Class _V^_S 1 ^s Book , Si ft * ; Copyright^ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT: Columfita aniiiergitp STUDIES IN KOMANCE PHILOLOGY AND LITEEATUKE STAGE DECORATION IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES STAGE DECORATION IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES BY DONALD CLIVE STUART, Ph.D. mti Stfo gorK THE COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS 1910 All rights reserved Copyright, 1910 By The Columbia University Press Set up and electrotyped. Published February, 1910 Press of The New era printing company Lancaster, Pa. ©CLA261923 NOTE The following dissertation, having been ex- amined by the Department of Romance Lan- guages and Literatures of Columbia University, was considered to be a valuable contribution to the history of the medieval stage in France, and has been accepted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Doctor of Phi- losophy. Henry Alfred Todd. Columbia University, January, 1910. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION CHAPTER I The Question of an Uninterrupted Dramatic Tradition. Earliest Records of Scenery. A Possible Origin of the Use of Chairs as Scenery. Introduction of Real Scenery. The Sponsus. Heaven not Represented in Early Plays. The Stage on One Level 10 CHAPTER II The Thirteenth Century. Setting of the Adam Play. Besurrection du Sauveur probably on One Level. Early Profane Drama .... 33 CHAPTER III Tableaux and Pantomimes. Great Variety of Scenes. Use of Different Levels. Setting of an Early Provencal Play. Influence of the Tab- leaux and Pantomimes 44 CHAPTER IV Miracles de Notre Dame. Their Treatment of the Hell Scene. Their Stage of two Levels. Set- ting of Heaven not Important. Scenes on Earth. Number of Scenes 54 viii STAGE DECORATION CHAPTER V Miracles de Ste. Genevieve. Their Date and Place of Performance. Resemblance to the Mir- acles de Notre Dame in Their Treatment of the Scene in Hell. Setting of the Nativite. The Passion. The Resurrection 85 CHAPTER VI Longer Passions of the 15th Century. Evi- dence Furnished by Miniatures. Passion oV Arras. Hell Placed on a Level below Earth. Setting of the Play according to Journees. Passion at Rouen in 1474. Number of Scenes. One Level. Passion de Semur. Its Setting according to Journees 106 CHAPTER VII Different Levels in Hell in Michel's Resurrec- tion. Idea derived from Greban's Passion. De- scription of the Scene in Hell. Terrestrial Para- dise and Heaven. Scenes on Earth. Some Scenes in Michel's Passion 128 CHAPTER VIII Setting of Provencal Plays. Stage of Three Levels. 152 CHAPTER IX Pantomimes of the Fifteenth Century. Their Influence on the Indoor Stage 158 IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES ix CHAPTER X Stage of the Vie de Saint Martin on Three Levels. Number of Scenes. Settings of Other Miracle Plays of the Fifteenth Century. Com- parison of these Plays with the Miracles de Notre Dame. Miracles of the Sixteenth Century. A Stage on One Level. The Use of the Dragon's Head. The Actes des Apotres 166 CHAPTER XI The Indoor Stage at Paris. Dimensions of Stages. The Question of Two Rows of Scenes on Separate Elevations. The Setting of the Vieil Testament. Number of Scenes Set at One Time. Heaven and Hell not the most Important Scenes 188 CHAPTER XII The Profane Stage. Setting of the Maulvais Riche. Setting of Moralites. The Sottie. TH Farce 202 CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION Writers on the subject of stage decoration in the Middle Ages have generally drawn their data from Religious plays alone. The question of the setting of the Profane stage has been left unsolved. The reason for this is that the mys- teries and miracle plays are far more explicit in describing their scenery than are the farces and sotties. Also, after having reconstructed the simple decoration of the early liturgical drama, and after having mentioned the stage of the Adam play, investigators have then turned their attention to the great religious spectacles given in the open air in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, and have described at length the scenes and machines used in these really wonderful productions. An impression is left upon the mind of the reader that the typical stage of the Middle Ages was very large and contained many scenes, including Heaven, on a level above the stage, and a dragon's mouth representing Hell. But we shall attempt to 1 1 2 STAGE DECOEATION prove that there were many other types of stages, ranging from the stage entirely without setting to the stage with many scenes on differ- ent levels. We shall try to show that no single kind of stage can he said to be typical of the Middle Ages to the exclusion of all others. The one characteristic common to the theaters of that period is that scenes were set simulta- neously on the stage; but the number, the arrangement, the elaborateness varied greatly from time to time and from place to place. The stage of the Actes des Apbtres given in the amphitheater in Bourges must have presented a very different appearance from the stage of the same play given in the Hopital de la Trinite. On the other hand, the Farce du Cuvier would not resemble the Actes des Apo- tres in stage setting in the slightest degree, although they may have been represented on the same stage in Paris. The division of the drama of the Middle Ages into the categories of religious and pro- fane is convenient and has been followed in preparing this work. However, if the stage decoration of the religious drama alone is stud- ied, and if the dramas of the fourteenth cen- IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 3 tury are left out of consideration, as they have been, one cannot hope to arrive at the whole truth. Therefore the attempt has been made to reconstruct the setting of all kinds of drama at all times, as far as is possible ; for only by con- sidering the whole stage of the period can one finally gain a true impression of the system of stage decoration. In order to fill the lacunae in the history of stage setting, plays must be utilized which give little or even no hint of their scenery in stage directions, such as the Miracles de Notre Dame and practically all profane plays. How are we to gain information in regard to the setting of such plays, if stage directions are lacking? There is but one way: the lines themselves must furnish the desired evidence. This method, therefore, whether it be considered good or bad, must be accepted if one wishes to carry investi- gations of the subject farther than they have reached at present. The question must be de- cided whether these plays without stage direc- tions were also without scenery; and if they had scenery, it must be reconstructed. This method was suggested by the fact that in dramas whose stage setting is carefully de- 4 STAGE DECOEATION scribed, the lines often anticipate the stage directions in the description of scenery. Then in turning to such plays as the Miracles de Notre Dame, which are almost entirely without stage directions, it is found that the lines contain con- stant references to scenery, and that the reader is rarely at a loss to know where the action is taking place. The question arises whether such references may not be wholly rhetorical. Yet this does not seem possible except in very few cases. !N o one can investigate this subject with- out being impressed by the fact that the stage carpenters — if we may thus apply a modern expression — were always striving after reality. Kealism and reality are two underlying prin- ciples in the system of stage setting from the earliest plays down to the great mysteries. The simultaneous mounting of scenes is a proof of this. Thus, with this system in vogue, we can- not believe that when a character pointed out a window or knocked at a door and entered a house he carried on a mere pantomime in the empty air. There must have been scenery to correspond to such lines. The author of the play no doubt intended his text to be followed in setting the scenes. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 5 Direct proof of this is found in a stage direc- tion of the Mistere du Vieil Testament In one passage the angels are told to show themselves in the order comme dit le texte. Later there is a direct reference to scenery itself which is to be ordonnez selon le texte. Because of the above considerations this method has been employed not only when stage directions are lacking; but evidence furnished by the lines has also been used to complete evi- dence furnished by the directions. It is by this means that we hope to prove that more than two levels were used on the stage in order to make the scenery more realistic; that the interior of Hell was often visible; that the dragon's head was not as frequent a setting for Hell as has been supposed ; that stages were also common on which very few scenes appeared. It is not claimed that this method is entirely successful and accurate for all plays. At times doubts arise as to whether a certain scene, vaguely mentioned by the lines, appeared upon the stage at all; and, if it did appear, whether it was carefully set or merely indicated. For example, it is sometimes hard to decide whether a provost or judge sat in a chair representing 6 STAGE DECOEATION his house, or whether a special setting was used for the scene. Yet these questions arise quite rarely, and they do not affect the evidence as a whole. In each case when the doubtful scene occurs, attention has been called to the fact that it is doubtful; but plays in which such scenes arise have been avoided as much as possible. Thus, while there may be a difference of opinion in regard to the problematical existence on the stage of one or two scenes in some plays, espe- cially in the longer miracle plays, the lines are to be depended upon, as a rule, to a degree that may hardly seem possible to one who has not tested this method. As far as has been practicable the plays have been treated separately, since it has been our purpose to show the many different kinds of settings that existed in the Middle Ages. A description of a scene in Heaven or in Hell drawn from the stage directions of all the great mysteries would tend to magnify the relative importance of these scenes on the whole medi- eval stage. There is no doubt that these two scenes were often set with special care, and the eyes of the spectator must have seen many novel effects in them; but the stages must not be left IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 7 out of the account upon which these scenes were not set at all, or if they were set, did not by any means constitute the all-enthralling scenes, since little action took place in them. Also, more attention has been given to the settings themselves than to the wonderful machinery employed by the producers of the open air mysteries. In regard to the brief treatment of the ques- tion of the origin of medieval drama, let it be said that we realize that the belief in an un- broken dramatic tradition rests upon theory more than upon facts. The lack of written dramas in the period in which some believe the tradition to have been broken means very little, for drama, according to the broad definition which must be given it when such questions arise, can easily exist without the written word. There may have, been no texts in this period of dramatic history; but since we find no extant texts, either because none existed or because all were lost, are we to believe that the dramatic concept ceased to exist ? The evidence of texts would be gratifying, but the want of such evi- dence does not induce us to believe in a rebirth of drama. Such a phenomenon is more diffi- 8 STAGE DECOEATION cult to accept than the phenomenon, so easily explained, of the lack of evidence of the exist- ence of a form of art during a hundred years at a time when confusion reigned, and when this particular form of art was more or less under the ban of the law. One might be more skeptical if it were a question of any real lit- erary form. But drama is not inherently a literary form of art. It does not even need to be spoken, in order to exist and to live. However, in regard to this problem and all others discussed in the following pages, it has been our aim to be undogmatic. The study was undertaken not in the hope of overthrowing existing theories, but in order to cast new light upon the subject by the investigation of dramas by means of a method hitherto unemployed as far as this period is concerned. Finally, the work seemed worth while in order to present the setting of the whole medieval stage in France, and not merely a part of it as has been done heretofore, for only by studying the whole stage can one understand the real condition of the stage decoration of the Middle Ages. It is to be regretted that, owing to the neces- sity of frequent citations from medieval plays, IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 9 the text of the present volume must change so often from English to Old French; but it has seemed inadvisable to translate passages from which data are drawn for such a work as this. The word maison, which is used in rather a technical sense and which is untranslatable in this special use, may need explanation. It means either a piece of scenery, or a scene itself. Thus a setting may consist of six maisons or scenes, one of which may, for example, be a mountain. It is also used with the meaning of "house," in the sense that the house is repre- sented by real scenery and not merely by a chair. In view of the fact that the necessary bib- liographical indications have been given in con- nection with all references throughout the book, it has been thought that no general bibliography is here called for. A sufficient index to the various subjects treated will be found conve- niently provided in the analytical table of con- tents prefixed to the volume. It is with deep gratitude that the author ex- presses his thanks to Professor H. A. Todd, who suggested this subject for investigation and under whose kind and scholarly supervision the work has been carried on. CHAPTEE I The Question of an Uninterrupted Dramatic Tradition. Earliest Eeeords of Scenery. A possible Origin of the Use of Chairs as Scenery. Introduction of Eeal Scenery. The Sponsus. Heaven not Kepresented in Early Plays. The Stage on One Level. The drama of the Middle Ages has been divided into two kinds: religious and profane. There is no exact line of demarcation between them, since the religious and profane elements are early mingled on the stage. Yet it has been found expedient by authors to treat these two forms of dramatic representation not only in separate chapters of the same book but even in different books. The result of this practice has been to establish two statements in regard to the origin of drama. It is generally accepted that the profane or comic theater is a direct outgrowth of the mime. The religious theater is supposed to find its beginning in Christian worship. Professor Petit de Julleville goes so far as to say that religion created the drama, 10 IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 11 and he draws the oft-repeated parallel between the origin of the drama in Greece and in France. 1 The definition of drama, as far as the Middle Ages are concerned, must be made very broad. It must include almost any attempt to repre- sent an historical or imaginary event either by tableaux, pantomime, or dialogue spoken or sung. Therefore if the mime used any of these means of entertainment and thus preserved the spark of comedy, the theory of a second birth of the drama in Europe must be given up. irtlje mime consisted of only dances and rope- walking in the eighth and ninth centuries, when we last hear of it in France before the rise of liturgical drama, it is difficult to explain why the church was so hostile to this harmless form of entertainment. Reich is of the opinion that the dramatic mime lived throughout the Middle Ages, and he gives citations of authors who refer to mimes as late as the year 836. 2 The primitive drama of the adoration of the shep- herds was played in the tenth century. 3 Since x Les Mysteres, Paris, 1880, vol. I. p. 2. 2 Der Mimus, Berlin, 1903, eh. 9. 8 Petit de Julleville, les Mysteres, vol. I, p. 25. 12 STAGE DECOEATION 836 is by no means the date of the passing of the mimes, and since they are considered im- portant enough to be mentioned by Agobert, it is probable that their art lived at least until the liturgical drama began. Then the litur- gical drama would be a religious mime. It is difficult to believe that the profane dramatic representations did not give the impulse to these religious representations. Is it not possible that even before there were tropes interpolated into the services, there were mimed representa- tions of sacred events? Du Meril 4 brings evi- dence that this was the case. He quotes Fridegod as saying in 956 of Saint Ouen, who lived in the seventh century: In eorum domo non ut assolet in quorundam saeculorum conviviis mimorum vel histrionum carmina foeda sed evangelica vel apostolica sive prophetica personabant oracula. Whether this is true of Saint Ouen or not, at least it is evidence that early in the tenth cen- tury there was a tradition of the representa- tion of sacred oracula at a time when mimi and Mstriones still existed. If this is true of the seventh century, then there was a kind of 4 Origines latines du theatre moderne, Paris, 1849. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 13 drama before the appearance of tropes. In either case there is the probability that mimes and a kind of religious drama were contem- poraneous. That the profane mime was popular with all classes of people is sufficiently attested by the fulminations of the church against it. Some form of drama is dear to the hearts of all peo- ples. The churchmen seem to have had little success in putting a stop to plays up to 836 at least. From the tenth century on, dramatic representations flourish. Is it possible that for the space of a hundred years, at the most, the interest in such shows was dead after having been so hard to kill before this time, and living so strongly afterward? Taking this evidence into consideration, it seems that the theory as to the origin of French drama should be modified. Dramas with a religious subject are born in the church, of Christian worship. But the spirit of drama was kept in the mimes at least until the litur- gical drama furnished the people with repre- sentations which took the place of the mimes. Therefore drama did not die; but was handed 14 STAGE DECOEATION down in crude forms, at times, until the present day. 5 Where, then, in the history of stage decora- tion, should investigations begin? The setting of the stage should be traced from the earliest Roman plays and spectacles through the Middle Ages. Unfortunately documents giving infor- mation as to the exact nature of the mimes in Trance are lacking. It is impossible, at the pres- ent time, to describe the state of the scenery which was in vogue when the first liturgical plays were acted. Yet, because scenery plays an important part throughout the Middle Ages, and because scenery is carefully indicated in the early liturgical drama, it seems probable that it was never wholly neglected, especially if the character of the representation were such that a setting of some kind would have aided in making the dialogue or action clearer to the spectator. There is little reason for doubting, however, that whatever scenery was displayed, was improvised. 5 Beich has reached the same conclusion by using some- what different data, op. cit., p. 854, note 1. His com- parison between the mime and the mystery, which is a much later development, is not very strong evidence. Such parallels are too easily made. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 15 The use of chairs to represent different local- ities is a characteristic of what may be called the stage of the liturgical drama. Is this the invention of some scribe who wrote one of these dramas, and was this convention then accepted for all times after the representation in which it first occurred; or is it an outgrowth of the " stage " of histriones or mimes ? It would be natural, when these actors, if they may be dig- nified with that name, came to the hall of some seigneur, to clear a space for them. There would be no "behind the scenes"; but if one of them was not engaged in the show during a certain time he would probably sit down, in order not to attract attention away from the performer, as was done throughout the Middle Ages. Just as to-day, chairs would be placed for them. If there was a trace of drama in these shows, and if it was necessary to the action that one character should come from a certain place or go to a character who was supposed to be in another locality, in the minds of the spec- tators the chair from which he came or the chair in which the second character was sitting, would represent that locality, be it house, town, or country. The next step, the formal repre- 16 STAGE DECOEATION sentation of a room or house by a chair, would be made easily. It seems possible, therefore, that the custom of placing chairs or seats of some kind on the stage to be occupied by per- formers when not acting, and the convention of having chairs represent scenes, come from such performances, which antedate the litur- gical drama. The first indications of scenery occur in the liturgical drama. It is striking that the direc- tions for the setting and for the action are so carefully noted. The spectacle is at least as important as the lines, if not more so. The Plancius Marioe et aliorum 6 is remarkable in that each line is accompanied by a direction for the action. The element of pantomime is so strong in this play that it seems possible that there may have been religious mimes to which lines to be sung were added later, and that the liturgical drama is not an outgrowth of tropes but of sacred pantomimes. This drama, which was in effect a pantomime, belongs probably to the thirteenth century; but in the Trois Rois, 7 8 Coussemaker, Drames liturgiques, Didron, 1861. P. 285. 'Ibid. p. 242. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 17 which is one of the most primitive forms of liturgical drama, pantomime is found. A Cantor explains the action: Magi veniunt ab Orient e. For the moment the play becomes in reality a sacred pantomime. Taking into con- sideration the importance of spectacle and ac- tion it does not seem too bold to conjecture that religious mimes, not tropes without scenery, are the primitive form of liturgical drama. Nor is it strange if no descriptions or directions for such representations have been preserved. The action could be easily improvised in a moment. Only when words and music were combined with it, would it seem necessary and important that the play should be intrusted to writing. Thus the early tropes of the tenth century would be naturally preserved. But is it certain that these early forms of antiphonal service were unaccompanied by action? Or, when the Quern quceritis in prcesepe, pastores, dicite was sung, was there a kind of pantomime going on before the altar, which then repre- sented the prcesepe in some way, as it did later ? In this case the tropes would bear the same rela- tion to the action as the words sung by the Cantor in the Trois Rois. They would be the 2 18 STAGE DECOKATION explanation and accompaniment of the drama. Undoubtedly the idea of dialogue developed from the tropes; but it is possible that the action existed before the dialogue. Even if it be granted that the tropes grew up independ- ently of any action, it is still more natural to believe that the action was introduced into the Church from profane dramatic representations: the same representations, whatever they were, which kept comedy alive. The tropes would then be considered as merely a part of the worship; but when they are combined with or are sung in accompaniment to action, the litur- gical drama exists. Action and spectacle, in a crude way, are so important that it is difficult to believe that they sprung and developed so quickly from tropes. 8 One naturally seeks the origin of drama in such action and mimicry. Dialogue is rather an out- growth than an inherent necessity. For these reasons and those cited above, it does not seem possible that the drama of the Middle Ages was born in the Church and that its primitive form 8 See the formula used in England in the tenth cen- tury where the action is so important. Lange, Die latein- ischen Osterfeiern, Miinchen, 1887, p. 38. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 19 was the trope. On the contrary, the most im- portant element of the drama, action or mim- icry, seems to have lived in mimes at least until it was introduced into the worship of the Church, which lends itself to action so readily. There is evidence which points to religious pan- tomime. The next step would be the explana- tion of this pantomime by a Cantor or by tropes. The combination of tropes and action formed the liturgical drama. The occasions on which the worship lent itself to mimetic action are many. The dedi- cation of a church with the ritual of Gallican origin, 9 and the worship during holy week, are striking examples. Since such actions existed before the writing of tropes, and since the liturgical drama grew up soon after the inter- polation of such dialogue, the question may be raised again as to whether the tropes were un- accompanied by action. The difference be- tween a trope and liturgical drama seems to lie in the fact that the manuscript of the latter con- tains the directions for action. Is it not pos- sible that the earliest form of the Quern quceritis 8 Chambers, Mediaeval Stage, Oxford, 1903, vol. II, pp. 4, 5. 20 STAGE DECOEATION of the St. Gall manuscript was accompanied by action — action which was taken for granted and not described? In the eleventh century trope of St. Martial of Limoges a narrative passage is found. This is a parallel to the Trois Bois in which the narrative element exists. A most striking bit of evidence that action is the most important part of liturgical drama is found in the Concordia Begularis of St. Ethelwold 10 drawn up before the close of the twelfth cen- tury. The action is described very minutely in narrative form. Songs to be sung are indi- cated, and the dialogue is mentioned. It is the action, however, which is most carefully de- scribed. The existence of a liturgical drama in this form points to action accompanying the earliest tropes. This formula seems to be an example of the primitive way of preserving a liturgical drama. It is not necessarily the most primitive form of drama. It does not seem probable that an action so developed could have been suggested by tropes alone. The tropes are rather an addition to mimetic action, which, in itself, is drama, for drama can exist without dialogue. 10 Chambers, op. cit., vol. II, p. 14. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 21 For these reasons it is misleading to consider that there was a second birth of drama in Europe. The profane mime, if it kept comedy alive, must have action or dialogue or both. At least, such drama seems to have existed until the religious mimetic action arose. The idea of drama is therefore best considered as merely transferred from the profane to the religious subject. The form of Christian worship fos- tered dramatic representations of a religious nature. The profane element which exists in some of the earliest extant liturgical plays is, in itself, evidence of profane representations the account of which is lost to us. The earliest references to scenery point to the altar as stage and setting. A sepulchre is "made in a vacant part of the altar and a veil stretched on a ring" covers it until the adora- tion of the cross is over in the Concordia Regu- laris. Chambers believes that this sepulchre is made on the altar by the "laying together of some of the silver service-books," as was done at Narbonne several centuries later. 11 Since the cross which is laid in it is small enough to be held on a cushion, the sepulchre itself was n Op. cit., p. 17, note 1 ; p. 21. 22 STAGE DECORATION probably small. Even in this drama a chair is used, although it cannot be regarded as part of the scenery. After having kissed the cross the abbot is directed to go ad sedem suam. It may be that the use of chairs as scenery originated from such customs, rather than in the manner indicated above. The representation of the sepulchre became more elaborate. In the Nuit de Pdques 12 the sepulchre can be opened and entered. That the sepulchre is not the altar is shown by the fact that they are both mentioned as different places by the stage direction : Hoc dido, Marie exeant de sepulchro; post appareat Dominus in sinistro cornu altaris. This may have been scenery made specially, or a curtained recess such as served for the sepulchre. The crypt also served as scenery for the sepulchre, as in the drama of the text of Wiirzburg, 13 where the angels de- scend into the crypt to await the coming of the three Marys. The drama of the Trois Rois shows a primi- tive form of setting for the plays given at Christmas. The star is shown, and a part of 12 Coussemaker, Drames liturgiques, p. 250. 18 Lange, Die lateinischen Osterfeiern, p. 53. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 23 the altar is concealed by curtains which, when drawn back, disclose the child. The angel does not appear to have been in some high place as if speaking from Heaven. The direction reads . . . quidam Puer, alba indutus, quasi Angelus, antiphonam ante altare illis dicat. The Office des Pasteurs, 14 played at Rouen, directs that the scene be set as follows: Prcesepe sit paratum retro altare et imago sanctce Mario? sit in eo posita. In this play the angels are in an ele- vated place. In the Adoration des Mages 15 they are supposed to appear in excelsis. At times, the boy representing the angel was placed super pulpitum. 16 Such arrangements are the beginnings from which the representation of Heaven above the stage grew. But such settings are not to be considered as a real representation of Heaven. Even the effect of a two-storied stage does not exist. There are voices speaking from on high. There is no evidence of scenery. The decoration of Heaven is not a character- istic of the liturgical drama but of the later Passion play. The indefinite in excelsis and alto loco are evidence that the scene was not set. 14 Du Meril, p. 147. 15 Du Meril, p. 162. 18 Du Meril, p. 99. 