Holy Roman Empire: Mass, Tropes, Props, and Blood


Read the Roman Christian argument against theatre: 
*Saint Augustine (334-430 CE), "The City of God" in Dukore, Dramatic Theory and Criticism, pages 94-99.
 *Tertullian (155-220 CE), "On the Spectacles" in Dukore, Dramatic Theory and Criticism, pages 85-94.

Read scripts of Christian theatre as it reemerged hundreds of years later
* Hrosvit, Dulcetius in Gassner anthology, 3-11 
*Quem Quertis, in Gassner anthology, page 31-35

Also read:  
* John Spaulding Gatton, "There Must Be Blood" in Violence in Drama


Highly recommended: Andrew Sofer, introduction and chapter one of The Stage Life of Props, Chapter 1

RECOMMENDED:  Hildegaard von Bingen, Ordo Virtutum (OCRA and video link below) with Michal Kobialka, This is my Body, Chapter  4 (partial): 165-182. (OCRA)
Also Recommended: "The Spectacle of Suffering in Spanish Streets" in City and Spectacle in Medieval Europe by Maureen Flynn, l994 (153-168).  

 Reading responses:
1.Do St. Augustine and Tertullian agree? What is their problem with theatre and spectacle, in your own words. Do you think any sense of their trouble with theatre persists today?
2. Would Augutine or Tertullian have approved of Dulcitas or any of the theatre described by Gatton or Sofer. If so why, if not why not?
3. Why must there be blood? Compare/contrast with today. 
4. On page 58 Sofer states: "It is my intention here to argue for a pluralistic approach that refuses to flatten the prop." How does he use medieval "theatre" to make that argument?
5. What is the "paradox" of the object's magic? (Sofer uses the word paradox on page 59, but you can answer this through any page).
6.  Sofer writes that "the 'Catholic' position, which denies representation, is untenable with regard to stage properties" (57)? What does that mean? Do you agree?



GROUP FOUR TO PERFORM





In terms of material reminders of ancient Rome, the medieval liturgical cope is derived from the ancient Roman lacerna, a semi-circular garment wrapped around the shoulders for protection from rain. The ecclesiastical use is first attested to at the martyrdom of St. Cyprian in A.D. 258. As a rain coat, the lacerna had a hood. The hoods for most copes are vestigal-- now a piece of flat, decorated, cloth where a normal hood would once have been. Can performance practices be vestigal too?





A production and description of the 9th century Quem Querititis trope (IGNORE CLAIM AT END ABOUT CHURCH EVICTION OF TROPES, it is incorrect).




Also of interest: a production of Ordo Virtutum:






Also recommended: An interesting 2005 polemic about the TV show 24  from The Nation on "Pop Torture" has resonances with the Gatton reading. Does the polemic apply across time -- medieval period, 2005, 2014? A polemic invites agreement or disagreement, so think about where you might agree or disagree.


Links of interest:
Documentary of a 1941 Chicago Latin Easter Mass
What is a Nave? 
What is a Rood Screen?
Important images related to medieval theatre
More images
Links list for medieval English language theatre



As drama moved out of the church various playing spaces evolved, from stationary rounds to stages with "simultaneous decor" to cycle plays on wagons in procession. We will discuss these in class. The images below will be helpful for the lecture if you spend some time with them.

Below, the Fouret frontispiece showing a mystery play of the Martyrdom of St. Appolonia. Notice the round (Fouret cuts into the scene in order to depict it)  and the double layer scaffolding.  Who is, or what function is performed by, the man with the stick?  Here is a website essay on it but best to turn to Glynne Wickham for account (on reserve).





Depiction of the acting area of a performance of a Passion Play at Valenciennes in 1547, from a manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale:



Script from the York Mystery Plays:

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