The main genres of theatrical art of the Middle Ages. Theater and music of the Middle Ages

Medieval Western European theater covers a huge period of development of theatrical art - ten centuries: from the 5th to the 11th centuries. (early Middle Ages) and from the XII to the XV centuries. (period of developed feudalism). Theatre, due to its specific features (in particular, the obligatory direct participation of the audience in the performance), is perhaps the most social of all forms of art. Its development is determined by the general historical process of the development of civilization, and is inseparable from its trends.

The Middle Ages were one of the most difficult and darkest periods in history. After the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century. the ancient ancient civilization was practically wiped off the face of the earth. The young Christian religion, like any ideology at its early stage, gave birth to fanatics who fought against the ancient pagan culture. Philosophy, literature, art, and politics fell into decay.

Religion took the place of culture. These are difficult times for art in general and theater in particular. Secular theaters were closed, actors - including traveling comedians, musicians, jugglers, circus performers, dancers - were anathema. Already the earliest ideologists of Christianity - John Chrysostom, Cyprian and Tertullian - called the actors the children of Satan and the Whore of Babylon, and the audience - fallen sheep and lost souls.

In the XIV century. By a council decree, actors, show organizers and “all those possessed by a passion for the theater” were excluded from the Christian community. The performing arts were considered heresy and fell under the purview of the Inquisition. It would seem that the theater should have died irrevocably - for several centuries its art was banned. The remnants of traveling troupes (mimes - Greek, or histrions - Lat.), wandering around small villages with improvisational scenes, risked not only their lives, but also their afterlife existence: they, like suicides, were forbidden to be buried in consecrated ground. However, theatrical traditions were stubbornly preserved in folk ritual games and rituals associated with the calendar cycle.

During the early Middle Ages, with its subsistence economy, the center of political and social life moved from cities to villages and small settlements. In the villages, ritual traditions were especially strong.

In the countries of Western and Eastern Europe, theatrical May games were held, symbolizing the victory of summer over winter and the autumn harvest festivals. Clerical authorities persecuted such holidays, rightly seeing in them remnants of paganism. However, the centuries-old struggle was lost: the church faced not the community of actors, which always made up a small percentage of the population, but practically the entire people. The struggle was also made more difficult by the extreme fragmentation of settlements, characteristic of the early Middle Ages - it was simply impossible to keep track of everyone. The most obvious results of the lost clerical struggle against paganism were manifested in the traditional carnivals of Catholic Europe (in Orthodox countries - Maslenitsa), the holiday preceding Lent and marking the end of winter. The brutal actions helped achieve only one thing - to reduce the official duration of the carnival from two weeks to one. Traditional ritual actions were gradually transformed; folklore elements were included in them; the artistic side of the ritual became increasingly important. Such holidays were nationwide; However, people stood out from among the people who began to engage in games and activities professionally. From this source came one of the three main lines of medieval theater - the folk-plebeian one. This line was later developed in the revived art of histrions; in street performances; in a later theatrical medieval form - satirical farces.

Another line of medieval theater is feudal-church. It is associated with a radical change in the essential attitude of the church towards theatrical art and the practical replacement of a prohibitive policy with an integration one. Around the 9th century, having actually lost the war with the remnants of paganism and appreciating the colossal ideological and propaganda potential of spectacle, the church began to include elements of theater in its arsenal. The emergence of liturgical drama dates back to this time. This change in policy was very reasonable - the spontaneous uncontrollable process was taken under control by the clerical authorities. With the ongoing persecution of theater and professional actors, the undying art of theater has received a kind of loophole on the path to legalization.

By the 9th century. the economic and social role of large settlements is strengthening, and there is a tendency to destroy the isolation of medieval villages (although about two centuries remain before the emergence of medieval cities). Under these conditions, liturgical drama—a dialogical retelling of gospel stories—gained increasing popularity. They were written in Latin, their dialogues were brief, and their execution was strictly formalized. They organically merged the ecstatic functions of theater and church service; undoubtedly, here was the shortest way to achieve catharsis.

Thus, the church actually contributed to the revival of professional theater. Later, by the 12th – 13th centuries, it became clear that the process of development and transformation of liturgical drama had become uncontrollable. In essence, the clerical authorities “let the genie out of the bottle”: there was a constant and inevitable strengthening of the worldly motives of liturgical drama - folklore and everyday elements, comic episodes, and folk vocabulary penetrated into it.

Already in 1210, Pope Innocent III issued a Decree banning the display of liturgical dramas in churches. However, the church did not want to give up such a powerful means of attracting people's love; the display of theatrical gospel episodes was brought to the porch, the liturgical drama was transformed into a semi-liturgical one. This was the first transitional form from religious to secular theater; The further line of development of the medieval feudal-church theater went through the mysteries (XIV-XVI centuries), as well as later parallel forms - miracles and moral plays (XV-XVI centuries).

Vagants—wandering clerics, comedians from among the defrocked priests, and half-educated seminarians—can also be considered a transitional form between the folk-plebeian and feudal-church lines of development of the medieval theater. Their appearance is directly due to liturgical drama - the performances of vagantes, as a rule, satirically parodied liturgies, church rituals and even prayers, replacing the idea of ​​humility and submission to God with the glorification of earthly carnal joys. The Vagants were persecuted by the church with particular cruelty.

By the 13th century. they practically disappeared, joining the ranks of the histrions. Around this time, there was also a professional differentiation of histrions by type of creativity: traveling comedians who amused people in squares and fairs were called buffons; actor-musicians who entertained the upper classes in castles - jugglers; and “court” storytellers, glorifying knightly glory and valor in their works, are troubadours. However, this division was largely arbitrary; histrions, as a rule, mastered all the possibilities of their profession.

The third line of development of medieval theater is the burgher, which was also given impetus by liturgical and especially semi-liturgical drama.

In the Middle Ages, isolated, still very timid, experiments in creating secular drama appeared.

One of the very first forms of secular theater was the Puy poetry circles, which initially had a religious and propaganda direction, later, by the 13th century, in connection with the development of medieval cities and their culture, which acquired a secular character.

A member of the Arras "Puy", the French trouvere (musician, poet and singer) Adam de La Halle wrote the first medieval secular plays known to us - The Game in the Arbor and The Game of Robin and Marion. He was in fact the only secular playwright of the early Middle Ages, so it is not possible to talk about any trends based on his example. However, the burgher line of development of medieval theater received a particularly rapid surge in the material of the mystery plays.

The first liturgical dramas included the staging of individual episodes of the gospel; their share in the overall liturgy was small. The “staging” of these episodes was carried out by the spiritual shepherds leading the service: they gave precise instructions to the performers on costumes, the moment of appearance, the exact pronunciation of the text, and movements.

However, gradually more and more dramatized episodes were included in liturgical dramas; costumes became more complex and diversified—everyday ones were added to the conventionally symbolic ones; complex production effects and tricks were developed to visualize miracles - ascension to heaven, falling into hell, the movement of the Star of Bethlehem, showing the shepherds the way to the manger of the Infant Christ, etc. With the transition to the porch in the design of the semi-liturgical drama, the number of scenes of action, located on a common platform at the same time, in one line, increased. Clerical “actors” could no longer cope with the entire complex of production and performing tasks; Lay people began to be involved in participation in the semi-liturgical drama - mainly in the roles of devils and everyday comic characters, as well as in the manufacture of machinery.

The growing popularity of semi-liturgical dramas, as well as the formation and rapid development of medieval cities - and therefore the rapid increase in the urban population - gradually led to the fact that the church porch in front of the temple could no longer accommodate everyone who wanted to watch the performance. This is how mysteries appeared, brought to fenced squares and streets. The mystery was an organic part of large city holidays and celebrations; it was usually held in conjunction with the fair. It was an extremely large-scale spectacle that lasted the whole daylight hours, or even several days. Hundreds of people took part in the mysteries. This could not but change the language of the mystery: Latin interspersed with the spoken language.

The initial stage of the development of the mystery in the countries of Western Europe was similar, but in its canonical form the mystery was formed and strengthened in France, which in the Middle Ages gave the most revealing picture of the formation of feudalism. The mystery practically bypassed Italy - the humanistic tendencies of the Renaissance appeared relatively early in Italian art; in Spain, the creation of mass theatrical forms was hampered by the constant wars of the Reconquista and the lack of urban craft workshops; in England and Germany, the mysteries were mainly borrowed from French sources with the addition of original comic episodes.

The difference between the mystery plays and the official types of medieval theater was that they were no longer organized by the church, but by the city council - the municipality, together with the city workshops of artisans. The authors of the mysteries were increasingly not monks, but theologians, lawyers, and doctors. The fair itself, after a prayer service and the blessing of the bishop, opened with a solemn mass procession, carried out in the traditions of a carnival - mummers, carts with living paintings on biblical and evangelical themes, etc. And mystery performances became an arena for rivalry and competition between urban craft guilds, seeking to demonstrate both artistic skill and the wealth of their community.

Each of the city workshops received its own independent episode of the mystery play, as a rule, the one closest to its professional interests. Thus, the episodes with Noah's Ark were staged by shipbuilders; Last Supper - bakers; Adoration of the Magi - Jewelers; expulsion from paradise - gunsmiths who armed the angels expelling Adam and Eve with their products. Most roles were performed by lay artisans.

The competition between the workshops led to a gradual transition from amateur productions of mysteries to professional ones: specialists were hired to organize stage miracles (“conducteurs des secrets” - “leaders of secrets”); tailors who sewed stage costumes at the expense of guild organizations; pyrotechnicians who develop spectacular stunts of torture in hell and fires on the Day of Judgment; etc. To provide general guidance and coordinate the actions of hundreds of performers, a “conducteur du jeu” was appointed - “game leader”, the prototype of the current production director. The preparatory work (in modern terms, the rehearsal period) lasted several months.

Gradually, the most skilled participants in the mysteries united into special “brotherhoods”, which became the first professional theatrical associations of a new type. The most famous of them was the Brotherhood of the Passions, which in 1402 received from King Charles VI the monopoly right to play mysteries and miracles in Paris. The Brotherhood of the Passions flourished for almost 150 years, until 1548, when by order of Parliament its activities were prohibited.