24 STAGE DECOEATION The Massacre des innocents 17 demands a more complicated setting. Besides the prcesepe and the angel speaking ah excelso, Herod is found seated on a throne as is shown in both direc- tions and lines. Egypt and Galilee are men- tioned, but were probably without designation. It is always a question as to whether such places were marked with scenery. It seems, however, that the partem Galilee would be the place from which Joseph went, and that the spectators would understand. The Adoration des Mages illustrates how such action was carried on with- out scenery in the following direction : Interim Magi prodeuntes, quisque de angulo suo quasi de regione sua. The spectator was supposed to know from whence they came. Such a place was practically behind the scenes. Even though a character was in view of the audience at all times, he could be imagined as coming from any place. He was, in effect, behind the scenes until his part began. Another convention which is found in the liturgical drama and which exists throughout the Middle Ages is that each actor has a special place to which he goes when not actively en- 17 Coussemaker, p. 166. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 25 gaged in the performance. In the drama of le Sepulchre, 18 for example, the actors are directed to go ad locum suum. This was evidently a means of keeping order on the stage. If a character was important and had a maison or chair, he returned to it. If not, he probably went to a place where he would be out of the way. The Conversion de Saint Paul 19 shows a dis- tinct advance in the art of stage setting. The direction reads as follows: Ad representandam Conversionem beati Pauli apostoli, paretur in competenti loco, quasi Jerusalem, quedam sedes, et super earn Princeps sacerdotum. Paretur et alia sedes, et super earn juvenis quidam in simili- tudine Sauli; liabeatque secum ministros arma- tos. Ex alia vero parte, aliquantulum longe ab his sedibus, sint parate quasi in Damasco due sedes; in altera quarum sedeat vir quidam nomine Judas, et in altera Princeps Synagoge Damasci. Et inter has duas sedes sit paratus lectus, in quo jaceat vir quidam in similitudine Ananie. Thus chairs instead of real scenery are used to represent cities ; but is there in this 18 Coussemaker, p. 298. 19 Coussemaker, p. 210. 26 STAGE DECOBATION play a simple piece of scenery in the shape of a wall, as Cohen interprets the direction : 20 . . . in sporta ah aliquo alto loco, quasi a muro. . . . 9 This hardly points to a special scene con- structed for the purpose. Real scenery, however, makes its appearance in the Resurrection de Lazare. 21 The house of Simon is mentioned, and it could not be a chair since a table is set in it. Tunc Simon inducat Jesum in domum mam, et, posita mensa. . . . Later in the play the house is mentioned in the following direction : " However let the house of Simon, when he himself has gone, be treated as if Bethany." If the rest of the play is read, it is seen that Bethany means the house of Mary and Martha. Lazarus falls sick in it and lies in lectulo. There is also a direction: Maria tacite a domo egrediente. Had there been no scenery for the house itself when it belonged to Simon, but merely a table, or when it be- longed to Mary and Martha had there been merely a bed, it would not have been so care- fully directed that the space be considered as Mary's and Martha's house. There must have 20 Cohen, Histoire de la mise-en-scene, Paris, 1906, p. 25. 21 Coussemaker, p. 221. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 27 been a setting for the house. Thus maisons and real scenery are found even in liturgical drama. The direction to use the same scenery twice in one play is significant. It is the means of keeping down the number of maisons when the space is limited. Since, as a general rule, the stage business of the simple liturgical drama differs little from that of the larger and more complicated plays, it may be inferred that this natural way of re-using scenery was employed later whenever it was necessary to reduce the number of maisons, as for example in some of the Miracles de Notre Dame which were given indoors. In the Fils de Gedron 22 the scenery is still more complicated. The directions call for a throne, Rex Marmorinus in alta sede; the church of St. Nicholas which can be entered, ad eccle- siam Sancti Nicolai eant; in quam cum introie- rint; — and also the house of Euphrosina into which she enters and sets a table, eat in domum suam, et paret mensam. The doors of this house are mentioned both in the directions and the lines. Such direct references to scenery can hardly be rhetorical. This drama, with its set- 22 Coussemaker, p. 123. 28 STAGE DECOEATION ting, together with the Daniel from the MS. of Beauvais, foreshadows the later miracle plays. The Daniel did not form an integral part of the worship. The scenery consisted of a throne and at least one wall of the palace, on which a hand wrote the fateful words. The lion's den was shown and its interior was visible. These are simple settings, but they prove that scenery was employed in the early liturgical drama in about the same manner as in the later mysteries. The drama of the Sponsus, 23 generally dated as belonging to the eleventh century, shows a developed form of liturgical drama. The text is no longer entirely in Latin. The element of spectacle has begun to increase in importance at the expense of the element of worship. Hell was represented. Demons were introduced, one is tempted to say, for the delectation of the audience. There is little difference, in spirit and effect, between the scene implied in the direction: Modo accipiant eas et precipitentur in infernum, and the diablerie in any later mystery. This play was acted in a church ; but it does not contain more religious elements than 23 Monmerque et Michel, Theatre francais au moyen age, Paris, 1842. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 29 are found in the Miracles de Notre Dame, which hardly ought to be classed as religious drama. There is only one sacred character in the Spon- sus, while the virgins, the merchants and espe- cially the devils are profane. They are not con- nected with any religious festival as the shep- herds are with Christmas. The lines were sung ; but the effect of the play and the interest it aroused must have differed from the effect and interest aroused by the antiphonal lines of a purely religious drama sung at Easter or Christmas. Thus as early as the eleventh cen- tury, granted that the Sponsus is not anterior to the year 1000, 24 the drama has already reached a stage of development which is not wholly religious and entirely wrapped up with the ritual. Petit de Julleville has described the scenery of this play. He believed that Hell was rep- resented by " un gouffre d'ou s echappaient des flammes. Also, since there was a Hell, he was of the opinion that Heaven was represented above the place where the merchants stood. However, if the lines are read and the implied action is considered, a different conclusion is ^Les Mysteres, vol. 1, p. 27. 30 STAGE DECOEATION reached. The wise and foolish virgins are at first together. The foolish virgins are told to go and buy oil of two merchants who "stand there." 25 They go and return, but cry out: Aperire fac nobis ostium. This line shows a door to the place they had left, which was not Heaven, but is referred to by the Sponsus as: Hujus aule limine. It is more of a terrestrial paradise or sacred court. It was probably rep- resented by some inclosure, and it may have been the place about the altar with a gate. Heaven is not mentioned or needed. As to the scenery which represented Hell, one is re- duced to conjecture. It may have been the crypt which served for this scene. As for flames issuing from Hell, there is no reason for believ- ing that the scene was so realistic. The mere representation of Hell is an isolated case in extant liturgical dramas; and such realism in scenery is more characteristic of later mysteries produced in the open air. This play and its setting show a development in liturgical drama. Its date is therefore im- portant in regard to the growth of liturgical drama, the birth of which Petit de Julleville 25 Que lai veet ester. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 31 places somewhat after the year 1000. But there is reason to believe that the Sponsus may have been composed even before this date. The play deals with the coming of Christ and warns people to be ready for him. This is a natural subject to deal with just before or perhaps dur- ing the year 1000 when the return of Christ was expected. Such a play would probably be written before rather than after this date. Thus if there is comparatively developed litur- gical drama at the end of the tenth century, the date of the rise of purely religious drama must be put back. The gap between the last remnants of Latin dramatic representations and liturgical drama is lessened. The presence of dramatic action and scenery in the state in which they are found in the Sponsus at such a date is evi- dence that the spirit of drama never died, but that the actors and authors of religious drama took their cue from profane dramatic action. The development of the setting of the litur- gical drama may be summed up as follows. The setting began at the altar, but moved away from it as other scenes were needed. Both chairs and maisons were used to represent places, all of which are generally represented at once, although 32 STAGE DECOEATION a maison may represent two places successively. The scenery is comparatively exact, the rule being that what is necessary to the action is represented. These are about the same condi- tions as will prevail throughout the Middle Ages. There is however this difference. Hell does not play an important part in liturgical drama. Heaven can hardly be said to have been represented at all. There have been angels in high places as aux voutes de Veglise; but these references are to the sky from which the angels make the annunciation or hover over the man- ger, and they do not give evidence that the place where the angels were was decorated to repre- sent Heaven. The setting of the liturgical drama does not give the effect of a two-storied stage, but of a stage of one level. It is true that the custom of representing Heaven above the level of the stage proper grew from the cus- tom of having angels in alto loco, etc. ; but this is a later development. CHAPTER II The Thirteenth Century Setting of the Adam Play. Resurrection du Sauveur Probably on One Level. Early Profane Drama. The withdrawal of the stage from the altar to the public square was accomplished even by liturgical dramas. Thus it is not surprising to find the mystery play of Adam given in front of the church in the thirteenth 1 century. The Latin stage directions which accompany this play are copious and, it is to be believed, exact. The direction manu monstrabit portas ecclesie is evidence that the scene was set in front of a church. The raised space, to which a few steps lead, found before the doors of many churches, would have sufficed easily for the needs of this play, and from such a stage the devils could make the directed discursum per populum. There is no evidence of a scaffold- ing being built for the stage ; and if the space *Paul Meyer, Eomania, 1903, p. 637. Luzarche, Adam, Tours, 1854. 3 33 34 STAGE DECOKATION in front of the church were not raised, it is possible that there was no stage constructed, but that actors and spectators were on the same level, as they probably were when a play was given within a church. As for the setting, Terrestrial Paradise is probably placed above the level of the rest of the stage, although the direction: Constituatur paradisus loco eminenciori may mean that the scene is merely to be prominent. There are curtains around it so that the actors within are only visible from the shoulders up. There are also sweet-smelling flowers and trees, including the Tree of Life. This scene is not to be mistaken for Heaven — a place which was not shown in early dramas as it is in the later plays. Heaven is only represented figuratively by the church, into which the actor imper- sonating God is directed to enter when his presence on the stage is not necessary. This scene is quite different from the later stages, which were dominated by God and the angels sitting on high. What this disposition of scenery does show, is the ever-present realism of the stage in the Middle Ages. Paradise is better than earth, and hence is usually shown on a higher plane. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 35 Hell was also represented. It is impossible to determine its locality and level. Its interior was probably not visible since there is nothing to indicate a scene in Hell. Smoke escapes from it and an infernal din is heard from within. It can be entered, but the scenery serv- ing for this entrance is merely described as portas inferni. Thus gates or doors from which smoke escapes may be accounted all the scenery of Hell. Had there been more, the author, so exact and minute in his other directions and descriptions, would have noted the details; but this scene appears to be unimportant in regard to construction, although the devils play a large role in the action. The setting for the rest of the stage is simple. Thorns and tares spring up in the ground culti- vated by Adam. Two large stones serve for the altars of Cain and Abel. The place where the murder is committed is designated as locum remotum quasi secretum, but, so far as appears, there was no special scenery. The only prop- erties for those who prophesy the coming of Christ are a throne or seat where each remains while he speaks his lines before being carried into Hell. Nothing else is needed.' Thus while 36 STAGE DECOBATION this stage must have been very simple in regard to setting, a distinct advance is noted beyond the scenery of the purely liturgical drama. The fragment of the Resurrection duSauveur la of the thirteenth century shows a setting, indi- cated by the prologue, which points to one level. The crucifix, the tomb, and a jail are to be made ready first. The following lines refer to Heaven and Hell: Enfer seit mis de cele part, Es mansions de l'altre part, E puis le ciel; If these lines are to be trusted, the conclusion will be reached that neither was Heaven above the rest of the stage nor was Hell below it. This would be the natural interpretation of the pas- sage, while to conclude that Heaven was above in this setting is to interpret the passage in terms of the stage in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Although the Adam play may show the beginning of the two-storied stage, yet the usual stage of the early plays is on one level, and there is nothing to show that the setting la Monmerque et Michel, op. cit. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 37 of this Resurrection departed from this custom. If the play was produced at all, it may have been inconvenient to build a two-storied stage, especially if it was given in a church. Even though a reference in a play of this period might be found which would give proof of a scene in Heaven above the stage, it would still seem that the author of this fragment had followed the stage setting of the liturgical drama, perhaps because he had seen no other style of setting or possibly for reasons of convenience. Galilee is supposed to be en mi la place. It is a question whether there was any scenery to mark the place. One is inclined to believe that the location of the country is being pointed out by the person who recited the prologue; and that there was no particular scene, as was the case in the Massacre des innocents, when the three kings went "just as if from their own kingdom." The house at Emmaus is shown, however; but there are merely seats for Pilate, Caiaphas, Joseph of Arimathea, Mcodemus, the Jews,, the disciples, the three Marys. Whether the retainers sat or stood about Pilate is not clear. At any rate the number of scenes is very small, Heaven, Hell, the jail, the house 38 STAGE DECORATION at Emmaus, the cross, and the tomb being the real scenery, and probably all on one level. The scenery of the Jeu de Saint Nicolas, 2 written by Jean Bodel early in the thirteenth century, was surely placed on one elevation, since neither Heaven nor Hell was represented. Whether the angel who appeared to the army was above it or not, is of little consequence. All information in regard to the appearance of the stage of this play must be gained from the lines alone. Petit de Julleville claims to have noted thirty-eight changes of the place of ac- tion ; but this has nothing to do with the amount of scenery used. One of the most important scenes is in the palace of the king, where the king naturally would be seated on a throne. The idol Tervagan is seen in the palace ; but it was represented by a living actor since it speaks. Later the treas- ure is exposed, probably within the same scenery. An image of Saint Nicholas rests upon the treasure. The interior and the ex- terior of a prison were also necessary to the action. As for the tavern, an exterior was surely visible. Thus there were three maisons, 8 Monmerque et Michel, op. cit. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 39 but there was probably no special setting to mark the houses of the emirs, who are merely summoned from their place on the stage in very short scenes. Also the two camps of the armies and the battlefield would not require a setting. The prologue gives evidence of a hut or cabin when it speaks of the worthy man who is found en une manoque. Thus the stage may be conceived as set with four pieces of scenery : the palace, prison, tavern, and hut, all of which probably showed both an interior and an exterior. The Miracle de TheopJiile by Rutebeuf pre- sents difficulties which make it impossible to reconstruct the exact number of scenes used. Even if the rule be applied that scenery which is necessary to the action was shown, yet the lines are in some cases rather obscure. That the stage was decorated by at least one maison is proved by the direction: Ici se repent Theo- philes et vient a une chapele de Nostre Dame. The line Vez ci vostre ostel et le mien points to a second maison used as the bishop's house. This may have been merely a chair; but as a general rule scenery was used for the house of a person who was important to the action and 40 STAGE DECOEATION before or within whose house or palace much of the action took place. The custom being to set the stage with several maisons, it would be natural to use scenery for the house of the bishop, especially at this period in the develop- ment of stage setting, when realism was grow- ing. Whether the sorcerer had a separate house or not is an open question. The conjuring up of Satan was evidently a scene designed to interest the eyes of the spectators, but it is difficult to decide whether that interest was augmented by the use of scenery. Also the place that Satan occupied on the stage is re- ferred to by Notre Dame in the line: Sathan, Sathan, es tu en serve f This may be a mere summoning, or it may have been a scene repre- senting Hell in a way. But since the lines are so indefinite in this play, it may be assumed that there was no spectacular scene in Hell such as is found on the stage two hundred years later. The stage in any case showed few scenes, whether this conjectured scenery ap- peared or not. It is again to be noted that Heaven is not represented. The profane stage at this period evidently IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 41 did not differ greatly in appearance from the stage of these semi-religions plays, if the evi- dence gained from the plays of Adam de la Hale may be trusted. Again the setting must be reconstructed from the lines; bnt as Petit de Julleville says, these plays " demand always action and stage setting." A bower of foliage is constructed in the Jeu de la Feuillee when the fairies enter; and a table is set before a tavern and the interior is implied in the line: Oue, il est chaiens. As for the Wheel of For- tune, there is no doubt but that it was visible, otherwise the lines referring to it would be in- comprehensible to the spectators, and they are far too vivid not to apply to a real piece of scenery. Robin et Marion, produced first before the court of Naples in 1283 and later in France, demands a pastoral scene with bushes and flowers, there being many direct references to such scenery. There is also one reference to the door of a maison in Ouvrez-moi tost Vuis. The phrase Vers ceste riviere also implies scenery, although the river was not necessary to the action and may have been behind the scenes. At any rate, the stage of these two 42 STAGE DECOEATION plays was set in a simple manner, while the Jeu du Pelerin does not require any setting. The only other profane play of this period is the early form of the farce of the Gargon et l' Aveugle, 3 dated between 1266 and 1290. The action of the play needs one scene represent- ing the house of the Aveugle. The lines read as follows: Je vorroie ore estre en maison ; Quant tu viens a .j. grant perron Deus maisons de la siet mes mes. The two characters arrive before the house, and the Gargon says: Sire, je i sui, or vous souffres, Jou verrai Puis oii siet le clinkes. The Aveugle replies: Hannet, une fuelle de venke A sor le suell ou elle siet. All this might be rhetorical were it not for the fact that the house is entered — Sire, ens estes — and the blind man is left there by the boy. As soon as a piece of scenery is necessary to the 8 Paul Meyer, Jahrbuch fur romanische und englische p. 163. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 43 action, one may be reasonably sure that it was represented. The stage of the thirteenth century was by no means complicated. Admitting all possible scenes, the number of maisons was small. The scenery itself appears to have been exact but not elaborate in comparison with what it will become later. The scene in Hell plays an in- significant part, if the extant plays may be taken as examples of a general rule. The Adam play may show a double elevation for the stage; but a two-storied stage with a decorated scene in Heaven can hardly be regarded as the characteristic setting of the period. At least the majority of the stages seem to have been set on one level ; and though a two-storied stage may have existed at this time, it is not the only type. CHAPTEE III Tableaux and Pantomimes. Great Variety of Scenes. Use of Different Levels. Setting of an Early Provencal Play. Influence of the Tableaux and Pantomimes. Texts belonging to the first half of the four- teenth century are lacking; but reports of plays given in pantomime have preserved de- scriptions of elaborate settings showing that scenery has become a very important element in arousing interest in the drama. The first rec- ord of the Passion Play is in the form of pan- tomime at the celebrations which Philippe le Bel gave in 1313. It is possible that the Pas- sion was not given in its spoken form until after it had appeared as a series of tableaux; but it is not to be inferred that the only theat- rical representations of this period were without words. Spoken drama had developed too far to fall into disuse for a period of a hundred years; and the very presence of pantomimes, both comic and serious, is evidence of the grow- ing popularity of the drama. Undoubtedly, miracle plays, such as those already described, 44 IN EKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 45 and comedies were being produced by actors who spoke their lines. The liturgical drama also continued to be sung at appropriate seasons. The existence of the Miracle de Theopliile in the thirteenth century and the Miracles de Notre Dame in the latter half of the fourteenth century, plays so similar in form and spirit, is evidence enough that such dramas were being produced throughout the earlier half of the fourteenth century. Godefroy de Paris in his Chronique metrique gives a detailed description of the scenes pre- pared by Philippe le Bel in 1313. There were both comic and religious tableaux, for as he says: La vit-on Dieu sa mere rire; Renard, fisicien et mire (1. 5329-5330 ).* Notre Dame is represented with the Three Kings of Couloigne, as they are curiously desig- nated. There are ninety angels in Paradise. Thus the scene must have been large ; while the chronicler claims that there were more than a hundred devils in a black and evil-smelling Hell where souls were seen tormented. The 1 Edition Buchon. 46 STAGE DECOEATION interior of Hell was therefore visible and was not merely called up before the mind's eye by an entrance in the shape of a dragon's head. On Wednesday, the account continues, a wind blew down the curtains but everything was soon re-arranged. Then : Nostre Seignor au jugement I fu, et le suscitement. La fu le tornai des enfans. Christ and the apostles saying their pater- nosters, the massacre of the innocents, the martyrdom of St. John, Herod and Caiaphas, Et renard chanter une espitre, were also seen. The chronicle implies that the comic and re- ligious scenes were juxtaposed, but this may be a mere carelessness in style. The author continues : Crois et flos, et Hersent qui file; Et d'aultre part Adam et Eve; Et Pilate, qui ses mains leve; Eois a, feve, et hommes sauvages Qui menoi'ent grands rigolages. This was done by the weavers while the coir- roiers represented IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 47 La vie de Renart sans faille, Qui menjoit et poucins et paille; Mestre Renart i f u evesque Veu, et pape, et arcevesque; Renart i fu en toute guise, Si com sa vie le devise: En biere, en crois et en cencier, Et en maintes guises daneier. En blanches chemises ribaus I vit-on, lies et gais et baus. Les rousigniax, les papegais Ouist-on chanter de cuers gais. Es hales estoit le bois clos, Ou maint conin estoit enclos; C'estoit privee sauvagine, A cui Pen batoit bien Peschine. Panunciaus, gonfanons, banieres, Estrumens de maintes manieres Vit-on la, et chastiax et tours; Dames caroler de biax tours. II fut trois jours en la semaine, Serainnes, cyves et lyons, Liepars, et maintes fictions, Que borjois firent, por estrainne, Par Paris toute la semaine. La furent borgoises parees, Balans et dansans regardees. Thus almost every kind of a spectacle was offered during these days, and we see the comic 48 STAGE DECOEATION and religious scenes holding their places side by side. The Passion Play, thus represented in the open air, would differ little from the spoken Passions of the fifteenth century such as that given at Angers. Both productions would have a large stage ; and undoubtedly the scenery of the pantomime influenced the drama in dia- logue, which was produced in the open air, in re- gard both to the size and the setting of the stage. There is no evidence of different levels used in this setting, although both Heaven and Hell were represented. The scenes were evidently set separately, and therefore the scheme of ele- vation would not be carried out. The same conditions seem to have existed later in street mysteries, 2 and the stage of the Resurrection of the thirteenth century has already been men- tioned as probably being on one elevation. Such a procedure may well have sprung from the fact that with scenes in Heaven and Hell set separately, say with a street intervening or at the opposite end of a market place as at Angers, the effect of different elevations would be lost. Similar settings were shown in 1389 at the 3 See p. 118, Mystere de la Passion given at Bouen. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 49 entrance of Isabeau de Baviere into Paris. At the first gate of Saint-Denis there was ung ciel tout estelle, et dedens ce ciel jeunes enffans ap- pareillies et mis en ordonnance d'angles . . . et estoit le ciel armoie tres-richement des armes de France et de Baviere. . . . There was also an historical scene on another scaffolding where estoit ordonne le Pas-Salhadin, et tons fais de personnages, les chrestiens d'une part, et les Sarrazins d'aultre part. At the second gate of Saint-Denis there was a second ciel nue et estelle tres richement, and within sat the Trinity and choir boys singing as angels. As the queen passed in her litter, Paradise opened and two angels came from above and placed a crown on her head. This, then, is an attempt at realism by placing Heaven, not above the level of the stage, for it is a separate scene, but at least above the street where the proces- sion passed, in order to heighten the effect of the action. The lords and ladies next found a scaffolding convert de draps de Tiaultes lices et encourtine en maniere d'une chambre within which men were playing an organ. The most elaborate scene was set at the gate of the Chatelet, where there was ung chastel 4 50 STAGE DECOEATION ouvre et charpente de hois et de garites . . . et Id avoit a chascun des crestiaulx ung Jiomme d'armes arme de toutes pieces, et sur ce chasiel ung lit pare, ordonne et encourtine aussi riche- ment de toutes choses . . . et estoit ce lit ap- pelle le lit de Justice; et la en ce lit par figure et par personnage se gesoit Madame saint e Anne. The bed was guarded bj twelve maidens with naked swords. Also there was a forest scene, for the account continues: Ou plain de ce chastel qui estoit contenant grant espace avoit une garenne et grant foison de ramee. s Within this scene there were rabbits and birds and a white deer. A lion and eagle were supposed to issue from the woods. These pantomimes show that scenery was enjoyed for itself alone even during the four- teenth century, and they are indicative of the relative grandeur of the settings which came in the following centuries. Such scenes were also produced in the contemporary Miracles de Notre Dame and the Passion of the Ste. Gene- vieve collection; but undoubtedly the settings were greatly reduced in size and beauty, for the Puy de Notre Dame or the Confrerie de la 8 The account is taken from Froissart. