all.
Praise
“This welcome and long overdue edition of an important but idiosyncratic mediaeval text at last locates it fully against a broad background of both intellectual and dramatic history, and traces the remarkably complex manuscript tradition out of which it emerges. It should lay to rest irresponsible speculation about the authorship of the text, and will open up new avenues of research into the popular reception of Thomist thought. Congratulations to the editor: as the Angelic Doctor is said to have remarked about an early version of the play, non possim memetipusm melius expressisse (‘I couldn't have put it better myself’).” —ROWAN WILLIAMS, former Archbishop of Canterbury; author of Discovering Christianity and Passions of the Soul
“Some say that The Bumpkin Play is the written record of a work performed in Cambridge over many centuries on All Souls’ Day. Scholars may debate this. But there is no mistaking the energy and analytical acumen that Professor Pickstock brings to this most recent version of the text. So many features of scholastic philosophy are here given fresh voice; and the inescapable urgency of many issues, still alive in our contemporary debates, is registered with a wonderfully light touch. The work is not only an enticement to enter the sophisticated world of medieval thinking but also—with its wide range of vigorous personalities—a pleasure to perform.” —ROBIN KIRKPATRICK, Professor emeritus of Italian and English Literatures, University of Cambridge
“The Fabula Rustici, commonly known as The Bumpkin Play is, in many ways, the apogee of late medieval drama. Appearing for the first time in print, this witty and entertaining play is presented with impressive scholarly apparatus, including detailed history and explanatory notes. Professor Pickstock reveals a deep understanding not only of scholastic philosophy but also of medieval humour. She is to be congratulated on an erudite volume that captures the true spirit of the period. It is sure to be the standard edition of the play for many years to come.” —JACQUELINE TASIOULAS, Professor of Medieval English and Scots, University of Cambridge
“Oh, this is brilliant good fun. The central conceit is pulled off with virtuosity and aplomb, and is sustained throughout without faltering. And somehow the fiction makes the metaphysical arguments all the more profoundly effective. I wish more metaphysicians and theologians might imitate Pickstock’s example in these pages—if they are able.” —DAVID BENTLEY HART, author of All Things Are Full of Gods and Roland in Moonlight
“I love everything about it: the form fits the function, the humor is charming, the lampoon of scholarly conventions is absolutely off the chain (as we say in Detroit!), and a beautiful golden thread of wisdom runs throughout the text. And what a great way to introduce Aquinas!”—MICHAEL MARTIN, author of Sophia in Exile and The Submerged Reality
About the Author
CATHERINE PICKSTOCK is Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
