PASSION
532
PASSION
more deeply impressed by reproductions of the Resur-
rect ion of the Ijord, which appealed to the senses, than
by a sermon. The Latin text was no iibstaole, since
the separate parts of the i)lays were known or were
previou.sly explained, 'i'lu^ wide ditTiision of these
liturgical plays, in which priests took the dilTcrent
parts, is proof of their popularity. Lange, to
whom we owe sonic tlioroupli studies on this sub-
ject, proves the <"xistcncc of '22i Latin lOastcr dniinas,
of which l.VJ were found in tlcrniany, .Vi in Fnuicc,
and the rest in Italy, Spain, Holland, and Knuland.
The popular t;iste for dramatic productions was fed by these Eii-ster celebrations. The clergy empha- sized more and more the dramatic nicniicnts, nftcn merely hinted at in the nule orittiiKil rcliluMtinns,:itii1 added new subjects, among them some of a secular nature. They intniduccd the characters of Filatc, the Jews, and the soldiers guarding the sepulchn added the figure of an ointment-vender bargain- ing with the holy women, and other features which did not contribute to the edification or instruction of the people, though thc>' satisfied their love of nov- elty and amusement. In this way the early Easter celebrations became real dramatic performances, known as the Easter Plays. Since the element of worldly amusement pre- dominated more and more (a develoiiment of which Gerhoh of Reichersberg complained as early as the twelfth century), the ec- clesiastical authorities be- gan to prohibit the pro- duction of Easter Plays in the churches. It Iki-ihh' necessary to separat (■ tlicjn from church services, l>r- causeof their lengtli, whirh increa.sed greatly, parlii'u- larly after the introducl ion of t he storj' of the Passion . Fragments of an Easter Play in Latin dating from the thirteenth century are found in the Benedictbeum Easter Play, also in that of Klostemeuburg, both of which, probably, go back to the same source as the Mystery of Tours, composed as late as the twelfth century, and which, better than any other, offers an insight into the development of the Easter Plays from the Latin Easter celebrations.
When, in course of time, as shown in the Easter Play of Trier, German translations were added to the original texts as sung and spoken, the popularizing of the Easter Play had begun. That of the monastery of Muri, in Switzerland, belongs to this period, and is written entirely in German. But it was only after the popular element had asserted itself strongly in all departments of poetry, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, that the popular German religious drama was developed. This was brought about chiefly by the strolling players who were certainly responsible for the introduction of the servant, of the ointment-vender (named Rubin), whose duty it was to entertain the peo|)le with coarse jests (Wolfen- biittel, Inn.sbruck, Berlin, Vienna, and Mecklenburg Ea.ster Plays, 1464). The Latin Easter Plays, with their solemn texts, were still produced, as well lus the German plays, but gradually, being displaced by the latter, the Latin text was confined to the meagre
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Biblical element of the plays and the player's direc-
tions. The clergy still retained the right to direct
these i)roductions, even after the plays reflected the
spirit and opinions of the times. Popular poetry,
gro.ss and worldly, dominated in the plays, particularly
susceptible to (he influence of the ("arnival plays.
The Ivisler Plays represented in llieirday the high- est de\elii])Mienl of the seeidar drania; nevertlu-less this most iniiiortant event in the life of the Cod-Man did not sufliee: the people wished to.sce His whole life, particularly the story of His Passion. Thus:i series of dramas originated, which were e.-dled Pa.ssion Plays, the sutTerings of Jesus Ix'ing their principal subject, end with the entombment of Christ; ivas added, in order to show the Saviour in His glory; others again close with the Ascension or with the dis- persion of the Apostles. But, since the persecution of t he Saviour is intelligible only in the light of His work as teacher, this part (if the life of Christ was also added, while some au- thors of these plavs went back to the Old Testament for s y in b o 1 i c a 1 scenes, which they added to the Passion Plays as "prefigu- rations "; or the plays begin with the Creation, the sin of .Adam and Eve, and the fall of the Angels. Again two short dramas were in- serted: the Lament of Mary and the Mary Magdalene Play. Tlicse(iucnce"Planc- tus ante nescia", which was brought to German}- from France during the latter half of the twelfth cent ury, is the basis for the Lamentations of Mary. This .sequence is merely a monologue of Mary at the foot of the Cross; by the introduction of John, the Saviour, and the bystand- ers as taking part in the lamentations, a dramatic scene was developed which became a part of almost all Passion Plays and has been retained even in their latest survivor. The Magdalene Play represents the seduction of Mary Magdalene by the devil and her sinful hfe up to her conversion. In Magdalene's sinfulness the people saw a picture of the depraved condition of man- kind after the sin of the Garden, from which it could be redeemed only through the sacrifice of Christ. This profound thought, which could not be effaced even by the coarse reproduction of Magdalene's life, ex- plains the presence of this little drama in the Passion Play.
The evolution of the Passion Play was about the same as that of the Easter Play. It originated in the ritual of the Church, which prescribes, among other things, that the Gospel on Good Friday should be sung in parts divided among various persons. Later on, Passion Plays, properly so called, made their appearance, first in Latin, then in German; contents and form were adapted more and more to popular ideas until, in the fifteenth century, the popular re- ligious plays had developed. Thus the Benedict heurn Passion Play (thirteenth century) is still largely com- posed of Latin ritual sentences in prose and of church hymns, and, being designed to be sung, resembles an oratorio. Yet even this oldest of the Passion Plays
THE Cross
