"Abraham and Isaac" from the Brome, Suffolk Play

"Abraham and Isaac" from the Brome, Suffolk Play:

From a manuscript that may have never actually had a full cycle performance, the Brome "Abraham and Isaac" focuses on the pathetic dynamic of a father who has been commanded to slay his own son. The narrative of the play does not drift in any significant manner from the biblical tradition, but the dialogue between Abraham and Isaac, lamenting over the deed that must be done, goes on for a few hundred lines. Isaac first questions what wrong he has done to deserve killing, citing that he would gladly lay down his life if he is guilty, then moves into asking his father to do the deed quickly and to lie to his mother so that she would not have to deal with the grief of losing her son on top of the knowledge that her husband had killed him. The focus on pathos here is similar to the above image from the Ghiberti baptistery doors in Florence, where the Angel (and not Angle as I seem to first type every time) literally holds back the hand of Abraham at the last minute. Even after he learns that God has granted him his life, Isaac still worries that he will be slain, specifically asking his father not to strike him down when he bends over to tend the fire. 

Beyond the pathos of Isaac's near-sacrifice, the aspect of this play that interests me is the contractual relationship between Abraham and God. Early on, Abraham indicates that his land and property is rented from God; "Thow hast goffe me both lond and rent, / and my lyvelod thow hast me sent" (4-5). God's request for an additional sacrifice could, on the surface, appear to be an alteration to the nature of the contract with Abraham that previously required the sacrifice of livestock in exchange for land and well-being. However, this ties into a larger discussion of the exchange dynamics of spiritual reward and God's grace that crops up in a great deal of Middle English literature. Grace cannot be purchased, even with good works, as that grace represents an exchange value that no human action can ever pay for. Furthermore, considering such an exchange in the dynamic of need based economics, mankind has a much greater need for God's grace than God has need for anything mankind can provide. Faith, and the good works that come from that faith, may earn grace, but cannot pay for it. When God asks Abraham for a new sacrifice, he is not altering a 1:1 economic contract but instead asking for a test of faith to determine if grace will be granted.