Idle Talk – Dr. Leanne Groeneveld

Please join us on October 24, from 2:30-3:30 pm in room CM104 for our Idle Talk Series.

“then and ther a handlinge”: The case of William Appowell, Puppet Spectator and Player
Presented by: Dr. Leanne Groeneveld

William Appowell, vicar of Marston Magna, faced numerous accusations in the consistory court of the diocese of Bath and Wells from November 1584 through April 1585. The vicar and nine others were called to testify about Appowell’s problematic conduct on a number of occasions, and particularly about his bad behaviour at a local puppet show. The legal case against him either exposed the actions of a (figurative) puppet master in Marston Magna (Appowell’s misconduct suggested a larger pattern of manipulation and control), or it contrived and carefully fashioned an argument against the priest using the puppet player as type or trope.