Actually, by the middle of the 16th century. the mystery was banned in almost all countries of Western Europe. By this time, the Catholic Church was entering a period of counter-reformation, declaring war on all heretical movements. The democracy and free-thinking of the mystery, in which the element of a popular holiday swept away religious sounds, led to the clerical demand for the prohibition of “demonic games”, which had recently been born from the bosom of the church. This event ended the historical period of medieval theater, which laid the very foundations of modern theater - miracles and morality plays were actually pale echoes of large-scale mystery shows. However, in the medieval theater the forerunners of numerous creative and technical modern theatrical professions arose, in addition to acting - directors, set designers, stunt coordinators, costume designers, producers, etc. At the same time, a powerful movement of amateur theater performances, which is still alive today, was born.

All types of medieval theater - performances of histrions, mysteries, moral plays, miracles, farces, soti - prepared the way for the next historical stage in the development of the theater - the powerful theatrical art of the Renaissance.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
HISTORICAL CONDITIONS OF DEVELOPMENT

FORMS OF THEATER DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE AGES
• The origins of the theater of the Middle Ages
• Farce
• Histrions
• Church theater.
• Liturgical drama
• Semi-liturgical drama
• Miracle
• Mystery
• Morality
• Soti

QUESTIONS
LITERATURE
GLOSSARY OF TERMS

INTRODUCTION

Features of studying the history of medieval theater. Subject and method of theater research in relation to the history of medieval theater. The problem of medieval culture in modern medieval studies and modern art history. History of medieval theater in the works of domestic theater scholars.

Historical conditions of development.

Feudal society in Western Europe. Stages of its formation: 1. Early Middle Ages – V-XI centuries; 2. Mature Middle Ages – XII-XV centuries; 3.Late Middle Ages - XVI - early XVII centuries.

Development of cities in Western Europe and the formation of the urban class. The flourishing of urban culture and its influence on the development of medieval theater.

The cosmopolitan character of medieval theater.

Religious consciousness in medieval culture, its features. Paganism and Christianity in medieval culture, their interaction, the concept of “folk Christianity”. The role of “folk Christianity” in the development of theater in the Middle Ages. The entertainment culture of the Middle Ages, its close connection with the development of medieval theater. Lines of the medieval theater: church, folk-plebeian, burgher, their interaction.

Stages of formation and development of medieval theater. A variety of genre forms of medieval theater. Desacralization of theatrical performances is a general trend in the development of medieval theater.

FORMS OF THEATER DEVELOPMENT IN THE MIDDLE AGES

The origins of the theater of the Middle Ages are agricultural festivals, peasant games, pagan rituals, and Christian rituals.

The ritual in honor of the dying-resurrecting deity is the source of the oldest genre of medieval theater - farce.

Farce , the name of the genre, its semantic meaning. The struggle of sacred doubles; motive of deception, trickery; verbal duel, skirmish; the victory of the character who embodies “life” over the one who embodies “death” are the main features of a farce. The principle of farce is “the thief will be robbed.” The place where the farce is played out is the cult tables. Food is an accompanying component of a farcical performance. The pre-literary period of the formation of farce.

Histrions - the first professional performers of farces and the first professional actors of the Middle Ages. Histrions in a medieval city. Various concepts of the origin of the art of medieval histrions. Urban histrions existed among all the peoples of Europe: in France - jugglers, in England - minstrels, in Germany - shpilmans, in Italy - mimes, etc. The ongoing struggle of the church with the medieval histrions.

Medieval classifications of the art of jugglers: buffoon, juggler, troubadour .

Elements of pagan origin in the performances of jugglers: masks (or exaggerated makeup made of flour), skillful jumps, somersaults, the ability to speak in different voices, play different musical instruments.

About the art of the juggler in the anonymous legend of the 13th century “The Juggler of Our Lady.” Uniting the histrions into unions (Brotherhood of Jugglers in Arras, 9th century)

Analysis of the earliest of the literary recorded texts of the farce - “The Boy and the Blind” (13th century). Features of the ritual past of the farce in the plot. Stage language of farce.

The emptiness of the stage of farce. Time and space of a farcical performance. The main techniques of farcical performance: buffoonery, exaggerated gestures, the art of dialogue, verbal argument.

The evolution of farce in a medieval city. The folk roots of farce and its reflection of the psychology of a medieval townsman. The conflict of farce and its evolution in medieval theater. Incorporation of farce into mystery performances. The popularity of farce in medieval theater. The fate of farce in the Renaissance. The influence of farce on comedy drama.

National varieties of farce - fastnachtspiel (Germany), interlude (England).

Anonymous French farce “Lawyer Patlen” (15th century). His analysis.

Bazosh, her activities. “Bazoshtsy” and farce. Techniques for staging a farce among the Bazosh people. Amateur theater groups in medieval cities. Migration of farce texts.

Farce and printing. Farce and written culture of the 16th century. Second half of the 16th century. – beginning of the 17th century. - time for improvising farcical plots.

Interaction of farce with the culture of the Renaissance.

The role of farce in the development of comedy in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Church theater

The earliest church dramas that have come down to us are the dramas of a German nun of the 10th century. Grotsvits of Gandersheim in the collection “Anti-Terence”.

The fate of the ancient theatrical heritage in the Middle Ages. Rhetorical goals of Grotsvita's comedies. The medieval theatrical language of her plays. Formation of the church theater.

Liturgical drama. The origins in Christian rites of a church service that had not yet been canonized until the 10th century. The performers of the liturgical drama are priests, the place of performance is the altar of the church, the language is Latin.

Time and space in liturgical drama. Theatricalization of sacred texts as one of the main means of explaining Christianity. Remarks in the text of liturgical drama. Canonized gestures and poses of performers. Symbol and sign are the main theatrical techniques of church theater.

Christmas and Easter cycles of liturgical drama.

The fate of liturgical drama throughout the Middle Ages. Strengthening the effective element in liturgical drama.

The simultaneity of action is the basic principle of a church performance.

Liturgical drama in the Renaissance.

Semi-liturgical drama

Formation in the 12th century. The scene of action is the porch of the temple. The inclusion of a grassroots, comedic element in a theatrical performance, the secularization of action. Further development of the principle of simultaneity of action.

Time and space in semi-liturgical drama. Transition from Latin to vernacular languages. The townspeople are the performers of the devils in the semi-liturgical drama.

The duality of the perception of the devil by a medieval city dweller. Costume of devil performers. Formation of elements of future mystery diableries in semi-liturgical drama.

Analysis of the semi-liturgical drama “The Act of Adam” (13th century). The stage language of this semi-liturgical drama.

Formation of secular theater of the Middle Ages.

“The Game in the Arbor” and “The Game of Robin and Marion” by the 13th century Arras trouvere Adam de La Hale. Biography of Adam de La Al, reflection of her features in “Game in the Arbor”.

Arras Puy and its activities. “Game in the gazebo”, its connection with pagan festivals. Analysis of “Games in the gazebo”, a combination of everyday, fairy-tale, folklore, buffoonish elements. Time and space in “The Game”.

Formation of a mixed genre - pois pilees - “crushed peas” . Place of performance of the game, participants in the game, theatrical techniques. Analysis of “The Game of Robin and Marion.” The influence of Provençal lyrics on “The Game of Robin and Marion.” Theatrical element in the “Game”: songs and dances, folklore games.

The connection between the “games” of Adam de La Al and medieval urban culture.

Miracle - a genre that developed in the 13th century as a dramatization of legends about saints.

"Miracles" of the Virgin Mary. The first French miracle that has survived to this day is “The Game of Saint Nicholas” by Jean Bodel (? – 1210), a participant in the Arras Puy.

Analysis of the theatrical language of Miracle. Time and space in Bodel's miracle. The place where the first miracles were performed, the performing style of the game.

Analysis of the theatrical language of the miracle “The Miracle of Theophilus” by Ruetbeuf (c. 1230-1285).

The concept of medieval grotesque. Its manifestations in the miraculous and other genres of medieval theater.

The further flourishing of the miracle in France during the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). Paris collection of forty miracles dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Strengthening the didactic and everyday element in the Miracle.

Mystery - the crown of medieval theater, a genre that combined the forms of church, folk, and secular theaters of the Middle Ages.

The flourishing of mystery ideas in the 15th – first half of the 16th centuries. The connection between mystery and the spectacular culture of the medieval city.

The organizers of the mysteries are the clergy and city councils. Authors of mystery shows.

Participants in the mysteries, distribution of roles.

Mystery is a mass folk theater performance. Mystery parade. Costumes of participants in mysteries.

The leader of the mystery, his powers. The literary text of the mystery play and the improvisational fabric of the mystery performance. Mystery dramaturgy did not precede the performance, but in most cases was a subsequent literary treatment of stage texts.

Literary and scenic ways of forming mystery drama. Compositional fragmentation of mystery texts.

Formation of the Old Testament and New Testament mystery cycles.

“The Mystery of the Passions” by Arnoux Greban is a classic type of mystery performance.

The order of the mystery presentation. Mystery parade, its organic connection with city celebrations.

The hierarchy of participants in the mystery parade is a reflection of the hierarchy of the world of medieval man. Development of mystery action.

National features of the development of mystery plays in Italy, Spain, France, England, Germany. Construction of the stage areas of the mystery theater. Circular, gazebo, mobile types of mystery presentations.

Time and space in each type of mystery representation. The grotesque principle of mystery representation. Comic element in mystery. Aesthetic principles of the Gothic style in the mystery theater.

Devils in mysteries and diableries. Simpletons, cripples, buffoons. Incorporation of farce into mystery.

Comic and dramatic in mystery. Interludes of a jester in a mystery play. A combination of different theatrical genres in a mystery performance. The emergence of the first semi-professional unions performing the mysteries.

“Brotherhood of the Holy Passion” in Paris. Its privileged position compared to other theatrical unions. Desacralization of the mystery performance. “Brotherhood of the Holy Passion” in the 15th and 16th centuries in Paris. Prohibitions on the performance of mystery plays in Paris.

Professionalization of the “brothers” activities, change in repertoire. Reasons for the dying of the mystery theater.

