Early Non-religious Extant Drama Karoline Manny Secular drama had an even lower survival rate than religious drama in Medieval Spain. By the first half of the 15th century the word momo is used in Spain to describe palace entertainment. In it the muses fly to Alfonso, recite poems about the virtues of justice, faith, gentleness, and conquest, and exalt Alfonso as an ideal prince. They employ dancing and singing. These works' portrayal of love show clear influence of the early Renaissance and are most properly classified with this period.
Scholars note many reasons for the relatively low number of extant dramas.
Non-religious drama naturally stood very little chance of surviving before the arrival of the printing press in Spain, since the church had a virtual monopoly on scribing. Any work that was not religious had no value to the church and thus would neither have been scribed nor stored in church libraries. This file may be copied on the condition that the entire contents,including the header and this copyright notice, remain intact.