1. MEDIEVAL THEATRE 400 AD – 1400 AD

2. Medieval Theatre After the fall of Rome the 600’s A.D., came a period known to us as the "dark ages." Much political turmoil – no reliable political structure The Church was the only stable "government" The church exerted increasing influence. In the 4 th Century, the Bishop of Rome, claiming to be the successor to St. Peter, established supremacy in church matters and in secular concerns. Feudalism – the manor was the chief non-church political entity. The manor (large estate), headed by a nobleman, had absolute authority over the serfs, (peasants) who worked the land. Lords of manors were vassals, or subjects, of a king. The king’s knights protected the lords and their land. Serfs (servants) owed allegiance to their lord.

3. Medieval drama seems naïve if we don’t understand the period. They have little sense of history – reflecting the limited knowledge of the people. Comic elements appeared in plays that were otherwise quite serious, and had as their purpose to teach Biblical stories and principles to the people. The medieval mind looked at the temporal world (Earth) as transitory; Heaven and Hell were the eternal realities.

4. Playwrights Most plays were signed anonymous

5. Mummings: a theatrical drama in which people represent the order of vegetation. Many of the performers dressed in costumes that signified that they were a plant of some sort. These drama's had a short plot and were often preformed in the basement of a bar. They were humorous in which there was always a clown. In other words, there was always a character within the plot that was the butt of every joke and often gets fooled to cause havoc. These performances were performed during the dark time of the year. In each plot the hero dies, but is always brought back to life.

6. Mystery Plays: a drama that explores the most known stories within the bible. Mystery plays were extremely prevalent in the 15th century. They were heavily religious and were the heart of the Corpus Christi Festival in medieval times. These dramas became obsolete when the focus of dramas were no longer religious.

7. Miracle Plays: a drama that accounted the life of a saint Sometimes the drama was focused on the martyrdom of the saint; sometimes the drama focused on the miracles the saint either witnessed or performed. These dramas could either be real stories or fictitious ones.

8. Morality Plays: characters within the drama personify moral qualities to teach moral lessons In these dramas the plot led to teaching the audience how to be a good Christian, or how to be a person worthy of heaven. In other words, these dramas were allegories of correct Christian behavior.

9. Manners: the first secular dramas These dramas were the beginning of breaking the tradition of keeping a religious purpose in the theatre world during the Medieval time period. Because of this genre of drama mummings, mystery, miracle, and morality plays began to become obsolete.

10. RENAISSANCE 1400 AD – 1600 AD

11. Around 1300 (had beginnings in 1200’s) the Renaissance, founded primarily in Italy. Renaissance = rebirth. There were new ideas, based on classical teachings. By the 16th century, the Renaissance had permeated most of European thought.

12. Religious and political controversies. Henry VIII, Mary Queen of Scots, Puritans Medieval Influences: dramas and interludes Acting became a legal profession in the 1570’s. Males performed female roles.

13. The Playwrights Christopher Marlowe (1564-1593): Marlowe was indisputably the foremost English playwright preceding Shakespeare His influence on Shakespeare seems as personal as it was professional; Shakespeare pays tribute to him in As You Like It when Rosalind quotes a line from Marlowe's unfinished poem, Hero and Leander.

14. John Fletcher (1579-1625): Fletcher is the only playwright on this list known to have partnered with Shakespeare (Henry VIII, The Two Noble Kinsmen). In fact, Fletcher basically took over as principal dramatist for the King's Men upon Shakespeare's retirement. The majority of his work was collaborative; as sole author, he is best known for The Faithful Shepherdess and Valentinian.

15. And of course…