Mystery and Reformation. The influence of mystery theater on the emerging theatrical language of the New Age in England, Spain, Italy, France.

Morality - allegorical edifying drama.

The formation and flowering of the genre, its connection with the Reformation movement, with the psychology of the medieval burghers.

Didactics is the principle of morality. Allegories in morality.

Stylistic unity is moral. French morality play “The Prudent and the Foolish” (1436)

Theatrical language of morality. Time and space in morality. Place of morality play. Moral performers. Costumes of the participants in the morality play.

Ways of genre formation. The heyday of the genre in England and the Netherlands. Chambers of rhetoricians in the Netherlands.

Moralite - a means of combating Catholicism in England. Moral "The Four Elements". Allegorical techniques of morality in Renaissance drama.

Soti . The organic connection of Soti with Maslenitsa games and the carnival culture of the era.

Carnivals and the emergence of “stupid” culture in the Middle Ages. Madman - Fool - Jester.

The origin of the medieval jester, his costume, plasticity, facial expressions, theatrical techniques. The emergence of “stupid corporations” in the Middle Ages. Guild and citywide stupid brotherhoods.

“Funny Sermons”, parody services.

Holidays of Fools. Parades of fools. The cries of fools.

Theatrical performances of fools. Formation of the soti genre. French soti “Peace and Abuse”. “The Game of the Prince of Fools and the Foolish Mother” by Pierre Gringoire (1512) Difficulties in defining the genre of soti.

Mixed forms of sothi and farce in the 16th century. Prohibition of soti.

Parisian brotherhood “Carefree guys”. Professionalization of the acting art of the “Carefree Children” and the participants of “Bazoshi” in the 16th century. Ban on “Bazoshi” (1582) and “Carefree Children” (1612).

Farce is the basis of the repertoire of the “Brotherhood of the Holy Passion” in the second half of the 16th century. The Brothers move to the premises of the Burgundy Hotel.

The birth of professional theater.

CONTROL QUESTIONS

TOPIC 1: Methodological features of the study of medieval theater
1. General characteristics of the medieval theater. Features of its study.
2.Historical and cultural conditions for the emergence of medieval theater.
3. Literary and theater studies concepts of the origin and development of forms of medieval theater.

TOPIC 2: Origins of medieval theater
1.The origin of the art of medieval jugglers. His role in the formation of the theater of the 10th-13th centuries.
2. Histrions. Jugglers. Mimes.
3. Origins of folk medieval theater. Ritual holidays. Carnival.
4.The origins of farce.

TOPIC 3: Forms of church theater
1. Grotsvita of Gandersheim. Formation of the church theater.
2. Liturgical drama. Its evolution in medieval theater.
3. Semi-liturgical drama. The evolution of the genre in the Middle Ages.
4.Comic element in semi-liturgical drama.

TOPIC 4: Secular theater in the Middle Ages
1. Adam de La Al. Theatrical language “Games in the gazebo”.
2. Adam de La Al. Theatrical language of “Games about Robin and Marion”.

TOPIC 5: Semi-professional theatrical unions in the Middle Ages
1. Ways of professionalization of medieval theater.
2. The activities of semi-professional and professional acting unions and brotherhoods in the Middle Ages.
3. The concept of actor and director in medieval theater.
4. “Genre” specialization of Bazoshi and the Brotherhood of the Holy Passion.

TOPIC 6: Theater of the mature and late Middle Ages
1. Miracle. Formation and evolution of the genre in medieval theater.
2. Mystery - the “crown” of medieval theater.
3. Methods of organizing space in a medieval theater.
4. Time and space in a mystery play.
5.Comic element in the mystery.
6.Diableries in the mysteries.
7. Clowns, simpletons, devils in mystery plays.
8. Farce in mysteries.
9. Actors and distribution of roles in a mystery play.
10. Director of a mystery action.
11. Reasons for banning mystery plays.
12. Farce. Formation and evolution of the genre in the Middle Ages.
13. Farce playground. Basic principles of a farcical performance.
14. Farcers. Acting techniques. Costume. Makeup.
15. The fate of farce in the Renaissance theater.
16. Farce in the theater of the 17th century.
17.Moralize. Formation and evolution of the genre. National characteristics of the morality play genre.
18.Theatrical language of morality.
19.Soti. Formation and evolution of the genre in the Middle Ages. Its connection with “wacky” medieval culture and carnival.
20.Theatrical areas of the church theater. Time and space in the church theater.
21. Theater venues of the folk theater. Time and space in the folk theater of the Middle Ages.
22. Jester in soti, farce and mystery.
23. Desacralization of church theater in the Middle Ages.
24. Desacralization of folk theater in the Middle Ages.
25. Costume, plasticity and gesture in the church and folk theater of the Middle Ages.
26. Traditions of medieval theater in the 16th-17th centuries.
27. The significance of medieval theatrical culture in the history of European theater.

LITERATURE

TEXTS

Grotsvita of Gandersheim. Excerpt from the drama “Abraham” // Reader on the history of Western European theater, edited by S.S. Mokulsky, vol. 1, ed. 2., 1953

Grotsvita of Gandersheim. Excerpt from the drama “Dulcius” // Reader on the history of Western European theater, edited by S.S. Mokulsky, vol. 1, ed. 2., 1953

“Wise Virgins and Foolish Virgins,” liturgical drama of the 11th century // Reader on the history of Western European theater, edited by S.S. Mokulsky, vol. 1, ed. 2., 1953

“The Presentation of Adam,” semi-liturgical drama of the 12th century // Reader on the history of Western European theater, edited by S.S. Mokulsky, vol. 1, ed. 2., 1953

“The Resurrection of the Savior,” semi-liturgical drama of the 12th century // Reader on the history of Western European theater, edited by S.S. Mokulsky, vol. 1, ed. 2., 1953

Adam de La Halle “The Play of Robin and Marion” // Reader on the history of Western European theater, edited by S.S. Mokulsky, vol. 1, ed. 2., 1953

Jean Bodel “The Play of St. Nicholas” // Reader on the history of Western European theater, edited by S.S. Mokulsky, vol. 1, ed. 2., 1953

Ruytbeuf “The Act of Theophilus” - translation by A.A. Blok - in Collections. Op. A.A. Blok, vol. 7, L, 1932

French miracle of the 14th century “Bertha” - an excerpt published in the book: Pinus S. French poets, St. Petersburg, 1914

French miracle of the 14th century “Amis and Amil” - prose translation in the book: Reader on the history of universal literature by I.I. Glivenko – P, 1915

“Medieval French farces.” – M, Art, 1981

TUTORIALS

Andreev M.L. Medieval European drama: Origin and formation. (X-XIII centuries). - M, 1989

Bakhtin M. M. The work of Francois Rabelais and the folk culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance - any publication

Boyadzhiev G.N. Theater of the early Middle Ages // Dzhivelegov A.K. and Boyadzhiev G.N. History of Western European theater. From its origins to 1789. – M.-L., 1941, p. 7 – 49

Boyadzhiev G.N. Theater of the era of formation and heyday of feudalism // History of Western European theater. - M, 1953. - T. 1, p. 7 - 124

Boyadzhiev G.N. At the origins of French realistic drama (13th century) // Yearbook of the Institute of Art History. Theater. - M, 1955, p. 352 -376

Boyanus S. K. Medieval theater // Essays on the history of European theater, ed. Gvozdeva A.A. and Smirnova A.A. – Ptg, 1923, p. 55-104

Gazo A. Jesters and buffoons of all times and peoples. – St. Petersburg, 1896

Gvozdev A.A. Theater of the era of feudalism // Gvozdev A.A. and Piotrvosky A.I. History of European theater. - M.-L., 1913, pp. 333 -659

Gvozdev A.A. Mass festivities in the West (experience of a historical review) // “Mass festivities”, collection of the Committee for the Sociological Study of Art of the State Institute of Art History. - L., 1926

Gurevich A.Ya. Problems of medieval folk culture. – M. Art, 1981

Dzhivelegov A.K. Folk foundations of the French theater // Yearbook of the Institute of Art History. Theater. –M, 1955, p.318 –351

Ivanov Vyach. Sun. From notes on the structure and functions of the carnival image // Problems of poetics and history of literature. - Saransk, 1973, p. 37-54

Ivanov Vyach. Sun. Spatial structures of early theater and asymmetry of stage space // Theater space. Materials of the scientific conference. (Vipper Readings – 78). - M, 1979, p. 5-34

Ivanov K.A. Troubadours, Trouvères and Menningers. - any edition.

Mokulsky S.S. Principles of constructing the history of the French theater // Yearbook of the Institute of Art History. Theater. - M, 1948, p. 119-142

Paushkin M. Medieval theater (Spiritual drama). – M, 1913

Reutin M.Yu. Folk culture of Germany. – M, 1996

Smirnov A.A. Medieval drama // History of Western European literature. Early Middle Ages and Renaissance,” ed. V.M. Zhirmunsky - T. 1, 1947, chapter 17

DICTIONARY OF TERMS AND CONCEPTS

“Lawyer Patlen”- an anonymous French farce of the 15th century, the most perfect in its artistic form, the most remarkable monument of farcical theater.

“Anti-Terence”- a collection of church plays created by the 10th-century German nun Grotsvita of Gandersheim, who sought to combat the influence of Terence’s comedies, which were used to teach colloquial Latin in medieval schools.

“Carefree guys”- a semi-amateur brotherhood created in the 14th century in Paris to perform farces and soti. The “Carefree Boys” continued the medieval tradition of “fool” corporations. The activities of the “Carefree Fellows” were prohibited by royal decree in 1612.

“Brotherhood of the Holy Passion”- a medieval theatrical semi-amateur organization created at the end of the 14th century in Paris. In 1402, the “Brothers” (as their contemporaries called them) received a monopoly on the presentation of mysteries in Paris. In 1548, the Parisian parliament prohibited the Brotherhood from giving mystery performances, but its theatrical monopoly in Paris remained. The activities of the Brotherhood were finally terminated only in 1676.

“The Juggler of Our Lady” is an anonymous 13th-century legend that gives an excellent description of what a good juggler should be able to do.