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 51 Passion would have neither the space in an in- closed theater nor the money necessary to dupli- cate such scenery. The Provencal Marty re de Saint e Agnes, 4 which has been dated between the last years of the thirteenth century and the first years of the fourteenth, shows a setting which combines both scenery and chairs. Heaven is repre- sented, for the soul of Saint Agnes is brought before God; but there is nothing in the direc- tions or the lines to indicate the position or decoration of the scene. The interior of Hell is shown, for the devils take the soul of the Saint and boil it in a cauldron in Hell. This action of course was visible. Neither Heaven nor Hell is described as carefully as the lupanar; and these two scenes were perhaps rather un- important, as far as setting is concerned. The lupanar, however, could be entered, and the bed of Saint Agnes was shown within. This scene was evidently no improvised, summary setting which left much to the imagination. The Pre- fect, on the other hand, is seated in cathedra sua, as was the custom. The direction Modo * See Annales de la Societe des Lettres, Sciences, et Arts des Alpes-maritimes, vol. IV, 1877, Nice. 52 STAGE DECOEATION recedunt omnes Romani in castellum suum is quite definite and there is little reason for doubting that this scene and the castellum of Sempronius were set. The number of scenes was small ; but this play proves that such places as the lupanar were set at the beginning of the fourteenth century. Thus one has little hesi- tation in believing that such scenes were also decorated later in the century in plays like the Miracles de Notre Dame, although practically all of the stage directions are lost to us. Even from these meagre data it is seen that the art of stage decoration was developing in the fourteenth century. The pantomimes and tableaux which took place at the entrances of kings and queens, undoubtedly influenced the open air mysteries and made their stage larger and more beautiful. In reality, an open air mystery must have been mere pantomime to the majority of spectators. The germ of such a spectacle, on so vast a scale, lies in just such scenes as those described above. In regard to the closed theatre, the record of which probably begins with the Miracles de Notre Dame, the influence of the pantomimes would naturally be lessened, just in proportion to the difference IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 53 existing between the two forms of drama and their stages. A strict line of demarcation must be drawn between the open air stage, which in- creased to great dimensions and finally fell into disuse, and the inclosed stage, whose history can be traced to the present day. CHAPTEK IV Miracles de Notre Dame. Their Treatment of the Hell Scene. Their Stage of Two Levels. Setting of Heaven not Important. Scenes on Earth. Number of Scenes. The Miracles de Notre Dame belong to the fourteenth century. They are very important in the history of the French stage. Emile Roy, indeed, believes that " in all probability the seat of the Puy Notre Dame, the hall where it gave its representations, was in the neighborhood of the Holies, that is to say, not far from that Hopital de la Trinite where another celebrated confrerie was to play the Passion later." * Starting at this point, therefore, it is possible to follow the practically uninterrupted develop- ment of the theater in Paris. While theatrical activities were by no means confined to Paris, yet the stage under a roof in the city that finally became the center of art, is of more importance 1 Koy, Etudes sur le theatre f rancais du XIV e au XVP siecles, Paris, 1902, eh. 6. The date of the founding of this Puy is given by Eoy as about 1391. 54 IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 55 than the great open air shows on temporary stages in the provinces. This hall in which the Miracles de Notre Dame were given is a pre- cursor of the Hotel de Bourgogne, which brings us down to comparatively modern times. What, then, was the stage setting of the Miracles de Notre Dame f Unfortunately there are few stage directions; and with the excep- tion of Roy, who has discussed some points of the mise-en-scene though not the entire setting, writers on the subject have given up the task of reconstructing the scenery of these plays. The problem is not easy to solve; but when stage directions are lacking, the lines them- selves must be made to furnish the needed evidence. This is a dangerous proceeding, but since it is the only means at present of throwing light upon the scenes of these plays, the method must be employed for want of a better one. Petit de Julleville has said that perhaps there was little or no scenery ; thus all mention of rooms, palaces, etc., would be rhetorical. But this does not seem possible, for the Middle Ages in France bear witness to a strangely careful and complicated stage setting wherever stage directions are found. The lack of direc- 56 STAGE DECOEATION tions for scenery in these plays may well have been an omission from the manuscript rather than an indication of the absence of scenery — a lack which would have been remarkable. It could hardly be possible that, in such an age of realistic setting, forty plays, so full of action and so dependent on scenery, should have been produced with little or no stage decoration. There is also one rubric in the thirty-first Miracle (line 614) which says, referring evi- dently to a palace : Ycy va le roi en sale. This could not mean that the king enters on the stage or in the hall where the play was being given, since the direction occurs in the middle of the king's speech. Thus the word sale means a piece of scenery representing a palace. In the thirty-sixth Miracle is found the direction : Ici fait un po de pose et vient a sa maison. There can be no doubt about the word maison. It is the common word for scenery. Thus the many references to scenes of different kinds could not all have been rhetorical. It is not possible to believe that when windows and doors which open and close were mentioned, there was noth- ing but the empty air to which the actors pointed. It must be taken into consideration IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 57 that one company of actors was giving these plays and the same piece of scenery could be used again and again. Thus an examination of passages in different plays in which references are made to a church or a prison will serve to give material for reconstructing this or that scene. The setting representing Hell has always been considered an important characteristic of the stage of the Middle Ages; but it seems to have been unimportant in the Miracles de Notre Dame. In Miracle number one the devils ap- pear, but not a word about Hell is spoken. Even when they leave, the lines read : 570 Alons mant, Car nous avons ailleurs a faire. 1386. Alons men sanz faire demour. Since Hell is not needed, there is no reason for believing that it was represented either in this play or in the one which follows it in the manu- script, for not even the devils appear in the second Miracle. When the devils enter in the next Miracle the lines (882 ff.) show plainly that they are sup- 58 STAGE DECOEATION posed to meet on neutral ground before the archdeacon. When they have the soul for which they have come, they say that they will carry it into Hell: 1031. Or Pi menons donques bonne erre, Et puis si venrons son corps querre Qui la se gist. As soon as their intention is avowed, there is no line which shows them carrying it out. Instead, there is a short scene between mortals which immediately follows this speech. Then the devil says : 1070. Sathan, puis qu'en nostre meurjoye Celle mesehant ame avons mis. Thus the action is related, or is " messengered," as is said of classic tragedy. Where one would expect lines showing the action, were it visible, a scene is interpolated evidently in order to bridge the gap while the devils carry the soul off the stage. ®ne only needs to read these Miracles to see how significant is the absence of lines describing an action, for in all such plays the lines are a running commentary on the action, which would soon become unintel- IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 59 ligible were this not the case. When the devils come back for the body, they load it into a wheelbarrow and say: 1084. Alons ment, grant bruit demenant, Par ceste voie. But the body is saved even before they reach the Hell " behind the scenes/ 7 for it was probably not visible. The devil appears in the sixth Miracle to St. Jehan Crisothomes when he is praying. This scene being finished the devil leaves, saying (line 720) : Car se je maintenant rmfen vols. 'No mention of Hell is made. These oft-recur- ring lines point to a real exit — a rare proceed- ing in medieval drama, though perhaps made necessary in this case on account of limited stage area. The devil enters later and says that the saint will be taken to Hell, but he simply throws a letter into the hall of the king and passes on. That is the extent of his role. Surely no scene of Hell was represented. The role of the devils in the ninth Miracle is even shorter. They appear in the desert and beat St. William. Then they leave, as line 1177, Vien fen, shows us. Hell is not men- tioned or needed. 60 STAGE DECOKATION The devil has only two speeches, in the twelfth Miracle, of about thirty lines in all. There is no possibility of Hell being repre- sented. The devil merely regrets that his prey is escaping him. In the thirteenth Miracle the devil says : 348. Alons nous en sanz demouree En enfer. But there is no line which even intimates that the spectators were supposed to see the devils reach Hell. Their scene simply finishes with these lines, which seem to mark an exit. They return to take the emperor to their abode, as their final line 686, L'en entrainnons, plainly says. But that is all. We do not see him put into Hell. Again the line serves for a real or an assumed exit. !N"o line suggests special scenery. The fourteenth Miracle is entitled " un miracle de Nostre Dame d'un prevost que a la requeste de saint Prist Nostre Dame delivra de purgatoire." In this play Purgatory is repre- sented, and also has some of the attributes of Hell. The Archediacre and Estienne are placed there, and since they carry on a conversation IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 61 while in it, the interior must have been seen. Such a line as Et ce feu trop ardent et chaut (line 481) and others are evidence of the repre- sentation of flames. Thus it might well be a scene in Hell itself, although it is called Purgatory. The devils appear in the sixteenth Miracle; but it would be vain to attempt to prove that Hell was represented, since it has nothing to do with the story. The devils merely play the usual role of tempters; and when they leave, nothing is said of their returning to Hell. The devil's last word when he leaves the pope is (line 1235) : Dolent m'en vois. The scene then continues before the pope. In number twenty-five the devils appear in order to carry off the souls of the emperor and the jailor. The following lines are significant: 1338. Ensemble les fera bon mettre; Aussi sont il d'une convine. Avant! avec moi t'achemine Ysnellment. This is the devils' final word. The play closes after three short speeches. The above-cited lines point to a real or assumed taking of the 62 STAGE DECOEATION souls off the stage. They almost preclude even the possibility of a Hell being shown, for when a Hell was represented torture scenes were com- mon, and much, instead of little, was made of such an opportunity. But in this case one can almost see the devils carrying their burden away. If they did not do this, but placed the souls in Hell and tormented them, why do these lines occur and these alone? Miracle number thirty-six shows the devils at the bed-side of the sick merchant and later arguing their case before God. Instead of going back to Hell when they leave, we know from lines 594 ff. that they are supposed to go to the rue du Piastre, which must have been behind the scenes, since the scene which is sug- gested does not take place before the eyes of the spectators. Thus it would be impossible to con- ceive a Hell shown in this play. Out of the forty plays of this collection there are thirty in which devils do not appear and therefore there is no possibility of a scene in Hell. Of the ten remaining plays in which such a scene might have been expected, in nine Hell was either behind the scenes or not re- quired at all. The conclusion is that the Mira- IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 63 cles de Notre Dame were plays in which Hell was of no importance in regard to the setting. This is evidence in favor of the theory we are trying to establish, that in this period of the development of the stage decoration, Hell was not represented as a general rule. In these productions, with one exception, there is no smoke escaping, no infernal din within a yawn- ing dragon's mouth, although the lines show once that the devils make an uproar on the stage (No. 3, lines 1084 ff.). The setting of Hell and the use of devils seem to have lost in importance since the Adam play. The devils are not seen running about and cutting up ca- pers among the spectators; they are only in- troduced when their presence is necessary to the story. They play their legitimate part and then, if we can believe the lines, they leave the stage. Their roles are generally short and often insignificant in comparison to the others. The word enfer occurs very rarely. The gates are only mentioned once, and this is but a passing reference which does not imply scenery. Fi- nally, up to this point, there is no evidence of the far-famed and somewhat overworked drag- on's head. It is also significant that even though 64 STAGE DECOEATION devils are in these plays, Hell does not usually appear. It hardly seems possible, therefore, that the producers of these plays were accus- tomed to seeing mysteries in which there was a realistic representation of Hell with its drag- on's head, smoke, and frightful din. The fourteenth Miracle, in which Purgatory is represented, is the one exception; for the scene, though called Purgatory, resembles Hell in the fact that the souls were burned. Yet even if it be granted that a scene resembling the setting of Hell appeared on this stage of one out of forty plays, none of the conclusions is in any way shaken. As is seen by the above- cited title of the Miracle, a scene in Purgatory is demanded. The play could hardly exist without this scene. Therefore when such set- tings were necessary they could be constructed. It was not because of any difficulty in mounting such scenes that they were generally lacking. The reason would seem to be that the impor- tance of such scenery in arousing interest had not yet impressed itself on the producers of these plays. The Miracles de Notre Dame — plays of the fourteenth century — are evidence in favor of the theory that Hell played an un- IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 65 important part in the medieval stage up to the fifteenth century, and that its careful setting and especially the setting of the entrance in the shape of a dragon's head, belong to a much later period than has been believed heretofore. For all but one of these plays the stage must have consisted of two levels : Heaven and Earth. It is true that in this play line 593 reads : Q'en purgatoire est descenduz. It is a question whether the realism went so far as to place the scene of Purgatory on a lower level in the set- ting corresponding to the evident idea of the author. The following lines also refer to the conception of Purgatory. 910. Las! Qui est ce qui de ce val Meschant, chetif, lait et hideux, Puant, orrible et tenebreux Me veult oster? Eo doubt the place was dark and partook of the nature indicated by some of these adjectives; and it may well have been on a lower level than the rest of the scenes, for the realism of the medieval setting is always remarkable. In any case it must be borne in mind that this scene is an exception as far as these plays are con- 5 66 STAGE DECOEATION cerned; and the general rule was a stage of two levels. The decoration of Heaven was evidently not elaborate. It plays a comparatively unimpor- tant part in the setting. The scene was surely placed above the stage proper. Evidence of this is found in such lines spoken in Heaven as : en une chappelle \\ La dessoubz (No. 17, line 1130-1). Descendez a terre (No. 36, line 963). On the other hand there are the corre- sponding lines spoken on Earth: Balons nous ent, mesnie doulce \ \ Es cieulx la sus (No. 6, lines 1383-4). 2 This arrangement also makes its appearance about this time in the Miracles de Ste. Genevieve. 3 The two levels were un- doubtedly connected by stairs, since the angels pass up and down. God was seated on a throne in Heaven, as is shown by the line Car il est ou Tiault trone assis (No. 3, line 800), and by Bieu, qui est lassus ou throsne (Miracle No. 35, line 157). As for the angels, many speeches of Notre Dame begin "sus"; but this word may 2 Such references may be easily found in almost any of these plays. 8 See p. 85ff. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 67 mean "up" only in the sense of "let us go." However, the line Mes amis, levez sus, levez (No. 13, line 1500) spoken to the angels would show that they also were sitting. As soon as Notre Dame is on Earth in the four- teenth Miracle she is seated, as she says, en ceste chaiere (line 840). This is a common action and was probably done to show respect and lend dignity to the character. We not only find a chair placed for Notre Dame or God when either comes to Earth, noted in the lines, but also in Miracle No. 36 we find the action implied by the lines is proved by a stage direc- tion. Line 348 reads: Alez m'un siege la jus mettre. Then the stage direction follows: Ici viennent chantant, et quant Diex est assis et Notre Dame j le tiers ange va au malade et dit. Thus taking into consideration that the oft-re- curring " sus " is sometimes made entirely clear by the word "levez" also that a chair was placed on Earth for divine characters, and that it was the custom to have God and the angels seated in later plays, finally that we have direct references to the hault throsne of God, it may be concluded that in these miracles God sat upon a throne surrounded by his angels, who were 68 STAGE DECOKATION also seated, in a Heaven raised on a level above that of Earth. This is all the information which can be gained of the position and setting of Heaven; but the very fact that the lines give so few details is evidence that Heaven, as well as Hell, was relatively unimportant in the setting of these plays and did not dominate the scene as it did in the great mysteries of a later date. The scenes in Heaven are very short and with- out much importance as far as the action is concerned. They consist of only a few lines in which God or Notre Dame bids one or the other to descend with the angels to Earth. It is on Earth that the occupants of Heaven play their real parts and speak the most of their lines. Therefore it is natural that the scenery for Heaven should be unimportant in these semi- profane plays, for these Miracles are a long step from the religious drama in which the setting of Heaven attracted such attention. The Miracles hold a middle ground between the re- ligious and the profane drama, in regard to both subject matter and stage decoration. The scene of the profane drama was on one level. The scene of the religious drama was at least on IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 69 two and perhaps on three levels. It showed the beauties of Heaven and the horrors of Hell. In these plays Heaven is only an episode in the production, while Hell is hardly represented at all. The appearance and effect of such a stage inclosed in a hall must have been very different from the stage of the open air mystery. But this stage is none the less important as a type, although it may be less of a curiosity to the modern mind than the great spectacles which were to come ; for take away the Heaven of the Miracles de Notre Dame and the stage will re- semble very closely the setting which Hardy found and accepted and which existed in the sixteenth century. The scenes on Earth, where the real drama was acted, were quite carefully set. As has been said, the different scenes in these plays could be used again and again ; and comparison of the several references to a common scene will serve to reconstruct it with comparative ex- actness. The scene of the church occurs in twenty of the plays, and it must have been carefully set. The interior was visible, since in the fortieth Miracle we find the line 1730, Qu'en ceste eglise 70 STAGE DECOEATION ci Vamaines. Also line 1813, Lez cest autel, shows there was an altar within the church. This altar sometimes represents merely a shrine. In many plays a sermon is given, and in these miracles a reference to a pulpit or eschaffaut is found upon which the preacher stood and gave the sermon. Thus in "No. 13, lines 384-5 : Car nostre evesque en l'eschafaut Voy ja monte qui le fera. The sermon is listened to by the characters in the play. In the twelfth Miracle line 31 says: Voulentiers a Veglise iray. This is followed out; and then, as lines 50-55 inform us, they all sit down and listen to the sermon. There- fore in addition to the altar there were places to sit down — there are references to this fact throughout the plays — and also a pulpit. There was scenery for a chapel distinct from that of the church, since in the seventeenth Miracle both the church and the chapel are needed, and in the thirty-third Miracle the hermit mentions his chapel, saying (line 1228) : En ma chappelle rrien iray. In the sixteenth Miracle a chapel is built on the stage; and when it is finished the following lines show it completed : IN EBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 71 1581. Fondee est ferme conme tour lei endroit ceste chappelle. Scenery for a hermitage is demanded in eleven Miracles, and the thirty-third play gives evidence that it must have heen well worked out, since line 1215, Vueil done quen ce lit vous couchiez, shows an interior and a bed. The tenth Miracle says of the hermit's cell (lines 148-9) : Avis m'est que le voy seoir, Le chief hors de sa fenestrelle. It does not seem to be going too far in the way of conjecture to suppose a window from the direct reference to one in the lines. It must always be kept in mind that the stage setting of the Middle Ages was exact from the point of view that the stage directors tried to represent everything, and everything at once. One is far from claiming modern exactness for the setting of these plays ; but judging from the care with which scenes were set which are clearly de- scribed by the stage directions, one does not hesitate to reconstruct the small hermitage with its inferior visible, with a bed, when necessary, and a window. There is a miniature in the 72 STAGE DECOEATION manuscript which shows just such a cell, and the interior is made visible by removing the wall which would face the audience. The pos- sibility of the hermitage itself not existing and of references to it being rhetorical is entirely precluded by an action which takes place in the thirtieth Miracle. The hermitage is pointed out with a light in it; and afterward it is burnt to the ground during the action of this play. The hermitage is generally found in a forest ; and a forest scene is called for by the lines in ten of the plays, while in the thirty-seventh Miracle it is spoken of as an orchard. People are lost in the forest and there are far too many direct references to the scene to permit of the belief that it was not represented, especially in the Miracle de Berthe, where a great part of the action passes in a forest. As for the word deserte, it is used for the forest itself in this Miracle; but there are also references to a deserte in five other plays, and no doubt it was shown in some way. These two scenes would be easily improvised. The prison was a scene which was very often used. There are constant references to enter- IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 73 ing it, and the characters speak from the in- terior, which was therefore visible. The twenty- fourth Miracle gives evidence of a door and window in line 376: 8a, sa! boutez vous par cest huis, and line 469: Egar! vezla une fe- nestra Line 273 of the thirty-second Miracle brings us to the conclusion that this door was no mere opening, for it can be locked : Cest huis a la clef fermeray. The lines which refer to doors, windows, and interiors are here given so much importance because, up to the present time, no one has attempted to show just how much scenery was used to represent these dif- ferent places. To judge from miniatures, although these must not be entirely trusted, a palace generally consisted merely of a canopy and a throne. Therefore the question arises as to how a prison was shown. Were there walls and doors for such a scene? These plays give evidence that such scenes were carefully set because the action needs such exactness. The piece of scenery representing an inn was frequently set. In the eighteenth Miracle Theodore says of the inn: Leens me fauldra hosteller (line 656). Supper is served on a table : Nous avons assez longuement Sis a table 74 STAGE DECOEATION (line 740). If the action be followed, which is indicated by the lines, there must have been more than one room for the inn. The fille and the valet are in a separate room, and Theodore who is also at the inn summons the valet " de ceens" (line 844). The valet then says to the file: Cy ne puis, mamie, estre plus. Je vois la, sire (line 846). This, as well as the pre- ceding lines, is evidence that the interior of this second room was visible. There is also a third room for Theodore implied in the action, but it is not strictly necessary. It will be shown later that in some of the palaces more than one room is absolutely requisite. It is therefore not sur- prising that an inn with more than one room is found. In fact the possibility of an inn separated into three rooms must not be con- sidered as remote. In view of the system of multiple stage decoration it is extremely prob- able, for an inn of three rooms would be as easily arranged as three separated pieces of scenery. There is scenery required for an abbey in six of the Miracles. In the eighteenth a cell in the abbey is also shown apart from the rest of the scene. Theodore's cell is pointed out to IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 75 him by the abbot : Si sera la en celle cele (line 1391). Also Theodore takes the fils to his cell and he dies there. This is another case in which there must have been two compartments for the same scene. In the fortieth Miracle an altar is shown in the abbey (line 1121). In the plays of this collection which demand a more complicated setting a ship and a sea are needed. The ship occurs in Nos. 27, 29, 30, and 34. It surely appeared on the stage or else the following lines would be meaningless in the twenty-seventh miracle : 1078. A celle roehe la menrons Qui est assez avant en mer. 1090. Baudoin, vessel prest avez: Regardez. Touz quatre ens entrons Et d'y aler nous delivrons. Entrez ens, dame. They arrive at the rock in the sea. Thus the whole action, to be intelligible and not to be mere meaningless pantomime, must have been accompanied by scenery. Other scenes which are demanded are a stable, for the Miracle de la Nativite; sl stronghold, occurring in two plays; a tower, which can be 76 STAGE DECOEATION opened and closed; springs, wells, and ditches, all of which it was quite possible and necessary to represent. As for the scenery of cities cor- responding to such lines as those which tell us the characters have arrived in Rome or Jeru- salem, it is difficult to decide whether any special scenery marked such places or not. If we follow the evidence of miniatures, we must conclude that a gate, perhaps marked with the name of the city, was shown. But it seems unnecessary to have such a device to show, for instance, that such and such a palace is in Rome. It is more probable that such lines were merely for the information of the audi- ence. Thus it is to be believed that cities were not formally represented, but that any maison or group of maisons naturally stood for any city where it was supposed to be. Even in the case of such scenes as the market place in Jerusa- lem the scene may well have been on neutral ground, for it must be remembered that neutral ground was necessary and very useful in the scheme of stage decoration. Roads and ways ought to be considered as neutral ground. Characters met and talked on it, and battles were fought there. Such places as the road to IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 77 Jerusalem or to Egypt have been too often 4 considered as distinct scenes and counted into the number of places to be represented. In reality they were definite places to the specta- tors, but seem to have been unmarked by special scenery. Another point in which exception must be taken to Petit de Julleville when one reckons the number of scenes of any play is in not neces- sarily assigning a maison to a character who is simply summoned. For, as far as the action is concerned, if not in reality, this character leaves the stage after the scene with the person to whom he has been summoned. There is no reason why such a character should have a maison provided; such a scene is not necessary to the action and any reference made to it seems to be rhetorical. Also, only in very few cases are such references found. Generally the words je le voy la occur, which being wholly indefinite must mean neutral ground. They merely point the person out to the audience. However, even if there was scenery for these characters, only one or two plays would be affected, and only one or two unimportant 4 See Petit de Julleville, Les Mysteres, vol. 1, p. 105. 78 STAGE DECOEATION maisons would be added. Thus the results of the investigations as a whole would not be affected. As to the ostels, palaces, and other maisons which were represented, they must have been as complete as the other scenes. In three of the later Miracles, Nos. 33, 34 and 39, we find a throne mentioned. Toy la en son throsne seoir (No. 33, line 1045) refers to the palace of the pope. In the thirty-ninth Miracle, Clothilde is seated on a throne and the arcevesque addresses her as follows : 2230. De moy en si hault siege embatre, Dame, ne me requerez pas; De me seoir ici em bas Me doit souffire. As has already been shown, the chair or throne was a common setting from the time of the earliest liturgical plays. In this collection of plays there are frequent references to sitting down in these thrones. Therefore every maison in which there was a person of some rank prob- ably contained a throne on which he was seated in state. The king was surrounded by his re- tainers. The pope had guards, who stood at IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 79 the gate of his, palace, as is shown in Miracle !N"o. 16: Ly lairay je passer la porte (line 1098). Doors are mentioned frequently. The lines Je vol de cy la porte 1 1 Ouverte du manoir le roi (No. 29, lines 260-1) might be con- sidered as rhetorical if we had not already fonnd references to doors in other scenes, snch as that of the prison, which could not be rhe- torical. In the thirty-ninth Miracle evidence of a door in Clothilde's house is furnished by the line: Ce sac derrier cest huis ici (line 328). There are rooms which require a bed as a set- ting; and a room hung with draperies is neces- sary to the action in the thirty-first Miracle, in which occurs the line D'arriere ces courtines dame (line 347). Some of the houses must have been divided into more than one room, as was the case with the inn. As a rule, how- ever, only one room was needed. A table is often set for a meal, and the proof of this is found in one of the very few stage directions which are contained in these plays: Cy met on la table devant Vemperiere pour mengier (Miracle Eo. 25). There is great divergence in the number of maisons or real scenes needed for each play, 80 STAGE DECOKATION but in no case does the amount of scenery re- quired become manifestly impossible for a stage in a ball. It is possible to estimate the number of scenes constructed for each play, although there may be a difference of opinion as to whether a certain maison, implied but not men- tioned by the lines, was shown or not. Yet this would not materially change the conclusions. It would simply mean that one or two plays would need one scene more or less. For in- stance, in the ninth Miracle there is no line referring directly to the house of the pope ; but since he is found seated on a throne in other plays, we can safely assume that he was found thus in this play. The same is true of scenes before a king. In the fifteenth Miracle the mid- wife is summoned from son hostel. This may or may not be rhetorical. It is not a scene which is needed. Also no scenery is indicated for a scene before a judge in this play, and probably none was shown; 5 but since in count- ing these scenes as represented we only have six scenes in all, the question as to how many scenes were shown in this play is of little con- sequence. It is in comparatively few plays B Cf. setting for Pathelin, p. 218. