Medieval Theatre

Medieval Theatre
Medieval Theatre
 Time frame: 5th c- mid 16th c
 Secular theatre died in Western Europe
with the fall of Rome
 Theatrical performances were banned by
the Roman Catholic Church as barbaric and
pagan
 Most Roman theatre had been spectacle
rather than literary drama
Roman Spectacle
Gladiatorial combats
Naval battles in a flooded Coliseum
“Real-life” theatricals
Decadent, violent and immoral
All theatrical events were banned by the
Church when Rome became Christianized
Drama in the Early Middle
Ages
500-1000
 Small groups of traveling performers
– minstrels, jugglers, acrobats, bards,
mimes, puppeteers -- went from town
to town entertaining.
 They performed in taverns and at
festivals for the commoners and at
court for the nobility
 Festivals usually contained both
pagan and Christian elements ( e.g.
Halloween and Christmas
celebrations )
Liturgical Drama
 The Roman Catholic Church was responsible
for the rebirth of European theatre in the 10 th –
12th century
 All Europe had been converted to Christianity
 The Church needed ways to teach illiterate
parishioners: cathedrals,
stained glass windows,
sculpture, painting and drama
The Last Supper from Chartres Cathedral
Liturgical Drama
 Religious rituals ( the mass, baptism,
etc.) embody theatrical elements.
 Priests began to incorporate such
elements into the gospel lessons of
the mass.
 The first short plays were called
tropes
 Written in Latin, these tropes were
performed by the clergy during the
mass.
The 3 M’s of Religious
Drama
Mystery plays: Biblical stories
Miracle plays: saints’ lives
Morality plays: allegories

Religious Vernacular
 Drama
Vernacular: language spoken by the
people
 To reach the commoners, the clergy
began to translate the liturgical plays
into vernacular languages
 As the plays became more elaborate,
they were moved from the altar of the
church to the church yard.
 As more roles were added,
commoners were used as amateur
actors
Mystery Plays
 Mystery: from French mystere -- secret.
These plays told stories from the Bible—
Moses, Noah, etc.
 In England, these Biblical plays were
produced in cycles: a series of plays
depicting Biblical history from the
Creation to the Last Judgement. Also
known as Cycle Plays.
 The cycles were usually performed at the
religious festival of Corpus Christi -- in
the spring or early summer.
http://digital.films.com/play/WV
SFDD
Mystery Plays performed by Trade
Guilds
 While the plays were
overseen by the Church, the
performances were
produced by the guilds of
each town and mostly
performed by amateur
actors.
 Over 300 “actors”
participated in 24 -48 plays
 Pageant Master=Director
 Secret Master = Special
effects master
Mystery Plays performed by
Trade Guilds
 Plays were often assigned to
guilds associated with the
subject matter of the play
and became a kind of
“advertisement”
 The Flood: Shipbuilders
or Barrelmakers
 The Nativity: Shepherds
 The Magi: Goldsmiths
http://digital.films.com/play/WVSFDD
Noah and the Flood
English Cycle Plays
 Each cathedral town had its own cycle:
 York
 Chester

 Wakefield
 N-town
 The Protestant Reformation brought a halt to the
presentation of cycle plays as they incorporated

Roman Catholic theology.

Modern
Productions
Chester Mystery P
lays

York Mystery
Plays
B.J. Elvgren. Quilt: depicting scenes from Chester’s 14th century dramas
set against modern city landmarks – Chester Cathedral
Dramatic Techniques
English mystery plays incorporate a combination
of high seriousness and low comedy:
High seriousness: the Biblical stories of the Old
Testament and Jesus’ life and mission
Low comedy: the plays incorporate almost slapstick
sketches of contemporary medieval daily life.
EX: Wakefield Second Shepard’s Play
http://digital.films.com/play/WVSFDD
“The Last
Judgement”
York Mystery
Plays
2002
production
Staging the Plays
 PROCESSIONAL (ENGLAND o STATIONARY (FRANCE,
AND SPAIN) REST OF EUROPE)
 Pageant wagons would o Mansions or a series of
 travel a set route and stages would be set up
perform at several around the town square
locations: like a parade or o Anchored at either end by
 would be set up around a Heaven and Hell
town square and the o Elaborate special effects
audience would travel from such as floods, flying and
one wagon to the next to fiery pits were very popular
see the performances
Building a Pageant Wagon
Pageant wagon
Pageant wagon
Mansions and Hell Mouth
 Miracle plays were similar to mystery
Miracle Plays plays in dramatic techniques

 Dramatized the lives of Roman Catholic
saints
The most popular subjects were

 the Virgin Mary (plays usually
written in Latin)
 St. George (dragon slayer and patron
saint of England)
 St. Nicholas ( associated with
Christmas festivities)
 Theme: how to live a Christian
life and be saved.
Morality Plays
 Allegory:
 A story told on two levels:

the literal and the the
symbolic
 Plot: a journey through life
or to death
 Emphasis switches from
Biblical and saintly
protagonists to the common
man: Everyman, Mankind, etc.
LEGO EVERYMAN
The Summoning of Everyman: Production

Folk Plays
 Often performed at such holidays as Christmas, New Year
and May Day
 Incorporated remnants of pagan
rituals
 Mummers, Morris Dancers, etc.
 Robin Hood was one of
the most popular heroes
 Feast of Fools: Fool companies consisted of young men,
who played gross comedies and created nonsensical and
often bawdy travesties on the Mass. These boisterous
"Feasts" predate most of the mysteries, and may have been
reverent in their origin
Mummers
Dramatic Techniques
 Theatre was performed in found spaces: town squares, taverns,
churches, banquet halls -- no specifically designated theatres
 Theatre was intimate -- audience interacted with performers
 Elaborate special effects
 Characterization was often dependent upon costume and
makeup
Medieval Theatre

Medieval Theatre

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Medieval Theatre

Miracle plays: saints’ lives

Morality plays: allegories

Miracle Plays plays in dramatic techniques

The most popular subjects were

The Summoning of Everyman: Production

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