“Folk Christianity”- a concept introduced into Russian medieval studies by A. Ya Gurevich. By “folk Christianity” Gurevich means the comprehensive interaction of church ideology with the pre-Christian (or extra-Christian) folk culture of the Middle Ages.

Basosh- a corporation of judges' clerks and lawyers who organized amateur comic performances. It arose at the beginning of the 14th century in Paris, but then became very numerous, and in addition to the central Parisian union, it had numerous branches in the French province in the Middle Ages. The Bazoš people specialized in presenting farces and organizing city festivals traditional for the Middle Ages. The activities of the Baso people were finally prohibited in 1582.

Madman- this refers to “sacred madness,” which in the ancient pagan agrarian rite was identified with a period of temporary death. Over time, the image of a madman (in French - fou) is transformed into the image of a fool, a jester, one of the central characters of French medieval theater. See Fool, Jester.

Burgundy Hotel- the oldest drama theater in Paris. It was founded in 1548, when the Brotherhood of the Holy Passion, having received a ban on performing mysteries from the Parisian parliament, bought the building of the Burgundy Hotel and began performing plays of various genres in the new premises. In the 40s of the 17th century, the Burgundy Hotel became the main stage of the classicist theater. In 1680, by royal decree, the troupe of the Burgundy Hotel was merged with the troupe of Moliere, and thus the first state theater of France, the Comédie Française, was created.

Buffoonery, Buffon- a comedic acting technique with maximum emphasis on the external characteristic features of the character, sharp exaggeration, acute external dynamics of the character’s behavior. The word comes from the Italian buffonata - joke, clowning. Buffoonery originated in the medieval public theater. Later it was used in the Italian mask theater, and later in comedy drama. Today, buffoonery is common in the performances of circus clowns. Buffon is the one who makes buffoonery the main expressive means of acting.

Histrion(from Latin histrio) – 1. in ancient Rome, actors, often descended from slaves. In the Middle Ages, folk traveling actors. 2. The origins of histrion art go back to rural ritual games and holidays. Medieval authors called all semi-professional folk actors histrions. In the 13th century they began to be called by the Latin word ioculatores - “funny man”. In France, ioculatores took the form jogleor, jogler and finally established itself as jongleur - “juggler”.

Gothic style- an artistic style that dominated Western European art in the 13th–15th centuries. Gothic arose on the basis of Romanesque art, and in it the Christian worldview of the Middle Ages most fully expressed itself. The term “Gothic” appeared during the Italian Renaissance to designate the art of the passing era of the Middle Ages. Gothic expressed itself most fully in architecture and statuary sculpture. The heyday of Gothic, the so-called “High Gothic,” occurred during the reign of Louis IX Saint (1226-1270). In Gothic art, subject and form become symbols of the idea of ​​infinity, the idea of ​​movement becomes an artistic dominant. During the heyday of Gothic, secular art began to develop intensively. Artistic ideas of late Gothic XIV-XV centuries. prepared and had a significant influence on the art of the Renaissance.

Makeup– the art of transforming an actor’s appearance using paints, a wig, and stickers. The history of its origin goes back to folk rituals and games that required external transformation of the participants. It is no coincidence that vegetable dyes and flour were used in the first makeups. The makeup of a medieval farceur is a face bleached with flour with bright vegetable paints applied over a white background to emphasize the mouth, eyes and nose. The painted faces of the farcers were close to the mask and were probably sometimes replaced with it.

The pre-literary period of the development of farce- the period preceding the literary treatment of farcical plots, which were previously improvised according to the well-known farcical scheme. The pre-literary period of farce has its roots in the agrarian rituals of the early Middle Ages and ends by the 13th century. The first farce that has survived to this day, “The Boy and the Blind,” was created between 1266 and 1282, as evidenced by the song performed by the heroes of the farce, dedicated to the campaign of the Sicilian king Charles of Anjou. Along with the development of urban culture, farce experiences a new birth and begins to be created as an independent, literary and written work.

Fool- a character in folk comedy, a stage role in medieval theater. It originated in comedy wacky theater fraternities. The “fool” was dressed in a special yellow-green suit consisting of alternating stripes, wore a cap with long donkey ears on his head, and held a rattle in his hands depicting a fool, inside of which peas were poured. The “fool” always improvised his text. He was an indispensable participant in mystery performances. He first appears as an independent character in the plays of Adam de La Al. The image of the “fool” in medieval culture is genetically closely related to the image of the “Madman” (see above). A type of “Fool” is the jester.

Stupid corporations, fraternities– semi-amateur theatrical unions associated with the carnival culture of the Middle Ages. The oldest known society of “Fools” was created in 1381 in Kleve, it was called Narrenorden - the Order of Fools. At the end of the Middle Ages, similar societies appeared in every city: in Cambrai - the “Merry Abbey”, in Chaumont - the “Devils”, in Aix - the “Naughty”, in Rouen - the “Stags”, in Reims - the “Merry Men”, in Paris - “The Merry Men” Carefree guys”, etc. In “stupid” corporations, a genre of medieval theater is born - soti.

Diableria- a comedy skit in which mystery devils take part. Diablerias were an integral part of the mystery performance. They were improvised by the performers during the performance. Diablerias most often interrupted the action of the mystery at the most acute, pathetic point, when the emotions of the audience were inflamed by the tragic circumstances of the performance. Diablerias introduced a sharply dissonant, cheerful note into the mystery performance.

Juggler- semi-professional actor of medieval theater. Cm. Histrion.

Interlude- a type of farce in England, which developed at the end of the Middle Ages and at the beginning of the Renaissance. It was played during festivities, as evidenced by the name of the genre: in Latin inter - between, ludus - game. Some interludes featured allegorical characters typical of morality plays. Thus, the interlude represents a transitional dramatic form from farce to morality play.

Sideshow- a small comedy skit performed between the main scenes of a mystery performance. Intermedius in Latin - located in the middle. Over time, interludes in mystery plays began to be replaced by farces. In Spain, interludes developed into an original independent genre and were performed between the acts of the main performance in the city public theater. An example of interludes of the Spanish Renaissance are the interludes of Cervantes.

Cripple- a character in folk comedy, a stage role in medieval theater. Cripples are favorite characters in medieval farces and mystery sideshows. Their mutilation and squalor often turn out to be imaginary and serve as a cover for the main goal - to get rich.

Cleric- clergyman, clergyman.

Liturgical drama- a type of medieval church theater. Originated in the 9th century, it was a dramatization of individual episodes of the service. Liturgical drama developed from antiphonal chant (singing dialogue between two semi-choirs) and tropes (a retelling of the Gospel text composed in the form of a dialogue). Liturgical dramas were performed in Latin and were accompanied by ritual symbolic actions of the clergy, which made it easier for parishioners not familiar with Latin to understand the Gospel events.

Mask– mascus, masca – in Latin mask. This “mask” was made of leather, or paper, or other materials. A theatrical mask is worn on the face and used in theatrical performances. The history of the theatrical mask is rooted in pagan agrarian rituals. In the Middle Ages, the mask was used by histrions, jugglers, and farcers.

Medieval Studies- from the Latin medius - middle and aevum - century, era. A branch of history that studies the history of Europe in the Middle Ages.

Minstrel- a medieval singer, musician, entertainer, poet, in the service of a master. Unlike jugglers, the art of minstrelsy is focused on the tastes of the aristocracy, the educated elite of society.

Theater research method- a scientific method of analyzing theater and drama, in which theater is considered as an independent art, and not one of the sections of literature. The theater research method developed in the works of domestic scientists A.A. Gvozdeva, A.K. Dzhivelegova, S.S. Mokulsky, K.N. Derzhavina, S.S. Danilova, P.A. Markova, G.N. Boyadzhiev and others.

Migration of farce texts- in the Middle Ages, each city had its own semi-amateur troupe that practiced in theatrical performances. Thus, the townspeople did not feel the need for touring performances by actors. But amateur actors have already begun to feel the need to update their repertoire. They first copied the texts of farces by hand, and in the late Middle Ages farces were already published in small books. The texts of the farces, not their performers, “toured” between cities.

Mime- a special type of performance in the ancient theater, representing small satirical everyday scenes in which the poetic form alternates with prose. Initially, mimes were played on the streets and in the houses of noble people; later mime turned into an independent theatrical genre. Mime reached its peak in Rome in the 1st century BC. At this time, women, magicians and acrobats began to take part in mime. During the times of the Roman Empire, mime developed into significant plays with complex, entertaining intrigue, and the spectacular side developed in it. Mime had a certain influence on the contemporary literature of antiquity. The influence of mime spread further; it is clearly visible in medieval Italian farces, as well as in commedia dell'arte performances.

Miracle- a genre of medieval church theater, its plot is based on a “miracle” (this is how the name of the genre itself is translated - miraculum in Latin means “miracle”) performed by a saint or the Virgin Mary. Miracle appeared in France in the 13th century and became widespread in all countries of Western Europe. In the miracle, earthly life was depicted as a refuge of sorrow and suffering. Only the miraculous intervention of heavenly forces in the fate of man led to the triumph of justice and the trampling of vice. Over time, stories from legends and apocrypha begin to be used in miracles. The genre flourished in the 14th-15th centuries and is associated with the events of the Hundred Years' War. In the 15th century, miracles began to use plots from Latin adventure stories, fabliaux, and poems. At this time, the religious element begins to gradually be replaced from the plot by the everyday secular one, and the Miracle, in its content, begins to resemble an edifying everyday drama. However, the Christian principle still remains the only one that determines the logic of the morality plot. In England, the word “moral play” was often used to describe a mystery. In Spain, morality plays were close to the auto genre (a Spanish and Portuguese type of dramatic performance in one act based on a biblical plot. Subsequently, in the 16th century, autos grew into grandiose, magnificent actions reminiscent of mysteries.) The authors of miracles were amateur poets. Miracle was composed in poetic form. The performers of the first miracles were their creators, and the miracles were played in puys. (See Puy). Gradually, miracles emerged from the walls of the Puys and began to be performed by semi-amateur actors in front of a wide audience. During the Renaissance in Spain, miracles turned into “plays about saints”, which were written by the largest authors of the Renaissance. By the 17th-18th centuries, the miracle in its canonical form was preserved only in the repertoire of Jesuit school theaters.