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 81 that this question arises, and only those whose lines furnish full information in regard to the scenery will be used as examples of the stage of these plays. It is to be taken for granted that Heaven was always represented above the rest of the scenery in all these Miracles. The tenth Miracle is an example of a simple setting which consisted of a hermit's cell, a chapel, and a house. In the eleventh Miracle there is a hermit's cell, a wood, and a merchant's house. The fourteenth needs an altar, the house of the archdeacon, Purgatory, the pope's house, and a chair for Notre Dame when she visits Earth. The setting of the sixteenth Miracle is a church, the house of the penancier, the house of the pope, the house of the pope's mother, a chapel constructed during the play, and the house of the cure. The thirty-first Miracle needs two pal- aces, in one of which there are two rooms sepa- rated by curtains, a forest, a chapel and the house of Simon. The thirty-second presents a more complicated setting: a palace of two rooms, a forest, a prison, an inn, a house for the charbonnier, a temple or church, a boat on the sea, and the house of the tabellion. The thirty- 82 STAGE DECOEATION third is also complicated and demands the house of Robert, the peasant's house, an abbey, a forest, the house of the duke (probably divided into two rooms), a hermitage with a chapel, the emperor's stronghold, and the pope's house. The thirty-seventh Miracle shows a church, a palace with a throne and a separate room, the temple in Jerusalem with an altar, a forest, a boat, an inn, Isabel's house, a prison, and the emperor's palace with two rooms. The setting of the thirty-ninth Miracle consists of two palaces (one of which has two rooms), a church, a fountain, Clothilde's house, and Gondebaut's house. The fortieth demands the house of Euphemion, the palace of Honorius, a room for Sabine, an abbey, a church, a boat, and the pope's house. In the latter Miracles there may have been one maison more or less needed by the whole play. A typical stage of these plays would show six or seven scenes, which is the number used by most of Hardy's plays. Such a stage could be easily set in a hall. The plays which needed eleven or twelve scenes would cause no trouble if mounted out of doors, but it is supposed that all of the Miracles de Notre Dame were given in an inclosed hall. If this is true, either the IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 83 stage must have been larger than that of the Hopital de la Trinite or of the Hotel de Bour- gognej which were quite spacious; 6 or scenery may have been changed or renewed during the performance. At any rate an indoor stage in Paris with twelve scenes set simulta- neously is uncommon during the period in which we know that inclosed theaters existed. After 1402 the size of the stage of the Hopital de la Trinite makes that number of scenes im- possible; and this stage remained for over a century and a quarter. The rather large num- ber of scenes required- by some of these Miracles foreshadows the great out-door spectacles of the fifteenth century; but if any of these longer Miracles were given later in the Hopital de la Trinite or in a hall of like dimensions, either a part of the action was left out or scenery was changed. When given by the Puy de Notre Dame, how- ever, a large enough stage was probably pro- vided. What scenes were needed must have been set with care and exactness. Yet scenery has not yet reached that period in its develop- ment when it is used as a delight to the eye. 8 See p. 192. 84 STAGE DECOEATION It is an aid to the understanding of the action ; but except in the number of scenes there are few signs of the elaborateness which character- izes the later mysteries. Once a character says: Je voi merveilleuse clarte Descendre des cieulx la amont (Miracle !N"o. 13, lines 581-2), but such lines are rare. The productions of this Puy were not great spectacles. They began with simple plays accompanied by simple setting. There is a development, a step for- ward in complexity ; but the Miracles de Notre Dame mark a period of transition toward the great spectacular plays, while they also show a type of a simple stage decoration of few scenes which will continue to exist in the indoor theatres throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. 7 ''Miracles de Notre Dame, Paris et Kobert. Paris, 1876. (Soc. des ane. texts fr§s.) CHAPTEE V Miracles de Ste. Genevieve. Their Date and Place of Performance. Eesemblance to the Miracles de Notre Dame in Their Treatment of the Scene in Hell. Setting of the Nativite. The Passion. The 'Resurrection. The Miracles contained in the Jubinal publi- cation of the manuscript of Ste. Genevieve have also been made the subject of investigations car- ried on by Roy. Since the repertoire of this collection corresponds to that of the Confrerie de la Passion as stated in their famous lettres patentes of 1402, he believes that these plays are the ones mentioned when this body is au- thorized to faire et jouer quelque Mistere que ce soit, soit de la dicte Passion et Resurrection ou autre quelconque tant de saincts comme de sainctes que ilz vouldront elire et mettre sus. The date of these representations is therefore placed at the latter part of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century. It is very important to know their setting, for the Confrerie de la Passion and their dramas hold 85 86 STAGE DECORATION the stage in Paris at least until 1548, when their trouble began in earnest. These plays must be conceived as being given regularly within doors, instead of occupying a temporary stage set up at the expense of a whole town. There was nothing to hinder an open air performance, but the real stage of these plays was probably the Hopital de la Trinite, whose dimensions are given as 6 by 21% toises. 1 Thus the stage in such a hall was not large. But such a stage is none the less typical of the Middle Ages. It is even more important for the evolution of the drama than the large temporary stages in the open air. The Miracles de Ste. Genevieve are well adapted to a small stage. The plays could be given separately or collectively. The de- mands made upon the stage director could hardly have been difficult to fulfill at any time. They form a cycle from which different plays could be selected. These miracle plays seem to have treated the setting of Hell as did the Miracles de Notre Dame, that is, Hell was generally behind the scenes. Devils appear in the Martyre de St. Pierre et de St. Pol, but Hell itself is not rep- 1 See p. 191. The toise was 1 metre, 949 mil. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 87 resented by a formal scene. When Simon is killed, the first devil says: Ou puis d'enjer vous porteron. A stage direction follows which reads : Cy Vemportent hors du champ en uslant. The pit of Hell is thus hors du champ, or be- hind the scenes; and the spectator merely saw an exit. Later in the play Nero is killed and the devils cry out : Ou puis d'enjer te porteron. A stage direction then shows the following ac- tion : Lors Vemportent et puis le jetent en une chaudiere assise un pou haut enmy le champ. They tell him that now he will know what Hell is. Then they blow under the cauldron and make some smoke; but, as the direction says, they soon cease. The second devil speaks: Neron, encore pis te feron. A Lucifer te porteron. Then comes the stage direction: Cy le portent hors du champ; and again it is seen that Hell proper, where Lucifer stays, is behind the scenes. It is not correct to say that the caul- dron represented a scene in Hell. It was placed before the eyes of the spectators as one of the infernal tortures and was introduced to satisfy the medieval demand for horrors. 2 2 Cohen holds a different view, op. cit., p. 93. 88 STAGE DECOEATION The other miracle in this collection in which devils appear is the miracle of the child thrown into a well and resuscitated by Ste. Genevieve. After the devils have obtained the soul of the child, the author resorts to this means of getting them out of the spectators' eyes as far as the action is concerned. Satan says: Or nous seons Et dedens nos papiers veons. The stage direction carries out this action: Lors se sieent et regardent en leurs roulez et soient jusques a tant que les anges viegnent. This means is employed to get the devils out of the way, because evidently Hell is not rep- resented, or they would have gone to their natural abode. When the soul is taken from the demons after a sharp struggle, the direction says : Cy s'en fuient. This must mean, off the stage; and there is nothing to show that a scene from Hell was used in these plays which deal with the conversion and martyrdom of the saints. However, a scene in Hell is needed in one of the miracle plays which deal with Ste. Gene- vieve, for Raphael is directed to take une IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 89 ymagete soubz le couverteur et la tiegne suz son bras senestre en ly monstrant a la desire enfer. The soul of Ste. Genevieve is shown in Hell, of which the tortures are described in a few lines. The episode is short and unimportant. The scene may have been a Mnd of tableau; but it does not occur again in these Miracles. The fact that the scene occurs but once shows that the Hell scene was by no means indispensable. Here were plenty of chances to use it, which were allowed to slip by. Even though it does not seem probable, let it be granted that, be- cause in one of these plays a scene in Hell was used, such a scene was also used in the others noted above, since they all belonged to the same confrerie; yet the setting does not gain in im- portance. It is merely an exit. There is no evidence of a dragon's mouth. At best, the setting of Hell in miracle plays must be re- garded as an unimportant episode in the whole production. It is in the mysteries that the scenes in Hell are so carefully set; and the mystery plays belong mostly to the fifteenth century. The stage without a dragon's head, even with no representation of Hell, is none the less typical of the Middle Ages than the 90 STAGE DECOEATION stage on which the horrors of Hell occupied a large place. Indeed any attempt to reduce the stage setting to a type is likely to prove dis- astrous. Considering first only the plays of this col- lection which deal with the saints, it is found that Heaven was placed above the stage, as is proved by the stage direction in the Conversion de S. Pol: Lors voisent en passant par des- soulz Paradis. The scene evidently did not extend over the whole stage, nor around three sides of it as is shown in some miniatures, for the actors are directed to walk under it, and also Damas is placed en coste Paradis. Its exact location is doubtful. In later plays, it was at one side of the stage and Hell on the other. 3 In the preceding miracle, which may be joined to this one, the lines show God seated in Heaven and Christ on his right hand. There are also angels in Heaven who, as in the Miracles de Notre Dame, sing rondels. The setting of these plays was simple. There is nothing in the lines of the Martyre de Saint Estienne to show any scenery, except Heaven, or any change of the place of action. 8 See p. 118. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 91 There are chairs for the characters and evi- dently some of them stand on a raised platform. Lisbie is directed: Cy descende d'en hault et voise devant St. Denis. Another direction reads : . . . Fescennin soit ou 'plus hault ciege, while Simon mounts un pou hault in order to call the devils. Such an arrangement may have been employed to raise certain characters above the rest of the stage, in order that they might be seen more easily, especially if the actor were supposed to be on a throne. 4 The question as to how cities were repre- sented at this period rises again. "Damas, for instance, is en coste Paradise. Was it merely represented by its provost and citizens? Was there any scenery to mark Athens beyond the four altars? Were Rome and Paris merely places where such and such an action took place, but undecorated by scenery beyond a throne or any maison supposed to be in that place ? There is no reason for conjecturing that there were other special settings at this time on this stage. Whatever scenery occurs in these plays is merely an aid to the understanding of the action. *See p. 193. 92 STAGE DECOBATION There is evidence of a real maison in the prison, which can be entered, and whose in- terior and exterior were visible, as is shown by the direction: En la chartre soient vestemens . . . autel et calice et du pain. That such a scene should have walls is made necessary by the action. There is also a direction en mon- strant lit et table which refers to an inn. It is impossible to say whether this scene had a wall or not. But there are few such scenes and it really makes little difference, therefore, whether in these plays they were inclosed on one or two sides. If thrones are granted to dignitaries, — and there is little reason for conjecturing anything else showing a palace — about all the scenery and properties needed for these plays besides the scenes just discussed are : a ditch, table and chairs for the house of Catulle, chevaus de fust, greil, and a four. These plays do not need much scenery nor do they lend themselves readily to any elaborate setting. They are too full of scholastic discussions. Few scenes were needed if the plays were given separately. But they could be combined and thus it is difficult to say just how many scenes were set at once. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 93 The Conversion de 8. Pol would need Damas, probably represented by its citizens ; a provost ; and a maison for the Virgin. If the Conver- sion de $. Denis were joined to it then four altars would be added to the setting. A stage direction speaks of a logeis for the philosopher and his wife, but this does not necessarily mean scenery. It refers to the place of the actors on the stage rather than any set scene, for the di- rection voisent en leur logeis is given when the stage is to be cleared in the next play, and the scene changes to "before Nero." A throne for Nero and a tomb are the only scenes added if this third play be given. Finally if the Martyre de 8. Denis be given, the only new scenes to be set are the prison, an inn, the house of Ca- tulle, and a ditch. Thus in any case the stage would not be overcrowded as there are few real scenes, since the chairs of dignitaries do not count. Also nothing would hinder scenery being removed or used twice. Thus again one must imagine a stage with few scenes. The Miracles de Ste. Genevieve also require very little scenery. Heaven with God and the angels is above the stage, as is usual at this period ; and there is one vision of Hell, although 94 STAGE DECOEATION the scene does not seem to have been much used, for at least there is no evidence that the devils use it even as an exit. The plays are very- short ; and, if taken separately, only one or two real scenes would be set. Even if they were played together the stage would not have been overcrowded. The house in which Ste. Genevieve was born is referred to very clearly by the lines, and the scene must have been set. The child is told not to pass the door; but she goes where une queue soit ou pierres comme la gueule de .i. puis. This same well probably served in the later Miracle of the child thrown into a well by the devils. This direction also serves to show how such scenes were constructed. The home of Ste. Genevieve near Paris is described very carefully as follows: Lors se tiegne devant Paris un pou avant ou champ, et illecques soit un petit autel suz le quel soit V image Nostre Dame, et devant V autel une fourmete pour soy mettre a oroison, et oien pres soit son lit fait de une table en Jiault et un povre couverteur dessuz et. i. oreillier de bois. When such care is taken to prescribe the setting of this scene it is probable that if there had been IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 95 special scenery for Paris, it, too, would have been mentioned. Lectree is marked by an altar with the image of St. Denis upon it. The direc- tion: Cy. retournent a leur hostel, which refers to the sick girl and her mother and which oc- curs at the end of the play, hardly refers to a scene. The hostel is not necessary to the action unless it was the sick girl's bed, in which case it would be easily represented. There is no evidence that it was a separate maison, care- fully set. All of the scenery necessary for the action is described by the directions. As has been seen, the places represented are few and the settings, while realistic, are not elaborate. The scene in Heaven is not the one which held the eyes of the audience; but the interest cen- tered upon Earth. Realistic simplicity is the chief characteristic of the stage decoration. The Vie de 8. Fiacre is only another ex- ample of this simplicity. The stage was prob- ably set with a boat, a church with an altar, a hermitage which can be entered and which is built on the stage, Heaven, and perhaps a maison for the Pucelle. This play, however, is inter- rupted by a farce in which scenery is needed for a tavern, as is shown by the lines : 96 STAGE DECOEATION En ceste chambre cy derriere Vous seez; lieu y a prive. There are lacunae in the Nativite of this collection; but the scenery can none the less be reconstructed with little probable error. Earthly Paradise and Heaven seem to be the same scene in this play, as far as can be judged from the lines. It has already been pointed out that in the Adam play Paradise, while on a higher level, could not be considered as a scene representing Heaven. It will be seen later that in the Mistere du Vieil Testament, the two scenes are quite distinct. Also in this play it must be remembered that the part of Paradise in which the Tree of Life stands and from which Adam and Eve are driven would present quite a different appearance from that part of Paradise occupied by God and the angels. Therefore, in reality, there were two scenes. The line spoken by God: Qui la jus gardent les aigneaux is evidence that Heaven was above the stage. Hell is necessary to the action and even its interior was shown. The devil says : Adam, venez en noz maison Ou premier estage d'enfer, IN FRANCE IN TliE MIDDLE AGES 97 That this implied action is carried out is proved by the stage direction: Adam en enfer die. Thus Adam and the prophets were seen in the premier estage d' enfer, or Limbo, as this scene will be called later. Do these words point to a scene set on a lower level? It must be borne in mind that the stage was set with re- markable realism; and the same feeling which would cause Heaven to be placed above the stage would naturally cause Hell to be set below the level of Earth. The lines in this play spoken from Hell : Ha roy Jhesus toy demandons, Des- serts tost, are in favor of this theory. This does not necessarily mean that the stage was built in three stories ; but there is evidence that more than two levels were shown on the stage. The stage directions and lines of the plays which follow the Nativite in this collection may also be cited, since all of these plays were probably produced on the same stage. After the creation the scene changes and Caesar's palace is shown. There is more than a mere throne, for after the line: Or alons la Jiors veoir, sire, comes the stage direction: Cy voisent hors de leur eschaufault et regardent le 7 98 STAGE DECOEATION del. There are also some idols represented, one of them being the statue of Jupiter. The temple was shown, for Mary asks that she may be allowed to remain en ce temple; but there may have been only a chair or seat to rep- resent the house of Joseph, since, after he has been away Mary, says to him: Venez vous delez moi seoir. A maison is not necessary for the action. After Gabriel has announced to Mary that she will bear a child, a dove fait par bonne maniere descends. The stable must have been carefully repre- sented. It is called a hale desordonnee. The child is placed in the manger, and the cattle are plainly pointed out by the lines. There is noth- ing to show a house for the Marechal, but there is a distinct scene when Joseph asks him for fire and le mete en son giron. Such scenes and the scenes with the shepherds hardly demand formal scenery. The setting for this play can not be called complicated, even if these scenes be counted. Yet it is sufficient for the action. Such properties as the dove and a heavenly light which is supposed to illumine the stable are indi- cations of the growing importance of scenery and machinery introduced for its own sake and not merely to make the action intelligible. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 99 The Geu des Trois Boys which follows the Nativite does not show much advance beyond the liturgical drama dealing with the same sub- ject. There is nothing to prove that the Three Kings had maisons. Probably they came each "as if from his own kingdom" as they did in the older drama. The star was represented as usual. The stable, however, had an added touch of realism in the animals. This scene was surely the one just described in the Nativite. In order to represent the journey the kings are directed as follows : Cy voisent entour le champ. They arrive before Herod; and there is no direct evidence that the palace was represented by any scenery except a chair or throne. Yet Caesar's palace, which was marked by a maison in the preceding play, is not needed in this play. The same setting may well have been used for Herod's palace, which plays an important part in this drama. In reality, this Geu des Trois Boys is a second act to the Nativite and such changing of scenery would naturally occur. This maison would then be guarded and would explain both the line: Garder les pors et la cite, and the stage direction: Cy facent sem- blant de aler garder. ... In fact since Hell 100 STAGE DECOKATION is used as an exit when the devils carry Herod there, it is quite possible the setting of the Nativite was but little changed. The temple would help to represent la cite, and whatever represented the house of Joseph would remain set. The Tree of Life and the idols are not needed; but otherwise the appearance of the stage is hardly altered. The setting of the Passion was somewhat dif- ferent. The interior of Simon's house must have been shown. There are several scenes which take place within it including that of the last supper when a table is set. The sepulchre of Lazarus is also indispensable to the action. There is one maison, however, which is pointed out by the lines, but which one is inclined to put behind the scenes even though that region, which is so useful to modern drama, was but little used in the drama of the Middle Ages. Christ bids two of the disciples go ou chastel contre vous where they will find the ass upon which he will ride into Jerusalem. E"ow the chastel itself is not needed as far as the action is concerned and the actor might well have pointed behind the scenes, even though the animal itself was on the stage. The scene is IN EBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 101 not important. To set it would have compli- cated the stage unnecessarily. The stage setting was simultaneous and complex but it was not chaotic. The tendency to allow the imagination to dwell upon the curiosities of the open air spectacles is likely to make one forget the small stage where the area was limited. ©nee in Jerusalem, Christ is led before Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate. The palace of Herod has been discussed above. The houses or palaces of the other characters were undoubt- edly represented by chairs, at least; and prob- ably there was more scenery. Pilate speaks of his hostel. The house of Annas is mentioned. At any rate there are four distinct scenes. The blacksmith's forge must have added an interest- ing bit of realism, for the fire is placed within it and the nails are forged. Calvary was elevated as is shown by the line: Jusques en ce tertre Id devant. The cross is naturally placed upon this eminence. Heaven is above the stage as usual. Evidence of this arrangement is found in the stage direction: Les Angles sus. A merrier is introduced and cloth is bought of him. Also the three Marys go to an epicerie. These scenes, while they demand certain prop- 102 STAGE DECOEATION erties, would not need special scenery repre- senting two shops beyond the goods themselves which were displayed. The sepulchre, which played so great a part in the liturgical drama, was not lacking in this play. Finally both the interior and exterior of Hell are visible. Jesus, on the outside, says : Princes d'enfer, ouvrez vos portes. Satan, within, says to the devils: A ces portes fort soustenir. Fay que cil huis soient verroule*. It is to be noted that the word gates or doors is still used for the entrance just as it is in the Adam play. These gates are bolted. This fact seems to preclude any idea of the jaws of a dragon. After the scene between Christ and Adam in Hell, Mary Magdalene begins to speak and the text gives the direction: Magdelaine sus. The word sus has heretofore been used in the direc- tions of this play when an angel or angels are to sing as : un ange chantet sus. This evidently means that the angel is to sing above in Heaven and not on Earth where the action has been passing. But Mary Magdalene is on Earth. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 103 Hence the sus points to the fact that she is not in Hell, where the action has been passing, but above Hell. Thus we seem to have a case in which Hell is represented on a level below the stage proper. In the final play of the Jubinal collection, the Resurrection, Terrestrial Paradise, with the Tree of Life, is shown, but the scene was evi- dently on the stage proper and was distinct from Heaven. The devil speaking to Eve in Paradise says that if she will eat of the fruit she will be lassus aux cieulx with the angels. Also there is a stage direction: Dieu voise entour le champ jusques Adam ait mengie du fruit. This occurs during the scene in Paradise and the word champ which generally means the stage itself is evidence that the setting of this Paradis terrestre, as it is called by Adam, was not above the champ or stage. It is to be noticed that, after the descent into Hell, the ascent into Heaven is merely implied by the lines. This action, however, is common to all plays of the Resurrection and surely took place. The Heaven scene existed, but it was toward the scenes on Earth and in Hell that the eyes of the spectators were directed. 104 STAGE DECOEATION When Adam and Eve have been driven out of Paradise, Adam is directed to pretend to till the ground and Eve to spin. Then they enter Hell. The direction : Adam, en enfer, die again shows that the interior of Hell was visible. The entrance of Christ into Hell takes place as usual; but the lines still give no hint of the dragon's head. The words portes de ceste maison are still employed. As has already been seen in the Nativite, Limbo was the premier estage d'enfer, and the scene was set within and not outside of the gates of Hell. The same dis- position of scenery occurs in this play. Christ says of the prophets in Hell : Y sont devers tine partie Qui limbe est appelee et dicte. Thus the idea is growing of a Hell divided into different scenes ; and here we find the first step in the direction of a more complicated scene which will occur in a later Resurrection. As for the level of the setting, the line R'alon-m'en en bisme parfont may be pointed out as sig- nificant. The other scenes, on Earth, are simple. The sepulchre is represented. The scene with the IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 105 espicier demands merely properties such as ointment and scales. Pilate was probably seated in state ; but Caiapbas and Annas are not digni- fied with chairs, for when their short roles are finished they are directed to a go where they wish." This is practically an exit. Finally there is a garden in which stands a pine tree. Such are the settings of these early plays. The advancement over the liturgical drama is plain. More elaborate scenery will be intro- duced; but any indoor stage cannot differ greatly from these we have been describing, nor will all plays show more complicated settings in the future. From this period on, the great open air spectacles exist ; but stages with simple decorations such as these, and even simpler, exist side by side with the open air mystery. CHAPTEE VI Longer Passions of the 15th Century. Evidence Fur- nished by Miniatures. Passion d' Arras. Hell Placed on a Level below Earth. Setting of the Play according to Journees. Passion at Eouen in 1474. Number of Scenes. One Level. Passion de Semur. Its Setting ac- cording to Journees. The problem of stage decoration becomes somewhat different when the longer Passions are considered, such as the Passion oV Arras, which contains about twenty-five thousand lines. It is divided into journees or acts, however. Thus the difficulty of mounting such a play was materially lessened by the fact that scenery could be changed. Only one journee need be considered at a time in attempting to recon- struct the appearance of the stage of this play, which is so important in the history of the French drama of this period. It is probably- the work of Eustache Mercade and is dated be- tween 1402-1414. According to Eoy, the great Passions of the north in the fifteenth cen- tury are derived, with few exceptions, from the 106 IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 107 Passion d' Arras, either in the first or second degree. It was suggested by Petit de Julleville 1 that the miniatures in the manuscript, still pre- served at Arras, would elucidate many obscure points in the stage decoration, if they were ex- amined closely. But it would be extremely haz- ardous to draw from these miniatures any con- clusions which are not fully corroborated by the text. For example, the manuscript begins with the direction : " Here is the Trinity in Paradise, that is : God the father sitting on his throne and about him are the angels and archangels in great multitude. . . . The others are on their knees before God, with Pity, who holds a branch of olive in her hand. And Justice is on her right, who holds a sword in her hand. And with Pity on their knees are Beauty, Wisdom, and Char- ity." In the miniature corresponding to this direction, God is in the sky surrounded by angels, while below him are the figures called for, standing in a meadow. On the next page, although no change of scene is noted in the text, the same figures are shown; but they are standing on what appears to be a tiled floor, 1 Les Mysteres, vol. II, p. 416. 