1. Dramatic Liturgy and Liturgical Drama
drama revived within the liturgy of 10C Christian Church
“dramatic” elements in the services
from ritual to drama
the Easter Quem quaeritis trope illustrates bible story

2. 11th and 12th Century Drama Easter, Christmas and Innocents’ Day drama
“non-liturgical” dramatizations of other stories from the Bible, e.g. Temptation of Adam and Eve, Daniel in the Lions’ Den, Raising of Lazarus
significant embellishment of Biblical text
sophisticated creations of learned men; works of wisdom and piety, not designed to educate laity
began to be staged outside the church

3. Miracle Plays Miracle Play = saint’s play popular from 12th century CE
dramatization of life, martyrdom or miracles of a saint
emphasis on lurid adventure and miraculous happenings fantastic stories, highly sensational
free of Biblical constraints that characterized most church drama, but combined tale of adventure with act of worship often performed in church on the saint’s (feast) day

4. The Morality Play new genre for theatre in early 14th century
dramatization of spiritual crisis in the life of a representative individual Christian
allegorical method of presentation - personified abstractions representing good and evil [Death shown as a person for ex]
designed to instruct the faithful in correct behavior
a formative influence on Renaissance drama

5. Mystery Plays 14C - 16C in northern England (200 years)
drawn from books of the Bible; portrays divine history of the world
very long, up to 16 hours
divided into episodes, or pageants
staged outdoors
in the vernacular (Middle English), not in Latin
whole community was involved (church/town)
notable for scope, scale

6. How were Medieval Plays Staged?
pageant wagons drawn in a procession through the town
individual fixed scaffolds
acting in the round (arena theatre)
methods of production may have varied

7. Presentation Style
Some towns, mansions would provide a backdrop for heaven at one end and hell would be portrayed at another location with parts of the story in between
Crowds would move to see the action.
Marketplace stages, situated around the square
England, France, and Netherlands developed the Pageant Wagon

8. Medieval Pageant Wagon
Double-decker
Lower story for costume changes
Action on upper stage and around the street.
Similar to parade floats.

9. Staging Devices
Hell’s Mouth – dragon jaw that would open with smoke and flames; sometimes showed tortured souls

10. Secular Plays
Several non-religious plays were developed in Medieval times
Most notable are the Robin Hood Plays and Master Pierre Patelin

11. Impact of Medieval Drama
Main Impact: Because the actors got much closer to their audience, acting became more important than dialogue.
Also…Mixed comedy and seriousness, which transitioned into Italian and Elizabethan drama.