Textuality » 3A Interacting
Origins of Medieval Drama:
The origins of British drama in the Middle Ages began to emerge from the rituals of the Church. The Church wanted to educate people who could neither read nor write.
Mystery Plays:
Mystery and Miracle Plays were used by the church to give a religious education to peasants. Religious performances moved out of the Church when (early 14th century) a new religious festival was introduced. (Corpus Christi). On that day there was a procession: it developed into a new form of drama (Mystery or Miracle Plays) which consisted of a number of plays dealing with the stories of the Old and New Testament. A similar kind of performance is known in Italy as sacra rappresentazione.
The Subjects:
The Mistery Plays were single episodes strung together in a Mistery Cycle. The subjects were either biblical stories or events from the life of Christ.
They were written in the language spoken by the local people and included human types who could be immediately recognized by the spectators.
The Performance:
Each play was financed and performed by the trade or craft guilds of the town. The Mystery Cycle was staged outdoors and each play was performed on a movable stage wagon called "pageant" in the central square or next to the town hall. Performance went on from early morning until late evening and all business and activities were suspended so that everybody could take part in the festivities.
The Manuscripts:
The manuscripts of various versions of the complete Mystery Cycle have been preserved: they had the name of the town where they were probably presented. Their authors are anonymous.
The Importance of Medieval Drama:
Medieval drama was important in the development of the genre because it added a human element to the religious themes of the Mysteries and created characters corresponding to English social types. In addition it appealed strongly to people of all classes.