1. Medieval Drama
Everyman

2. Why is the period after the fall of Rome known as the “dark ages”?
The period after the fall of Rome is known as the “dark ages” because
Much political turmoil
The reliable political structure
The Church became the only stable “government”

3. How did the Church gain so much influence in the area of drama?
The Church exerted increasing influence based on Bishop of Rome’s claim as successor to St. Peter
Established supremacy in Church matters and in secular concerns
Many Church edicts against mimes, histriones, ioculatores—terms for secular performers

4. Little is known about the theatre between 600-1000 AD
What fact can be found related to the early development of drama in the Church?
Little is known about the theatre between AD
References to actors (histriones), jugglers, rope dancers in nomadic tribes
Remnants of Roman mimes, popular pagan festivals and rites
Teutonic minstrels or troubadours (scops) became the primary preservers of tribal histories
After tribes converted to Christianity (7th-8th c), scops denounced; branded as bad as mimes

5. Church was the literate area of society, so what we know about theatrical performance is greater in the relgious domain
Plays by classical Roman authors were transcribed in monasteries, but were not performed
Classical Roman dramas were curated and studied for their to the learning of Latin

6. Church has its own form of performances in the mass, the divine office, music, processions, and Easter rituals
All these had elements of theatre, but much conducted out of sight of the general public behind the screens of the chancel
Elements of theatre found in Church services included costumes, a written script, singing, sounds, smells, and the richly decorated interior of the Church

7. Between 925 and 975, drama introduced into the church services, reborn in the very institution that shut it down
Church music become more elaborate with increasingly intricate variations added to the simple monophonic music known as the Gregorian chant
Elaborations known as topes (figurative/symbolic language) were added to certain significant passages

8. Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester, wrote instructions for the earliest recorded form of liturgical drama (part of the church service of liturgy)
At a significant point in the celebration of Matins at Easter, during the performance of the tropes, four brothers (monks) were to enact the three Maries and the angel at the empty sepulcher of Christ
Sung performance, and actors wore ecclesiastical vestments

9. Earliest extant [still in existence, not destroyed] drama from the Middle Ages
Four-line dramatization of the resurrection, with direction for its performance
Comes from an Easter trope (interpolation into existing text, originally lengthened musical passage with words eventually added)
Sung by a choir at first
Called the “Quem Quaeritis”
Three Maries come to the tomb of Jesus, and the angel asks them whom they are seeking:
“Whom seek ye in the tomb, O Christians?”
Jesus of Nazereth, the crucified, O heavenly beings
He is not here, he is risen as he foretold;
Go and announce that he is risen from the tomb

10. Little by little this Easter scene was enlarged
Similar attention was given to the birth of Christ in a manager
By 975, it had become a little drama within the service, probably played by altar boys
Practice blossomed—many playlets developed dealing with Biblical themes—mostly Easter, Christmas, the 12th night (feast of the Epiphany)
Usually serious, but at Feast of Fools and the Feast of the Boy Bishops, much dancing, foolishness, and parodies of church practices occurred
Eventually other Biblical scenes and lives the saints were added

11. Before 1200, most drama still being done inside the Church
Plays still recited in Latin, the language of the Church
Two main areas for the performances:
Mansions—church structure usually served as mansions (choir loft might serve as heaven; the altar the tomb of Christ)
Platea—general acting area
Machinery used
Could fly Christ up to heaven or have angels come down to earth
Costumes were probably ordinary church vestments

12. Between 1200 and 1350, most dramas were outside
Recited in the vernacular (language of the common man), rather than Latin
Stimulus for the development of vernacular religious drama performed outside the church—the establishment of the Feast of Corpus Christi
Announced by Pope Urban IV in 1264
Instituted by Clement V in 1311
Required exposition of the themes of the Fall, redemption, and Judgment
Held in midsummer when days were long and the people, in general, were in festive mood
Laymen were actors—male members of the community—unpaid
Stories began to widen in scope when not part of the liturgy
Church seemed to support these dramas

13. While Church began to lose control over the dramas, they remained basically religious in nature.    Guilds or trade/craftsmen groups took over in some cities     Guilds were like trade unions combined with a social club     Guilds cooperated in staging cycles of plays that dramatized the whole history of human race as then understood:  creation by God, fall through the wiles of Satan, life in Old Testament times, redemption by Christ, and final judgment at the end of the world

14.     Certain guilds retained control over certain plays/stories—usually those based in some way on that particular guild’s arts     Bakers’ Guild would control the play about the Last Supper     Shipwrights’ Guild would control plays about Noah and the Flood     Municipalities took over productions in some cities     Church still reserved the right to approve scripts, even when its role diminished     Plays performed in cycles—the most famous in England: York, Chester, Coventry, and Wakefield     Each guild had its own play to perform in the cycle     Cycles might include up to 48 plays     Comic elements appeared in plays that were otherwise very serious

15. Three kinds of religious plays existed
Three kinds of religious plays existed.    Mystery plays – about Christ or from the Old Testament (Second Shepherd’s Play is one of the most famous)     Miracle plays – about lives of the saints, historical and legendary     Morality plays—didactic allegories, often of common man’s struggle for salvation (Everyman is most famous)     Common characteristics of religious plays     Aimed to teach or reinforce Church doctrine     Melodramatic:  good rewarded; evil punished     God and his plan were the driving forces, not the characters