THESIS

Thesis:

In an otherwise macabre culture,

fraught with epidemic paranoia, the Medieval

Morality Play, Everyman, presented a more
palatable and theologically grounded portrayal
of death as an Agent of God.

MoniqueSmith
ENGL102

DEATH
AGENT OF GOD

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DEATH: Agent of God

Thesis: In an otherwise macabre culture, fraught with epidemic paranoia, the
Medieval Morality Play, Everyman, presented a more palatable and theologically
grounded portrayal of death as an Agent of God.
1) Preoccupation with Death
a) Death is everywhere
i) Plague
ii) Famine and Violence
b) Death is unexplained
2) Portrait of Death
a) Death is personified
i) Insidious Predator
b) Death is macabre
3) Perception of Death
a) General public
b) Church priesthood
4) Preparation for Death
a) Dying Well
b) Penitential Process
5) Pilgrimage of Death
a) Death as Agent
i) Death as Messenger
ii) Death as Educator
iii) Death as Divine

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The plague swept through villages and towns faster than bodies could be
buried.

Man, woman and child rich, poor and priesthood royal and

peasant randomly strewn with mangled limbs intertwined. Death: the great
equalizer. The Black Death, lethal union of Bubonic and Pneumonic Plague,
riddled 7 out of every 10 bodies with excruciating hideous eruptions that
threatened to decompose the very flesh of the still-breathing. Those that survived
were haunted with images of grotesque corpses and the smell of decay that
permeated the air.

The Triumph of Death.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder's famous painting portrays death as a legion of skeletons, attacking society
with widespread epidemic catastrophe. From peasant to jester to executioner to king, no one is spared.
The Plague had come to the battlefield as well.

Europe was already

entrenched in turmoil. Food was still scarce, despite the passing of The Great
Famine. Not too soon, either, for a starving soldier rarely sees victory. Little did
they know, the conflict with France would earn the historic title, Hundred Year
War. (Fossier, 1986)

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Many people attempted to isolate themselves in hopes of preventing

infection and avoid the violence of war. Although, seemingly rational in and of
itself, extended isolation is known to intensify fear and despair, giving birth to
panic and paranoia. With mental stability teetering dangerously on the edge of
insanity, people struggled to find meaning, or an explanation, in the face of grisly
symptoms and catastrophic death tolls. (Scott & Renaissance, 2002)
The people of the middle ages sought a resolve for the angst of certain
death and uncertain afterlife.

"Medieval medicine was not equal to the

challenge of preventing or curing the plague."(Kastenbaum, 2002) Medicine and

Monarchy, as they were equally afflicted, were clearly not responsible, leaving
foreigners, sorcery and apocalyptic judgment to blame. With mob-like mentality,
bizarre practices were adopted including flagellantism, spontaneous persecution
of foreigners and witch hunts. Someone was to blame.
Nonetheless, unanswered questions remained. History confirms that in the
absence of answers, mankind tends to make them up. When left to imagination,
Everyman can create terrifying images or decadent delights.
TheNurembergChronicles:Death

he imagination had much to work on.

Daily experience was saturated with
dying, death, and grief.

Death had

seized the center of the human imagination and

would not readily ease its grip. Macabre
depictions of Death as skeleton, corpse, or
hooded figure [is] not difficult to understand
when one considers that social disorganization
under the stress of the Black Death had severely
damaged the shield that had protected the living
from too many raw encounters with the
dead. (Kastenbaum, 2002)

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Although mankind is the only living creature fully aware of its mortality, this
does not presuppose that an inherent, and equivocal, level of comprehension
exists as well. For the people of the Late Middle Ages, awareness of mortality
without context, meaning a full understanding of physical death and spiritual
outcome, led to fear. One most readily would admit that fear of the unknown
can paralyze, making even the simplest daily routine impossible. However, the
fear of the known, meaning the fear of a specific entity, whether person or
event, allows the associated emotions to be compartmentalized. Tucked away
safely behind a virtual door, the panic and angst remains at bay until triggered
by said enemy. In the meantime, everyday lives, rich with simple routine, are
carried out. No longer ever-present and debilitating, the fear of the unknown
is now the known, however intangible the enemy may be. Likewise, the people
of the medieval realm faced an unknown force with unexplained power.
Rather than fear Death, in its elusive and abstract form, Death was personified
into an enemy with an imagined likeness; one worthy of the dread it represented.
On the blank canvas of the unexplained, the population displayed their
very imaginings illustrating the intensity of emotion that mere words seemed
helpless to convey. The Portrait of Death, and its perverted power, took shape in
the morbid and macabre. Artistic artifacts from the time period depict Death as
both morbid and macabre: an insidious presence that finds delicious pleasure in
pursuit of prey. This battle, between the living and the creature was commonly
called The Dance of Death. (Holbein, 1971)
In the midst of decimated villages and overall devastation, the Church
desperately tried to be a source of comfort. Against the backdrop of the Great
Famine, the Hundred Years' War and Black Death, theological focus was shifted
from the judgment of collective humanity (at the end of time) to individual
judgment at the time of death. (Kastenbaum, 2002) A judgment that could be
lessened with a moral life and a good death.
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Therefore, death could be defined as a moral journey of sorts. The process

