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Background: Medieval Europe
Theatre and Culture in the Middle Ages
Medieval Drama: Mystery and Morality Plays
Medieval Theatre Production
100
When was the Middle Ages?
From 500 to 1500 C.E.
100
What is litergical drama?
Early medieval church drama, written in Latin and dealing with biblical stories.
100
What is one of the standard dramatic techniques of medieval cycle plays?
1. Take things out of their actual time period. 2. Mix different types of drama.
100
What is one of the reasons why there was a gradual decline of religious theatre toward the end of the Middle Ages?
1. A weakening of the church. 2. The secular qualities of drama overcame the religious material.
200
What was the strongest force during the Middle Ages?
The Roman Catholic Church.
200
What did Hildegard von Bingen write?
She wrote short musical plays that honored saints and the Virgin Mary. They were for performance on religious days.
200
What also existed during the Middle Ages that were not so popular compared to the religious dramas?
Secular theatre and drama.
200
What is the benefit of using a platform stage?
Freedom of movement. The stage can turn into whatever that was designated.
300
What was the eastern Roman empire called?
Byzantium
300
What is the language of vernacular drama?
Everyday speech of the people. Not Latin.
300
Are mystery and morality plays climactic or episodic?
Episodic. The structure is expansive in time, space, and numbers of characters.
300
Where were individual plays assigned to?
The related guilds. (Baker's guild, shipbuilder's guild, etc.)
400
What did the manuscripts influence after the eastern empire fell in 1453?
They were transferred and influenced the Renaissance.
400
Where were vernacular dramas presented?
In town squares or other parts of cities. Not inside churches.
400
What are morality plays?
Dramas using religious characters and themes to teach a moral lesson.
400
What is a pageant master's job?
He supervised the mounting of plays on wagons.
500
Whose manuscripts were preserved in the eastern Roman empire? Name one of them.
Classical Greek drama: the plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides and the criticism of Aristotle.
500
Where were Hrosvitha of Gandersheim and Hildegard von Bingen from?
Germany.
500
What are mystery plays?
Short dramas based on events of the Old and New Testaments and often organized into historical cycles. Also known as cycle plays.
500
How did portable wagon stages hold performances?
They moved through towns and stopped at points along the way to present one of the plays.