108 STAGE DECOEATION with a green and gold wall for a background. On page five, the scene still being in Heaven, the same figures are shown in the same posi- tion ; but the background has changed to a land- scape in which a castle stands. The tiled floor appears on the following page. God is again represented on the seventh page with a sky as background; but the angels are entirely miss- ing. Thus the artist has forgotten his first set- ting. God was first seated in an arm-chair. Here he sits on a box-like arrangement. The archi- tecture both of the stable and the temple changes from miniature to miniature. Beginning with page 232 the work is done by a different artist. Granted that these artists saw this play or some other produced, there is little to suggest a stage. The pictures seem to be fanciful creations of the imagination. The well-known miniature of the Valenci- ennes mystery, which has been so often repro- duced, also gives a somewhat erroneous impres- sion of the stage. It would be impossible to set such a Paradise on the roof of one maison; yet Mortensen, evidently relying on this miniature as evidence, describes the typical Heaven as "an immense halo of gold which turns inces- IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 109 santly, and on the edges of which some angels are floating. It is the Empyrean, the seventh circle where God is sitting in the midst of the blessed phalanxes." 2 There is no real evidence that such a machine for representing Heaven ever existed, placed as this is supposed to be, over one room. The question arises as to where were the organ and the many angels to find room. As represented by the miniature such a scene, with such proportions, is a physical im- possibility. Even though, with modifications, such a setting might be possible, the scene is not entirely typical of the Middle Ages. Such grandeur is found only in the fifteenth and six- teenth centuries on open air stages. Thus the evidence of miniatures must be used with dis- cretion. The Valenciennes play extended over twenty-five days. The miniature reproduces only a very small part of the scenery and is more or less fanciful. Also, had the repre- sentation not been one which was out of the ordinary, it is not probable that any attempt to reproduce the stage would have been made. Thus error arises from publishing this minia- 2 Mortensen, le Theatre f rancais au moyen age (traduit par Philipot), Paris, 1903, p. 177. 110 STAGE DECOEATION ture either as a typical stage for the whole period or as the whole stage of this particular play. In the Passion d' Arras Heaven contains God and the angels, as usual. There were also means of causing a bright light to shine from the angles. During the second journee sl cloud passes in which the voice of God is heard. Such machines are indicative of the growing importance of the scene in Heaven. It cannot be said, however, that, even in this mystery, Heaven is the pre- dominating scene. Terrestrial Paradise is again distinct from Heaven or else the following stage direction would be meaningless: Cy emmaine Jhesus Vhumain linage en paradis terrestre. As Heaven was above the stage, it would be natural to place Hell on a lower level. This seems to have been the case in this play, for the lines often refer to Hell as below Earth. For example: Lassus en terre oil fay trouve (line 17691), is a line spoken in Hell. While on the other hand we find the following lines spoken on Earth : . . . entre on parfont d' infer (line 21012) ; Descendant ou limbe d'infer (line 22851) ; Aux tenebres d'infer descendre IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 111 (line 23134). There is little, if any, reason for mistrusting this evidence. To place Hell below the level of Earth is no more surprising than to place Heaven above. In fact it would be strange if this were not the case, in view of the system of stage decoration which was in vogue. It is unfortunate that there is no stage direction in this play tending to prove that the scenery was thus arranged; but whatever evi- dence is found, is favorable to the theory that the stage consisted of more than two levels. Hell itself is conceived as a stronghold. Its entrance is a gate or doors, for the devils say: Fremons noz portes a chainnies (line 18158) and a stage direction : Cy abat Jhesus les portes d'infer, carries out the same idea. There is a miniature in the manuscript which represents some devils issuing from the mouth of a dragon ; but there is also another which represents the entrance of Hell as stone gates. Thus nothing can be proved from these miniatures, even if the theory of the influence of stage scenery on art be accepted. These miniatures belong to the latter part of the fifteenth century ; and if they prove anything, it is that the setting of Hell was hesitating at that . period between a dragon's 112 STAGE DECOEATION mouth and gates. The interior is evidently divided into Limbo, where Adam and the prophets are, and Hell proper in which Lucifer is chained in the flames. In addition to the gates, a window is implied in the line (20875) : Je viens de fermer no hucquiet (guichet). The scenes requiring a special setting for the first day are a maison for Joseph and Mary, a maison for Elizabeth the house of the Evesque, Herod's palace, an inn, the stable, the temple, a pastoral scene, the idols in an Egyptian tem- ple, and at least a chair for Octavian. The Three Kings are as usual supposed to come from their kingdoms; but these are merely places on the stage and were probably without special scenery. Thus we may count ten different scenes at the most. There is no evidence of special setting for cities. The different scenes were quite elaborate. For example, the temple could be entered, an altar stood within, and in the action of the second day Christ is carried to the pinnacle of the temple. The palace of Herod had a door, and there were seats within the hall. The Three Kings go to bed at the inn, and the scene must have been carefully set. Line 1651 . . . empres ce buisson shows the nature of the IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 113 pastoral scene. There is also a tree which bows before Christ. The second day or act required, first of all, the river Jordan. The palace of Herod ap- pears again, and a prison is needed. In the third day the prison was raised in the air by divine power. The temple and une tres haulte montagne were used in the scene of the tempta- tion. The wood, to which line 7650 refers, was perhaps the pastoral scene of the first day or was a part of the mountain scene. It is pos- sible that a part of the river scene served for the pool. The burial of Lazarus called for a fosse. The house of Simon was shown and the table for the Last Supper was set within. A garden is needed. There are also maisons for Caiaphas, Annas, Pilate, Zaccheus, Martha, and for Vhomme a la canne. It would be possible to use scenery twice in this act. For instance, the house of Simon is not necessary to the action during the scene at the house of Vhomme a la canne. The same setting could be used for both. This was done in the liturgical drama. It is not possible to prove that it was the case in this play; but it would be a natural proceeding and one which would lessen the difficulty of setting 114 STAGE DECOEATION a stage. Granting that all these scenes were represented, the number of scenes is large but perfectly possible on an open air stage. In the heading of one of the divisions of the play there is a chastel mentioned which is not needed in the action. Thus we do not count this scene. The chastel where the ass is found is also left out of the reckoning for reasons already ex- plained. 3 The complicated scenes are the temple, Her- od's palace, the prison, the house of Simon and the house of Zaccheus. In both of these houses a table must be set. The houses of Caiaphas, Annas, and Pilate might well have been chairs or thrones covered with a canopy. The moun- tain and the river would also require a rather large space. The other scenes, even the forest and the garden, would be easily set. In addi- tion to the above scenery a tree for Zaccheus, an elder tree, and a fig tree were shown. Thus, if in reckoning the number of scenes considera- tion is taken of the fact that few were difficult, it is easily seen that such a stage is not im- possible nor a matter of great wonder, even though it is curious. 8 See p. 100. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 115 For the third day the setting is much simpler. Pilate's maison is shown, and he also enters and comes out of a pretoire. Herod's palace still occupies its place. Jesus is bound to a pillar in the house of Caiaphas. This may well have been one of the supports of the canopy so often found over the chair of a high personage. The prison also remains. The words ouvrez nous Vhuis of line 15457 refer to the house of the blacksmith, an important scene in the Passion Plays. The " very high mountain " of the pre- ceding day has become Calvary. There is an "altar to an unknown god"; and lastly, the sepulchre. The prison, the houses of Annas, Caiaphas, and Pilate are the scenes which occur again in the fourth day. The house of Joseph of Arima- thea is implied in the words : J'enierray ens. In addition to the maisons the Chastel de Maux is seen. It is interesting to note that when the apostles close the doors of their house, the in- terior is still visible, for the stage direction says after this action: Adonc mettent la table, et Jhesus mange en leur presence. This is quite conclusive proof that the wall of the room toward the audience was taken out. 4 A sea with *See p. 219 for discussion of this point. 116 STAGE DECOEATION a ship is also necessary and the mountain is now Mount Olivet, a scene large enough to hold all the apostles. In this act paradis terrestre is again set as in the first day. This is the scenery for the Passion of Arras when it was presented in its entirety. Nothing, however, would prevent giving a part of it, just as parts of the Vieil Testament were given at Paris. In either case the stage would not be overcrowded. Yet it did happen at Rouen in 1474 that the main stage was not made large enough to contain all the scenes, for, as we are told by the description of the stage in the manu- script, les establies des six Prophetes estoient hors des autres en diverses places et parties d'icely Neuf Marchie. The main stage was set as follows: Premierment vers Orient. Paradis. Ouvert faict en maniere de Throsne et regons d'or tout autour. Au milieu duquel est Dieu en une Chaiere paree et au coste dextre du luy Paix et soubz elle Misericorde; et au senestre Justice et soubz elle Verite; et tout autour d'elles neuf ordres d'Anges les uns sur les autres. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 117 f 1. La Maison des parens Nostre Dame. NazarethA 2. Son Oratoire. 1 3. La Maison de Elizabeth en Montaigne. 1. Le Logis de Symeon. 2. Le Temple Salomon. 3. La demeure des Pucelles. 4. L'Ostel de Gerson Scribe. 5. Le lieu du peuple Payen. „6. Le lieu du peuple des Juifz. Hierusalem. Bethleem.* 1. Le lieu de Joseph et de ses deux Cousins. 2. La Crache ez Beufz. 3. Le lieu ou Ven regoit le tribut. 4. Le Champ aux Pasteurs contre la Tour Ader. "1. Le Chasteau de Sirin Prevost de Syrie. 2. Le Temple Apollin. 3. La Maison de Sibille. 4. Le Logis des Princes de la Synagogue. Bomme. -{ 5. Le lieu ou Ven regoit le tribut. 6. La Chambre de VEmpereur. 7. Le Throsne d'icelluy. 8. La Fontaine de Bomme. ^9. Le Capitole. Enfer faict en maniere d'une grande gueulle se cloant et ouvrant quant besoing est. Le Limbe des Peres faict en maniere de Chartre et n'estoient veus sinon au dessus du faux du corps. Les places des Prophetes ez divers lieux hors les autres. 6 B FrSres Parf aict, vol. II, p. 494. 118 STAGE DECOEATION The prologue tells us that signs were used in this play to aid the spectators in recognizing the different scenes: Present des lieux, vous les pouvez cognoistre Par Rescript tel que dessus voyez estre. This means of marking scenery does not seem to have been employed often in France. The divisions of the scenery into cities carries out the theory that, as a general rule, there was no special setting to mark cities, such as is implied by the miniature in the Valenciennes mystery. The houses or palaces of a town were sufficient to represent the locality of the action when it changed from Rome to Jerusalem, for instance, without the aid of a gate or wall bearing the name of the place. The remarkable point in this quite careful description is that no mention is made of Heaven being above Earth. All that is said is : Premierment vers Orient. Paradis. 6 The set- ting is noted, and Nazareth is mentioned as coming next on the stage. There is nothing to suggest .that the houses in Nazareth were be- 8 The abode of the blessed being toward the rising sun is a conception common to ancient as well as modern literature. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 119 neath Heaven; on the contrary, the description cannot be interpreted in any other way except as meaning that all the scenes were on the same level. The objection may be made that usually there is no doubt that Heaven is above the stage. Yet the writers of this period who take the trouble to describe the setting at all, are so ex- plicit concerning the scenery of Heaven and take such care to inform us that it was above Earth, that it is unlikely that this writer would have failed to mention this fact had it been true, for he is exact in noting the rest of the decora- tion. Only in considering the general rule of placing Heaven on a higher level, does one be- come doubtful. But one of the points to be insisted upon is that, from the very beginning, a certain setting may have existed only once, and the stage varied greatly according to the imagination of the stage carpenters, the form of the play, and the conditions under which it was produced. This play, represented in the open air on a large stage, may well have been set on one level, because of the difficulty of pla- cing so large a scaffolding as Heaven needed above another scaffolding. Heaven, placed at the eastern end of the 120 STAGE DECOEATION stage, is separated by all the rest of the scenery from Hell. The entrance of Hell is in the form of a dragon's month. This setting became popu- lar in the fifteenth century. Had it been the general rule from the early plays down to these productions it would have been described before and taken as a matter of course rather than as a novelty at this period. 7 Behind the dragon's head is found Limbo which is within Hell. Thus the devils evidently passed through the mouth of the dragon and again appeared before the eyes of the spectators instead of merely dis- appearing below the stage or behind the scenes when they entered Hell. If this were not the case, the scene in which Christ enters Hell and frees the prophets from Limbo could not be con- sistently acted, for he would be out of view if the dragon's head did not lead to Limbo. Petit de Julleville has reckoned the number of maisons in this play as twenty-two, not count- ing Paradise, Hell and Limbo or the etablies 7 The first direct mention of this scene gives it as oc- curring in 1437 at Metz. La touche et entree de I'enfer de icelluy jeu estait tres Men faicte'; car par ung engin, elle se ouvroit et reclooit seule quand les diables voulloi- ent entrer ou issir. Et avoit celle hure deux gros yeux d'acier . . . Croniquer de Metz, ed. Huguenin, p. 201. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 121 of the six prophets. But if we count the num- ber of settings on the main stage we find the number to be nineteen. This number includes Paradise, Hell, and Limbo, but excludes such places as le lieu du peuple Payen, since they are not decorated with scenery. The Oratoire is also more of a property than a scene. The stage, therefore, could not contain more than nineteen or twenty scenes even though it was in the open air, for the rest of the scenery could not be arranged on it. Although there was no limit for the size of the stage out of doors, yet, since more than twenty maisons was a difficult setting at Rouen, it is possible that this number was rarely, if ever, exceeded even in these great provincial spectacles which occurred rarely and which must have been very curious to Parisians, who were accustomed to the indoor stages where such settings were impossible. It is true that the Parisian saw mimed mysteries on tempo- rary stages in the open air ; but the true Parisian stage was inclosed in a hall from the end of the fourteenth century onward. The Passion de Semur* played in 1488, is an example of a play which stands midway be- 8 Boy, op. cit. 122 STAGE DECOEATION tween the simple plays of the Jubinal collection and the greater mysteries. It is imitated from the Passion de Ste. Genevieve and a comparison of the stage decoration of the two dramas will show that the stage carpenters had a more diffi- cult setting to construct in the later play. The action begins in Paradise with God in a chair and Angeli hinc et inde. There is noth- ing unusual in this; but an added touch of realism is given when he bids that light be created. This is represented by drawing back a curtain. Estolatur quedam cortina que erit ante ipsum, et plene videatur a populo. This scene was on the customary higher level, as is proved by the stage directions: Hie as- cendant paradisum and Modo descendat de paradiso. This was not the only level above the stage, however. Terrestrial Paradise is below and distinct from Paradise proper, for we read in a stage direction: Descendat de Paradiso et vadat juxta paradisum terrestrem. . . . But line 894 En paradix terrestre en hault is evidence that this scene was not on the same level with Earth, and this arrangement is fully carried out by the rubric . . . Et sic adscendant in paradiso terrestre, et Anima Christus sedeat in IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 123 quadam cathedra. This scene is set as an or- chard, being called Ce vergier (line 546) ; and, of course, it contains the Tree of Life. Another of the trees is mentioned as a fig tree. Hell is represented as usual. As God sits on his throne in Heaven, so Lucifer sits on his royal throne in Hell. The entrance of this scene does not appear to have been marked by a dragon's head. Line 8501 : Mort, fai que la porte soit close and the direction : Modo cadant forte inferni, using the word porte, shows how the author conceived the scene in his imagina- tion. The following lines also show that he thought of Hell as below Earth: En bisrne Vavons fait descendre (line 456) ; Que beaulcob d'ames cy descende (line 1237) ; Et cy mens en enfert descendre (line 8687) ; Je croy qu'elle vient de lassus (line 5217) . It would be strange if the author's idea were carried out only in regard to the elevations of Paradise and Ter- restrial Paradise. Thus we evidently have a stage of four levels. The action of the First Day needs quite a number of properties such as altars for Cain and Abel ; an altar, a table and couch for Noah ; a stone in the desert from which water gushes 124 STAGE DECOEATION forth at the command of Moses. The ark is built or is rather supposed to be built on the stage. The scene was exact enough to show the one window, for a direction bids it be closed. (Hie claudat fenestram). A carefully pre- pared scene is also shown as follows : Hie debet Deus descendere de paradiso in montem Sinay, et introire domum 9 igneam subtiliter factam de aqua vite, et ibi debet oculte bucina bucinare in dicta domo ignea. An entr'acte is practically caused by the long prophecies. The properties just mentioned were not all necessary for the action which follows. Are we to believe that they all held their place on the stage and that even the ark stood incongruously before the eyes of the spec- tator as he watched the birth of Christ? Or would such scenery, which had served its pur- pose and would now be in the way, be quietly removed? There is nothing to prove that the stage was cleared ; but this would be a natural procedure, unless the producers of the play were trying to embarrass themselves as much as possible. "The word domum evidently means "place" in this indication as in others in this play. It does not refer to a maison. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 125 After the prophecies the action begins in the temple where there is an altar. The scene must have been well constructed because the devil is able to carry Christ super pennaculum templi. Later the devil carries Christ super montem. This was probably the same scene which served for Mt. Sinai earlier in the play. The house of Elizabeth is implied by line 2111 : Paix soit dedans ceste maison. The scene is not very im- portant to the action and was probably repre- sented only in a summary fashion. The stage direction : Modo vadat ad domum suam would generally show a house for Mary ; but since the word domum may mean merely "place" as it is used in the rubrics of this play, it is difficult to decide whether special scenery was employed for the house of Mary. The action could be understood without it. The house of Kusticus, however, is needed in both acts of this drama. The interior of the stable is naturally indis- pensable. Herod and Octavianus probably occu- pied thrones as usual and constitute two sepa- rate scenes. The Sibyl is directed as follows: Becedet et intret cameram suam. The river Jordan and a prison are two other well-known scenes which complete the setting for the First Day. 126 STAGE DECOBATION The stage for the Second Day is somewhat more complicated, Caiaphas, Annas, Herod, and Pilate probably occupy chairs; but the house of Simon is large enough for the Last Supper to take place within it. The temple ap- pears again as does also the house of Rusticus. The actors sit down and eat in the house of Mary Magdalene. The tomb of Lazarus ap- pears. {Tunc sepeliunt Lazarum et ponunt in sepulcro.) The mountain is again represented. The Garden of Olives is referred to by the words Hie vadant, and the action demands the usual ditch into which Peter throws himself. (Intret in foveam.) The carceres of the First Day is evidently the turrim in which Barrabas is confined in this act. Tunc solvatur a columna shows the usual action. A forge is also neces- sary as well as the tomb. After the descent into Hell, there are needed the chateau of Em- maus and the house in which Christ appears, casi januis clausis. One is again inclined to wonder whether some other scenery was not re- used for these scenes. The stage direction: Vadant omnes Judei in domum pontificis may also point to a setting, the use of the word do- mum again being ambiguous. We thus have IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 127 another example of a play with quite a number of scenes demanded at once, if it were given in its entirety. Yet even counting such scenes as the tombs, the ditch, and the thrones of the high personages the number is less than twenty, in- cluding Hell, Heaven, and Terrestrial Para- dise. ~No matter how many "places" were shown, the number of real scenes is by no means great, for it must be remembered that this stage was undoubtedly in the open air and constructed for the occasion. CHAPTEK VII Different Levels in Hell in Michel's Resurrection. Idea Derived from Greban's Passion. Description of the scene in Hell. Terrestrial Paradise and Heaven Scenes on Earth. Some Scenes in Michel's Passion. The Resurrection, attributed to Jean Michel and played at Angers in 1471, furnishes a very long and careful description of Hell, a scene which must have been very complicated, since different levels were used to indicate the degrees of punishment. The source of this scene is apparently in Greban's Passion, a work which Michel must have known since his Passion is an amplification of two journees of Greban's Passion. The description of Hell given by Lazarus in Greban's play is, as will appear later, the model upon which Michel based his scene. This account of Hell reads as follows : C'est ung abisme de destresse, Ting hideux gouffre de tristesse ou toute misere survient. Et puisque parler en convient, 128 IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 129 scavoir devez en ce party que l'enffer total en ce vient qu'il est en quatre pars party; et comment qu'il soit depparty, chacune des pars asses nuit: ou enffer est peine s'ensuit. Et en la plus haulte partie qui le limbe des peres est, sont des prophetes En l'aultre lieu qui est notoire et bien ordonne par raison, est 1'enfer qu'on dit purgatoire. L'aultre enfer qui plus bas descent, Ou les sieges sont mal ornes, est lieu par tenebre indecent et la sont les enfdans morsnes. Au plus bas est le hideux gouffre tout de desesperance taint ou sans fin art l'eternel souffre de feu qui james n'est estaint. 1 If this description be followed, Hell is di- vided into four levels. The highest is the Limbo of the Fathers ; 2 below this is Purgatory which 1 Mystere de la passion d 'Arnoul Greban publie . . . par G. Paris et G. Eaynaud. Paris, 1878, lines 15791 ff. 2 Cf . line 1225 of the prologue spoken from Hell lassus ou limbe . . . and lines 2369 ff. hors du limbe . . . et mis en enffer au plus bas. 9 130 STAGE DECOEATION is within Hell ; Limbo of the infants comes next in order; the lowest of all is the pit of Hell. If these divisions be kept in mind, it will be seen that they correspond to the setting as Michel directed that it be arranged. Since the action and the scenery are so easily recon- structed, the play is here analyzed as an example of the open air drama of the period. After a prologue, Peter and John begin the play with lamentations. Christ has been cruci- fied and the three crosses with their victims are visible. The souls in Limbo sing. Enfer is personified and speaks; and Satan begins his role outside of Hell but he soon enters. Other devils appear and enter Hell. They are going to a council. Icy cerberus crie a haulte voix dessus le portal d' enfer. He is summoning the devils. Icy viennent tous les dyables sur le portal devant tout le peuple. They have come to the parloer sur le portal d' enfer. This is the accustomed place for councils to be held. If the Valenciennes miniature is correct in this detail, it is a kind of council chamber with barred windows. It occupies the upper part of the gate of Hell, which in this mystery does not seem to have been a dragon's jaws. Hell is a IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 131 stronghold guarded by cannons, and its entrance seems to have resembled a city gate. Surely Michel would have mentioned the dragon, had he imagined it as appearing. He was so exact in details that he would hardly have overlooked such an important piece of scenery. When he does mention the entrance he says portal or portes. Why conjecture a dragon's head ? Such a setting was not obligatory. After a long council as to how to keep Christ from entering Hell, two of the devils go to the cross. The soul of Christ, clad in white, kneels near the cross facing Paradise, which is above the rest of the stage as usual. Christ prays with joined hands, and the angels descend to him. Mamouna, one of the devils, takes the soul of the bad thief, which is clad in a black shirt. Satan tries to keep Christ from de- scending into Hell. Icy se doive faire pause et tous les dydbles excepts sathan viennent tous a V entree d'enfer et lors comme espouvantez feront signes amiratifz en mettant coullevrines arbalestes et canons par maniere de defence. Et eulx estans sur le portal I'ame de jesucrist accompaignee de quatre anges et de Vame du bon larron viendra aux portes d'enfer trainant 132 STAGE DECOEATION apres elle saffian enchesne d'une chaine. Then the soul of Christ strikes, with his cross, the gates, which are broken; and the soul enters within Hell accompanied by the soul of the good thief and the four angels. Christ condemns the devils; and, with the angels, he binds Satan hand and foot and then places him on the marche du puis d'enfer. It is to be noted that the action is taking place within Hell. Thus the interior of Hell was fully visible. The gate was therefore not facing the audience directly but faced the stage, so that the scenery behind could be in full view. The soul of Christ throws Satan into the pit and he cries most horribly. Et icellui puis doit estre edifie iouxte le pallour de dessus le portal d'enfer entre iceluy portal et la tour du limbe par devers le cliamp du jeu pour myeulx estre veu. This direction gives the exact place of the pit and also shows that the pallour or council chamber is not merely at the gate but is above it. The description is then carefully continued. Et doit estre fait ledit puis en telle maniere quil resemble par dehors estre mas- sonne de pierres noires de taille. Et si doit estre si large qu'il y puisse avoir separation entre les IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 133 deux parties. En Vune desquelles parties soit fait feu de souffre ou autrement saillant con- tinuellement hors dudit puis. Et doit estre fait par soufflez ou autrement subtillment quon ne Vappercoive. Et en V autre partie du puis en laquelle sera jecte sathan n'aura point de feu et s'en istra ledit sathan par une fenestre qui sera faicte par devers enfer asses has. Et apres quil aura este jecte, ledit feu doit jecter plus grande flambe par avant. Et doit on tirer au- cuns canons en ce faisant et avoir tonneaux plains de pierres ou d'autres choses que I'en doit faire tourner affin quilz facent la plus hor- rible noise et tempeste que I'en pourrait faire. Apres lesquelles choses ainsi f aides silence doit estre imposee. Et alors Vame de jesus doit rom- pre a force avec le bout de sa croix et avec le pie la tour du limbe de laquelle tour la faczon sera cy apres devisee. Notez que le limbe doit estre au coste du parloer qui est sur le portal d' enfer et plus hault que ledit parlouer en une habita- tion qui doit estre en la fasson d'une grosse tour- quarree environnee de retz et de filetz ou d 'autre chose clere affin que parmi les assist ens puis- sent veoir les ames qui y seront quant Vame de jesus aura rompu ladicte porte et sera entree 134 STAGE DECORATION dedens. Thus the large square tower of Limbo, which is higher than the parlouer which itself is above the gate, is on the highest level in Hell just as it is described by Lazarus in Greban's Resurrection. Mais par avant la venue de Vame de jesus en enfer ladicte tour doit estre garnie tout a V environ par de Tiors de rideaux de toille noir qui couvreront par dehors lesditz retz et filetz et empescheront que on ne voye jusques a Ventree de ladicte ame de jesus et lors a sa venue seront iceulz rideaux subtille- ment tirez a coste tellement que les assistens pourront veoir dedens la tour. Et notez que a la venue de Vame de jesus doit avoir plusieurs torches et falotz ardans dedens ladicte tour en quelque lieux quon ne les puisse veoir qui feront grant clarte. Et derriere ladicte tour en ung autre lieu qui ne puisse estre veu doit avoir plusieurs gens crians et ullans horriblement tous a une voix ensemble. Purgatory, as in Greban's play, is below Limbo and within the gates of Hell. II est a noter que le chartre de purgatoire doit estre au dessoubs du limbe a coste, auquel doit avoir dix ames sur lesquelles doit apparoir semblance d'aucuns tourmens de feu artificiellement fait IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 135 par eaue de vie. Et d'icelui purgatoire (evi- dently in the form of a prison) Vame de jesus rompra la porte pareillement a force et puis entrera dedens acompaigne desditz anges. — Icy endroit Vame de jesus tire Tiors toutes les ames de purgatoire et les amaine avecques les autres ames du limbe des peres et doit avoir ung autre limbe depute pour les petits enfans non circoncis et sans avoir eu remede contre le peche originel. Lequel limbe des- dits petis enfans doit estre au dessoubz de celui des peres a costL ... In Greban's de- scription this part of Hell is placed below Pur- gatory as well as below the Limbo of the Fathers; but the two scenes practically corre- spond. In both, the Limbo for children comes after Purgatory. Greban then mentions the pit of Hell. Michel has already described this part of Hell because the action centered about it first. But surely Michel is directing that the scene be set according to Greban's descrip- tion. Thus there was a stage of more than two levels. The soul of Christ and the other souls remain in the towers of the Limbo of the Fathers. Then Caiaphas places the guards about the sepulchre. 