Monthly Archives: August 2020

The Feast of Corpus Christi was a new event for the medieval church, established in 1264 and promoted with more enthusiasm during the 1300s. Its purpose was to celebrate and educate about the meaning of the Host and the doctrine … Continue reading →

The biggest development in European medieval theater begins with a free-thinking scholar questioning how bread can become the literal body of Christ. When Berengar of Tours was himself a student, he studied under a former student of Gerbert of Aurillac, … Continue reading →

There are two medieval Daniel plays, both dating from the mid-1100s. One was written by Hilarius, a pupil of Abelard (which seems worth mentioning). The second is more famous, and it probably was based on Hilarius’s play. This one was … Continue reading →

During the 12th and 13th centuries, serious theater was gradually moving out of the church, into the street. One of the transitional works is the Fleury Playbook, whose plays are in Latin, so they seem more likely to have still … Continue reading →

Adam de la Halle is the other famous name from early Arras, France theater. He was an educated man who composed both poetry and music; Adam is also called le Bossu, which does not mean “boss” in Japanese, it means … Continue reading →

In Hamlet, a rat is famously behind an arras. The arras screen (tapestry) was named for the town of Arras, in northern France, so far north that it was once part of the Netherlands. During the 12th and 13th centuries, … Continue reading →

“Le Jeu d’Adam,” or “Le Mystere d’Adam,” was written in the decades before 1200 in Norman French. It’s a transition between liturgical drama in church and the later secular plays. It is important for study since it captures this halfway point. … Continue reading →