Medieval Theatre Notes PDF

# Grade 10 Drama - Medieval Theatre - Note #1 ## The Middle Ages - The Middle Ages or the Medieval Period is the name given by historians to the period of history in Europe from the Fall of the Roman Empire in 475 A.D. until roughly 1300 or 1500 A.D. - There is no universal agreement as to the exa...

# Grade 10 Drama - Medieval Theatre - Note #1 ## The Middle Ages - The Middle Ages or the Medieval Period is the name given by historians to the period of history in Europe from the Fall of the Roman Empire in 475 A.D. until roughly 1300 or 1500 A.D. - There is no universal agreement as to the exact start or end of the Middle Ages. ## The Early Middle Ages - The Early Middle Ages in Europe are sometimes called the Dark Ages. - This is a misleading name. - After the Renaissance period in the later Middle Ages, many European thinkers viewed the culture of Ancient Greece and Rome as the pinnacle of cultural and artistic achievement. - This led them to see the period after the fall of Rome as one of 'darkness' having little to no cultural value. - It’s definitely true that the Early Middle Ages witnessed a great loss of Greco-Roman culture and that there was a great deal of social instability which had a negative impact on the arts. - It is unfair and inaccurate to say that this period was devoid of cultural or artistic value. ## The Feudal System - One of the most well-known aspects of Medieval society is the Feudal System. - In the Feudal system, the privileged nobility and the church owned most of the land but it was the peasants (who made up the majority of the population) who worked and farmed the land. - They were expected to give a portion of their harvest/work to the local lord in exchange for the right to live on their land. - Life as a peasant was difficult and labor-intensive with virtually no chance for upward mobility. - Peasants were generally uneducated and illiterate. - There was little travel or exchange of ideas between different groups. - Religious services, holidays, and festivals provided the only significant opportunity for rest, leisure, and entertainment for the lower classes. ## The Church and Drama - Although the Medieval Church was a great patron of art and music, its attitude towards drama was not always positive. - At times, the church banned or discouraged many types of theatre. - As a result of the widespread illiteracy and negative attitudes towards drama, there were very few plays written during the Early Middle Ages and very little large or public theatrical performances. - Instead, folk festivals, jugglers, and wandering minstrels were the most common form of dramatic performance and entertainment for many centuries. ## The Rise of the Theatre - Even though the Church was at times hostile to drama, it was also responsible for the resurrection of the theatre. - Masses were said in Latin which most people couldn't understand. - The Church introduced the trope during Mass. - A trope was a short dramatized scene that helped the illiterate congregation understand the service. - This practice began in France and the idea soon spread throughout Europe. - Brief Easter and Nativity tableaux, performed by the priests and the choir boys, became very popular. - Dialogue was soon added to the tableaux. - These scenes in Latin were eventually translated and performed in the local language. - Many of these became the basis for religious plays still performed throughout Europe on a regular basis. ## Types of Medieval Plays - These Bible scenes became so popular that soon whole stories began to be enacted. - Small platforms called mansions or stations were placed within the cathedral. - Separate scenes were performed on the platforms with the crowd moving from one mansion to another until they had the whole story. - In the 10th century, a nun named Hrosvitha wrote several religious comedies that were performed on the mansions. - Three distinct types of plays developed and were presented on the mansions: - Mystery plays had as their subject matter stories from the Bible. - Miracle Plays enacted the lives of the saints. - Morality plays taught right from wrong. ## The Most Famous Morality Play - The most famous Morality play is _Everyman_. - The play is about a character called Everyman and his journey to death. ## Church Sponsorship - Drama in the churches became loud and noisy when comedy was added. - The crowds became so great that in the 13th and 14th century, the plays were moved outside to the market places and squares of towns and cities. - At this point, the Church lost some control of the theatre. - Comedy was often used to make fun of well-known evil characters such as King Herod. - He was presented as a comic devil. - The stage and staging also became more complex. - A set called Hell's Mouth was created to represent Hell. - It contained a dragon's jaw that would open and close amid smoke and flames. - Eventually, the trade guilds began to sponsor the plays. - Guilds were unions of workers specialized in a particular trade, such as blacksmiths, carpenters, cooks, etc. - Guilds would present episodes in theatrical productions that showcased their special skills. - For instance, the cooks would often handle Hell's Mouth because they were used to smoke and flames and the shipbuilders' guild would sponsor productions of Noah's Ark. - Each scene was prepared in great detail and was carefully rehearsed. - These productions often tried to out-perform the others so became more and more spectacular. ## Pageant Wagons - In some towns the mansions were arranged in a single line with heaven at one end, hell at the other, and the rest of the setting placed in between. - In other towns, the stations were located around a market place so that the audience would move from one station to the next as the episodes were enacted. - This was also good for business. - In England, France, and the Netherlands, pageant wagons were often used. - These were double-decked wagons. - The lower story was curtained off and served for costume changing. - The play's action was staged on the upper section and sometimes on the street around the wagon. - Audience members would find vantage points and remain there as the wagons were brought to them, episode by episode. - The pageant wagon resemble today's parade floats. - In England, the plays performed on pageant wagons were called cycles. - Four of these cycles still exist today. - They are performed during summer festivals. ## The Passion Play - The Cycle was a popular type of Medieval Theatre. - Another type soon developed: the Passion Play. - It showed scenes from Christ's life, in particular his last days of suffering and his resurrection. - Of these, the Passion Play at Oberammergau is still performed today. - Hundreds of years ago, the people of this village prayed that if they were saved from the Black Plague which was decimating entire villages throughout Europe, they would perform passion plays regularly. - When their village was saved, they kept their vow and in 1633 performed their first play. - Since then, the Oberammergau Passion Play has been performed every ten years, at the turn of each decade. - Only in 1940, during World War II, were they unable to give a show. - Thousands of people still throng to see this play.