of dying began at birth. The sons and daughters of Adam, namely Everyman,
was born into a broken and dying world. Each physical body housed a soul that
was born longing to be reunited with its creator. To be in union with God as
Creator was to be alive, yet to be among the living was to be spiritually dead.
How then, could a soul born into sin, meaning born in to the curse of death,
escape from such a wretched fate?

In other words, how could one be

salvaged redeemed set freesaved?

A divine moral order shaped the medieval
understanding

of

salvation

as

linear

narrative from the Creation to the Last

Judgment. In the face of God's final ruling
over each soul, Christ's death on the cross to
redeem the sins of mankind offered hope.
(The J. Paul Getty Trust, 2012)

Although physical death could not be

prevented, spiritual life was eternal. In the
face of death, one need not be afraid.
The very purpose of life, then, was to prepare
for the afterlife by avoiding sin, performing
good works, taking part in the sacraments,
and

keeping

to

the

teachings

of

the

Denise Poncher before a Vision of Death

church.(Bovie Ph.D., n.d.)

This striking image was likely a reminder of mortality and

the importance of prayer in protecting the soul. (Master
of the Chronique Scandaleuse, 1500)

The Roman Catholic Church provided parishioners with a doctrinal map,

sighting consecutive waypoints to Destination Eternal: Saviors scourging,
crucifixion, resurrection, redemption, free will, good deeds, contrition, confession,

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penance, extreme unction, judgment, and salvation. With guide in hand,

Everyman need not fear Death. When Death began to whisper, arrangements
could be made for the afterlife of the soul; namely, a priest in attendance to
escort him or her through the penitential process and administer the Last Rites.
Surrounded by family and priest, the dying was prepared to give an account
for the earthly life he was lent. (BBC Four, 2013)
Proper preparation for death - Artes Moriendi, The Good Death - provided
the dying person a chance to put things right near the end if matters were
amiss in any way. Being alive and dying now afforded an opportunity for
reparation before the actual embarkation on the journey as dead and dying.
Religious preparation for the journey that lies ahead was now available to the
living dying person so that prayers could be said for and by that person.
(Kellehear, 2007)
On the other hand, sudden or unexpected death the bad death- was
of great concern to the people of the middle ages. Without the traditional
Christian deathbed rituals, confession and receiving the Last Rites, along with the
risk of presenting an incomplete or unrepaired account at judgment, the fate of
the soul was jeopardized. In addition, the lack of Penance for sins committed
ensured a longer stay in Purgatory or, worse, Hell.
Accordingly, the art of dying and the continual death of living, became
the theological crux of Church doctrine in the Late Middle Ages.

Plausibly

intended as visual, liturgical instruction, the now infamous morality play entitled
Everyman made its debut.

Everyman served to challenge the ubiquitous

perception of Death, personified as an insidious predator or sadistic jester, and

present an alternative: biblically based and theologically sound.

A clever

adaptation to 15th century thought, the Anonymous author used the theatrical
element of character to modify the errant character of personified Death. By
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remaining in character, per say, the audience was receptive to instruction.

Here in, Death is both Messenger and Educator: The Agent of God
Death as His Messenger.
In the beginning of the play, Death is portrayed as a messenger of
God. God calls upon His mighty messenger to deliver justice in His name:

That needs on them I must do justice,

On Everyman living without fear.
Where art thou, Death, thou mighty messenger?

Death responds:

D E A T H : Almighty God, I am here at your will,

Your commandment to fulfill.

Lines 61-65 (Adu-Gyamfi & Schmidt, 2010)

It is important to note that Death promptly arrives at Gods request, which implies
that it is God Himself who summons Death at the time of His choosing. Additionally, Death
states, I am here at Your will to fulfill Your commandment. From a theological
standpoint, keen insight can be revealed into the relationship between God and Death.
Clearly, Death is accountable to God, as His superior, and purposed to carry out
whatever God orders.
The authoritative nature of the relationship, implied within the text, and the obvious
hierarchy, God over Death, alludes to the intrinsic roles within military command. The
commanding officer gives an order, which those under his or her command are
expected to follow without question.

