Religious Drama and Ecclesiastical Reform in the Tenth Century
James H. Forse
Historians of theatre usually discuss the quem quaeritis Easter tropes and Hroswitha’s plays as discrete phenomena: debating whether or not represents a first step in development liturgical drama, discussing Christian based on saints’ lives tied to liturgy. The Hroswitha may be unrelated they appear. more than mere tropes, just extensions Scripture woven into special services. They consciously scripted “playlets” aimed at purposes far beyond beautifying intensifying These relate to, stem from, issues educational ecclesiastical reform that marked efforts tenth- early eleventh-century, Lotharingian/German clerics, who turn were connected sort network reformers France England. Hroswitha, personally institutionally, was part this network, her well another phenomenon reflecting those policies. To demonstrate premise, it is necessary trace Lotharingian/German, French English reformers, place within common interests policies these matters reform.
Early Theatre