Actors & Drama

At the beginning of the 11th century a religious tradition of the liturgy began out of which grew the Medieval drama.  Most topics were themes from the Old Testament such as Jonah and the whale, Noah and the flood and Daniel in the lions den, others were stories from the birth and death of Christ.  They were performed with musical instrument and full costumes.  Usually they were staged in front of the church, later they took place in marketplaces and were produced by local guilds.

Authors & Plays of the time include  in Middle English Literature:
Geoffrey Chaucer
Hrotsuitha
John Gower
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
William Langland / Piers Plowman
Julian of Norwich
Margery Kempe
Thomas Malory / Morte D'Arthur
John Lydgate
Thomas Hoccleve
Paston Letters
Everyman
Medieval Plays
Middle English Lyrics
Essays and Articles
Before edited manuscripts, plays were written on scrolls, memorized by the actor and then discarded, very few remain from this early period.

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