Mystery- a genre of medieval theater. The emergence of the mystery play in the 14th century was prepared by previous forms of church theater. The content of the mystery consisted of stories from the Bible and the Gospel. Scenes of a religious nature alternated with comedic interludes, diableries and farces. Thus, in the mystery play there was an organic combination of the church and folk theaters of the Middle Ages. At first, the organization of the mysteries was carried out by the church, which actively attracted parishioners to participate in the action. By the way, participation in the mystery was equated to the acquisition of indulgences. The Mystery was a kind of “living” Bible for illiterate parishioners. The intensive development of the mystery play was associated with the flourishing of urban culture in the 14th-15th centuries. At the end of the 13th century, special unions and brotherhoods appeared in medieval cities, specializing in the presentation of mysteries and other theatrical performances. Mystery performances were often organically included in the large city festivals of the Middle Ages. The participants in the mystery were medieval artisans and townspeople. About 400 townspeople took part in one mystery. The mystery reaches its heyday in France, where in some cities the mystery activities lasted about 6 months a year. By the 15th century, the organization of the mysteries passed into the hands of city authorities. Mystery dramaturgy was divided into three large cycles: the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Apostolic. In the 16th century in England, Germany and the Netherlands, the mysteries became increasingly involved in the intense religious struggle that unfolded between Catholicism and Protestantism. In these countries, the comedy and parody element increased significantly compared to the main religious plot. Simultaneity (see Simultaneity) was the main principle of organizing space in the mysteries. There were three ways of presenting a mystery performance: ring, gazebo, and traveling. They, to a certain extent, influenced the stage space of the theater of the 16th and 17th centuries. The production of the mystery was supervised by “game managers”, each of whom had his own specialization - literary, stop, technical. Particularly noteworthy is the high prop art technique of mystery performances. Skillfully performed “miracles” in the Mysteries were described by admiring contemporaries.

Morality- a genre of medieval theater, edifying allegorical drama. The genre flourishes in the 15th-16th centuries. The principle of Christian moral teaching was the main one in the morality play, but at the same time the morality play already moves away from the theatricalization of biblical stories (which was characteristic of all genres of church theater) and turns to situations and conflicts of real life. The main characters in the morality play were characters who personified various virtues and vices who entered into the struggle for the soul of a person. These images were devoid of any individual features and characteristics and were collective, generalizing characters - allegories. The audience understood from the costume, makeup, and stage details what kind of character was appearing on stage. For example, Vera appeared on stage with a cross in her hands, Nadezhda with an anchor, Flattery held a fox’s tail in her hands and stroked it with Stupidity, which was easily recognized by its cap decorated with donkey ears. These allegorical characters came into conflict with each other, which reflected the central Christian principle of the eternal struggle between good and evil, spirit and body. This struggle of interests unfolded mainly in dialogue rather than action; the depiction of the passions was replaced by the verbal expression of the Christian opinion about the passions. A popular morality plot, often found in the 15th-16th centuries, was the story of a Man to whom Death came. Not finding support and salvation in the face of Death from Friendship, Wealth, and Kinship, Man remembered his Good deeds, which led him to the gates of Paradise. By the 15th century, echoes of ideological and political conflicts appeared in morality. The political and moral ideas of the burghers are gradually displacing only Christian content from morality. For example, in Holland, which fought against Spanish intervention in the 16th century, ideas of national independence were actively introduced into morality. In England during the Reformation, morality became a means of combating Catholicism. Thus, a moralizing burgher drama is gradually formed in the depths of the genre. By the end of the 16th century, moral literature almost completely ceased to exist. However, allegorical characters traditional for morality plays will still be found in early humanistic dramas.

Simpleton- a character in a folk comedy, a stage role in medieval theater, a performer of the roles of simple-minded, naive, narrow-minded (more often than not, seemingly so) people. The prototype of a simpleton is a “fool” (see Fool). Simpletons first appear in farces, and then become characters in mysteries, and later in morality plays. This role of the medieval theater later crystallized a stable theatrical role, widespread in the comedy genres of professional theater.

Puy- comes from the French “Puy”, which means elevation, small stage - these are amateur literary and theatrical unions that arose in the Middle Ages at churches and abbeys. In Puy, priests and educated parishioners read church texts, sang hymns, and composed poems and plays of spiritual content. Scientists date the emergence of the first puys in France to the 11th century. The growth of cities and the development of urban culture significantly influenced the activities of the Puys; secular culture increasingly penetrates into the writings of priests and poets. In the Puy of Arras, which was called the “brotherhood of jugglers,” Adam de La Halle created one of the earliest works of secular medieval theater, “The Game in the Arbor.” The Puys significantly influenced the creation of semi-professional theatrical fraternities in the Middle Ages.

Reformation- a broad social movement that swept Western and Central Europe in the 16th century, the content of which was mainly the struggle against the Roman Catholic Church. The movement began in Germany with a speech by Martin Luther. During the Reformation, theses were put forward that denied the need for the existence of the Catholic Church, with its hierarchy of clergy, denied the rights of the church to earthly wealth, and put forward a demand for the “cheapening” of the church. The Holy Scripture was proclaimed to be the only source of religious truth; the Holy Tradition of Catholicism was rejected. Under the ideological banner of the Reformation, a peasant war took place in Germany, and bourgeois revolutions took place in the Netherlands and England. The Reformation marked the beginning of Protestantism.

Sacred doubles- a pair of heroes that appears in the early stages of the development of agrarian rites, one of the heroes embodies death, the other life. The victory of one over the other, of life over death, forms the basis of the ritual plot. In the process of evolution in the medieval theater, sacred doubles lose their ritual characteristics and turn into farce characters.

Secular theater- one of the forms of theater in the Middle Ages, which appeared in the 13th century. The earliest examples of secular theater are considered to be the works of the Arras trouvère Adam de La Hale, “The Game in the Pavilion” and “The Game of Robin and Marion.” Secular theater emerged and developed in the Middle Ages simultaneously with church theater. There was interaction and mutual influence of the two types of theater on each other.

Secularization- comes from the Latin saecularis - worldly, secular. In the Western Middle Ages, this was the transition of a person from a spiritual to a secular state, as well as the liberation of human consciousness and culture from religious influence.

Simultaneity– comes from the French simultane – simultaneous. The central principle of all forms of medieval theater is that all scenes of action are located on the stage at once at the same time.

Soti- a comedy-satirical genre of French medieval theater of the 15th-16th centuries. The name comes from the French word sot - fool, stupid. The genre developed from the parody-buffoon festival “Fools”. All the characters in Soti appear in the guise of fools, dressed in appropriate jester costumes. A necessary detail or attribute was added to each costume, thanks to which the viewer immediately understood who the given character was allegorically portraying. Soti were composed and performed by special semi-amateur unions, which came up with plots that parodically imitated the main political events, or ridiculed the modern morals and vices of the townspeople. Among the writers and performers of soti, the Parisian clownish society of “Carefree Guys” became especially famous. At the end of the 16th century, soti was prohibited by royalty.

Stage language– in theater studies, this concept refers to a set of artistic techniques and expressive means used by the directors of the play to reveal their artistic intent. The stage language of the play is not identical to the text of the play, on which it is partly based.

Troubadour- Provençal poet-singer in the 11th-13th centuries. The lyrics of the troubadours sang of courtly love, the refined feelings of lovers.

Truver- medieval court poet or singer, writer of medieval dramas. The art of the trouvères was influenced by the art of the troubadours, but was more rational.

Farce- a type of folk medieval theater. The name comes from the Latin farcio - I start. There are many points of view on the origins of farce. In theater studies, two dominate: farce originated from comedy skits that originated in the mystery play, which “stuffed up” its insipid action; Farce developed as an independent genre and originated from agrarian pagan rituals that migrated to the city. Having emerged as an independent genre, it began to be included in the action of mystery productions. The farce was full of buffoonery and crude humor. The subject of depiction in a farce most often turns out to be the everyday and family aspects of the life of medieval townspeople. Farces were performed on primitive stages-tables installed in city squares during fairs and city holidays. Performers of farces - farcers - widely used external comic techniques (fights, beatings, climbing into a barrel, a bag, a chest, squabbles, arguments, etc.) The costumes of the farcers were recognizable, taken from modern life. In farces, stable mask images are formed, devoid of an individual beginning: a charlatan doctor, a grumpy wife, a simpleton husband, a pedantic scientist, a dissolute monk, etc. A farce is always built on a trick, on deception. Moral of the farce: the thief will be robbed. Farcical drama reached its peak in the 15th-16th centuries. Early Renaissance dramaturgy actively used farcical traditions. Farce had a significant influence on the development of comedy theater in France, Italy, Spain, England, and Germany in the 17th century. Associated in its origins with folk rituals and games, the farce had a nationally unique character in each country. Farces, soti, and morality plays formed the basis of the repertoire of semi-professional theatrical corporations of the Middle Ages.

Fastnachtspiel– in German Fastnachtspiel, literally – Maslenitsa game. This is part of the carnival performances of the 14th-15th centuries. From the fastnachtspiel in Germany comes the farce. Initially, fastnachtspiel was built on the principle of parody of ridicule and was a scene of everyday content. In the 15th-16th centuries, fastnachtspiel underwent literary processing, and plots from knightly literature and schwanks began to be used in it. During the Reformation, the fastnachtspiel reflected modern religious confrontation. At the beginning of the 16th century, carnival processions in Germany were banned, and with them the fastnachtspiel.

Church theater- a form of theater in the Middle Ages, which originated in the church, in the depths of church services. The creators and performers of church dramas were church ministers. In church theater in Western Europe, two types of drama were formed: liturgical and semi-liturgical.

Shpilman- comes from German spielen - to play and Mann - person; in German-speaking countries this was the name given to wandering medieval actor-musicians. They performed at city fairs, as well as at courts. They were simultaneously poets, actors, singers, acrobats, musicians, and dancers. Simultaneously with the growth and development of cities, the Shpilmans settled down and founded guild organizations.

