5 oo -' THE DRAMA. 



nephew of the Pope, himself composed a Mysfrry of St. John and St. Paul, 

 which he had represented by several members of his family inside one of the 

 Florence churches. 



The people of the Middle Ages, from the very fact that their existence 

 was more monotonous than that of the people of the present day, were all the 

 more ready to seize an opportunity for amusement, and the solemn representa- 

 tions of the mysteries were amongst their most cherished enjoyments. The 

 entrance of the King or Queen into a town, the birth of a prince or princess, the 

 court festivals, as well as the ecclesiastical solemnities and the feasts of the 

 Church, were an excuse for these popular spectacles. The representations, 

 prepared a long time beforehand, were announced by the public crier, like 

 the royal and municipal decrees, at the most frequented places of the town. The 

 spectators, who had not to pay anything for witnessing the play, did not seat 

 themselves promiscuously, but each person according to his rank and station. 

 The nobles or dignitaries occupied platforms, upon which, as the representations 

 lasted a long time, they sometimes had their meals served, like the old Romans 

 upon the balconies of the amphitheatre or circus. The plain bourgeois and 

 the lower classes occupied places, either seated or standing, upon the bare 

 earth or the pavement, as the case might be, the men being to the right, and 

 the women to the left, the same as in church. The local clergy, in order to 

 let their congregations have an opportunity of witnessing the whole spectacle, 

 advanced or put back the hour of divine service. In fact, the fondness of the 

 public for these spectacles was so great that the houses were left almost 

 deserted, and armed watchmen paced the silent streets to protect the property 

 of the inhabitants while the representation was taking place. 



There were not as yet any permanent theatres in the towns, but the 

 dimensions of the temporary theatres erected were regulated according to the 

 number of actors who had to appear upon the stage. As a matter of course, 

 when, as in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the only pieces represented 

 were episodical dramas, such as the Miracles de Notre-Damc, these theatres 

 were not nearly so large or so complicated as when there came to be repre- 

 sented the great poems or mystery-plays of the Old Testament, the Passion, 

 and the Acts of the Apostles. The theatre and the platforms used for these 

 public representations, which often lasted several days, must have been of 

 immense dimensions, and have entailed considerable expense. 



M. Charles Magnin, in his work upon theatrical archaeology, says, " The 