The soldiers believe that whatever their

commander asks of them will result in a contribution to a noble greater good. Their faith
is not so much in the order itself, nor the order that was given to their commander, but in
the character and convictions of their leader. They believe in the order because they
believe in him.
Similarly, Death intently listens to Gods directions, as a soldier listens to his C.O.:
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Go thou to Everyman,
And show him in my name
A pilgrimage he must on him take,
Which he in no wise may escape;
And that he bring with him a sure reckoning
Without delay or any tarrying.

Lines 66-71 (Adu-Gyamfi & Schmidt, 2010)

In the above lines, God orders Death to go in My name [tell] Everyman

that he must take a pilgrimage and bring a sure reckoning. Tell him this must be done
immediately, without delay or dawdling, and that it is inevitable: no possibility for
excuse or escape.

God has given Death the authority to speak on His behalf which

presupposes that Death understands Gods intent.

Death as His Educator.
Death has been summoned by God, not as slayer or wraith, but as an Educator
sent on His behalf to request a reckoning. The monologue given by God at the beginning
of the play reveals how His creation have become illiterate in His ways:

I perceive here in my majesty,

How that all the creatures be to me unkind,
Living without dread in worldly prosperity:
Of ghostly sight the people be so blind,
Drowned in sin, they know me not for their God; (Adu-Gyamfi & Schmidt, 2010)

God has been watching and listening to His creation. He is disappointed to

discover their lack of concern for His approval. They have become so engrossed in the
things of the world that lost sight of the eternal. So consumed, they do not recognize the
voice of their God.

My law that I shewed, when I for them died,

They forget clean, and shedding of my blood red;

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I hanged between two, it cannot be denied;

To get them life I suffered to be dead;
I healed their feet; with thorns hurt was my head:
I could do no more than I did truly,
And now I see the people do clean forsake me. (Adu-Gyamfi & Schmidt, 2010)

God laments over the sacred history that His creation has forgotten. Their very life,
He bought and paid for with His blood. With His suffering, He healed their pain. As if
throwing His hands in the air with despair, He proclaims that He has given everything for
them there is nothing more He can give. How can My death not be enough for them?

For and I leave the people thus alone

In their life and wicked tempests,
Verily they will become much worse than beasts;
For now one would by envy another up eat;
Charity they all do clean forget.

And thereto I had them all elect;

But now I see, like traitors deject,
They thank me not for the pleasure that I to them meant,
Nor yet for their being that I them have lent; (Adu-Gyamfi & Schmidt, 2010)

Herein lies Gods motivation: His true reason for action. If man is left to himself,
without Divine intervention, he will abandon all semblance of humanity and resort to feral
measures.

Eventually mankind will morally implode. Man was intended to live in

"community," however unfettered "wicked tempests" lead mankind to "devour" each

other and forget "charity" all together. They claim the Goods I let them borrow as if they
were entitled refusing to help those in need. The most dangerous enemy of every man,
is Everyman himself.
Enter Death as His educator.

Upon finding Everyman, Death begins an

interactive educational exchange:

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DEATH:

What, weenest thou thy life is given thee,

And thy worldly goods also?

Everyman:

I had went so verily.

DEATH:

Nay, nay; it was but lent thee;

For as soon as thou art go,
Another awhile shall have it, and then go therefor
Even as thou hast done. 161-167 (Adu-Gyamfi & Schmidt, 2010)

As previously noted, God clarifies that all worldly goods and pleasures are lent to them
from His own coffers. Death, then addresses the issue with Everyman by re-educating
him that all he has was lent to him by God. Further affirmation of this truth is reiterated by
worldly Goods, himself:
Goods: What, weenest thou that I am thine?

Everyman:

I had wend so.

Goods: Nay, Everyman, say no;

As for a while I was lent thee,
A season thou hast had me in prosperity;
Therefore to thy soul Good is a thief;
For when thou art dead, this is my guise
Another to deceive in the same wise
As I have done thee, and all to his souls reprieve

(Lines 437-450)

Secondly, Death patiently endures a question and answer session as Everyman

attempts to process his imminent reckoning. The ordeal is summarized by P. S. Spinrad,
in The Summons of Death on the Medieval and Renaissance English Stage, as follows:

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First he attempts to bribe Death:

Everyman: In thy power it lieth me to save,

Yet of my goods I give thee, if thou will be kind;
Yea, a thousand pound shalt thou have,
If thou defer this matter to another day. (120-l3)

When this plea fails, Everyman asks for a reprieve of twelve

years so that he can amend his "book of reckoning" and make
himself ready for judgment. Death will have none of this.
Now becoming frantic, Everyman grasps at any straw that
will make his journey easier to contemplate. Will he come
back again if his reckoning is acceptable? Death says no.
Will he be able to take his friends along? Death says only if
he can find any who are willing to go.

