Medieval Theatre Research Paper

Medieval theatre refers to play productions that occurred generally between 600 and 1600 A.D. Many of these plays recounted stories from the life of Jesus Christ, as well other tales from the Christian Bible. While works of early medieval theatre were strictly religious in nature and put on inside of churches, as the centuries passed, both members of the clergy and general members of the community began putting on plays outside, using vernacular languages instead of Latin, and sometimes moving to more secular themes.

Historical Context

Before the medieval period, the major Roman Catholic leaders believed that the traditional play was wildly corrupt, leading people away from faith and into sin. Subsequently, they banned performances as a way

During regular mass, these individuals spoke in Latin, not only because that language had become widespread in the church as a replacement for the ancient Aramaic, Hebrew and Greek that had been common, but also because leaders of the church felt that its "dead" status or separateness from the vernacular protected it from change and subsequent loss of important meaning. The common people generally did not understand what was being said, so historians believe that the use of plays helped medieval churchgoers understand the gist of what regularly was preached about Jesus Christ, the Bible or the saints and

They usually focused on the life of Jesus, but they might include other Biblical stories as well, relating them to the promises God fulfilled. In a sense, they were easy-to-grasp, entertaining ways to communicate the heart of the gospel to audiences who were largely still illiterate.

Miracle plays were closely related to the mystery type, but they centered around the lives and works of the saints. Many were based on scripture, but others were based more on hearsay and legend. If a saint had a designated holiday within the church, the plays for that saint were usually held on that day, but people also performed them more generally throughout the year as a way to show both the greatness of God and the power of faith. These often were produced to reinforce the message of discipleship and to spur people to do good deeds in the name of Jesus, just as the early apostles are said to have done.

Play