The Arkansaw traveler. (Little Rock, Ark.) 1882-1???, 1889-02-23
"OLD PLAYS AND THEIR MODE OF
PERFORMANCE"
BIT JOHN BATToMLKY.

Iron book Of a sfroAfno player
England was one of the first countries in which
the my stery and miracle plays of the middle ages
were established. The monks introduced them to
supersede the profane mummeries, remnants of
paganism and OF the ancient fairs and to impart to
the ignorant popuace such knowledge of scripture
and religious ideas as they found convenient. The
middle ages may be called that period in the
history of Europe, which begins with the final
destruction of the Roman empire and is considered
by some TO end with the taking of Constantinople;
by others with the Reformation, the discovery of
America, the invention of printing, etc etc.
According to Hallam, who wrote history of this
period, 1t extends from the invasion of France by
Clovis A. ID. 1856, to that OF Naples by Charles
VIII, in 1925.
Early in the twelfth century the miracle play of
"St. Catherine" was performed at Dunstable from
1868 to 1877 there were annual exhibitions of this
kind at Chester, and at York from 140S TO 1916.
Churches and chapels were the earliest theatres,
and monks and parish clerks the first actors.
But sometimes, even early the fifteenth
century, traders. artifcers and guilds got up per-
formances at their own expense. The miracle
plays were performed upon temporary erections of
timber. There were three scaffolds platforms
the bottom one represented hell, the middle earth,
and the topmost heaven. The virgin, the saints,
the Saviour, even the Supreme Being were the
characters all the subjects were taken from the
most striking incidents Of the bible, the fall of man.
the flood, the passion of Christ, the crucihxion.
They were totally destitute of point or plan, and
tamey represented stories according to the letter
of scripture or legend.
In the time of Henry vi. q new species of
dramatic entertainment was invented, called the
Morality" which very soon superseded the older
form. In this was contained the first germ of
the dramatic art. 1t was more artificial in con-
struction, being usually allegorical representa-
ton of the passions, sins and virtues; there was
some attempt at a plot and even delineation of
character. The favorite parsonage of these pro-
auctions was The Vice, a witty, sarcastic and
mischievous attendant Of the devil, which was
atterward developed into the clown of the Eliza
bethan drama. The profanity, blasphemy and
icentious indecency of these exhibitions such,
that In 1872 Bishop Bonner forbade all ecclesiastics
henceforth appearing upon the public stage. The
interlude, of which John Haywood may be said to
have been the inventor about the year 1921, was
another step towards the modern drama; 1t was,
however, merely an extravagant piece Of gross
bufoonery, half extemporaneous, and was the
immediate predecessor of our first English comedy,
IT that term can be applied to such work as
"Ralph Rooster Doister," written In the reign OF
Edward vi. But the "Moralties" continued to be
represented by guilds and mechanics down to the
time and end of Elizabeth's reign. In midsummer
Nights Dream" Shakespeare has bequeathed Us an
exquisitely comic picture Of such actors. The
theatre was usually In n-yards and the galleries