Finally, Death

impatiently tells Everyman that he is being "mad," and

Everyman, who had earlier tried to bargain -- first for a
reprieve until some indefinite "other day" and then for a
respite of "twelve years" -- now reduced to begging for just one
more day. (Spinrad, 1987)

Death as Gods educator serves as a catalyst for change. Deaths imminent

pursuit initiates a chain of events that will require Everyman to make choose between
himself and God. Death has conveyed the message that God requested and has
attempted to correct the lies within Everymans belief system, in honor of his defining role:
Agent of God. Death states:

D E A T H : Lord, I will in the world go run over all,

And cruelly outsearch both great and small;
Every man will I beset that liveth beastly
Out of Gods laws, and dreadeth not folly;
He that loveth riches I will strike with my dart,

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His sight to blind, and from heaven to depart,

Except that alms be his good friend,
In hell for to dwell, world without end.

(Adu-Gyamfi & Schmidt, 2010)

The above excerpt (Lines 72-77) serves as a culmination: the key unlocking the
nature of Death as Gods Agent. According to the play, God has expressed deep
disappointment in His creation, listing several specific complaints. However, Death had
not yet been summoned. The verbal interchange between Death and God is rather
short: just enough time to give Death his instructions. When comparing that brief interlude
with the lines from Deaths monologue above, the dissemination of information appears
to incongruent.
How then, can Death assume to know the heart of God? How does Death know
that God is specifically disturbed that Everyman is not concerned by his foolish conduct
(dreadeth not folly) or his love for money?

Although the origin of Deaths

foreknowledge is not divulged within the text, one must deduce that Death is a
confidante of the Most High or God has revealed the nature of His character to Death.
Either way, it could be inferred that Death is a member of the Inner Circle, per say. The
relationship between Death and God is indubitably intimate; thusly, Death is the ideal
choice in Agency. Who better to act in His name than the one who knows His heart?

Furthermore, Deaths use of words, such as beastly, cruelly and [worthy of a]

strike with my dart, are indicative of moral alignment. This signifies Death to be a
partial agent as opposed to impartial. Death agrees to convey Gods message
because he is responsible to Him, intimately acquainted with Him and in agreement
with Him.

Romans 13:4
For he is the minister of God to you for good. But if you do that which is evil, be afraid; for he
bears not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath on him
that does evil. (American King James Version)

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References

Adu-Gyamfi, Y., & Schmidt, M. R. (2010). Literature and Spirituality: Longman.

BBC Four (Producer). (2013, 30 April, 2014). Medieval Lives Birth, Marriage, Death
Episode 3 A Good Death. Medieval Lives Birth, Marriage, Death. [Video]
Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmcEHzcEEI4
Bovie Ph.D., Alexie. (n.d.). Medieval Realms: Death. Learning Medieval Realms.
Retrieved 5 May, 2014, from
http://www.bl.uk/learning/histcitizen/medieval/death/medievaldeath.html

Fossier, Robert. (1986). The Cambridge illustrated history of the Middle Ages.
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press.
Holbein, Hans Ltzelburger Hans Corrozet Gilles Vauzelles Jean de. (1971). The Dance of
Death. New York: Dover Publications.
Kastenbaum, Robert. (2002). Black Death. In R. Kastenbaum (Ed.), Macmillan
Encyclopedia of Death and Dying (Vol. 1, pp. 62-66). New York: Macmillan
Reference USA.
Kellehear, Allan. (2007). A social history of dying. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Master of the Chronique Scandaleuse. (1500). Denise Poncher before a Vision of Death
(pp. Tempera colors, ink, and gold on parchment). Los Angelos, CA: The J. Paul
Getty Trust Museum.

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Scott, Anne Kosso Cynthia Arizona Center for Medieval, & Renaissance, Studies. (2002).
Fear and its representations in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Turnhout;
Cheltenham: Brepols ; European Schoolbooks] (distributor).
Spinrad, P. S. (1987). The Summons of Death on the Medieval and Renaissance English
Stage: Ohio State University Press.
The J. Paul Getty Trust. (2012). Images of Death in the Middle Ages. Heaven, Hell, and
Dying Well. Retrieved 30 April, 2014, from
https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/death_middle_ages/

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