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Setting for the Valenciennes mystery play, miniature by Hubert Cailleau, 1547; in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Courtesy of the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris History
church. Once this happened and the performances were free from the church the strong religious themes started to disappear. In 1210 A.D. there was a ban of Mystery Plays by Pope Innocent III, which caused the plays began to performed in small town guilds,this act officially cut ties between the plays and the church and they were exclusively performed by town-guilds. With an ever growing audience to please, the town-guilds found that a perfect opportunity to showcase their works with the introduction of the Corpus Christi festival, in 1311, that takes place 57 days after Easter. The performances were grouped together and consisted of plays such as, Noah and the Flood, and The Creation of the World and the Fall of Adam. From these small groups came the four most prominent collections of mystery plays, the York cycle with 48 pageants, the Towneley plays with 32 pageants, the Chester cycle with 24 pageants, and the Wakefield (N-town) plays with 42 pageants. The term “Mystery” did not come from our term and the way it is used in present day. It was derived from the Latin word ministerium, meaning an association of clergy from different religious groups. This was the term used to describe the guilds which performed these plays, which is why is was used to name to describe the actual plays being performed. By the time of the end of the fifteenth century and the beginning of the Reformation, in England, the Mystery plays started to die down and were replaced in popularity by Morality plays. This section needs citations and careful editing for sentence errors. Characteristics One of the most widely known Mystery plays is The Second Shepherd’s Play, which puts three shepherds at the birth of Christ in Bethlehem. It emphasizes the everyday life during the middle ages and juxtaposes the shepherd’s story with that of Christ’s, setting the secular and religious world side by side. Some common Mystery Plays: ~ Birth of Jesus Miracle plays Miracle Plays, also called Saint’s Plays, were plays dedicated to the lives of various saints, rather than Biblical events. Just like Mystery Plays the Miracle play originated to enhance the liturgical services, and were later separated from the church. They were switched to the English language, became less and less religious, and were performed in town festivals in the thirteenth century. Most Miracle plays are performed about either St. Nicholas or the Virgin Mary. The plays about St. Mary regularly involve her in the role of “deus ex machina” (god from the machine), there would usually be a problem that seems unsolvable and the characters call on the Virgin Mary to help. They were performed in Plain-an-gwarny (Cornish Medieval amphitheatre). During the sixteenth century there was a ban on Miracle Plays by King Henry VIII, some were destroyed, and after they soon began to fade away in popularity. Morality Plays History Characteristics
Gluttony, Envy, Anger, Pride and Sloth. Each Sin represents a different aspect that, as the Bible states, God will not forgive you for. Morality plays are based highly from a religious stand point in order to teach individuals about proper or true morals; right and wrong. To return back to the basic outline of a Morality play, the Hero then has the choice to take what he says to heart or strive for redemption and ask ” The Four Daughters of God” (Mercy, Justice, Temperance, and Truth) to aid in his quest. The plays could more than likely be performed in under ninety minutes. Some common Morality Plays: ~ The Castle of Perseverance (c. 1425) Works Cited “miracle play”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/384847/miracle-play>. “mystery play”. Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. 06 Dec. 2012 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/400790/mystery-play>. Warren, Kate Mary. “Moralities.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 10. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 6 Dec. 2012 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/10557b.htm>. http://bewhuebner.hubpages.com/hub/The-History-of-Medieval-Theater http://faculty.virginia.edu/engl381ck/10_18.html Works Cited for Photographs http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ChesterMysteryPlay_300dpi.jpg#file https://sites.udel.edu/britlitwiki/files//2018/06/FileEverymann-death.jpg |