136 STAGE DECOEATION When the discovery is made that the body is gone, there are the usual scenes before Pilate and Caiaphas, but no scenery is mentioned. Joseph is summoned. Joseph monte sur son asne et va parler aux juifz. Evidently live animals were brought upon the stage. When he dismounts he bids his servant to go back to his hostel. This place is not important or neces- sary to the action, and was probably not marked by scenery. The line is merely a makeshift to have the ass led away by the servant. Joseph is condemned to prison, and a carpenter and a mason build the prison in view of the audience. Joseph is locked in, and the keys are removed. The Jews go to their place on the stage, show- ing that their part is finished for the time being. To go to one's place or lieu was practically an exit. Gabriel comforts Notre Dame; then he returns divers le hault paradis jusqua ce quil soit envoye oster la pierre de dessus le tombeau. The three Marys go to the apothecary whose shop is probably shown by his wares. They return to Notre Dame and the first act is over. When the action begins again, the soul of Christ and the other souls are still within Limbo ; and Gabriel is directed "to have mounted" IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 137 into Paradise where he was when the action closed on the day before. The soul of Christ, accompanied by the three angels, Saint Michel, Saint Uriel, and Saint Raphael, takes the soul of Adam by the hand, and Adam takes his wife by the hand and so on up to the last one. Christ then leads them out of Hell dedens le champ droit en paradis terrestre. This Terres- trial Paradise is a separate scene and is differ- entiated from the hault paradis on the stage, for the direction continues: Et ce pendant gabriel doit estre ou hault paradis pour de- scendre quant jesus resucitera pour oster la pierre de dessus le tombeau. Heaven therefore is above Terrestrial Paradise. The setting of this scene is described as follows: Icy Vange seraphin garde paradis terrestre et a vestements de rouge et visaige rouge tenant une espee toute nue en sa main et parte a Vame du bon larron par ung carneau du mur endroit ledit guichet de paradis terrestre, Et icelui paradis doit estre fait de papier au dedens duquel doit avoir branches d'arbres les ung fleuriz les autres charges de fruits de plusieurs especes comme cerises poires pommes figues raisins et telles choses artificiellement faictes et d'autres 138 STAGE DECORATION branches vertes de beau may et des rosiers dont les roses et les fleurs doivent exceder la haulteur des carneaux et doivent estre de frais couppez et mis en vaisseau [s] plains d'eaue pour les tenir plus freschement. The scene has not changed much in two hundred years since the Adam play was produced. The cities are probably marked by the mai- sons supposed to be in them. For example, John goes to the apostles estans en jherusalem en ung autre maison que celle du cenacle ou est la mere de jesus et assez loing. Peter is not with the rest, but is in une fosse du jeu. These are usual scenes; but the following directions show a new departure for the stage in the shape of trap doors and underground passages. 'Lors Vame de jesus et celles de carinus et leonicus se doivent partir de paradis terrestre et aler visiblement devant les gens du jeu se bouter es lieux ou sont les corps et y entrer sans les ouvir pour resusciter . . . apres ladicte resurrection faicte s'en doivent lesdictes troys ames aler par soubz terre. Magdalene and the other women leave with their boxes and ointments, but they sejournent en chemin secretement jusques a ce quil soit temps d'aler en avant. Et jesus vestu IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 139 de blanc accompagne de troys anges cest assavoir michel raphael et uriel doit soudainement et subtillement saillir de dessoubz terre de coste de son tombeau par une petite trappe de boys couverte de terre laquelle se reclost sans quon sen appergoive et se doit seoir sur son tombeau sans le froisser ne entamer aucunement. Et lors semblablement carinus et leonicus vestus de blanc et les pieds nudz se sourdent et se resus- citent de leurs tombeaux qui doivent estre en jherusalem asses loing du tombeau de jesus lequel doit estre hors de jherusalem. Et lors soit fait artificiellement ung escroix terrible et ung tremblement de terre dont les quatre gardes du sepulchre cheent comme morz. . . . After the scene at the tomb, Christ " goes a little about the stage," then disappears underground to ap- pear to his mother, when the time comes, who is alone in the house of the cenacle. Larinus and Leonicus also disappear in the same way to appear later to Nycodemus who is en jheru- salem en sa maison. From this house the same characters go underground to appear in the house of Mary and Martha in Bethany. Thus the stage must have been honeycombed beneath with passages and trap doors. In this act 140 STAGE DECOEATION Joseph of Arimathea is given a house, and the same scene may have occurred during the action of the preceding day, although it is not men- tioned in the first part of the play and is not necessary until now. Such questions would probably occur to the stage carpenters at the time and would be decided according to existing conditions. If the stage were not crowded, such a scene would probably remain throughout the play. If it were troublesome to mount, it would occur only when necessary. The ostel of Caiaphas must have been carefully set, for the two scribes place the four chevaliers en divers lieux en I 'ostel de cayphe soubz ung huys fer- mant a clef. The same scene undoubtedly oc- curred in the first act, for there are scenes be- fore Caiaphas. A maison is required for Jacques le mineur when Christ goes par dessouhz terre to appear to him. This may have been one of the other maisons already noted which was free at this period of the action. Jesus appears to Joseph en prison ou il est sans remuer ne rompre ladicte prison Ven doit tirer par contrepois, qui ystra par dessouhz terre, icelle prison et puis sera rassise comme devant. Jesus takes Joseph IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 141 by the hand and leads him to the city of Arima- thea which is probably figured by the house of Joseph. Christ disappears under ground and goes to Jerusalem, where a council is held by the Jews, first before Caiaphas and then before Pilate. Cleophas and Lucas go to Emaux where they sit down at the table. Christ appears be- fore them, but adonc jesus s'evanouist de leurs yeulx subitement par ung engin. The ostel d'Emaux being a time-honored scene from the liturgical drama on, it was surely represented by special scenery. Lucas and Cleophas return on the run to Jerusalem and enter the house where the apostles are. Icy endroit thomas s y en doit aler dehors et jesus entre par dessoubz terre en la maison ou sont les disciples en jherusalem leurs portes closes quant thomas sen est ale. This is proof that the wall of a maison toward the audience was taken out or else the action could not have been seen. After Christ has ap- peared in Terrestrial Paradise where he re- ceives the homage and thanks of the prophets, he is directed to go en lieu secret until it is time for him to appear to his mother. This is an example of a real exit. A comic scene between a blind man and his servant ends the second 142 STAGE DECOKATION act, for the text says that the "blind man and his varlei go away as if going to drink and thereupon everyone onght to depart." The Third Day is remarkable for its realistic setting for the sea. Seven of the apostles enter a boat on the sea. This is a scene which often occurred; but in this scene real water seems to have been employed, for the direction reads: Icy saint pierre se vest et va par dessus une plance de hoys laquelle doit estre atachee en Veaue quon ne la voye et semble quit aille par dessus Veaue. There are two mountains represented: la montaigne de thabor and the mont oVolivet lequel doit estre soubz paradis. The maison du cenacle is also placed under Paradise — the Paradise into which the ascension is made — Terrestrial Paradise, which is above the stage but is evidently not as high as the Jiault Para- dis. If both scenes had been on the same level they would hardly have been differentiated by this expression. The souls from Hell were placed in Terrestrial Paradise, and thus the resurrected souls would also be placed there. Heaven is therefore divided into these two parts on two levels. Terrestrial Paradise has been IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 143 fully described. The hault paradis probably was the highest point where God sat enthroned above nine tiers of angels as was customary. The ascension was managed as follows : . . . et soit jesus vestu de blanc duquel il aura este vestu quant il aura fait sa premiere apparucion a sa mere et si doit avoir ces V playes fort taintes de rouge en son coste dextre et ses piedz et mains lequel avecques les troys anges c'est assavoir gabriel raphael et uriel sera tire apart le premier tout en faux et les deux fils symeon resuscites et les XLIX quil menra monteront secretement en paradis par une voye sans quon les voye mais leurs statures de papier ou de parchemin bien contreffaictes jusques au dit nombre L et ung parsonnages seront atachez a la robe de jesus et tires amont . . . Icy en- droit doit descendre grant brandon de feu arti- ficiellement fait par eaue de vie et doit visible- ment descendre en la maison du cenacle sur nostre dame et sur les femmes et apostres qui alors doivent estre assis, et tant come il descendra se doit faire ung tonnoire d'orgues au cenacle et quit soient gros tuyaulx bien concors ensemble et en doulceur sur chascun d'eulx doit choir une langue de feu ardant dudit brandon et seront XXI en nombre. . . . 144 STAGE DECOEATION The stage directions speak for themselves. Their presence in such number and the care with which they describe minute details show the point to which the art of stage decoration has risen. It is the scenery which furnishes the interest of the play. Stage-setting is a de- light to the eye and a wonder to the mind. It is no longer a mere aid to the understanding. Other machines may be introduced and more scenes may be set at once; but the realism of this scenery and the care with which it was set on its several levels cannot be surpassed. The scenes in Heaven and Hell are now the most important from the point of view of scenic ef- fect. The stage must have been very large, for the scene of Paradise alone had to have space for much scenery and many characters, and only on an out-door stage would such a scene be possible. Let us not believe that this stage, with different levels, was the type of stage of the Middle Ages. This is merely one of the many ways that stages appeared. It was, in some ways, the triumph of scenic art; but let it be remembered that this great stage spectacle disappears from view in the next hundred years and that the simply decorated comic stage is in IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 145 reality of more importance in the history of the theater. The decoration of the stage of Michel's Pas- sion does not differ materially from the stages of the Passions already described. There is the same exactness in the scenery. The temple shows a quite careful construction with fifteen steps leading up to it. In the First Day — which is in reality the somewhat altered Con- ception by Greban — Reuben speaks as follows: II fault quinze degrez monter, Devant que nul ait la notice Du grant autel de sacrifice. A miracle is then performed by the child Mary walking up these steps. Icy met marie sur le premier degre et monte senile iusques au coupeau. As in other plays Christ and Satan mount to the pinnacle of the temple, and the following direction explains how this was man- aged : Icy se met jesus sur les espaules de sathan et par ung soudain contrepoys sont guindes tons deux sur le temple. In the interior of the temple stand an altar and chairs. Joachin is directed to be Devant Vautel du temple a 10 146 STAGE DECOEATION genoulxj and the doctors sen vont au temple seoir en haultes chaires. The birth of Christ takes place in the stable, and the angels respandent grant lumiere. Also they are on a cloud: Icy fault une nuee ou seront les anges. The star shines, but icy se absconse Vestoille. It finally comes in view again and se arreste Vestoille sur la maison. Thus has this action grown since, in the litur- gical drama, the star hung suspended on a string. But, as in the liturgical drama, chairs are still used for some of the actors: Icy s'en vont ses trois personnaiges en leurs sieges. Another piece of stage business which has not occurred before takes place when Christ, accompanied by three apostles, climbs Mount Tabor. Icy entre jesus dedens la montaigne pour soy vestir d'une robe la plus blanche que faire se pour rat et une face et les mains toutes oVor bruny et ung grant soleil a rays bruny par derriere puis sera leve hault en Vaer par ung soubtil contre pois et tantost apres sortira de la dicte montagne helye en habit de carme et ung chapeau de prophete a la teste et moyse d 'autre coste qui tendra les tables en sa main et ce pendant parlera la magdaleine. After the transfiguration descent une clere nue sur jesus. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 147 The city of Jerusalem seems to have been marked not only by the maisons within it but also by a gate. Icy s'arrestent tous ung peu loing de la porte de jherusalem. This is a long advance in scenery over the chair of the litur- gical drama which was quasi Jerusalem. A special scene was also erected for the judg- ment of Christ by Pilate. Icy vient pylate dedens le pretoire. Et est a noter quil y a au milieu du jeu ung parquet tout clos en carve et dedens ce parquet il y a une chaire liaulte bien paree et une seconde chaire et en ceste seconde chaire se siet pylate pour faire le proces de jesus et ne se siet point a la haulte chaire jusques ad ce quil donne sa sentence contre jesus pour le crucifier. Item est a noter que dedens le parquet qui est le pretoire ny a que pylate assis en la seconde chaire et jesus devani lui lye par le corps et par les bras de cordage et tous les juifz sont dehors du pretoire assez loing. After the crucifixion there is an earthquake and le voille du temple se rompt par le milieu et plusieurs morts tous ensevelis sortiront hors de terre de plusieurs lieux et iront dega et dela. Michel, therefore, wrote his plays with a 148 STAGE DECOEATION stage in mind which was to show several levels. Perhaps the well-known description of the theater at Angers in which his Passion was played can be explained in the light of these plays. The stage is described as consisting of cinq eschaffautz a plusieurs Stages, converts d'ardoises, et que le paradis, qui Stait le plus Sieve, 3 contenait deux Stages. This citation was taken by Morice 4 from the Freres Parf aict who in turn claim to have gained this information from M. Poquet de Livonniere, SecrStaire de VAcadSmie Boy ale d' Angers. 5 The Passion to which reference is made was given in 1468 ; but unfortunately the stage decorations of this play are not very explicit in regard to the number of levels. The passage applies perfectly, however, to Michel's Resurrection given at Angers in 1471. Paradise, as has been shown above, was divided into two scenes: Terrestrial Paradise and that part designated as the hault paradis and hence above Terrestrial Paradise. This corresponds to the above description exactly. Earth naturally made another level; and Hell 3 See Cohen's explanation, op. cit., p. 78. 4 Morice, Histoire de la mise-en-scene depuis les mys- teres jusqu 'au Cid, p. 44. 5 Note, vol. II, p. 290. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 149 contained scenes on different elevations. This is probably what is meant by plusieurs Stages. Because the passage may be interpreted literally in regard to the Resurrection in 1471, one has no hesitation in believing that it was also true that the scenery of the Passion in 1468 was also on several elevations which gave the appearance of Stages. The mistake lies not in trusting this description in regard to Michel's plays in the open air at Angers, but in assuming that scenery was so constructed as a rule. There are other stages of more than two levels; but not all stages were divided into Stages. The open-air stage was most elastic ; and the fact that a certain arrangement of scenery existed at one per- formance in one place is no sure sign that other stages were thus set as a rule, or, indeed, that this arrangement ever existed a second time. Exactly the opposite view is taken by Petit de Julleville 6 in discussing the plan of the set- ting of a Passion published by Mone. 7 This plan shows an oblong stage with scenes set on both sides of it. There was no front nor rear of the stage, the spectators being on both sides 8 Petit de Julleville, op. cit., vol. I, p. 392. 7 Mone, Sehauspiel des Mittelalters, p. 156. 150 STAGE DECOEATION of the platform. The neutral ground was thus between the two rows of scenes; and Mone be- lieves that the maisons were without walls in order to allow a free view of the stage. This plan applies to a German Passion of the fifteenth century; but Petit de Julleville says in regard to this setting, that the stage decora- tion of the mysteries was the same throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. This is true only in a modified way. In fact, the variability of the setting from time to time and from place to place is remarkable. Thus in dealing with a plan of a stage, one must be careful not to gen- eralize too broadly from it. This arrangement, awkward as it is, without doubt existed in Germany and may have existed in Prance. The setting of the liturgical drama may have taken this form when placed in the nave of a church ; but it is to be remembered that the Adam play had a church for a background and could there- fore hardly admit of this method. The pro- logues seem to name the scenes as if they ex- tended in a straight or possibly curved line, but only showed one side to the audience. Surely this was true of scenery in an inclosed theater. In front of this scenery was the neutral IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 151 ground upon which parts of the play were acted which required no scenery, such as cross- roads and battlefields. The rest of the action took place within the maisons where it was sup- posed to happen. We have no hesitation in mak- ing this categorical statement after having ex- amined the plays. There are constant references in the lines to exits and entrances. The plays just examined contain stage directions showing that the maisons are to be used by the characters and are not for mere decoration. The existence of such scenes is evidence in itself that the action was carried on within them. Had it been other- wise, had the audience been accustomed to watching the action on neutral ground, scenery would not have developed as it did. 8 8 For editions of Michel's works Petit de Julleville,op. cit., vol. II, p. 439 and p. 446 should be consulted. CHAPTEE VIII Setting of Provencal Plays. Stage of Three Levels. The Provengal mysteries 1 throw light upon many points of stage decoration and bring evi- dence which corroborates that furnished by the northern mysteries. The mystery of the Cre- ation and the Fall shows the division of the two scenes of Paradise. God takes Adam and Eve by the hand and leads them into Paradise terrestre. Aras sen ane Dieu lo pay re en Para- dis. This is a second Paradise or Heaven, for when Adam and Eve have eaten of the Tree of Life (Valbre de vida) and have fled under a fig tree, then God descends from Paradise and goes to Terrestrial Paradise (verdier) which is on a lower plane. (Dieu lo pay re davale de Paradis he sen ane al verdier.) This play does not show that Terrestrial Paradise was above the stage proper, but the Jugement 1 Mysteres Provencaux du quinzieme sieele. Jeanroy et Teulie. Toulouse, 1893. 152 IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 153 General of this collection gives evidence of such an arrangement. Each actor had his place on the stage as in the northern mysteries, and there was some- times a real exit for the purpose of changing costume. Thus in the Jugement de Jesus: the judges, counsellors, etc., se devo partir del escadaffal he se devo anar abilhar en lo secret, cascun segon son abilhamen; he apres devo venir cascun en son loc, he quant seran asetiatz. . . . Lights can also be changed in these representa- tions, for in another play we read: Aras aprop que las tenebras son fachas. Morice believed that darkness and light were made by lowering and raising gauze curtains, as water is repre- sented to-day in the Rheingold. 2 Torches may also have been used. Such scenes would not be difficult in a closed theater, but must have been more or less failures in the open air. In the Assomption de la Vierge, when light is needed, the direction occurs: et doit-on jecter flambees par dessoubz. 3 Gates instead of a dragon's head seem to have been the setting of Hell in the Provencal Resur- 2 Morice: op. cit., p. 115. 3 Petit de Julleville, les Mysteres, vol. II, p. 471. 154 STAGE DECOEATION rection. When Christ is to enter Hell the stage direction says: Aras Sant Miquel he Gabriel s'en ano an Jhesus dava (n) t los enfernis. Then Lucifer speaks from within. The line : Ubretz vos, port as infernals, describes the entrance. There is a short scene in Hell which had to exist through the very nature of the plot. Thus the interior of Hell must have been visible just as was the interior of Paradise, although gates served as an entrance. (Aras se ubrisquo las portas de paradis. . . .) The Jugement General of this Provencal col- lection shows a stage of three levels. The scene is carefully described. Et primo Nostre Serihor deu estre asetiat en una cadieyra ben parada he deu mostrar totas sas plaguas, en presentia de totz, totas dauradas. He apres hy deu aver quatre angiels, dos de cascun costat: que la hun porte la crotz, he Vautre lo pilar he la corda liada an lo pilar he Vautre los clavels he los foetz, he Vautre la lansa he Vesponsia. He hy deu aver una cadieyra ben parada per asetiar Nostra Dama, quant sera hora, al costat drech de son filh. (We learn from a later direction that, before this time, ^otre Dame is to be en sa cambra tota sola en sa cadieyra. . . .) He hy IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 155 deu aver dos angi{e)ls, cascun an sa trompeta, he en paradis deu estre Sant Miquel he gran cop de angials anb el. He los Sans devo estre a Vautre escadafal (evidently not in Paradise) cascun en son loc, ordenatz an bancz. He deu portar Sant Piere sa tier a coma papa, he los emperados he reis segon lor estat, habilhatz segon lor esse las vestimentas, qui verdas, qui negras, qui an mosa. He i aura emperadors, reys, he d{e) glieza, he femnas abilhatz segon lor esse; los Juzieus seran ense(n)ble he los autres aitant be, he venran quant seran apelatz per los angials. Los demonis seran a part, quant seran vengutz de infern, he seran devant Dieu eternal he auran aguda lor centensia. Nostra Dama tota sola sera en son loc irquamen dbilhada en lo escadafal gran, he estara aqui tro que sera hora de venir. {Escadafal gran probably means stage proper in distinction from tbe scenes above.) Justicia he Misericord (i) a he Vida seran totas ensemps sus lo escadafal gran. La Mort sera en son loc sur lo escadafal. Los Juzieus seran a part a X escadafal gran, coma so: Melchisedec, Aymo, Lamec, Zorobabel. Los ydolatres seran a part sus lo escadafal, coma so : Abiatar, Salatiel, Piqua-ausel, Talhafer, Tie 156 STAGE DECOKATION d' autres. Lo malvatz crestias seran a part coma los autres coma so: Symon, Aniquet, Mella, Amon he los autres. Los religioas bernardins, carmes, auguistis, predicadors, cordelies, meno- retas coma so: Nason, Mathatias, Semey, Ami- nadas, Balam, Hobet. Paradise is above the stage as is proved by tbe direction: Aras s'en davalo los angials a Vescadafal. . . . One goes to one end, the other to the opposite end. They are also di- rected to mount into Paradise: . . . he apres, quant s'en seran montatz en paradis, los mortz se levaran, los huns dels tombels he los autres de locz segretz, he venran totses davant Dieu he se metran de ginolhos sans dire mot. Hapres los salvatz s'en montaran en hun escadafal plus has que paradis, a la part dextra. Thns Para- dise is above all, but there is a kind of Ter- restrial Paradise above the rest of the stage not as high as the other Paradise. The damned souls are naturally on the lowest level, and on the other side of the stage: he los dapnatz demoraran al gran scadaffal, a la part senestra. This arrangement of the stage with the blessed and the damned at opposite ends is not unusual. 4 4 See pp. 90, 118. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 157 At least the exterior of Hell was represented on the stage, for when the trumpet has sounded Lucifer speaks dedins sans hubrir la porta; but the interior does not appear to have been visible. The damned enter Hell wailing and groaning. Then Hell closes. The saints mount into Para- dise singing. CHAPTER IX Pantomimes of the Fifteenth Century. Their Influ- ence on the Indoor Stage. The tableaux and pantomimes in which scenes from mysteries and miracles were repre- sented continued to be produced throughout the fifteenth century. At the entrance of Charles VI. and Henri V. into Paris in 1420 there was made un moult piteux mistere de la passion e Nostre Seigneur au vif as it is represented about the choir of the cathedral of Notre Dame. The scaffolding or stage was about a " hundred paces long." 1 At the entrance of the due de Beaufort in 1424 we learn from the same source that the mystery was represented as if the images were " nailed against the wall." When there was no action, the scenery must have been carefully set in order to make the story plain. The mere existence of such scenery before the eyes of the people must have had some effect 1 Journal d'un bourgeois de Paris, Tuety. Paris, 1881, par. 291. 158 IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 159 on the real stage of the period in making the scenery more sumptuous. A public accustomed to such sights would demand something more than a mere summary representation of places. The taste for great spectacles was fully aroused ; and it was satisfied, although stages had to be constructed in the open air to allow the scenes of almost unbridled fancy to be carried out. Not only were mysteries produced, but also allegorical scenes and scenes from miracle plays were mounted. In 1431, when Henry VI. en- tered Paris, the mistere depuis la conception Notre Dame jusques Joseph la mena en Egypte was given before the Hopital de la Trinite where the confrerie de la Passion was estab- lished. It would be interesting to know how much scenery was taken from within this theater and set outside for the occasion; and how much, constructed anew for this special per- formance, was used afterward within the theater. The stage of the pantomime ex- tended depuis ung pou par-deld Saint Sauveur jusques au bout de la rue Ernetal. No such spacious stage was possible within the Hopital de La Trinite whose dimensions are 160 STAGE DECOEATION given as 21% X 6 toises. 