| Publication of an anonymous verse rendition of the gospel narrative on the Passion of Christ, in the form of a dramatic dialogue in rhyming fifteen-syllable lines. As can be concluded from the linguistic form, which is based on Cretan dialect and some archaisms, the poet was a 16th century Cretan. The copyist may have come from Magna Graecia, since certain linguistic features typical of Greek dialects in the area have been introduced. The poet closely follows the respective excerpts in the gospels of Matthew and John, as well as in the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus. Like the Threnos eis ta Pathe kai ten Staurosin tou Christou (Lament on the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ), written by fellow Cretan Marinos Falieros, this religious drama bears striking similarities to the western Passion plays. |