Titivillus, the collector of verbal mistakes
About the work
Imported from the workbook's Full reassessment sheet, revised 7 October 2026 (record ID 64). The assessment below is the workbook's comparative judgment under its stated criteria; source links and limits are retained.
Workbook assessment: Spread only
Date or witness: 13th–15th centuries
Region: Western European sermon and theatre traditions
Workbook date-sort bounds: 1200 CE to 1500 CE; these bounds are not automatically invention or disappearance dates.
Description
A small demon gathers omitted liturgical syllables, careless speech and church gossip in a bag or scroll; later appears as a comic tempter in Mankind and the Towneley Judgment play.
Evidence of adoption or transmission
The named demon passes through sermon material and later theatre, including Mankind.
What remains uncertain
A character in different authored religious works is not by itself evidence of bottom-up adoption. Commercial or public performance widens potential audience but does not prove organic propagation by that audience.
Workbook revision note: Reassessed using grassroots criteria