Title Page of A True and Fearful Vexation of One Alexander Nyndge (London)

Title Page of A True and Fearful Vexation of One Alexander Nyndge (London)

Demonic Possession

This print comes from the title page of a play called A True and Fearful Vexation of One Alexander Nyndge, performed in London in 1615. This seventeenth century print includes images of actors on the title page. The play tells the story of a possession narrative and was probably intended to illustrate the connection between the Devil and the theatre. Alexander's brother Edward, who wrote the narrative, says that Alexander during his possession resembled the picture of a Devil in a play. Puritans objected to the theatre because male actors playing female roles, as depicted on this page, violated the biblical prohibition of transvestitism and because plays were considered to be the work of the Devil. This image comes from The Devil Within: Possession and Exorcism in the Christian West by Brian P. Levack

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The Devil Within: Possession and Exorcism in the Christian West

Yale University Press

1615, 17th century

Brian P. Levack

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Print

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Still Image

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