2 Thus the number of scenes represented at one time would be lessened when the same mystery was given within doors, either by cutting certain scenes or by changing scenery. But since the confrerie was probably the producer of this mystery — it being given before its theater — the influence of the silent mysteries on the spoken mysteries is plain to be seen. At this same entrance the legend of St. Denis was given at the Porte 8, Denis; and the ser- aines du Ponceau Saint Denis attracted much attention. Car la avoit trois seraines moult bien ordonnees; et ou milieu avoit ung lis qui par ses fleurs et boutons gectoit vin et lait . . . et dessus avoit ung petit bois ou il y avoit Tiommes sauvages qui faisoient esbatemens en plusieurs manieres et jouoient des escus moult joieusement. There was also a "hunt for a live deer most pleasant to see." At the Chatelet the allegorical scene of the bed of Justice was exhibited. 3 More of such scenes were exhibited in 1437 at the entrance of Charles VII. Devant le 2 See p. 192 for discussion of these figures. 3 Journal d 'un bourgeois, par. 589 ff . IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 161 Chastelet esioit un grand Rocher et Terrasse convert d'un Boccage et pastis agreable oil estoient les Pastoureaux avec leurs brebis . . . et audessous V Arcade dudit Rocher estoit un Lict de Justice . . . et contre les Boucheries estoient representez le Paradis, le Purgatoire, et FEnfer. 4 The same scene is described by Enguerrand de Monstrelet showing that the pastoral scene is the annunciation made to the shepherds by an angel. 5 He also adds that the scene set contre la boucherie was the Judgment, and that St. Michel was weighing the souls. Jean Chartier in his Chronique de Charles VII. 6 reports many scenes at the entrance into Gand of Monseigneur de Bourgogne in 1458. The first, which had a real setting, was a " garden or orchard in which there was a young girl about ten years old." The return of the prodigal was represented. Cicero was seen pleading before Caesar, who was surrounded by twelve senators. Dedens ladite porte eult ung autre eschajfault, et ou melieu avoit une fontaine et a Venviron Vestat de VEglise triumphant. 4 Freres Parf aict, vol. II, p. 171. 6 Edition Buehon, vol. VI, p. 357. 6 Edition of the Biblioteque elzevirienne, vol. Ill, p. 81 ff. 11 162 STAGE DECOKATION Unfortunately this last scene is not described. Near this was a shepherd who has collected his strayed sheep. The river was cleverly utilized for the scene of Christ walking on the water, and " St. Peter wishing to go to Our Lord . . . and seeing himself in danger of being drowned " dist par escript: Domine salvum me fac. Almost every scene had some such explanatory motto, especially the figures of the prophets which occurred at intervals. An extensive scene was one of a forteresse a deux tournelles a deux carreaulx at the door of which stood a giant, Mars, and beside him was a lion. In front of the fortress there was a wood, in which there were dragons, wolves, foxes, etc., which seemed to wish to enter the stronghold. Et estoit devant ladite porte ung homme representant les trois Estatz de mondit seigneur, cest assavoir sur la teste comme homme d'Eglise, du coste dextre d'une robhe longue de drap de soye, le coste senextre comme laboureur des champs. There was also an elephant portant ung chas- teau on which were two men and four children singing. In all there were eighteen scaffoldings. There were also different levels in the setting of these pantomimes, for in 1484 at the en- IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 163 trance of Charles VIII. into Paris the follow- ing arrangement is noted by an anonymous chronicler as having been made at the Chatelet : II y avoit un grand Eschaffaut, Ou illec un Roy se seet Par dessus les autres, au plus haut. 7 The same document recounts that Judas was seen hanged on a tree. Done en Enfer il de- scendit. If this latter action was visible the spectators must have seen Hell on a lower level. Going out of France for the moment we find at Antwerp, in 1494, an ingenious scene in which was un chasteau pendant en aer, de six a sept pieds de hault, et aultant de large, lequel, par sublilite d'engiens, mena moult et horrible bruict. 8 The entrance of Marie d'Angleterre in 1514 was an occasion for several novel allegorical scenes. On one scaffolding was a grand Navire d'argent voguant sur la mer. The ship must have been of good size for in it were found Bacchus, a queen, sailors, etc. At the four corners of the sea the winds were personified in the shape of four grands Monstres soufflans. 7 Freres Parfaict, vol. II, p. 177. 8 Chroniques de Jean Molinet, vol. V, p. 14, ed. Buchon. 164 STAGE DECOEATION At the Fontaine du Ponceau there was a garden within which stood a lily and a red rose bush. At the Chatelet, Justice and Truth were de- scending from the celestial throne upon Earth; and on the right and the left were the douze Paris de France, Again in 1517 in Paris, we find different levels existing. At the entrance of Queen Claude there was an Eschaffaut et au plus Inaut estoit un del clos et par dessus une nuee, laquelle s'ouvroit, dont sortoit une Colonibe. Another scaffolding was surmounted by a sun within which stood Charity. Below her were five goddesses, and below them were ten persons including the pope and the emperor. 9 Thus these spectacles continue even down to the seventeenth century. Their influence on out-door spoken mysteries has already been rec- ognized; but at the same time the influence must have been reciprocal. When the confrerie represented a pantomime or tableaux in front of the theater they naturally took at least some of their scenery with them. Petit de Julle- ville calls attention to the fact that allegorical scenes became common in the latter part of the Treres Parfaict, vol. II, p. 191 ff. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 165 fifteenth century and that their object was to flatter some powerful person. In the Jeu de la Feuillee we saw an allegorical scene in the shape of the Wheel of Fortune, thus these scenes were not foreign to the stage. Yet, just as the Pas- sion Play was influenced by these tableaux, so undoubtedly the miracle and morality plays owed something in their stage decoration to such scenes as those recorded above. The morality depended much upon costumes; and costumes played a large part in these shows which also served to keep aroused the taste for realism, exactness and finally, , elaborateness of scenery which characterize the scenery of the late Middle Ages and Eenaissance. All kinds of scenes were presented on a large scale from the scenes in the life of Renart to the crucifixion. Thus the whole theater, religious and comic, must have felt this influence in some degree; but the religious stage felt it most strongly, especially when constructed out of doors when, in spite of the prodigious length, the scenery not " the play is the thing." CHAPTEE X Stage of the Vie de Saint Martin on Three Levels. Number of Scenes. Settings of Other Miracle Plays of the 15th Century. Comparison of these Plays with the Miracles de Notre Dame. Miracles of the 16th Century. A Stage on One Level. The Use of the Dragon's Head. The Actes des Apotres. The early miracle plays, as has been seen, demanded a stage of two levels ; but the setting of the Hell scene became more and more popu- lar, and in the Vie de Saint Martin 1 an ex- ample is found of a miracle play which not only demands a scene in Hell, but also evidently dis- poses its scenery on three levels. The prologue gives the setting of the stage as follows : Premier voilla en hault assis Jesuchrist en son paradis, Et la doulce vierge Marie, Les anges en sa compaignie, *Le Mystere de la vie et hystoire de monseigneur sainct Martin. Collection de Poesie, Eomans, Chroniques etc. publiee d'apres d'anciens Manuscrits et d'apres les editions des XV s et XVP sieeles. Paris. 166 IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 167 Sainct Pierre et sainte Cecille Saincte Agnes qui est bien habille. Et voicy le roy de hongrie, Chevaliers en sa compaignie Son filz martin est pres de luy, Et la prince de la ioste luy. Cestuy qui est en eest arroy Si est le messagier du roy. Voyez cy prestre en leur chappelle, Qui leur semble bonne et belle. Icy est la maison du prince, Qui est seigneur de la province; Ses chevaliers sont la dedans Et grant partie de ses gens. Sa est le conte de millan, Sa femme o luy sans ahan, La soeur sainct martin la contesse. Et voyez son filz de grant noblesse Leurs chevaliers et leurs heraulx. Et voyez en cest eschauffaulx Le capitaine dudit conte Ses chevaliers sont bien du compte. Voyez Thermit en ce boys la, Qui sainct martin batisera. Et voicy le pauvre nud Qui par sainct martin sera revestu Voicy marmoustier et Fabbe Et son secretain en arroy. Voicy l'homme qui se pendra Et sa femme qu'il occira. Voicy ceulx qui fera dacord Dequoy Fun deulx sera le mort. 168 STAGE DECOBATION Voicy Tours en eest estre icy; L'archevesque y est aussi, L'archediacre sans faillir, Est avee luy pour le servir. Cy est le taillandier sa fille Et sa femme sans nulle guise. Et aussi voicy par deca Cil qui le vestement aura Qui luy sera par trop petit. Cestuy qui a cest autre habit Est un mesel trestout pourry, Qui de martin sera guary. Le pape est la en ceste estre, Qui est de l'eglise le maistre. Son messager est devant luy Qui fait les messages pour luy. Icy aussi est sainct Ambroyse Et son cler vous pouez veoir. Voicy le clop et Paveugle, Guaris seront vueillent ou non vueillent. Diables sont en enfer la-bas Lucifer et les sathanas. The objection may be raised that the word la-bas does not necessarily mean " down there " when applied in this play and in others to the setting of Hell. Yet the word occurs very often in lines referring to Hell, and is synonymous with en has (Greban, line 33488). Greban uses the word descendre with it in line 12197: IN EEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 169 et la-has au limbe descende, while the phrase lassus au limbe, even though in the unacted prologue, shows Greban's idea of the level of Hell proper. These expressions occur too often to be merely rhetorical. The opposite expres- sions, la-haut, en ~haut, monter applied to Heaven, are not found to be rhetorical. If the prologue be read, one feels that the author by beginning with Heaven en haut and ending his enumeration with Hell la-bas (down there) has wished to bring out the contrast between the two scenes naming the highest, first, and the lowest, last, in order. The place of Heaven can admit of no discussion: en Tiault is exact. If Hell were on the same level with the rest of the stage why is la-bas used for Hell alone ? Why does the author not continue with voicy, voila, or la when he points out Hell unless he uses la-bas meaning " down there " ? The word can hardly be ambiguous, used as it is, in this pas- sage; and the prologue calls for three levels of the stage. Also, judging from the way in which the scenes are enumerated, we again have the arrangement of the stage with Heaven at one end and Hell at the other. The same plan is used in the My sieve des Trois Doms: et en 170 STAGE DECOEATION oultre au dessus y avoit paradis devers le levant et enfer au cochant. All of the characters named in the prologue did not have a maison. The directions and lines of the play serve to give information left out naturally in the prologue, because when it was recited the scenery was before the audience and the scenes only needed naming, not description. The Roy de Hongrie had a maison, for Martin sleeps there when he is crowned. Also the due de Millan speaks of his house, saying Montez ga hault, venez ceans. Other houses are those of the prince, the captain, and the pope. The city of Tours was shown and one line mentions the gate of Paris which is not among the scenes enu- merated in the prologue. The hermit lives in a wood as usual. There is a chapel and a moustier, the latter scene being well constructed. There is an altar in it. (Icy sen vont pres de Vautel.) At least one pillar supports its roof, for a direc- tion reads Lors s'en va apres elles a Veglise der- riere un pillier, the word eglise evidently refer- ring to the moustier. Near, and perhaps con- nected with this scene of the moustier and form- ing a part of it, is the room of Martin which is reached by steps. When the devil has rung in IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 171 order that Martin may be called to the moustier, Martin starts et en entrant aux degrez il tombe du hault en has. In commenting on this play, Petit de Julleville says that nineteen different scenes were represented at once. 2 But even if the gate of Paris be counted — it may have been behind the scenes — and the chambrette of Martin be reckoned as a separate scene, there are only fourteen different scenes really set. Not all characters enumerated in the prologue had a separate scene. The Vie de Saint Barbe needed Heaven and Hell; the maison for Marcian and his people; maison of Dioscorus; maison of the four ty- rants; a prison; maison of the prevost; two chambres in which St. Barbe appears. The gibbet may be counted as a " property " rather than as a scene, while the place of the messen- gers and that of the beggars were probably not decorated. Thus there were nine scenes, one of which at least was not on the same level with the rest. 3 Somewhat more complicated was the stage for the representation of the Vie de Saint Cle- 2 Op. tit., vol. II, p. 536. 8 Petit de Julleville counts eleven or twelve, op. tit., vol. II, p. 486. 172 STAGE DECOEATION ment, when the following scenes were set: the imperial palace and the Forum at Rome; the Alps; the citadelle of Elegie; a forest; an amphitheater before the Serpenoise Gate at Metz ; palace of the governor ; a tavern ; another inn; a cemetery; Paradise and Hell. The Moselle Valley and the public square noted by Petit de Julleville 4 were probably on neutral ground. This number is very much reduced, in turn, in the Mystere de Saint Laurent 5 in which there are eight scenes: Heaven and Hell, and six maisons. These indications are given in a pro- logue. The scenes are numbered and the text indicates all changes of scene. The Mystere de Saint Vincent also explains the following scenes in its prologue: Heaven; Hell; Palace of Diocletian; Palace of Max- imian ; the Roman senate in the Capitol ; Palace of Dacian ; wood ; Valence ; maison of Valerian ; temple; prison; boat. 6 4 Op. tit., vol. II, p. 494. 6 Acta Societatis scientiarum Fennicse, vol. XVIII, p. 111. Published by Soderhjelm and Wallenskold. 6 For Prologue see Cohen, Histoire de la mise- en-scene, pp. 76-77. Petit de Julleville adds one more scene — maison des ensevelisseurs — which was probably without decoration. Op. cit., vol. II, p. 563. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 173 These miracles differ little from the more complicated Miracles de Notre Dame in number and kind of scenes produced. Twelve scenes is about the highest number they reach, although one or two may have gone beyond this limit. There is this difference, however, that the Mir- acles de Notre Dame make little of the scene of Heaven, and Hell is very rarely shown, while in these plays, although Heaven is not as great a scene as in the Passion plays nor is Hell set so carefully, yet both of these scenes have grown in importance. The lack of directions in these plays, showing just how scenery was set, is again indicative of the fact that less attention was paid to their setting as a rule. Also, although the setting of Heaven and Hell did become im- portant in the fifteenth century, there are plays even in this period and later in which these scenes do not appear at all or are unimportant. In 8. Bernard de Menthon 7 Heaven is repre- sented above the stage, but little of the action takes place in it, while Hell may not have been visible at all. When the devils enter they are directed to come " de loing" The scene of Hell, if set at all, was of practically no use to 7 Soc. des ans. textes frangais, vol. 25. 174 STAGE DECOEATION the action. If the mystery of the Siege d' Or- leans was played, no Hell scene added any interest to the play, while in Paradise there were only five characters: God, St. Michel, Notre Dame, St. Euverte and St. Aignan. The mystery of S. Louis by Gringore, produced about 1514, contained neither a scene in Heaven nor Hell, but required a stage of one level. Even in plays dealing with the life of Christ, such as the play of the Nativite reprinted in the Silvestre collection, Hell is not visible. The stable is shown, and the floor is covered with straw. There is a pastoral scene. Heaven is above the stage, but it is a scene of little im- portance. Excerpts from the larger Passion Plays similar to this one must have been pro- duced very often, and a stage would be set with- out the Hell scene. Therefore we must again refrain from deciding upon the typical stage of the period. The mystery of the Trois Boms, 9, given at Romans in 1509, was mounted with great care for scenic effect. The stage was raised upon pillars and stood in the courtyard of the con- 8 Mystere des Trois Doms joue a Eomans en MDIX. Giraud. Lyon, 1888. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 175 vent of the Cordeliers. It was "36 pas ou 18 toises 3 de long et la moitie de ces dimensions de large/' 9 (The toise=l meter 949 mil. in 1789.) The description of the stage is given in part as follows, in the expense book: 10 Et samblablement sur ladicte platte form estoit litelle entremy des villes, cites, comme Borne, Vienne, Lion, et aultres et les sieges esleves cellon les personnages; et tons les jours change la sta- tion cellon le mister e; et lequel clodis estoit peynt tout en gris comme liteaulx et tours, et sur ladicte platte forme estoit le premier jour tout convert de verdure, le second de fleurs de dv- verses coleurs le tiers de rozes; et en oultre au dessus y avoit paradis devers le levant et enfer au cochant. This arrangement of scenery with Heaven at one side of the stage has occurred so often that it cannot be said that on the stage of the Middle Ages Heaven dominates all. 11 At times, as has been shown, the scene in Heaven demanded a large area; but also this setting must be kept in mind where the scene was placed merely at one end of the stage and on a higher level. 9 Op. cit., p. xliv. M Op. cit., p. 592. 11 Petit de Julleville, les Mysteres, vol. I, pp. 388, 402. 176 STAGE DECOKATION There was more scenery than the maisons mentioned above as is learned from the follow- ing item in the expense book : Item, plus seront tenus lesd. chapuys dedans lad. plate forme faire tours toumelles, chasteaulx, villes de boys. . . . Thus the cities were not always summarily represented by the gate and wall as the famous Valenciennes miniature would lead one to believe ; but the buildings were also shown, as is seen from the action and the stage direc- tions. In Vienne, for instance, there is a scene in a theater : 8' en vont au theatre, ei s'asiet sus les bans alentour. In Eome there are maisons as well as the porte de Rome representing the city. At the same time the characters have their seats ; and these and the rest of the scenery are changed from day to day celon que le mistere le requerra. Thus was the number of scenes kept down even on an open air stage. Little can be known about the setting of Heaven in this play except that it opens and closes. Once a petit Dieu appears in the middle of a sun. Hell is entered through a dragon's head. (Entre dedans enfert tous, et puis la gueule se clost . . . Sortira par Voreille destre d'enfert.) The interior of Hell is none the less IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 177 open to view for Proserpine speaks sans se bouger d'enfert, and naturally a character who is speaking is seen by the audience. What part then does the dragon's head play in this setting and in others of which it forms a part? Is it the entrance to the regions in Hell where action takes place; or does it serve as an exit; and when the devils passed through it were they lost to view? Petit de Julleville says: Le premier plan de la scene . . . recouvrait et cachait Venfer, et lui ouvrait un passage par une trappe cachee derriere un rideau, qui representait une tete Jiideuse et grimagante. . . . (les Mys- teres, vol. 1, p. 388.) But the interior of Hell was visible to the spectators in many plays as we have been careful to prove ; and such an ar- rangement would not permit the action to be seen which was carried on within Hell. Prob- ably the scene was set so that the devil, in going to the side of the stage where Hell was supposed to be, would reach the dragon's head and would pass through it and be still in view of the au- dience during the scenes in Hell. The drag- on's head would therefore face the stage, not the spectators. If the jaws formed a real exit, a trap through which the devils went, the setting 12 178 STAGE DECOEATION could not be considered as an entrance to that part of the Hell scene visible to the spectators ; but it was merely an entrance to the depths of Hell, the parfont, which was thus hidden from view but from which smoke, and noise, and devils arose. The dragon's head may have "hidden and covered" a part of Hell in this manner, but did not shut out the whole of Hell from view. Roy, in reconstructing the setting of Hell in the Jour du jugement 12 by aid of the minia- tures, places the dragon's jaws at the left of the theater behind which there is a wall with barred openings and a gate. But why are there two gates of Hell, one exterior, the other in- terior? The action does not demand two. If there were two, it would seem more probable that the dragon's jaws were in the interior. Their presence could then be explained by the fact that they served as an apparent entrance to the depths and a real exit for the devils. But Boy is trying to explain the two representations of the entrance of Hell in the miniatures by the possibility of both gates and jaws having been shown on the stage. This confusion is rather 12 Le Jour du jugement. Publie par Koy. Paris, 1902. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 179 due to the artist who read the word gueule in the manuscript and drew one ; then, later — and who knows how much later — he read the word portes describing the entrance of Hell and drew them. Perhaps he had forgotten about the gueule; perhaps he wished to vary his illustra- tions. At any rate we must not feel called upon to explain the different turns of the imagina- tion of the artists. The Vie de S. Didier, 13 played at Langres in 1482, is an example of a play which required the setting of Hell in the form of a dragon's head and nothing more. There is no scene in Hell. The devils swarm out of it on the stage. The tortures which take place within are " mes- sengered." The gueule d'enfer here plays the role of a mere exit which has been so often ascribed to it. The diablerie is a diverting part of the action; but the setting of Hell is not designed to arouse great interest. There is nothing in the text of the play nor in the stage directions to indicate that Heaven was either richly or carefully set. The scenic display was centered in one locality, the city of Langres. The prologue reads in part as follows: 18 Vie et passion de monseigneur Sainet Didier. Guil- laume Flamang. Paris, 1855. 180 STAGE DECOEATION Veez la Lengres, en hault assise, Plus noble que tous aultres lieux; Veez la les seigneurs de l'Eglise Et les borgeoys jeunes et vieulx. Veez la Didier au labourage, Qui tient la cherrue a deux mains ; Veez la ung haultain personnage, Nomme l'empereur des Romains j Croscus et le roy des Alains Ont illec leurs gens amassez; Je n'en diray ne plus ne mains; Le demeurant se monstre assez. The other settings which were so easily recog- nizable were Heaven and Hell. The city of Aries appears as a location, hut does not ap- pear to have been marked by special scenery. In the Third Day, Paris is mentioned : Car vesci Paris la cite; but as this scene is not needed until the latter part of the play, it would not be set until later. Thus the prologue is silent con- cerning it. The setting of Langres is one of the remark- able scenes of the Middle Ages. Here is no mere gate to represent a city, but a city itself in miniature. One of the characters de- scribes it: Voyla le lieu d'antiquite, Les tours, les portes et l'eglise. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 181 This is by no means rhetorical, for the towers, the gates, and the church are needed by the action and must have been shown. The church contained an altar, and later the tomb of Didier. Also the pulpit, over which a cloth is spread when Didier preaches, is probably in the church. The city is surrounded by walls large enough to contain the citizens when they are besieged. The tower upon which the guard stands con- tains a clock. (Les Bourgeoys . . . s'en vont sur les murs; la Quelle monte en une tourelle oil il y aura une cloche. ) The gate of the city can be closed. All this was set upon scenery repre- senting "dark-colored rock" (roche bise). As the prologue tells us, the city was above the rest of the stage, and, as the lines indicate, had the appearance of being on a high mountain. (Sur la haulte montaigne assise.) Yet even with this realistic setting, chairs are still used by the characters. (Icy les bourgeoys el le bailli de Lengres se levenl de leurs sieges. . . .) Eome itself seems to have no other setting than the throne of Honorius. The siege of Langres was very life-like. When the barbarians arrive there is a pause in the lines in order that they may make their 182 STAGE DECOEATION besieging works. (Pausa pour faire le pare) The battle is carried on as follows: Adonc tirent aucunes serpentines ou couleuvrines et ceulx de Lengres gectent pierres et aultres traits. . . . Lors est le feu bonte en ladite Ville. The interior and exterior of the city must have been visible at the same time, and this would be ar- ranged by removing the wall toward the au- dience. Since the barons are summoned from one place, as is plainly seen by the action, although they are supposed to hold different chateaus, all of the set scenes have been de- scribed above. They are few; but the scene of Langres shows a great advance in the repre- sentation of a city. A stage upon which neither Heaven nor Hell was represented served for the Vie de S. Louis by Gringore. Thus the stage sometimes con- sisted of but one level even in the religious plays. As for the rest of the setting it was very simple. The play is divided into several " books " each of which was perhaps given sepa- rately. Five or six well-known scenes, such as a church, a palace, a wood, etc., serve usually for each act. In the seventh book there is a palace, a wood, executioners, fire and pillar, and IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 183 an abbey. The setting for the action of the eleventh book required a mill, a river, the mon- astery of St. Denis, a ditch. The latter was well enough constructed to carry out the direction: Icy tombe la terre sur eulx. There are then many kinds of stages for miracle plays. As far as levels are concerned, we find settings on one, two, and three levels. As a rule Heaven and Hell are of less impor- tance in these plays and do not seem to have been as carefully set as in plays dealing with the life of Christ. There are two distinct set- tings for Hell. In the one, the dragon's head served as a mere exit and the interior of Hell was not shown ; in the other, the interior of Hell was visible and the dragon's head was either an entrance into Hell or an exit into an imaginary part of Hell. It is difficult to say which of these roles the dragon's head fulfilled. Also in some of the plays the entrance to the visible part of Hell was no doubt figured by gates. It is erroneous to believe that the dragon's head always appeared, and that it alone represented Hell. One of the greatest spectacles was the repre- sentation of the Actes des Apotres which began 184 STAGE DECOKATION at Bourges on April 30th, 1536, and lasted for forty days. The whole town aided in the pres- entation of this play, which demanded five hundred actors and which was mounted in an ancient Roman amphitheater. The list of prop- erties and machines 14 has been preserved and furnishes many interesting details in regard to the performance. The scenery itself does not seem to have differed from that of contemporary plays given in the open air. Heaven and Hell were both represented and there were the usual maisons. The scenery was changed to suit the action no doubt, as was the general rule, from day to day and not merely from book to book of the play as Petit de Julleville implies. Paradise opens and closes: . . . par ouver- ture des cieulx et aparicion de Jhesuscrist seant a la dextre de son pere. A vessel descends from Paradise full of all kinds of beasts and then returns. Another clever machine is described as follows: Fault quit soit envoy e de paradis jusques sur led. monument une nue ronde en forme de couronne ou aye plusieurs anges faincts tenant en leurs mains espies nues et 14 Le Mystere des apotres reprSsente a Bourges en avril 1536. A. de Girardot. Paris, Didron, 1854. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 185 dards, et fault sil est 'possible quil y en ait de vifs pour chanter. The light effects are carefully noted : et fault que en lad. prison apparoisse grande lumiere. At another time there descends upon the Cen- acle du feu en especes de langues avec clarte. Again the face of St. Etienne appears luisant comme le soleil. There are trap doors, for the devils come from below earth in the form of dogs; and another direction reads : Fault que St. Mathieu soit mis soubz terre en lieu oil il puisse alter par dessoubz se mectre au mailleu de E phi- genie. . . . Many temples with idols are represented, as for example: Fault ung temple en Suanier, et en iccelluy a coste dextre doit avoir ung chariot d'or tire a beufz, et dessus une lune, et du coste senestre ung autre tire a chevaulx et dessus ung soleil d'or. One of the other temples collapses on the stage. Maisons are used as is customary : Fault ung hostel pour St. Pierre qui soit pare avec une chaire ou il sera comme tenant le siege apos- tolique. Thus the chaire alone did not repre- sent the scene. Another maison is in the form 186 STAGE DECOEATION of a haute tour faicte en forme de capitole sur laquelle montera Symon Magus pour voller, et y doit venir une nue collisse, a demy ronde, pour Veslever en Vair. ... A very unusual scene is that of the siege pare en Vair pres Paradis pour Justice divine. The ship which takes St. Paul to Eome bears coffres et autre mesnage pour gecter en la mer de la navire et fault que le matz de la navire se rompe en deux pieces. The steering of the ship is accomplished by a polye au matz et une cheville en terre, et passer une corde en lad. polye pour virer lad. navire. Once the sea gives forth its dead for a moment : Doit venir sur Veaue plusieurs autres corps mors agitez des vagues qui se pourront retirer soubz terre quant temps sera. The machines for this production were quite remarkable. The stage decoration was perhaps the most interesting part of the whole repre- sentation. Neither pains nor time nor money was spared by the town of Bourges to make the spectacle a success. With it, we leave the open air mystery, this wonderful combination of pageant and drama — drama in the wider sense IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 187 — and we turn to the inclosed theater. It is to be hoped that these great scenic displays have not been described at such length as to cause one to overrate their importance in the develop- ment of stage decoration. CHAPTEE XI The Indoor Stage at Paris. Dimensions of Stages. The Question of Two Eows of Scenes on Separate Ele- vations. Setting of the Vieil Testament. Number of Scenes Set at One Time. Heaven and Hell Not the Most Important Scenes. In beginning his discussion of stage decora- tion, Morice said : " It is not in Paris that the stage decoration must be studied in order to form a just idea of it. There, the confreres enclosed in the four walls of a building never had anything but a circumscribed theater and a cramped stage. It is in the magnificent rep- resentations executed in the principal provincial towns and which sometimes necessitated whole years of preparation ... it is there that one must transport himself in imagination in order to seize the vast workings of this strange spec- tacle in all its development." 