During this same period, there were Passion plays on Corpus Christi, as well as at Easter, all over Europe.
The Passion plays in continental Europe grew much longer than the English versions. The earliest surviving French Passion play, “La Passion de Semur,” took two days to perform. Another 15th century play from Arras (that hotbed of dramatic innovation) took four days. German-language plays in the Tyrol region of Austria developed into week-long marathons that had to start well before the Feast of Corpus Christi in order to be completed in time for the church procession.
The Passion d’Arras included an allegorical scene in which Justice and Mercy argue mankind’s fate before the throne of God. It was such a success that subsequent French Passions included it. But you can’t expand a play indefinitely; you have to cut something eventually. The next developments in French Passion plays cut Old Testament stories and portrayed only the Life of Jesus with a grand theme of good vs. evil, complete with many devils capering about attempting to derail Grace. This play, by Paris theology student Arnoul Greban, became the model for Jean Michel’s 1486 play that focused entirely on the adult public life of Jesus. This play, “Mystère de la Passion,” focused on the stories of sinners converted, showing the external and internal changes. But it still took four days to perform!
In Bolzano, the main city in the Tyrol region, the play was generally produced by members of the church, but in the public square, not inside the church. The community became involved as deeply as York’s was, only they were all seeking bit parts in one giant production. The staging showed a setting of the ancient Middle East, but costumes were contemporary to the 15th century. Men played all of the roles, since it was considered shameful for a woman to be on stage.
During the 15th century, the Passion plays in Tyrol were well-funded by the wealthy of the city, but during the 16th century, perhaps due to Reformation influences, funding dropped off. The plays became coarser and even included obscene characters and jokes. Finally the church suppressed them.
But then, the town of Obergammerau in Bavaria made a vow to produce Passion Plays if they survived an especially ferocious visitation of the plague. Starting in 1634, this small village put on as big a play as they could manage, every ten years. They started out performing it in the graveyard to honor the plague dead, and that’s where it was played for a century. During the 1700s, they worked at finding a new venue, and eventually in 1815 they started designing stages just for the play. In a performance year, it’s not performed once at Corpus Christi, it’s put on daily for some months. In 2010, it ran from May to October! The current next performance year will be 2022, hoping to steer clear of Covid-19.
I’ve tried to find more detailed information on the anti-Jewish riots that often took place after Passion plays, but so far I’m coming up short. All I can say is: it happened. Some plays emphasized wicked Jews more than others, but even a relatively neutral one like York’s demonstrated clearly that Jews were headed for hell and might try to take you with them. Some went farther, with horned masks for the Jews, as if they were devils. The waves of emotion that the Corpus Christi plays evoked in their audiences had mixed effects, as all emotion does. Emotion plus alcohol usually adds up to violence.
Obergammerau’s modern play was rewritten to remove the anti-Semitism that by then had become a major feature. Jesus is given some lines and prayers in Hebrew, and the wicked Rabbi character has been removed. The Roman guards are more prominent than Jewish ones, and Pilate’s character has been given much of the grit and grumble that belonged to the Jewish priests.