Mystery play
Channel: 宇宙のすべての知識 プリンシピア
Date: 2019-03-07

Mystery play, by Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki?curid=38124 / CC BY SA 3.0

#Christian_plays
#Drama
#Cultural_depictions_of_Herod_the_Great
#Medieval_literature
#Theatre_in_the_United_Kingdom
#Medieval_drama
#Religious_vernacular_drama
#Theatrical_genres
Mystery play

Mystery plays and miracle plays (they are distinguished as two different forms although the terms are often used interchangeably) are among the earliest formally developed plays in medieval Europe. Medieval mystery plays focused on the representation of Bible stories in churches as tableaux with accompanying antiphonal song. They told of subjects such as the Creation, Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel, and the Last Judgment. Often they were performed together in cycles which could last for days. The name derives from "mystery" used in its sense of "miracle," but an occasionally quoted derivation is from "ministerium", meaning "craft", and so the 'mysteries' or plays performed by the craft guilds.

As early as the fifth century living tableaux were introduced into sacred services.
The plays originated as simple "tropes", verbal embellishments of liturgical texts, and slowly became more elaborate. At an early period chants from the service of the day were added to the prose dialogue. As these liturgical dramas increased in popularity, vernacular forms emerged, as travelling companies of actors and theatrical productions organized by local communities became more common in the later Middle Ages.

The "Quem quaeritis?" is the best known early form of the dramas, a dramatised liturgical dialogue between the angel at the tomb of Christ and the women who are seeking his body. These primitive forms were later elaborated with dialogue and dramatic action. Eventually the dramas moved from church to the exterior - the churchyard and the public marketplace. These early performances were given in Latin, and were preceded by a vernacular prologue spoken by a herald who gave a synopsis of the events. The writ...