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English secular drama developed from church cerimonies and liturgical drama. During the Middle Ages plays were performed
in Latin by the clergy and the choir that sang the service, as part of the liturgy of the Church. As early as the fifth century,
bible stories were represented in church by means of live tableaux accompanied by singing.
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From such simple beginnings, liturgical drama developed gradually over several centuries as parts of the liturgy;
they were embellished by interpolation, called “tropes”, and then elaborated into dialogues and short re-
enactments of scenes from the Easter story and the Nativity. Eventually the laity began to participate and
vernacular elements were included.
From such simple beginnings, liturgical drama developed gradually over several centuries as parts of the liturgy;
they were embellished by interpolation, called “tropes”, and then elaborated into dialogues and short re-
enactments of scenes from the Easter story and the Nativity. Eventually the laity began to participate and
vernacular elements were included.
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Towards the end of the Middle Ages (1400-1499), the most common form of literature in England was the
mystery and morality plays. These plays were very different in terms of theatrical
presentation, yet very similar in terms of intent.
Characteristics common to both were that they were intended to instruct people about religious issues - the goal was to educate, enlighten, or evangelize; both were
about the same topics - human spirituality;
They were popular and well-attended in England during the Middle Ages and brought literature to the masses.
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Even the wealthiest citizens, living in relative cleanliness and certain comfort, had very little protection against disease: and to wake with a headache could easily mean death before nightfall.
The plays flourished in an era when life was, for the most part, horrible. Fleas and filth were a normal part of everyday life and
sudden death was an ever-present threat.
In a world without electric light, the power of darkness was very real, and a walk
through the smelly and unquiet streets at night could be a foretaste of hell.
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Against this terrifying backdrop, the church offered a different vision: bright candlelight, the clean aroma
of incense, shining colours, soaring music - all seen to represent the beauty of Heaven. Thus to the
people who first wrote and watched the Mystery Plays,…
…the battle between Good and Evil was not theoretical theology, but an all-pervading fact of life.
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Around 900 AD, the Catholic church was losing the interest of the common
people mainly because the services were held in Latin, which was
becoming less understood by the commoners.
The church did several things to regain people’s interest; they added sculptures, paintings, images, frescoes, crucifixes, picture windows, and short biblical Enactments.
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The first of these enactments was the scene of the visit of the three Marys to the sepulchre of Christ on
Easter Morning, and their interview with the angels. This scene consisted of four sentences in Latin.
It was well received and the church expanded this and added other scenes as part of the services.
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Eventually, many holidays on the church calendar had scenes from the Bible assigned to them to be enacted on that day.
For instance, at Christmas, the Gospel stories of the shepherds, the Magi, and the Slaughter of the Innocents were portrayed.
As these plays became more complex and popular, and required elaborate sets, cramming the audience to the back of the room, disorder and riots among the audience became a problem.
The shepherds awaked by the angelThe shepherds awaked by the angel
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This along with the excessive length of the developed plays forced the church to move the plays outdoors, in the church porch, church yard, or public square.
Many of the plays were beginning to be presented in the vernacular rather than in Latin. The plays were beginning to have a greater depth than being just summaries of the biblical text. Characters and humour were emerging.
It took around 500 years from the first liturgical drama for them to develop and be moved outdoors.
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Professional guilds were in charge of presenting the scenes. Each professional guild, such as
the Butchers, Tailors, Carpenters was assigned a scene to
produce.
Each guild was bound under penalty to produce its play "well and duly."
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The guilds took pride in impressive performances and often spent considerable money and manpower on their plays.
Different guilds – then known as mysteries of craftsmen, hence the name of the plays, often presented stories
appropriate to their skills, for example the Shipwrights would present the story of the Ark,
and Butchers the death of Christ.
14Noah's ark roof boss
Noah's Flood is just one of many mystery plays created to bring tales from the Bible to life.Originally performed in the Middle Ages on streets across England at a time when many people were unable to read or understand the Latin spoken in church services, these plays were popular ways for people to learn about the Bible.
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Actually there were three arks. The one with the dinosaurs and the other extinct forms sank due to overloading. The one with marsupials was blown
off course and landed in Australia.
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People who were barely mentioned in the bible,
such as Mrs. Noah, were given large speaking
parts, many of them for comic relief.
Characters were also developed for dramatic
effect, to create sympathy and other
feelings.
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The plays were performed in a "cycle“, as the entire set is called.
The first play would be the Creation and Fall of Satan, and the total set of from 18 to 42 plays would contain all the major chronologically scenes from the Bible, shown.
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The stage was a scaffold on wheels, a kind of two-storey float.
The bottom storey was curtained off for the actors to dress and wait for their entrance.
The top storey was an open stage that could be seen from all sides, with the set and props built into it.
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Such elaborate props as a fire-spewing dragon head were used.
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When the festivities began, the first scene would roll into the first "station" and perform their play.
When they were done, they would roll to the second station and perform again, the second scene taking their place at
the first station and performing. It would go on like this until every station had seen every
play, perhaps more than once.
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Each guild sponsored and produced one play
The play was often related to the guild’s trade (the shipwrights did Noah)
Actors were guild members
Wagons/stages looped around the city starting and ending at the cathedral
Performances occurred 5-8 times at points throughout the city
Each guild sponsored and produced one play
The play was often related to the guild’s trade (the shipwrights did Noah)
Actors were guild members
Wagons/stages looped around the city starting and ending at the cathedral
Performances occurred 5-8 times at points throughout the city
Pageant Wagons and Civic Glory
Pageant Wagons and Civic Glory
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The cycles appealed to all social classes, from royalty to peasants; they all came in to watch the plays.
