What four types of entertainment did medieval theatre rise from?
- Roman mimes
- Teutonic minstrelsy
- Popular pagan rites and festivals
- Christian ceremonies
What does liturgical mean?
Public worship - in this case related to the church.
Why did the church use plays?
Most people were illiterate around this time and couldn’t understand Latin. Using plays with. Heavy symbolism conveyed the message well enough.
What was the first secular character?
A merchant!
What is a secular character?
A chAracter non-related to religion.
What is feudalism?
Superiors owning the land wherein peasants work to keep living there.
Where were the plays performed in churches?
The plays were performed in little MANSIONS around the church.
What are mansions?
They were little performing areas laid out around the church, sometimes big enough to contain several people. The actors would walk to each mansion every time a scene changed.
What are some of the reasons plays left the church?
- lack of space
- use of evil characters were deemed inappropriate
- plays that were performed in vernacular meant that anyone could take part
- performance outdoors meant more space and freedom
What are mystery cycles?
They were plays derived from the bible performed by various TRADE GUILDS. There were also miracle plays, which were shorter and more about Christ.
The town council was assigned to designated different plays to different guilds. What were these guilds made up of?
- the guilds were made up of tradesmen
- they carried the financial and work weight
- it was up to the guilds to do the staging; pageant wagon, props, scenery, costume etc.
What is a pageant wagon?
A pageant wagon is a movable stage or cart used to accommodate the mystery and miracle play cycles.
What are some example of tradesmen plays?
Adam and Eve - by the grocers
The Last Supper - by the bakers
Noah’s Ark - by the shipwrights and water bearers
The Three Kings - by the gold smiths.
Name two types of staging;
A static booth stage - easily dismantled stage that remained in one place.
A pageant wagon - also fairly easy to dismantle because it was movable.
What are secrets?
Stage machinery to aid in the authenticity of the play.
What was a pageant master?
He/ She was director or stage manager.
Who were the actors?
Mainly men and boys of the working class actors normally played the same character for years on end.
What costumes would the actors wear?
Contemporary medieval clothing.
What did the daemons and devils wear?
Sometimes huge headdresses that looked like birds of prey with claws and hideous masks. They were normally very agile actors who played these parts.
What were medieval special effects like?
Special effects were taken very seriously in order to make the oaky as authentic as possible. Often times they would need multiple people to handle one secret.
What does didactic mean?
Plays that are didactic are normally plays that TEACH LESSONS.
What are the Seven Deadly Sins?
Pride, covetousness, sloth, gluttony, envy, lust and anger.
Secular morality plays are closest to _________ and were meant to teach _______________.
- The cycle plays
2. Didactic lessons
What is allegory?
A popular form of both secular and religious literature.
Define an allegory more :
Normally a play wherein the character goes on a moral journey and sometimes a physical journey. The main character will learn lessons and be challenged morally or religiously.
What are the seven cardinal virtues?
Faith, hope, clarity, fortitude, justice, prudence and temperance.
EVERYMAN-: what does Everyman symbolism?
It symbolizes literally every man.
Summaries Everyman
Everyman is visited by gods messenger, Death.
He has to give an account of all his good deeds and then go on a physical spiritual journey.
He has to reach confession before he dies.
Characters were highly symbolic - Fellowship symbolizing his friends
All the characters desert him during the journey except good deeds.