SCA Life

Today I am privileged to present to you another article written by long time SCA member Eideann. And be sure to check out her blog, Fan Fiction Frenzy.

Ancient Rome is famous for its bread and circuses. Nearly everyone knows about Christians being fed to lions, and other such gladiatorial events. These are the topics of movies and even Star Trek episodes. Little popular attention is given, however, to the subject of late Roman theatre. In the time of the Emperor Heliogablius, not only were live sex acts performed onstage if called for in a play, but the slave-actor who played a character who died during the plot was often executed to add realism. This led to the early Christian empire banning theatrical performances of all kinds.

Ironically enough, theatre began again in Europe in much the same fashion as it had started in the first place. In ancient Greece, theatre began as a religious celebration. In the 9th century, some parts of the liturgy began to resemble dramatic dialogues, and by the 10th century theatrical performances started being added to the masses of some of the major Christian holidays, such as Easter and Christmas.

LITURGICAL PLAYS

The earliest recognized “play” in medieval Europe is known as the “quem quaeritis” (“whom do you seek” in Latin). It was part of the Easter celebration, and was performed by four monks. The first monk comes in and sits quietly near a symbolic sepulchre that has been constructed at the altar. Shortly thereafter, the remaining three monks enter, representing the three Marys, Mary Magdeline, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, and Mary the mother of Christ. They have come to annoint Christ’s body with oil, but they find that the tomb is open and empty. The first monk, portraying an angel, says “quem quaeritis,” then proceeds to explain that Christ has been resurrected. The three Marys then begin rejoicing, and tell the gathered monks the news, which ends the play. It is a very simple narrative, and very short. The longest version I have seen is seven lines of dialogue. Nevertheless, it is indubitably a dramatic presentation.

Now, these earliest dramas were part of monastic celebrations, and as such were generally not seen by lay audiences. Over the next two centuries, the use of liturgical drama spread into the masses attended by laypersons, but it remained a part of the church service until the 12th century. It also started to be written not only in Latin but in the vernacular languages, thus allowing everyone to understand it.

CYCLE PLAYS

Eventually, drama began to move outside, onto the church steps. It continued to be scriptural in nature, but was no longer directly part of the mass. Over the 12th and 13th centuries, drama remained more or less stable. The next major development was the Corpus Christie Cycle Plays that began in the late 14th century. The largest number of these cyclical play groups are to be found in the north of England during this period. They were often performed on the Feast of Corpus Christie which was established to celebrate the eucharist in 1311. The plays were put on by the guilds of the towns who sponsored them with some help from the church.

Nevertheless, they were largely secular in nature. Together, a cycle group tell most of the bible story, starting with Creation and ending with Judgement Day. They are the first medieval dramas to include comedy in any degree, and some are enormously funny, especially those of the Wakefield Cycle (also known as the Townley Cycle), which is believed to have been written largely by one man. Since all of these dramas were written for celebration of God, most medieval authors do not claim credit for their work.

In the Wakefield Cycle, there are two versions of the nativity, of which the second is more enjoyable. During The Second Shepherd’s Play, three shepherds are watching their flocks by night, and one of their sheep is stolen from them by a fellow named Mak. They go after him to get their sheep back, but he has hidden it in a cradle in his house and pretends that the sheep is really a child his wife has lately delivered. They are of course, angry and search for the sheep, but eventually they give up and offer presents to the “child” and thus find the sheep. However, instead of seeking justice which would mean Mak’s death, they give Mak a hard time and then go off to watch their sheep again. Then the angel host comes and tells them to go see the birth of the Christ child.
The Cycle plays often include contemporary humor, political jokes, and local personalities, and often offer magnificent insight into medieval town life.

MYSTERY AND MORALITY PLAYS

As the theatre became more secular, it left the scripture behind. Mystery plays, also called miracle plays are almost as old as liturgical plays. They treat the lives, miracles and converstions of the saints. Again, they started in monasteries, praising the patron saints of given monasteries, but as they, too, spread among the common folk. They often included long accounts of apocryphal events that merely added to the romance and adventure of the tale. For instance, in an English play about Mary Magdalene, there is a sea voyage and a wife separated from her husband. (Later they are reunited.) This is far from being true to scripture.

Morality plays were allegorical tales about the suffering of ordinary men. They started around the late 14th century, and grew rapidly in popularity. A good example of a morality play is Everyman. It is of English origin, but more closely resembles European styles. It is a serious play about “Everyman” facing death and the concomitant emotional stress. Here is a list of the characters in the play:
god
messenger
dethe
everyman
felawship
kinrede
cosyn
goodes
good dedes