Theatre In The Middle Ages

The Fall of Rome

Rome was attacked by invaders.

Rome was no longer able to protect the people of Europe

Life in Europe was very unstable for many years

Eventually the catholic church and a system called feudalism filled the void and brought some order to the chaos

Feudalism A political system that developed

during the middle ages Lords were granted fiefs (or pieces of

land) by the Monarch The serfs farmed the land for the Lords

in exchange for protection and enough of the harvest on which to live.

Knights were used by Lords and Monarchs to provide the protection needed.

The Roman Catholic church With the absence of a government, the Church

filled the void. Bishops, members of the hierarchy of the

church, were of the same social status of Lords/nobles of the feudal system

Priests and other clergy were well educated and many sought to become part of the clergy during this time period

Most people who were not a part of the Church were illiterate during this time period

No single entity was as powerful as the Roman Catholic Church during this time period

Theatre?

For about 400 years theatre basically consisted of simple entertainments such as singing and storytelling

The Church was still very much opposed to secular theatre

However, the rebirth of theatre can be attributed directly to the Church.

Religious Theatre Since the congregation couldn’t read, the

Church used tableaux and pantomime and eventually added dialogue to get the stories of the bible across to the parishioners

TROPES were verbal (spoken or sung) additions to the liturgical text. The oldest surviving example is called “Quem Quearitis” or “whom Do you Seek?” The dialogue is taken directly from the new testament.

Liturgical Drama can be classified as: Mystery plays, miracle plays or Morality plays

Mystery Plays Plot & Characters taken from

books of the bible It was, initially, the most

prominent form of liturgical drama The best examples are the cycle

plays of England. Cycle plays are a series of short

plays performed over a longer period of time.

An example of a Mystery play is The Passion Play

Adam and Eve are expelled from the

garden of Eden in a modern production of

a mystery play.

Miracle Plays Plot is built around the lives

and works of the saints Usually performed on the

saint’s feast day Some scripts were biblical,

others were not Example: the four St.

Nicholas plays presented on St. Nicholas Day, in Latin, on December 6th.

St. Nicholas

Morality Plays Dramas based on the

spiritual trials of the average person

The plays were allegories about moral temptations

The action of the drama was the battle of good and evil to possess a person’s soul.

Best example: Everyman

Staging the Plays Inside the church, the

audience moved from one mansion to the next to see each scene.

A mansion is a scenic façade that marks the location of the scene

Eventually the plays became too large and had to be staged outside the church.

Example of Medieval Mansions

Staging the Plays (cont.)

Pageant wagons were also used to stage liturgical dramas. They are similar to parade floats

The Trade Guilds provided the money & personnel, the church provided the scripts and direction

Costumes consisted of liturgical garments for saints, clergy etc.; modern clothing for every day people; fanciful costumes for devils and demons.