Liturgical Dramas

Liturgical drama is a term that refers to a kind of early Medieval drama that performed stories and scenes from the Bible as part of religious services. The term liturgical drama has come under scrutiny by critics, and it is often confused with other kinds of performances that developed during this time.

Liturgical dramas: meaning

Liturgical dramas are religious plays that were performed in medieval Europe during Christian religious services. These dramas typically depicted stories from the Bible, such as the life of Christ, the Passion, and the Resurrection.

They were performed by priests and members of the church, often in the language of the people, rather than in Latin. Liturgical dramas were designed to teach and inspire the faithful, and to bring the stories of the Bible to life in a way that was accessible and engaging for the audience.

Origins and development

Liturgical dramas began as a part of Medieval Christian liturgy (forms of worship). In standard Medieval church services, chanted call-and-response dialogues were commonly performed between priests and the congregation in Latin.

There is some debate amongst scholars about the validity of the term, however, especially regarding these chants and whether they can accurately be described as dramas. It is noted that Medieval mass services functioned as a kind of ritual drama, arguably with relevant characteristics including dramatic exposition, setting, character and dialogue, which was often chanted to simple melodies.

However, liturgy in the Middle Ages is also known to have included other elements, like lyrics, visual impressions, and tableaux vivants of Biblical scenes, and so the dramatic label can seem rather limiting.

Nevertheless, it is known that the Catholic Church and accompanying services were naturally dramatic and performative. Liturgical dramas functioned as a manner of worship during these services, deeply integrated within the Church.

Liturgical dramas progressively grew in length and sophistication, reaching a height during the 12th and 13th centuries, seeming, by this point, to more accurately match the dramatic label. Most depicted various tales from the Bible, including the resurrection of Christ, the Nativity, Daniel in the lion's den, amongst others, as well as stories about Saints, particularly St. Nicholas and the Virgin Mary.

Fig. 1 - Liturgical dramas were performed in the medieval period during religious services.

Liturgical drama vs vernacular drama

As liturgical plays became more popular, they started to serve as entertainment, becoming distanced from their liturgical origins.

Eventually, dramas began to explore secular themes and were performed in the vernacular (local, spoken languages) rather than in Latin. As this occurred, many began to lose the Church's sponsorship and instead started to become publicly funded. These became known as vernacular dramas.

Three major types of vernacular drama developed:

1. Morality plays: these dramas focused on conveying religious messages that intended to teach audiences how to make moral choices in their lives, using stories from the Bible.

2. Mystery plays: collections of smaller religious plays depicting Biblical tales that were performed as part of celebrations on holy days, often lasting a whole day.

3. Miracle plays: plays chronicling the lives of saints, particularly showing their miracles and martyrdom, and often transposing them into other stories about everyday people.

All of these find their origins in liturgical dramas. Once they ceased to be performed in Latin and began to be performed outside of Church events, due to increased secular support, they came to be called vernacular dramas.

Liturgical dramas: types

Types of liturgical plays and dramas include Corpus Christi plays, Christmas plays, and Easter plays. Liturgical dramas were intended to enhance Mass services, especially on Christian holidays, such as Easter and Christmas.

We can consider some early examples found in manuscripts that date back to the 10th century. These included chants and small scenes depicting Biblical scenes, particularly those relating to the celebrating of corresponding holy days.

Easter liturgical dramas

One of the most famous chants was 'Quem quaeritis', meaning 'Whom do you seek?', which can perhaps be considered the genesis of liturgical drama.

It was performed as a short, staged Latin dialogue during the Introit of the Matins service on Easter morning.

The scene dramatically re-enacted the Biblical scene of two Angels and the three Marys at Jesus' tomb, questioning the body's disappearance after his burial, and subsequently proclaiming his resurrection, the reason for the celebration of Easter Sunday.

The first three lines can be interpreted:

The dialogue was originally sung in Latin and eventually developed into short plays which formed the foundation of liturgical dramas. The earliest record of the 'Quem quaeritis' chant performed as a drama dates to the 10th century, preserved in the Regularis Concordia (c. 965-975).

By the 11th century, this dialogue had developed further, even beyond Easter liturgy. It became adapted into other services, incorporating other Biblical tales and events, particularly those relating to Christmas.

Christmas liturgical dramas

In the Middle Ages, Christmastide involved multiple liturgical practices, including Masses, musical call-and-response antiphons, plays and celebratory feast days.

Liturgical drama: example

An example of the liturgical drama includes the Officium Pastorum, which is the name given to the liturgical drama that was performed on Christmas Day as part of Medieval Church celebrations.

Usually, it was performed at the end of the Matins service, which, on Christmas Day, occurred at midnight. Some sources note that it also could have been performed before the Matins to lead into the main Christmas liturgy and to introduce actors that would continue to actively perform as their characters throughout the service.

The Officium Pastorum, as you may expect, depicts the Nativity story, as told by Saint Luke, in which shepherds travelled to Bethlehem to visit a newborn Jesus after being informed by Angels. Their accounts show them witnessing the infant lying in a manger, accompanied by Mary, her husband Joseph and the midwives who assisted in the birth.

The Christmas liturgical drama also incorporated a version of 'Quem quaeritis', adapting the dialogue to include conversations between the midwives and the shepherds. This was likely something to the effect of:

In this depiction of the well-known and sacred tale, the performance not only included actors but probably also costumes, sets and props, as provided by the local community. For Medieval European congregations, liturgical dramas were musical and visual spectacles put together in their own local churches.

Fig. 2 - Churches were transformed into intimate performance spaces for Liturgical dramas and their lessons.

Congregations were able to experience these stories in new ways via the mediums of music and dramatics, creating a performance housed in the Church, which functioned as a kind of performance venue.

Out of this, a sense of intimacy and immediacy formed, bringing these miraculous, biblical tales to life before their very eyes, but also as a result of efforts made by the community.

The following are some further examples of Liturgical dramas performed in the medieval period.

Renaissance liturgical dramas

The Renaissance was the period in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries that marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the beginning of modernity.

Ideas spread throughout the continent, especially those calling for a revival and improvement of classical theories. The movement encompassed culture, art, music, literature, politics, philosophy, and drama.

During this time, new philosophies began to spread, particularly a type called humanism, which underscored the entire period. Humanism encouraged tolerance and celebrated human accomplishments and qualities. This helped to remove Medieval social hierarchies that had existed before.

By the end of the Medieval period, the late 14th century, plays were no longer liturgical. They were now called vernacular dramas, as discussed previously. Public support, especially from wealthy patrons, led to the emergence of professional actors and playwrights. The dramatic arts continued to flourish into the Renaissance as a new era of thought developed.

It can be said that liturgical dramas did not really exist during the Renaissance, as plays were almost all secular and privately funded. They no longer relied on the Church for funding and now did not exist solely as part of ritual services. Christian liturgical activities still continued; however, the dramatic genre expanded beyond its religious origins, beginning to encompass further complex themes that developed out of new ideas in the Renaissance period.