EXTRA-LITURGICAL CHURCH PLAYS

The development of drama took a new turn in the twelfth century with the evolution of plays that were not specifically linked by subject-matter or performance occasion with the feasts of the liturgical year. Certain of the plays for the Christmas season had already shown signs of bursting out of their liturgical bonds (see p. 17). The process is accelerated in the twelfth century with the introduction into biblical plays of an increasing amount of vernacular speech, so that we are faced with a considerable number of unattached plays composed for an occasion we cannot pinpoint and a purpose we cannot divine: floating masterpieces in a world of ordered formulae. The question then has to be asked: who wrote, performed and watched this drama? Many of the early extra-liturgical plays are traditional in form, and present sung Latin dramatisations of biblical incidents from both Old and New Testaments outside of the usual range of Christmas and Easter plays. It is reasonably certain that they were still linked with the church, for drama must have a community to flourish in and the church (including the church schools) is the only place at this date where Latin playwrights could be expected to be found.