Monthly Archives: July 2020

From 1000 AD forward, cathedrals and monastery chapels increasingly used simple drama to illustrate the Latin Bible reading. They didn’t invent lines, nor did they create stage sets. But they did use very simple arrangements, like a table and chair, … Continue reading →

Dancing bears, sleight of hand tricks, the latest ballads, and comic skits: medieval Europe always had its traveling musicians, actors and acrobats. Their favorite gigs were at castles, where they were guaranteed a decent place to sleep (well, it was … Continue reading →

By the 900s, we know that Easter and Christmas liturgy was usually accompanied by simple acting by the monks. They didn’t think of it as a play, nor did they call it “ludus,” the normal Latin word for dramatic plays. … Continue reading →

We know so little. Writing only came with Christianity, and some records of the past or of current pagan customs were jotted down at times, but it’s a wide study to find the bits. We can also see what persisted … Continue reading →

Medieval Europe was the product of three branches of Indo-European culture colliding and blending. I’ve sometimes defined it as the time it took for the Barbarians who felled Rome to learn and surpass Rome’s greatness (at least in some ways). … Continue reading →