including all the events from the Betrayal to the Resurrection, and of Christmas; but it was early extended to subjects like the Creation, the Flood, the Exodus, the lives of Biblical characters, and the Last Judgment. The words were taken from the Bible direct as far as possible. The earlier renderings were by ecclesiastics in churches or monasteries. Gradually these expansions of church services became protracted performances, occupying parts of several days, which tended more and more to swing away from the Church. The common tongue replaced the Latin, liberties were taken with the narratives, and by-play of a comic kind was slipped in, with not a little superstition as well. These features, with the accent upon mere amusement, from the 13th century caused the form to be less approved by the church authorities, so that it betook itself to the market-places or the fields, where large crowds could gather and every kind of topic and treatment could be tolerated. The further development of these public plays varied in different countries. In many cases their maintenance became a municipal function, while in others they were undertaken by the various guilds of craftsmen. As a rule, Mysteries ceased with the Reformation, but survivals exist even now, as the Passion-Play at Oberammergau in Bavaria.
The Miracle-Play was an offshoot of the foregoing, its materials being taken from the legendary lives of the saints. Its tendency was to emphasize heroic, romantic or magical incidents, often with great freedom of treatment. Though not so closely liturgical in origin, its first purpose was ecclesiastical, and one variety of it consisted in elaborations of formulæ like the Lord's Prayer or the Creed. It passed over readily into mythological or historical dramas, varying widely in subject.
The Morality was an allegory in which qualities or other abstract notions were personified. It was properly religious or moral, but occasionally assumed didactic forms of a more general sort. Bunyan's 'Pilgrim's Progress' is a well-known literary example of the Morality idea.
In all these the staple procedure was dialogue between the personages, but among the accessories were passages for narrators (supplying parts of the story), comment-passages, somewhat after the fashion of the ancient Greek chorus (often arranged for the audience as a participant in the action), and interludes and by-plays of all kinds. The use of music became frequent, either as a vehicle for the dialogue or as a comment or interlude. In such cases the forms used were either borrowed from Plain-Song or folk-song, or prepared in similar styles. There was no distinct recognition of the peculiarly dramatic types of musical writing until near the end of the 16th century. There was little real scenery, but somewhat laborate stages were often provided—one of the favorite forms being one separated into stories, heaven above, hell beneath and earth between. These stages were often mounted on wheels and drawn from place to place.
By the 16th century, then, the street-play had become a common institution in all leading countries, and was well on its way toward the modern theatre. The differentiation of the opera began when it was perceived that the vehicle of impression might be musical throughout and when appropriate musical styles were devised.