Jester- a comic character in the medieval theater, as well as fairground performances of later times. The jester probably traces his origins to the Fool (see “Fool”), as evidenced by his costume. The jester is dressed in yellow-green clothes, sewn from alternating colored stripes of fabric, and on his head he wears a cap with long donkey ears, at the ends of which bells can be attached. In the jester's hand is a rattle, which represents the figure or head of a jester. The appearance of the jester is always preceded by the noise of this rattle. In the medieval theater, the Jester appears, always violating the plot or logic of the action; his performance is in no way connected with the main action of the play. His monologues, as a rule, are pure improvisations, in which he was allowed to speak out on any occasion. The laughter of a jester in the Middle Ages was not considered satirical, upsetting, or reducing the subject of ridicule; his laughter was ambivalent. The tradition of such a jester's laughter can be seen in the Renaissance comedies of Shakespeare. The jester is an obligatory character in mystery events. As a character, he also appeared in morality plays, soti, and farces.

Renaissance - (Renaissance)- from the French Renaissance, which means Renaissance. This term was first used by the Italian scientist and writer G. Vasari in relation to the rapid changes that took place in the art of Italy in the 15th-16th centuries. However, not only Italy, but all countries of Western and Central Europe experienced the Renaissance. (If you follow the idea of ​​N. Conrad - Conrad N. West and East. M: Nauka, 1963 - then all countries experienced their revival.) Renaissance is a period in the historical and cultural development of the countries of Western and Central Europe, transitional from the Middle Ages to the culture of the New time. In Italy in the 14th – 16th centuries, in other countries – the end of the 15th – beginning of the 16th centuries. During the Renaissance, radical shifts in consciousness and a change from one system of worldview and worldview to another took place. This led to the emergence of new artistic directions, movements, styles, and schools. The culture of the Renaissance is characterized primarily by secular, anti-clerical, humanistic features, and an appeal to the cultural heritage of antiquity. The ideas of the limitless possibilities of man, the denial of asceticism, scholasticism, the feeling of the integrity and harmony of the universe, the beauty and harmony of reality, in which the central place is given to man, are decisive for all types of art of this time. Theater occupies a special place among other forms of art. The heyday of theater occurred during that period of Renaissance culture when the humanistic ideal began to undergo a crisis, when deep contradictions were revealed in the Renaissance idea of ​​equality with God. The scale of the era's conflict became the basis for the flourishing of the great drama of the Renaissance. At the end of the Renaissance, a great theater emerged in European countries. Its formation coincides with the most important process of the formation of national languages, which began during the Renaissance. The art of theater, without initially breaking with medieval stage traditions, enters a period of final professional development. In European countries, public city theaters with professional troupes regularly performing performances are emerging.

Theater is the most ancient form of art. It is almost impossible to establish a specific time period for its occurrence. Having dug deep into the centuries, you understand that theater in one form or another has always existed and accompanied people at all stages of the development of society and social culture. In general, it is impossible not to agree with the ancient statement that the whole world is a theater, and the people in it are actors who. Having played their role, they disappear behind the scenes.

The emergence and further development of theatrical art occurred in parallel in almost all ancient cultures. And in almost every case, the stage action owed its origin to religious and mystical rituals, except in Ancient Rome. With the help of such rituals, ancient man tried to communicate with the gods in the hope of gaining their favor.

Medieval theater - a spectacle for the people

Over all the centuries of its existence, the theater has undergone a huge number of global transformations. But, in the end, he became the “progenitor” of many modern forms of art thanks to technological progress. We can say with complete confidence that the art of acting in front of an audience combines simplicity and at the same time incredible complexity.

European theater owes its origin to ancient Greek stage art, which was entirely dedicated to the glorification of the god Dionysius. On holidays in honor of this deity, real competitions were organized between playwrights who demonstrated their skills to each other. It is worth noting that modern theater cannot boast the same number of spectators. Ancient stage performances attracted audiences of ten thousand people. The theater was the most favorite, and sometimes the only way to have fun. Basically, all the performances were spectacular, grandiose and solemn.

In the ancient theater, all roles were played exclusively by men, who simply dressed in appropriate outfits and used wigs and other props for female roles. In addition to the actors, there was a choir on the stage, whose task was to explain the actions and provide additional accompaniment.

In the Middle Ages, the theater still enjoyed great popularity and demand. We can say that his social position has remained virtually unchanged. Theatrical medieval performance was divided into two branches. The first is a public theater, which owed its existence to traveling acting troupes that traveled around cities and gathered crowds of people in city markets and squares. Such performances were mainly attended by troubadours and jugglers. Performances in the squares ridiculed feudal lords, church representatives and other noble unscrupulous persons. It is not surprising that this type of medieval theatrical art was not to the taste of the “powers of this world.” Therefore, this activity was considered shameful and sinful.

As for the second type of theater, representatives of the church and nobles were more favorable to it. Mysteries are a unique interpretation of gospel stories on stage. Such performances were organized in churches most often during the celebration of Easter.

Medieval theatrical performances were mainly responsible for the spiritual entertainment of the townspeople and explained the Holy Scriptures in one form or another in the vernacular. The basis of the miracle were apocryphal gospels, hagiography, and chivalric romances.


In England, miracles were usually placed by members of craft guilds in honor of their patrons. In France, they were popular among members of the puys - urban associations for joint pious activities, music playing and poetry competitions.

The plot of the mystery, as a rule, was the passion of Christ, the expectation of the Savior, and the lives of the saints. Initially, the mysteries were part of a church service, then they began to be played in the courtyard or in the cemetery of the church, and later moved to city squares. Moreover, they were played not by professional actors, but by clergy and members of the Puy.


Moralite is a cross between religious and comic theater. In an allegorical form, they showed the struggle between good and evil in the world and in man. The outcome of this struggle was the salvation or death of the soul.


Performances were announced in advance, posters were posted on the city gates, and during the performance the city was carefully guarded “so that no unknown people entered the said city on this day,” as written in one of the documents from 1390, kept in the archives of the city hall in Tours .

Despite all the conventionality of the productions, what was happening on stage for the audience completely merged with reality, and tragic events were adjacent to comic scenes. Spectators were often included in the action as participants in the events.


It was possible to have fun without moralizing. For example, look at traveling artists. Since about the 14th century, troupes of professional actors have been formed in France - “Brotherhood of Passions”, “Carefree Guys” and the like.


Traveling actors - histrions, shpilmans, jugglers - tried with all sorts of tricks to surprise and make the audience laugh. “The Instructions of the Troubadour Guiraud de Calençon to the Juggler” (he lived at the beginning of the 13th century) contains a whole list of skills necessary for an actor:


“…[He] must play different instruments; twirl balls on two knives, throwing them from one tip to another; show puppets; jump through four rings; get yourself an extra red beard and a matching suit to dress up and scare fools; teach the dog to stand on its hind legs; know the art of monkey leader; excite the laughter of the audience with an amusing depiction of human weaknesses; run and jump along a rope stretched from one tower to another, making sure that it does not give in..."
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The city authorities financed rhetorical competitions in the field of poetry and acting, based on the results of which several prizes were awarded: for literary success, for the best line of a jester, for the richest costume, for the most luxurious entry into the city.
Spirit of love. Miniature from "The Romance of the Rose". 1420-30s.
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Dance was a favorite pastime of all levels of medieval society; not a single holiday was complete without dancing. The jugglers complicated their technique by adding acrobatic elements, but the townspeople loved to move themselves, and not just watch the professionals.


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Carnival is the realm of gluttony, chaos and glorification of all things corporeal. Masks and mummers, half-beasts, half-people and jester kings, the ship of fools and the election of a donkey pope - all church and secular rituals were translated into the language of buffoonery, and symbols of power were subjected to public ridicule.


During the carnival, everything that was prohibited on ordinary days was possible, the hierarchy was violated, the usual norms were overturned - but as soon as the holiday ended, life returned to normal.
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For those who did not like street fun, there was home entertainment. For example, blind man's buff and "Frog in the Middle". The rules of the last game are as follows: a person sat in the center, and the rest teased and beat him. The task was to catch one of the players without leaving the circle, and then he became a “frog”.

There were also quiet games: according to the rules of some, it was necessary to answer the question of the presenters without concealment, others - to tell a story. In addition, they played “Saint Cosmas”: one of the participants took on the role of a saint, and the others took turns kneeling in front of him. The presenter had to make the kneeling player laugh in any way, and then he would perform some task.

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Life wasn't so boring for citizens in the Middle Ages, huh?
Or am I wrong?

Always with you
Slavka_Yadin

- Since at the early stage of feudalism the nations were not yet fully formed, the history of the theater of that time cannot be considered separately in each country. This should be done keeping in mind the confrontation between religious and secular life. For example, ritual games, performances of histrions, the first experiments in secular drama and public farce belong to one series of genres of medieval theater, and liturgical drama, miracles, mystery plays and morality plays to another. These genres quite often overlap, but in the theater there is always a clash of two main ideological and stylistic trends. In them one can feel the struggle of the ideology of the nobility, united with the clergy, against the peasantry, from whose midst the urban bourgeois and plebeians then emerged.

There are two periods in the history of medieval theater: early (from the 5th to the 11th centuries) and mature (from the 12th to the mid-16th centuries). No matter how hard the clergy tried to destroy traces of the ancient theater, they failed. The ancient theater survived by adapting to the new way of life of the barbarian tribes. The birth of medieval theater must be sought in the rural rituals of different peoples, in the life of peasants. Despite the fact that many peoples have adopted Christianity, their consciousness has not yet freed itself from the influence of paganism.

All these yesterday's rural dancers and wits also had a division of labor. Many of them became professional funnymen, i.e. histrions. In France they were called “jugglers”, in Germany – “spilmans”, in Poland – “dandies”, in Bulgaria – “cookers”, in Russia – “buffoons”.

- Liturgical and semi-liturgical drama

Another form of theatrical art of the Middle Ages was church drama. The clergy sought to use the theater for their own propaganda purposes, so they fought against the ancient theater, rural festivals with folk games and histrions.

