Transcript PowerPoint Presentation - Theatre In The Middle Ages

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
St. Nicholas
 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.
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
Example of Medieval Mansions
 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.
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.