Four so-called abel plays: Esmoreit, Gloriant, Lancelot of Denmark, and The Debate of Winter and Summer, along with the farces accompanying them in performance: Lippin, Blow-in-the-Box, The Witch, and Ruben. Each is among the earliest known secular dramas in any vernacular. Prins's introduction describes the manuscript and the language, style, and structure of the plays, and places their performance history in socio-cultural context. An appendix includes a sample of the original text.