The Biblical Drama of Medieval Europe

by Lynette R. Muir

Overview

Lynette Muir's study presents a detailed survey and analysis of the surviving corpus of Biblical drama from all parts of medieval Christian Europe. It examines over five hundred plays from the tenth to the sixteenth centuries, in a wide-ranging discussion that makes available the full scope of this important part of theater history. Organized to provide a complete overview of major aspects of medieval Biblical theater, it includes valuable appendices that give information on the liturgical calendar, processions, the Mass and the Bible.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521412919
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	06/01/1995
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.94(d)

Table of Contents

Introduction: Christian Europe and the play of God; Part I. The Theatrical Community: 1. Liturgical and feast-day drama; 2. Civic and community drama; 3. Performance and the community; Part II. The Theatrical Text: 4. Creation and fall; 5. The covenant and the kingdom; 6. Prophets and precursors of redemption; 7. The birth and childhood of Jesus; 8. The public life of Jesus; 9. The Passion and Resurrection; 10. Pentecost to judgement; Conclusion: survival and revival; Appendix. The liturgical context of the plays.

Editorial Reviews

"A valuable summary for students of medieval drama, M.'s study also includes material for theologians studying the Middle Ages or interested in its theological beliefs and their sources." Theological Studies

"The starting point for any study of medieval biblical drama, this excellent and readable work will be a valuable resource for scholars of the medieval theater...." Choice

"...a highly readable survey....serves well as an introductory text or as a jumping-off point for closer comparative studies." Glenn Ehrstine, Sixteenth Century Journal

"This study presents a thorough overview of religious plays both in Great Britain and on the Continent....This volume is a valuable resource to those working in either Latin or the Vernaculars, and provides a global European perspective that enables the reader to see across national boundaries and identify original features of biblical drama as it existed in Europe between the ninth and sixteenth centuries. The material has been painstakingly researched and is organized in a clear and systematic manner....it is an invitatiob for the d=further development of critical analysis of the important subject." Molly Lynde-Recchia, Comparative Drama

"...the book is impressive in its range and learning....This is a book that all who work in medieval drama should have on their shelves for reference, and one that should encourage all for whom 'medieval theatre' still means 'medieval English theatre' to widen their horizons." David Mills, Studies in the Age of Chaucer

"...the book must be considered a success." Alan E. Knight, Speculum

From the Publisher