In this regard, by the 9th century, a theatrical mass arose, and a method of reading in the faces of the legend about the burial of Jesus Christ and his resurrection was developed. From such readings the liturgical drama of the early period was born. Over time, it became more complex, the costumes became more varied, the movements and gestures became better rehearsed. Liturgical dramas were performed by the priests themselves, so Latin speech and the melodiousness of church recitation still had little effect on the parishioners. The clergy decided to bring liturgical drama closer to life and separate it from the mass. This innovation gave very unexpected results. Elements were introduced into the Christmas and Easter liturgical dramas that changed the religious orientation of the genre.

The drama acquired dynamic development, became much simpler and updated. For example, Jesus at times spoke in the local dialect, and the shepherds also spoke in everyday language. In addition, the shepherds' costumes changed, long beards and wide-brimmed hats appeared. Along with the speech and costumes, the design of the drama also changed, and gestures became natural.

The directors of liturgical dramas already had stage experience, so they began to show parishioners the Ascension of Christ into Heaven and other miracles from the Gospel. By bringing the drama closer to life and using production effects, the churchmen did not attract, but distracted the flock from the service in the temple. Further development of this genre threatened to destroy it. This was the other side of the innovation.

The Church did not want to abandon theatrical productions, but sought to subjugate the theater. In this regard, liturgical dramas began to be staged not in the church, but on the porch. Thus, in the middle of the 12th century, arose semi-liturgical drama . After this, the church theater, despite the power of the clergy, came under the influence of the crowd. She began to dictate her tastes to him, forcing him to give performances not on church holidays, but on fairs. In addition, the church theater was forced to switch to a language understandable to the people.

In order to continue to run the theater, the priests took care of the selection of everyday stories for productions. Therefore, the themes for semi-liturgical drama were mainly biblical episodes interpreted at the everyday level. Scenes with devils, the so-called diablerie, which contradicted the general content of the entire performance, were more popular among the people. For example, in the very famous drama “The Act of Adam,” the devils, having met Adam and Eve in hell, staged a merry dance. At the same time, the devils had some psychological traits, and the devil looked like a medieval freethinker.

Gradually, all biblical legends underwent poetic treatment. Little by little, some technical innovations began to be introduced into productions, that is, the principle of simultaneous decoration was put into practice. This meant that several locations were shown at the same time, and in addition, the number of stunts increased. But despite all these innovations, semi-liturgical drama remained closely associated with the church. It was staged on the church porch, funds for the production were allocated by the church, and the repertoire was composed by the clergy. But along with the priests, lay actors also took part in the performance. In this form, the church drama existed for quite a long time.

Secular dramaturgy

The first mention of this theatrical genre concerns the trouvère, or troubadour, Adam de La Halle (1238-1287), born in the French town of Arras. This man was interested in poetry, music and everything related to the theater. Subsequently, La Hall moved to Paris and then to Italy, to the court of Charles of Anjou. There he became very widely known. People knew him as a playwright, musician and poet.

In 1285, de La Halle wrote and staged a play in Italy called The Play of Robin and Marion. In this work by the French playwright, the influence of Provençal and Italian lyrics is clearly visible. La Al also introduced an element of social criticism into this play.

The work of the French troubadour very organically combined the folk-poetic principle with the satirical. These were the beginnings of the future theater of the Renaissance. And yet the work of Adam de La Al did not find successors. The cheerfulness, free-thinking and folk humor present in his plays were suppressed by the strictures of the church and the prose of city life.

In reality, life was shown only in farces, where everything was presented in a satirical light. The characters in farces were fair barkers, charlatan doctors, cynical guides of blind people, etc. Farce reached its heyday in the 15th century, but in the 13th century any comedy was extinguished by the Miracle Theater, which staged plays mainly on religious subjects.

Miracle

The word "miracle" translated from Latin means "miracle". And in fact, all the events that take place in such productions end happily thanks to the intervention of higher powers. Over time, although the religious background was preserved in these plays, plots began to appear more and more often, showing the tyranny of feudal lords and the base passions that possessed noble and powerful people.

Mystery

In the XV-XVI centuries there came a time of rapid development of cities. Social contradictions in society have intensified. The townspeople had almost gotten rid of feudal dependence, but had not yet fallen under the rule of an absolute monarchy. This time became the heyday of the mystery theater. The mystery became a reflection of the prosperity of the medieval city and the development of its culture. This genre arose from ancient mimic mysteries, that is, city processions in honor of religious holidays or the ceremonial entry of kings. From such holidays, a square mystery gradually emerged, which took as a basis the experience of medieval theater in both literary and stage directions.

The mysteries were staged not by clergy, but by city guilds and municipalities. The authors of the mysteries were playwrights of a new type: theologians, doctors, lawyers, etc. Mystery became a public amateur art, despite the fact that the productions were directed by the bourgeoisie and the clergy. Hundreds of people usually took part in the performances. In this regard, folk (secular) elements were introduced into religious subjects. The mystery existed in Europe, especially in France, for almost 200 years. This fact clearly illustrates the struggle between religious and secular principles.

The most famous mystery of the early period is the Mystery of the Old Testament, consisting of 50,000 verses and 242 characters. It had 28 separate episodes, and the main characters were God, angels, Lucifer, Adam and Eve.

Morality

In the 16th century, a reform movement, or Reformation, arose in Europe. It was anti-feudal in nature and affirmed the principle of so-called personal communication with God, that is, the principle of personal virtue. The burghers made morality a weapon against both the feudal lords and the people. The desire of the bourgeoisie to add more holiness to their worldview gave impetus to the creation of another genre of medieval theater - morality.

There are no church plots in morality plays, since moralization is the only goal of such productions. The main characters of the morality play are: allegorical heroes, each of which personifies human vices and virtues, the forces of nature and church dogmas. The characters do not have an individual character; in their hands, even real things turn into symbols. For example, Nadezhda went on stage with an anchor in her hands, Selfishness constantly looked in the mirror, etc. Conflicts between the heroes arose due to the struggle of two principles: good and evil, spirit and body. The clashes of the characters were deduced in the form of a contrast between two figures, which represented the good and evil principles that have an influence on a person.

As a rule, the main idea of ​​morality was this: reasonable people follow the path of virtue, and unreasonable people become victims of vice.

In 1436, the French morality play “The Prudent and the Foolish” was created. The play showed that the Prudent One trusts Reason, while the Unreasonable One adheres to Disobedience. On the road to eternal bliss, the Prudent encountered Almsgiving, Fasting, Prayer, Chastity, Temperance, Obedience, Diligence and Patience. But the Foolish One is accompanied on this same path by Poverty, Despair, Theft and a Bad End. Allegorical heroes end their lives in completely different ways: one in heaven and the other in hell.

The actors who participate in this performance act as rhetoricians, explaining their attitude to certain phenomena. The acting style in the morality play was restrained. This made the task much easier for the actor, because he did not have to transform into the character. The character was clear to the viewer based on certain details of his theatrical costume. Another feature of the morality play was poetic speech, which received a lot of attention.

Playwrights working in this genre were early humanists and some professors of medieval schools.

As the morality genre developed, it gradually freed itself from strict ascetic morality. The impact of new social forces gave impetus to the showing of realistic scenes in morality plays. The contradictions present in this genre indicated that theatrical productions were becoming more and more close to real life. Some plays even contained elements of social criticism.

In 1442, the play “Trade, Craft, Shepherd” was written.

The plays, far from politics and opposing vices, were directed against the morality of abstinence. In 1507, the morality play “Condemnation of Feasts” was created, in which the lady characters Delicacy, Gluttony, Outfits and the gentlemen characters Pew-for-your-health and Drink-mutually were introduced. These heroes at the end of the play die in the fight against Apoplexy, Paralysis and other ailments.

Despite the fact that in this play human passions and feasts were shown in a critical light, their depiction in the form of a cheerful masquerade spectacle destroyed the very idea of ​​\u200b\u200bcondemning all kinds of excesses. The morality play turned into a playful, picturesque scene with a life-affirming attitude.

The allegorical genre, to which the morality play should be classified, introduced structural clarity into medieval drama; the theater was supposed to show mainly typical images.

Farce

From the time of its inception until the second half of the 15th century, farce was public, plebeian. And only then, having gone through a long, hidden path of development, it emerged as an independent genre.

The name "farce" comes from the Latin word farsa, which means "stuffing". This name arose because during the performance of mysteries, farces were inserted into their texts. According to theater experts, the origins of farce lie much further back. It arose from the performances of histrions and carnival Maslenitsa games. Histrions gave it the direction of the theme, and carnivals gave it the essence of the game and mass appeal. In the mystery play, farce received further development and became a separate genre.

From the beginning of its existence, farce had the goal of criticizing and ridiculing feudal lords, burghers and the nobility in general. Such social criticism played an important role in the birth of farce as a theatrical genre. A special type can be identified as farcical performances, in which parodies of the church and its dogmas were created.

Maslenitsa performances and folk games became the impetus for the emergence of so-called stupid corporations. They included minor judicial officials, schoolchildren, seminarians, etc. In the 15th century, such societies spread throughout Europe.

Secular and ecclesiastical authorities responded to these attacks by persecuting the participants in farces: they were expelled from cities, put in prison, etc. In addition to parodies, farces were played out satirical scenes (sotie – “stupidity”). In this genre there were no longer everyday characters, but jesters, fools (for example, a vain fool-soldier, a fool-deceiver, a bribe-taking clerk). The experience of allegories in morality was embodied in Soti. The soti genre reached its greatest blossoming at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. All this gave Francis I a reason to ban the performances of farce and soti.

Since the Soti performances were of a conventionally masquerade nature, this genre did not have that full-blooded nationality, mass character, free-thinking and everyday concrete characters. Therefore, in the 16th century more effective and slapstick farce became the dominant genre. His realism was manifested in the presence of human characters, who, however, were presented somewhat schematically.

Almost all farcical plots are based on purely everyday stories, that is, the farce is completely real in all its content and artistry. The skits ridicule marauding soldiers, monks selling indulgences, arrogant nobles and greedy merchants. The seemingly simple farce “About the Miller,” which has a funny content, actually contains an evil folk grin. The play tells the story of a dim-witted miller who is fooled by a young miller's wife and a priest. In the farce, character traits are accurately noted, showing the public satirical, life-truthful material.

