The medieval times, or the middle ages, lasted between the 5th and 15th centuries. It was divided into three periods: the early middle ages, the high middle ages, and the late middle ages. Medieval theatre didn’t begin until the 1200s, which takes us back the the high middle ages.
Medieval theatre evolved out of church services in the 10th and 11th centuries. Early theatrical performances were highly religious and entirely controlled by churches. The earliest Christian dramas started as a part of festivals celebrating Christian holidays. Dramas were very commemorative and ritualistic, portraying events that happened in Palestine between 1-33 AD.
They were originally performed in Latin, as it is “God’s Language.” However, Latin was not understood by most of the common people, so plays started to be written and performed in the common language of the location so that people could learn and understand the messages that were being depicted.
There were two main categories of plays: cycle plays and morality plays. Morality plays were about the constant struggle of man to be good and avoid evil. Cycle plays were either stories from the bible (mystery cycles), or about the lives of saints (miracle plays). Within all plays were a variety of genres such as romance, music, sermons, orality, legal matters, and more.
Read my next post: Medieval Theatre Continued for additional info.
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