Mock Kings in Medieval Society and Renaissance Drama

`The story of the outlaw bands, especially in the Midlands during Edward III's absences abroad, has been told before ... but is nonetheless fascinating and put usefully to work in this present study ... the book is learned in its depiction of mock rule and evocative in its exploration of a theme in Elizabethan drama.' Speculum `provocative cross-disciplinary monograph... It is a brave and challenging thesis and one which requires a command of a wide range of primary and secondary material. And the breadth of Billington's reference, from medieval games in Cumbria to contemporary graffiti, suggests that she has risen to the challenge ... sheds interesting new light upon familiar and not so familiar plays ... a fascinating general thesis which ... will stimulate further investigation.' Greg Walker, Times Higher Education Supplement `...characteristically British scholarly work, diligently researched, apparently exhaustive,...;here, she is concerned to establish a cultural context of iconography and strategy, and she achieves this adroitly and persuasively.' David Ian Rabey, Theatre Research International `This is a book which brings together a lot of different material and often makes good sense out of it....Where readers need information and argument they will find much to interest them;...' Sally Mapstone, Folklore `We can now see the full scope of Dr Billington's wide-ranging exploration which brings together the disciplines of folklore and English literature, often against a background of politics.' Shadow 'Billington's work is ... valuable for its recovery of the popular roots of a pervasive motif in Renaissance drama.' Lisa M. Klein, Ohio State University, Literature & History, third series 2/1 'the book proposes exciting connections and offers readings which are often challenging and provocative ... The book is to be valued for the enterprise and breadth of its scholarship, for its critical readings of particular plays, and for the stimulating suggestiveness of its thesis ... its approach is challenging and often proves rewarding.' David Mills, University of Liverpool, Review of English Studies, Vol. 44, No. 176, Nov '93 `The 'ritual' under discussion is the election of a lord of misrule, the 'mock king' figure...Billington's study adds significantly to our knowledge about this practice and locates it within a specifically sociopolitical framework...it may...inspire others to make use of the socio-historical and theatrical materials it introduces and to continue the dialogue.' Medieaval and Renaissance Drama in England