The festivities were announced throughout town and the neighbouring provinces.
Cycles instilled a love of drama in the people. This popularity allowed
for later forms of drama.
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Cycles originated the dramatical ideas of characterization, realism, and humour in
English drama.
Cycles originated the dramatical ideas of characterization, realism, and humour in
English drama.
26… and now real modern performances!… and now real modern performances!
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The Lichfield Mysteries. 30th April to 1st May 2006
The Slaughter of the Innocents
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The Norfolk Town cycle of plays, from which Noah's Flood is taken, is thought to have been written for a town in Norfolk, but records do not reveal which one.
The event has been organised by Norwich Cathedral's Education and Community Outreach Department to provide a wide programme of education and worship.
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The Resurrection - players (left to right) are Kevin Feltham as Annas, Michael Pearce as Caiaphas, James Ireland as Pontius Pilate and Mark Wood as the centurion.
21/04/2000 The Harborough Mystery Plays.
21/04/2000 The Harborough Mystery Plays.
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Each scene was accompanied by music and choral pieces by The Harborough Singers.
Hundreds of people turned out on Good Friday, despite heavy showers, to see local people stage mystery plays in the streets of Harborough in a revival of an ancient pastime.
Hundreds of people turned out on Good Friday, despite heavy showers, to see local people stage mystery plays in the streets of Harborough in a revival of an ancient pastime.
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Selections from the York
Mystery Cycle
Selections from the York
Mystery Cycle
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Selections from the York
Mystery Cycle
Selections from the York
Mystery Cycle
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These Medieval plays dramatise the lives and works of the saints. A common theme in these works is divine intervention, most often
coming to fruition through the work of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
These plays were almost always staged on pageant wagons, moving
thrugh the city as the action continued. As guilds most often took
responsibility for staging these mysteries, the plays often addressed issues of social situations or local politics, making them very topical to
the areas in which they were performed.
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Morality Plays are a medieval European verse drama designed to enlighten and discipline their audiences. These were, in part, a development of the Mystery Play.
The plays replace human characters with personified virtues and vices with the humourous elements being provided by the
Devil. Morality Plays, such as 'Everyman', flourished in the 15th Century and its influence is not only seen in Elizabethan
dramas but also in today's theatre.
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A devil's costume (13th century). Scaly, like the serpent that tempted Eve, winged like the classical Furies, the devil has two faces, one where the mouth is also the anus, and the devil's tail a second tongue .
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“Everyman” is a dramatized allegory, that is to say, a narrative in which the characters and action, and sometimes the setting as well, have two levels of meaning.
The first level is literal -- a man is going on a trip. …
This morality play seeks to answer the important religious question: "What must a man do to be saved?"
This morality play seeks to answer the important religious question: "What must a man do to be saved?"
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The second level is symbolic -- Everyman's life is a journey from birth to death, and every man makes this same trip. An allegory must make sense at both levels. All of the literal pieces will fit together to tell a story, that
is what happens. In addition, all of the symbolic pieces will fit together to teach a moral, that is what the story means.
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God sends Death to summon Everyman, who represents all mankind.
Good and Evil will be tallied like pluses and minuses in an account book. The play is the story of Everyman's journey to this final reckoning. Along the way, Everyman tries to convince other allegorical characters (each personifying an abstract idea) to accompany him in the hope of improving his account. All refuse, only Good Deeds will accompany him to his final destination.
The conflict between good and evil is dramatized by the interactions between characters.
The play shows us not only how every man should meet death but also how every man should live.
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Plot Summary:
After being summoned by Death to the court of his lord to make an accounting for the life which was lent him, Everyman seeks counsel and companionship for the dangerous journey. Many promise to accompany him, but few make good on that promise. Eventually, he learns to judge correctly what really matters to the health of the soul facing death, though not without a fair amount of grief that (paradoxically) usually produces laughter from audiences.
Plot Summary:
After being summoned by Death to the court of his lord to make an accounting for the life which was lent him, Everyman seeks counsel and companionship for the dangerous journey. Many promise to accompany him, but few make good on that promise. Eventually, he learns to judge correctly what really matters to the health of the soul facing death, though not without a fair amount of grief that (paradoxically) usually produces laughter from audiences.
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“Jedermann” is the German version of
“Everyman”
“Jedermann” is the German version of
“Everyman”
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The topic of "man summoned by death" was commonplace during the fifteenth century. Frequent warfare, bubonic and pneumonic plague, starvation, and crime made death a
frequent and often public experience.
Another fifteenth century play on this subject was The Dance of Death.
The topic of "man summoned by death" was commonplace during the fifteenth century. Frequent warfare, bubonic and pneumonic plague, starvation, and crime made death a
frequent and often public experience.
Another fifteenth century play on this subject was The Dance of Death.
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The Dance of Death, shows Death coming to persons from all walks of life, from emperors and popes to clerks and plowmen. The play's epilogue, delivered by a "Doctor
Macabre" (otherwise unidentified) is the etymological source of our adjective "macabre."
Plays, poems, and paintings on this theme proliferated from the fifteenth through the sixteenth centuries, and still can be
found in modern contemplations of mortality.
The Dance of Death, shows Death coming to persons from all walks of life, from emperors and popes to clerks and plowmen. The play's epilogue, delivered by a "Doctor
Macabre" (otherwise unidentified) is the etymological source of our adjective "macabre."
Plays, poems, and paintings on this theme proliferated from the fifteenth through the sixteenth centuries, and still can be
found in modern contemplations of mortality.
48Facciata dell’Oratorio dei Disciplini di Clusone (BG)Facciata dell’Oratorio dei Disciplini di Clusone (BG)
