nd full of mysterious black recesses and hints of
infinity. Behind the high altar a _praesepe_ or "crib" was prepared, with
an image of the Virgin. After the "Te Deum" had been sung five canons or
their vicars, clad in albs and amices, entered by the great door of the
choir, and proceeded towards the apse. These were the shepherds. Suddenly
from high above them came a clear boy's voice: "Fear not, behold I bring
you good tidings of great joy," and the rest of the angelic message. The
"multitude of the heavenly host" was represented by other boys stationed
probably |125| in the triforium galleries, who broke out into the
exultant "Gloria in excelsis." Singing a hymn, "Pax in terris nunciatur,"
the shepherds advanced towards the crib where two priests--the
midwives--awaited them. These addressed to the shepherds the question
"Whom seek ye in the manger?" and then came the rest of the "Quem
quaeritis" which we already know, a hymn to the Virgin being sung while
the shepherds adored the Infant. Mass followed immediately, the little
drama being merely a prelude.{4}

More important than this Office of the Shepherds is an Epiphany play
called by various names, "Stella," "Tres Reges," "Magi," or "Herodes,"
and found in different forms at Limoges, Rouen, Laon, Compiegne,
Strasburg, Le Mans, Freising in Bavaria, and other places. Mr. E. K.
Chambers suggests that its kernel is a dramatized Offertory. It was a
custom for Christian kings to present gold, frankincense, and myrrh at
the Epiphany--the offering is still made by proxy at the Chapel Royal,
St. James's--and Mr. Chambers takes "the play to have served as a
substitute for this ceremony, when no king actually regnant was
present."{5} Its most essential features were the appearance of the Star
of Bethlehem to the Magi, and their offering of the mystic gifts. The
star, bright with candles, hung from the roof of the church, and was
sometimes made to move.

In the Rouen version of the play it is ordered that on the day of the
Epiphany, Terce having been sung, three clerics, robed as kings, shall
come from the east, north, and south, and meet before the altar, with
their servants bearing the offerings of the Magi. The king from the east,
pointing to the star with his stick, exclaims:--

"Stella fulgore nimio rutilat. (The star glows with exceeding
brightness.)"

The second monarch answers:

"Quae regem regum natum demonstrat. (Which shows the birth of the
Kin