But the authors of farces ridicule not only priests, nobles and officials. The peasants are not left out either. The real hero of the farce is a rogue townsman who, with the help of dexterity, wit and intelligence, defeats judges, merchants and all kinds of simpletons. A number of farces were written about such a hero in the middle of the 15th century. (about lawyer Patlen) .

The plays tell about all sorts of adventures of the hero and show a whole series of very colorful characters: a pedant-judge, a stupid merchant, a selfish monk, a tight-fisted furrier, a narrow-minded shepherd who actually deceives Patlen himself. The farces about Patlen colorfully tell about the life and customs of the medieval city. At times they reach the highest degree of comedy for that time.

The character in this series of farces (as well as dozens of others in different farces) was a real hero, and all his antics were supposed to evoke the sympathy of the audience. After all, his tricks put the powers that be in a stupid position and showed the advantage of intelligence, energy and dexterity of the common people. But the direct task of the farcical theater was still not this, but the negation, the satirical background of many aspects of feudal society. The positive side of farce was developed primitively and degenerated into the affirmation of a narrow, philistine ideal.

This shows the immaturity of the people, who were influenced by bourgeois ideology. But still, farce was considered a people's theater, progressive and democratic. The main principles of acting for farcers (farce actors) were characterization, sometimes brought to the point of parody caricature, and dynamism, expressing the cheerfulness of the performers themselves.

Farces were staged by amateur societies. The most famous comic associations in France were the circle of judicial clerks "Bazoch" and the society "Carefree Guys", which experienced their greatest prosperity at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th centuries. These societies supplied the theaters with semi-professional actors. To our great regret, we cannot name a single name, because they were not preserved in historical documents. One single name is well known - the first and most famous actor of the medieval theater, the Frenchman Jean de l'Espin, nicknamed Pontale. He received this nickname from the name of the Parisian bridge on which he set up his stage. Later, Pontale joined the Carefree Guys corporation and became its main organizer, as well as the best performer of farces and morality plays.

Pontale's satirical poems, in which hatred of nobles and priests were clearly visible, were very popular.

So many people knew about Pontale’s comic talent and his fame was so great that the famous F. Rabelais, author of Gargantua and Pantagruel, considered him the greatest master of laughter. The personal success of this actor indicated that a new professional period in the development of the theater was approaching.

The monarchical government was increasingly dissatisfied with the city's freethinking. In this regard, the fate of cheerful comic amateur corporations was most deplorable. At the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, the largest corporations of farceurs ceased to exist.

Farce, although it was always persecuted, had a great influence on the further development of theater in Western Europe. For example, in Italy commedia dell'arte developed from farce; in Spain - the work of the “father of Spanish theater” Lope de Rueda; in England, John Gaywood wrote his works according to the type of farce; in Germany - Hans Sachs; In France, farcical traditions nourished the work of the comedy genius Moliere. So it was the farce that became the connecting link between the old and new theater.

Medieval farce

Unlike mysteries and morality plays created by the efforts of individuals, farce was formed completely spontaneously, as if by itself, only due to the natural attraction of the people's taste to depict life.

The word "farce" itself means a corruption of the Latin word "farta" (stuffing), turned into farsa in vulgar speech. The farce received its name for the reason that it was included, like minced meat, in the unleavened dough of mystery performances.

But it would be wrong to believe that farce originated in mystery. The origins of farce go back to more distant periods of medieval theater - in the performances of histrions and in Maslenitsa games. In the mystery, these realistic tendencies only acquire a more stable and definite character.

The histrions often told layers of funny stories together, and thus small dramatic scenes arose by themselves. The story “About the Dog That Cries” is known in English and French versions.

The histrions' stories included a wide variety of facts from city life, gossip and anecdotes, which easily became the plot core of comic scenes.

Thus, it can be established that the source of the farce, which in general determined its thematic material and structural principle, were the dialogized stories of the histrions. Another source of farce, which determined its effective, playful nature and nationwide appeal, are city carnival games.

Rural ritual events began to spread greatly in cities in the 14th and 15th centuries. City dwellers still remember their rural past and willingly entertain themselves with the same games as their peasant ancestors. Carnival processions are usually held during Maslenitsa week. The main Maslenitsa festivities were the battle scene between Maslenitsa and Lent. A painting by the Flemish artist Bruegel has survived, depicting one of the moments of this battle. divided into two parties.

The Maslenitsa games were especially lively in Nuremberg. A whole series of very diverse scenes was added to the main battle episode. There were wedding games brought from rural life, satirically depicted incidents of city life, and anti-clerical plays. All these various scenes were called “fastnachtspiel”, which literally meant the Maslenitsa game. Sometimes the fastnachtspiel reached significant proportions with a large number of characters and many different episodes (for example, “The Game of Neitgarth,” which contains 2,100 verses). In its further development, fastnachtspiel turns from a Maslenitsa game into a specific literary genre, the creators of which are the German craftsmen writers Rosenpluth, Foltz and especially Hans Sachs, the head of the Nuremberg Mastersingers.

But masquerade performances not only prepared within themselves the seeds of a new dramatic genre, they also gave rise to the principle of parody comic play, so characteristic of the spectacles of the early Middle Ages.

Special “stupid corporations” were organized, which with their internal structure exactly copied the church hierarchy. The corporation was headed by a father or a fool chosen by “fools”, who had their own bishops, treasurers and masters of ceremonies. At meetings of “fools,” sermons were read, the so-called sermon joyeux, in which the traditional form of the liturgy was filled with humorous and obscene poems. The most ancient society of fools was organized in Kleve in 1381 and had the name “Narrenorden” (order of fools). In the 15th century, clownish societies spread throughout Europe. The slogan of stupid corporations was the Latin aphorism “Stultorum numerus est infinitus” (“the number of fools is infinite”)

Stupid jokes had their own profoundness: everyone is stupid - courtiers, priests, lovers, and poets. The whole world is ruled by fools, so it’s worth joining the society of fools and praising stupidity

Jester organizations, in addition to parody scenes, acted out everyday episodes, from which a new comedy was created genre - soti - and farce. Sotie (sotie - stupidity) were the favorite skits of stupid corporations. Soti was distinguished by the fact that it was mostly “fools” who acted in them. The soti genre is characterized by a pronounced political bias. In other cases, soti were a tool in the hands of the government, in others - a means of sharp criticism of the social order. under Francis I, sotti is already disappearing, farce becomes the undivided dominant genre.

Medieval farces are mostly nameless, their authors are unknown, since farces were often compiled collectively and were the fruit of the creativity of not one person, but an entire association of comedians.

Having matured within the mystery, farce gained its independence in the 15th century, and in the next century it became the dominant genre, giving a clear literary form to the tendencies of folk theater to realistically depict modern life. The new genre contains all the main features of popular ideas - mass character, everyday concreteness, satirical free-thinking, effectiveness and buffoonery.

The main literary feature of farce is spontaneity in the depiction of reality. Everyday incidents are directly transferred to the stage and become the theme of a farce, and the collisions of the farce almost always come down to a plot-developed anecdote. The immediacy of the reflection of life does not become passive everyday life writing, because the soul of the farce was ridicule, an active satirical attitude towards the world. This is where the principle of buffoonish exaggeration was born, which affected both the dramaturgy of the farce and its stage interpretation.

Farce was created for performance and was essentially a literary fixation of stage play. Despite its outward carefreeness, farce was a very sharp ideological weapon in the hands of the petty craft bourgeoisie. This belligerence of the farce was most pronounced in the political scenes. In the farce “New People” the city soldiers were called “a crowd of scoundrels, sloths and thieves”; in the farce “Three Knights and Philip” a cowardly, boastful warrior appeared. Seeing opponents around him, he shouted one by one: “Long live France! Long live England! Long live Burgundy! And, completely at a loss, he screamed: “Long live the strongest of you!”

But it was still risky to ridicule the feudal authorities. It was much more fun and safer to satirically portray the hated clergy, who by the time of the Reformation had lost their former political power and authority. In English, French, Italian and German farces, indulgence sellers, monks offering sacred relics, such as a fragment of the wall of heaven or a nail from the cross of Jesus, are constantly ridiculed.

In the farce “How the Wives Wanted to Recast Their Husbands,” two young women, dissatisfied with their elderly husbands, begged the foundry man to recast them as young ones. The foundry worker fulfilled their request, now the women have young husbands, but where has the former peace gone - the brave guys do nothing but drag everything out of the house, get drunk and beat their wives.

The most significant work of farcical theater is the famous “Lawyer Patlen”, created in the circle of Blazos clerks in the middle of the 15th century. The small comedy vividly depicts the life and customs of a medieval city. There is a bankrupt lawyer involved in fraud, a simple-minded but evil merchant, a pedantic, irritable judge, and a rogue shepherd. In each image of the farce, typical features are clearly felt, and at the same time, each figure has its own, uniquely individualized character.

But the democratic mass of the urban people were themselves still in the sphere of petty-bourgeois ideas about life and therefore perceived the farce completely unconditionally. Farcical performances were a favorite spectacle. There was complete contact between the actors and the audience. There were times when the action began among the market crowd.

The text of the farce was written down, but the actors, who were often the authors of these farces, freely allowed themselves to improvise both in words and in actions. Therefore, the same farce was found in many versions. Various folk dialects spontaneously penetrated into farces; a mixture of languages ​​was especially often observed in France and Italy. In many farces, the same types were repeated: a simple-minded husband, a grumpy wife, a swaggering soldier, a cunning servant, a voluptuous monk, a stupid peasant. In accordance with these roles, one must think that acting roles were created. The main performers of farces were the above-mentioned associations. But the fate of these cheerful unions became more deplorable every year. The process of monarchical centralization taking place in many European countries, as already mentioned, caused the persecution of any form of freethinking. By the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th centuries, cheerful comic unions were banned throughout Europe and ceased to exist. But when they died, the creators of the farcical theater left behind a cadre of professional actors. Along with the Middle Ages, amateur performances disappeared from the theater for a long time.