1 This point of view has been too often taken because the great 1 Morice, Histoire de la mise-en-scene depuis les mys- teres jusqu 'au Cid, p. 32. 188 IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 189 spectacles are more curious and because there is more information to be had concerning their setting. Although Paris was not so completely the center of dramatic art as it became later, jet when we consider the inclosed stage of the Buy de Notre Dame, which is believed to have been near the Hopital de la Trinite, and the inclosed stage of the confrerie placed in the Hopital de la Trinite, then transferred first to the Hotel de Flanders and finally to the Hotel de Bourgogne which Corneille and Moliere visited, is not the inclosed stage at least as important in the history of the French theater, if not more important, than the out-door stage? The religious and profane plays alike are produced within a per- manent theater. Whatever influence the drama of the Middle Ages may have exerted upon later Trench drama, the most of it must have come through the Hotel de Bourgogne and not from the irregular performances of plays in the open air. What, then, were the conditions which ex- isted in these theaters, for theaters they are in every sense of the word? What was the size of their stage in comparison with the out-door stage ? How did plays demanding such scenery 190 STAGE DECOEATION as did the Actes des Apotres and the Vieil Testament admit of production on any small stage ? All these questions cannot be answered with entire accuracy and satisfaction ; but a general idea of these stages may be built up. The out-door stage could be very large. Yet its dimensions were by no means limitless, for the audience had to see the action even if the hearing of the lines was not indispensable. The stage at Eouen was 60 meters long. 2 This must have been more or less impracticable as far as the spectators were concerned. Large theaters are spoken of as having been erected at Metz in 1437, at Yienne in 1510, at Autun in 1516, while Actes des Apotres had the roominess of an amphitheater in which to spread out its scenes. The largest theater, at least as far as seating capacity was concerned, was the theater erected at Autun in 1516. 3 However, the stage, which was 60 meters in length, was undoubtedly considered as extraordinarily spacious even in the Middle Ages. As has been shown, the num- ber of maisons set upon this stage at Rouen was larger than the usual number required at 2 Cohen, op. cit., p. 87. 3 Petit de Julleville, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 405. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 191 one time. The stage of the Trois Doms erected at Romans was about 35 meters long and half as wide. 4 These figures may probably be ac- cepted as the average size of the out-door stage when a whole town was backing the enterprise financially. A somewhat smaller stage was one which measured 19 meters 50 by 4 meters 90. 5 These temporary stages naturally varied greatly in size according to the play which was to be produced and the amount of money to be spent on the representation. The measurements of the Hopital de la Trinite were 6 X 21% toises® or somewhat less than 12 by 42 meters. The Hotel de Bour- gogne was built on a space of 16 X IT toises 7 in size or about 31 by 33 meters. The stage and audience room together of the permanent theaters were about the size of an open-air stage of average dimensions. The narrowness of the first of these halls precludes the possibility of a stage running lengthwise, for if room for scenery and neutral ground be allowed on such 4 See p. 174. 5 Cohen, op. cit., p. 83. 6 Petit de Julleville, op. cit., vol. 1, p. 420. T Eecueil des principaux titres concernant 1 'acquisition de . . . 1 'hostel de bourgoyne. Paris, 1632, p. 31. 192 STAGE DECOBATION a stage there would be little room for spectators. The stage, then, may be conceived as occupying one end of the hall. It was therefore not quite 12 meters across. Its depth is a matter for conjecture. Perhaps we are not far wrong in allowing five or six meters. The stage of the Hotel de Flandres which the confrerie occu- pied from 1539 to 1543 was probably of similar dimensions. It was in this theater that the Actes des Apotres and the Vieil Testament were produced. The in-door stage presented a very different appearance from the stage of the amphitheater set for the Actes des Apotres, There were fewer scenes set at the same time within the theater. Much of the splendor of the scenery must have been lost, and no doubt some of the machines were impracticable in so small space as was offered by any of these theaters. The mounting of these plays, however, was perfectly possible, and it must not be supposed that the scenery was more or less chaotic. It has already been shown that parts of plays could be cut out at will. 8 The manuscript of the mystery of Saint Genis also indicates passages which 8 See p. 86. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 193 were not given during a representation. 9 As scenery could be changed from day to day in the out-door productions, so it was changed in the theaters. The length of the performance was from one to five in the afternoon. 10 Thus the part of the play given in this length of time would not demand, as a general rule, very many different scenes. Cohen is of the opinion that the scenes were set on two levels in the inclosed theater, some of them forming a second story. It is thus that he explains the directions found in the Vieil Testament such as: If fault que icy soit Joseph descendu et assis en chair e, non pas au pare du roy mais ailleurs. 11 Pharaoh is seated en hault and also the doctors. Cohen publishes a miniature of Jean Fouquet showing a second story of a stage in which is found Paradise, the emperor, certain devils and some spectators. The question is a delicate one to decide, and Cohen has strong evidence in favor of his theory. Yet the procedure is strange in view of the realistic method of stage setting in vogue, which separated the levels so carefully. 9 Petit de Julleville, op. cit., vol. II, p. 521. 10 Cohen, op. cit., p. 86 ff. u See p. 91. 13 194 STAGE DECORATION Similar directions have already been found in some of the early plays of the Jubinal collec- tion; 11 and the conclusion was reached that this arrangement may have been employed to raise certain characters in their chairs or scenes above the stage so that they might be more easily seen. The Histoire de 8. Louis also shows the scenery raised above the stage in this manner by such directions as : Tons montent en hault; Le conte de Provence monte en Jiaut; II vont a la royne Blanche sans descendre. Thus while a few steps may have led up to this scenery which was raised in order to be better seen, there is no evidence that it formed a second story, and that other scenes were set directly under it. Is it not such an arrangement which Jean Fouquet has attempted to reproduce in the miniature? The Hell's mouth is below the rest of the scenery. The torture takes place on neutral ground. Heaven is on one side of the stage; Hell is on the other. At the rear, and raised, is the emperor's throne. Why is Heaven not shown above all ? Perhaps the artist was inac- curate. Perhaps the fact that Heaven was above the neutral ground was sufficient for the demands of realism. " See p. 91. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 195 That the scenery was raised at the rear of the stage seems to be an established fact. It may be that the sloping stage, which is the rule in French theaters to-day, is due to this custom. But it is difficult to admit that there were two stories of scenes supposed to be on Earth, the one superimposed upon the other. In producing the Vieil Testament the con- frerie had little trouble. It easily divided itself into parts or " acts " which would fill the time allotted to the performance. The part which deals with the creation was the most elaborate from the point of view of scenic effect ; but the setting which is required is quite possible on the stage of the confrerie. It was more effective in light effects. In imagining the setting one must reduce the dimensions of the scenes, and one must realize that fewer scenes are set. When the action opens, God is in Paradise, above the stage as usual. Adonc se doit tiref ung del de couleur de feu auquel sera escript: Celum empireum. The Angels enter : Lucifer ayant ung grant soleil resplandissant darriere lui. God is seated on high in Heaven, for when Lucifer tries to reach his lofty throne, Lassus en haulte eternite (line 285), a rubric directs 196 STAGE DECOEATION the action thus: Adoncques se doivent eslever Lucifer et ses Anges par une roue secretement faicte dessus ung pivos a vis. Lucifer and his angels fall; and the devils, who are " ready in Hell," make an uproar and throw forth jets of flame. Whether a dragon's head served as en- trance or not, the interior of Hell was visible, and there follows a scene within it, as the fol- lowing lines show: Car je suis au parfont du puis (line 518) ; Sommes au parfont d'Enfer fondus (line 530). These expressions and others such as en ce gouffre point to a scene at least below Paradise and Terrestrial Paradise. The creation of the world is shown almost entirely by scenery. God descends from Para- dise with his angels. Adoncques se doibt mon- strer ung drap peinct, cest assavoir, la moitye toute blanche et V autre toute noire. 12 This is the separation of light from darkness. Adonc- ques se doit monstrer comme une mer, qui par avant ayt este couverte, et des poissons dedans 12 Cohen, op. tit., p. 159, believes that this direction shows how darkness was represented when called for by such rubrics as Icy font les tenebres. But while this serves as an excellent allegorical representation of the separation of light and darkness, it is a question whether the lowering of a black cloth showed nightfall. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 197 icelle mer. Unfortunately the means by which the sea was represented are not described. The scene was ready beforehand, but was hidden from view. Its disclosure meant the creation of water. Perhaps cloth was used for the set- ting as it is to-day. The creation of plants and trees was realistically represented. Adoncques doit on faire sortir petis arbres, rainseaulx et le plus de belles fleurs, selon la saison, quil sera possible. The sun, moon, and stars arise. Adoncques doit on faire monstrer un grant soleil. Adoncques se doit monstrer la lune plus bas que le soleil. Adoncques se doit monstrer ung del painct, tout seme d'estoilles et les noms des pianettes. Terrestrial Paradise is also disclosed, it evidently having been hidden from view until it was supposed to have been created. Adonc- ques se doit monstrer ung beau Paradis ter- restre, le mieulx et triumphamment fait quil sera possible et bien gamy de toutes fleurs, arbres, fruictz et autres plaisances, et au meillieu Varbre de vie, plus excellent que tous les autres. This scene has a gate as is learned from a later direction: Icy est Cherubin sur la porte de Paradis terrestre. The scene is further de- 198 STAGE DECOEATION scribed : Adoncques se doivent monstrer quatre ruysseau, comme a maniere de petites fontaines, lesquelles soient aux quatre parties du Paradis terrestre et chacun d'iceulx escrips et ordonnez selon le texte. If the Confreres represented this part alone in one afternoon, which is quite possible, it is seen that their stage would present a quite dif- ferent appearance from the stage of an out- door mystery, set for the action of a whole day which sometimes embraced over 10,000 lines. Such a stage as the one described would be very different from the stage of the Nativite at Rouen in 1474. In fact this setting resembles a modern setting in extent, more than the regu- lar out-door stage. Even if the scenes were given up to that of the flood — more than this could not possibly be produced in four hours — the only settings to be added are a " city; " (Icy font une cyte Enoch, Yrard et Lameth) ; a house for Gain (Mene moy en la maison, line 4875) and a very simple out-door scene in a field or wood (II mest advis quen ce buisson . . . line 4743). The couche pour coucher Eve and the fosse for Adam are not exactly separate scenes. A natural division, however, would be IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 199 made after the Creation and the Fall of man. Taking into consideration that the action and representation of the Creation wonld require so much time, it is probable that the play stopped after the Proces de Paradis and began the next day after the Fall. A new setting is needed for the flood. The ark is shown and is entered. Icy entrent Noe, sa femme et ses enfans en Varche, et y mettent plusieurs bestes et oyseaux de differentes sortes. Since there are scenes within the ark, its in- terior must have been made visible probably by means of opening the side toward the audience. The flood is realistic. Icy surmonteront les eaues tout le lieu, la ou Ven joue le mistere, et y pourra avoir plusieurs hommes et femmes qui feront semblant d'eulx noyer, qui ne parleront point. Finally it ceases to rain. We are hardly to believe that the eaues were real. Although a scene has already been noted in which real water is supposed to have been used, 13 such a scene as the one described above would be im- possible unless the water was merely repre- sented. After the cessation of the flood an altar is built, the rainbow appears, and the tower of Babel is erected. 13 See p. 142. 200 STAGE DECOEATION A break then occurs in action, and probably the performance ended there to begin anew the next day. One of the most complicated settings is demanded in chapter XVI., which was prob- ably represented on the second day, following the one described above. The house of Lot ap- pears; a tabernacle is mentioned by the lines; there is a tree; and finally comes a direction: Icy fondent les cinq cites. Yet this is not too much to set even on the in-door stage, although the number of scenes set could probably not ex- ceed six or seven. Six scenes is the average number in Hardy's plays produced at the Hotel de Bourgogne. 14 Day after day the stage must have been set with fewer scenes, since the lines which could be played in four hours often do not need more than three or four. Also, day after day the action does not de- mand any scene in Heaven or Hell. The re- sult is that the audiences of the Middle Ages were accustomed to a view of a stage which had very few scenes, and was on one level, and on which Heaven and Hell were not always shown even in religious plays. The scaffolding for 14 Eigal, Theatre francais avant la periode classique. Paris, 1901, ch. VI. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 201 Heaven was probably permanent; but we can hardly believe that the scene was always set and occupied by characters who had nothing to do with the action. As for the setting of Hell, it was surely removed when the action did not need it, if for no other reason than to make room for other scenery. We cannot say, there- fore, that Heaven and Hell were the most im- portant scenes even on the religious stage of the Middle Ages. When one pictures in his imagi- nation the stage of this period, if he only sees a platform of great length, with many scenes, surmounted by a scene in Heaven, and with a dragon's head at one end, he is far from real- izing the whole truth in regard to this very changeable and elastic theater. CHAPTEK XII The Profane Stage Setting of the Maulvais Eiche. Setting of Moralites. The Sottie. The Farce. The Enfants sans souci and the Basochiens made an arrangement by which each could use the repertory of the other. This gave the Baso- chiens the right to play sotties as well as moral- ites. Their stage was the famous Table de Marbre in the Palais. It is reported to have been 40 meters long by 12 meters 70 wide. Thus their stage was large enough for the scenery demanded by almost any play. On the other hand the Enfants sans souci joined with the Confreres and thus brought the profane pieces on the stages of the Trinite, the Hotel de Flandres, and the Hotel de Bourgogne. There were also representations in the open air of pro- fane as well as religious plays. The problem of the difference between the setting of the inclosed and open stages of the purely comic theater is not one of vital import, since scenery is much 202 IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 203 less complicated in the farces and sotties than in the miracle and mystery plays. E~o strict line of demarcation can be drawn between the religions and profane drama. The two kinds mingle in morality plays, miracles, and histoires. 1 Thus it is with their setting. The general rule that scenery which was neces- sary to the action was set, holds good for all kinds of plays. One might make a distinction between the two kinds of plays on the ground that most religious dramas are set on a stage of at least two levels, the higher of which is occupied by Heaven, while the purely profane drama rarely represents Heaven. The Hell scene, however, appears in the comic stage in the Farce du Munyer, and in the morality of Bien Avise et Mai Avise. In the latter play, Hell is described as a kitchen: Devez noter quit doit estre en maniere de cuisine comme cheuz un Seigneur, et doit illec avoir serviteurs a la mode. Et la doit on faire grant tempeste 1 In treating the different kinds of drama the classifi- cation made by Petit de Julleville has been followed. Thus plays treated in his work entitled les Mysteres have been considered as religious, while the examples of the profane theater have been taken from his Repertoire du theatre comique au moyen age. 204 STAGE DECOEATION et les ames doivent fort crier en quelque lieu que Von ne les voie point. . . . Adonc chacun face son office et boutent et frappent sur la table d'ung baston, et devez sgavoir que la table doit etre noire et la nappe peinte de rouge. After the guests are served a sulphurous meal, the devils force them into the depths of Hell which were covered by the dragon's head. Thus we have an example of a stage on which there was a scene in Hell open to view, and on which the dragon's head appeared, although the play can- not be called religious. Yet the influence of the setting of religious plays upon that of the pro- fane plays is clearly shown. ~No doubt when the farces, which were produced on the stages of the Confreres, needed scenery, the maisons which served in the religious plays were util- ized. For this reason, namely, that scenery was already waiting for the farces in the inclosed theaters, it is to be believed that every scene in comedies produced in these theaters was as carefully set as the scenes in such plays as the Passion, even though stage directions in the manuscripts of farces and sotties are very rare and by no means explicit. Again the lines must furnish the information concerning the appearance of the stage set for comedy. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 205 The Vie et Vhistoire du Maulvais Riche 2 is a play which represents Heaven and Hell, although it can hardly be classed as religious drama except from the point of view of stage decoration. The situation of the Heaven scene is above the stage, for Dieu le Pere says : Pour ce te convient devaller la-has. There are long scenes in Hell before Lucifer, and a part of the furnishing of the place is a cauldron in which a soul is tortured. There is no mention of a dragon's head, however, as being used either for entrance or exit of the scene. The house of the Maulvais Riche was carefully set. There were two rooms one of which was a kitchen: Tout droit men vois en la cuisine. The other room served as a dining room. A table is set and the meal is brought. Although the door is closed — Trotemenu, ferme la porte — the interior of the house was still visible. There was also a window represented: Que je vois en celle fen- estra This play holds the middle ground be- tween the two styles of stage decoration. It has the Heaven of the religious drama ; but the 2 Eournier, Theatre frangais avant la Renaissance. Paris. Viollet-le-Duc, Ancien theatre frangais (Bibl. elzev.). ./. 206 STAGE DECOEATION little scenery on Earth — in this case but one maison — is a characteristic of the profane stage, notwithstanding the fact that in the productions of purely religious drama in-doors there were often few scenes set. Moralities without a scene in Heaven or Hell are the most common. In the Moralite nouvelle contenant comment Envie au temps de Main- tenant, 3 etc., stage directions furnish indica- tions for most of the simple scenery such as : Pause, et vont les premier et second filz sur la verdure, oil ilz se couchent; and Hz le jectent en la cyterne. The verdure must not be con- sidered as rhetorical when referred to by a rub- ric. In addition to this scenery the lines show a house : Partez-vous tost de la maison. Two moralities which show the same sim- plicity of stage setting are the Moralite d'ung Empereur qui tua son nepveu? etc., and the Moralite . . . d'une Femme qui avoit voulu trahir la cite de Pommel The former only requires two scenes. The emperor is En sa chambre. The house of the maiden does not 3 Viollet-le-Duc, op. tit. 4 Viollet-le-Duc, op. tit. 5 Ibid. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 207 seem to have appeared on the stage; but after she is abducted she is spoken of as being en ceste chambre la. This is all the scenery that is necessary; and the rest of the action passed on neutral ground. The latter play requires the interior of a prison as its only set scene. The house of the daughter is behind the scenes, and the three Komans seem to have merely oc- cupied chairs in giving their judgment. In the Moralite de Charite 6 a prologue, in- stead of naming the different scenes, points out the characters who are on the stage with the exception of Mort, who is en une ruelle or, in other words, behind the scenes. This change in the function of the prologue is a natural one in view of the fact that there was practically no scenery to explain. The only scenery on the stage was that of the house of the riche avari- cieulx and the house of the riche vertueux. The references in the lines to these houses are born out by the direction: Elle entre, which shows Charite entering the house of the latter. A table is also set within this house. The char- acters speak of a tavern; but as they never really arrive at it the scene was surely not set. °IMd. 208 STAGE DECOKATION One of the most famous moralities is that written by Nicolas de la Chesnaye, the doctor of Louis XII., entitled Comdamnacion de Banc- quet. 7 It is supposed that this play was in the repertory of the Enfants sans soucif thus it was given at the Hopital de la Tririite. The characters sit down as they do in the mysteries when their part is temporarily finished. The doctor opens the play. Then comes the direc- tion: Apres ces motz, se retirera le Docteur et se yra seoir jusques a ce quil viendra faire son sermon. Another influence of the religious theater is seen in the orchestra which is sur V eschaffault ou en quelque lieu plus hault. This latter place is undoubtedly that part of the stage where the scene in Heaven was set in religious plays and the organ or orchestra was stationed. The first scene takes place at the house of Bonne Compaignie where a repast is served either on a "round or square table." Disner takes Bonne Compaignie and her followers to his house which he points out plainly: Veez cy mon logis et demaine; Veez cy l'estat tout prepare. 7 Jacob, Kecueil des farces, sotties, et moralites du XV e siecle, p. 273. 8 Ibid., p. 270. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 209 There are two tables in the house, one for the guests, and a serving table. {Le Cuysinier aura ses metz tous prestz sur quelque autre table et les baillera aux servans.) The house is not merely represented by the tables, but has walls and windows. (Notez que Soupper et Bancquet les espient par quelques fenestre Jiaulte.) The house of Soupper, where the next repast is held, also is provided with a window, as is proved by a direction similar to this one just cited. The kitchen is also shown, for Soupper carries out the action implied in the lines: Je voys visiter le quartier De la cuysine cy aupres. The cook points out the many dishes which are prepared. The third meal takes place at the house of Bancquet. The house of Experience is merely marked by a chair: Experience, dame honnestement habillee, sera assise en siege mag- nifique. A prison is also called for by the rubric: Clistere les maine en prison. A gal- lows completes the scene. Gringore's morality 9 needs practically no scenery. The references of Peuple Ytalique "Gringore, (Euvres (Bibl. elzev.), p. 244. 14 210 STAGE DECOKATION and of Peuple Frangois to maisons do not ap- pear to point to scenery set upon the stage. Pugnicion Divine is, however, hault assise en une chaire, et elevee en Vair, so careful were the dramatic authors to see that the scenery carried the ideas set forth in the play. This play, belonging as it did to the Enfants sans souci, was produced in the Hopital de la Trinite. The chair of Pugnicion Divine, there- fore, would be placed on the level which served for the scene in Heaven. There is, then, no general type of stage which can be assigned to the morality. Its stage at times resembles that of the mysteries and shows scenes in Heaven, in Hell, and on Earth. There is also the setting which shows Earth and a scene in Hell, while the Comdamnacion de Bancquet requires neither a scene in Heaven nor one in Hell. Finally there is the morality which demands no setting whatsoever but de- pended upon lines and costumes to arouse interest. Examples of this class are Moralite Nouvelle de Mundus, Caro, Demonia, and Marchebeau. The Bergerie de mieulx que devant merely had one setting of a pastoral scene. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 211 Scenery is unimportant in these plays when there is little action and when the subject is of a satirical nature treated allegorically. When there is a real plot and action, however, as in the C omdamnacion de Bancquet, even though the subject is allegorical, scenery is generally required. Its function is more to explain the action than to arouse the wonder and admiration of the spectators. When compared with other moralities, Bien Avise et Mai Avise seems to be rather an exception in this respect, with its evidently elaborate Hell scene and its revolv- ing Wheel of Fortune to which four men are attached who are named respectively : Regnabo, Regno, Regnavi, Sum sine regno. The Mora- lite de Vhomme juste et de Vhomme mondain also had a careful setting. Its stage must have resembled that of a mystery play, especially in the setting of Heaven. Est a noter que Paradis sera faict au coste des Cieulx un peu assez loin. Et dans ledict paradis y aura la Trinite, Nostre Dame et les saincts suivant leur ordre. 9 * The influence of the stage decoration of the religious drama on the setting of the morality play is again very plain. Yet, though these spectacular 8a Freres Parfaict, vol. Ill, p. 120. 212 STAGE DECOEATION scenes exist, the morality cannot be considered as being primarily a spectacular production. Scenery generally plays a secondary part in the representations of this kind of drama. The sottie resembles the shorter allegorical moralities in the matter of stage decoration. Settings are sometimes entirely lacking as in the Sottie du Monde 10 and the Sottie des Be- guins. 11 In Gringore's Jeu du Prince des Sotz 12 there is a direction: II descend given to the Seigneur de la Lune. Thus the character probably came down from a moon ; but there is no scene which is formally set. The Sottie nou- velle de T 'Astrologue ls is merely a political satire in dialogue. It is, therefore, without action and without scenery. There must have been a simple setting for the Sottie du Roy des Sots 14 which conformed to the following dialogue: Sottinet. Je voy ung fol par ce pertuys. 10 Fournier, op. cit. 11 Ibid. 12 Gringore, op. cit., p. 201. 13 Societe des anciens textes francais, vol. 47. 14 Viollet-le-Duc, op. cit. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 213 Le Roy des Sots. Ou? ou? Sottinet. Au dessus de eet huys. Guippelin is then dragged forth from this im- plied malson; no other decoration seems to have appeared. One scene was probably set for the Bottle des Trompeurs. 15 It was a house in which Bottle is found ; and it is implied in the line in which Fine Mine says of Bottle: Je Vay veue par la fenestre. This might be considered as being rhetorical were it not for Chascun saying: Ouvrez, to those who are supposed to be within the house. Teste Verte also says: Ferons-nous Chascun entrer ceansf An allegorical scene was set for the Bottle du Vleux Monde. First there appeared six trees from each one of which a sot came forth. The world, in the shape of a large pasteboard globe, was raised upon six pillars, which, in turn rested upon a table called Confusion. 16 The structure falls during the play. The stage decoration of the sottle in general 15 Ibid. 18 Morice, op. cit., p. 273. Fr&res Parfaict, op. cit., vol. II, p. 230. 214 STAGE DECOEATION was very meager. Of all kinds of theatrical representations in the Middle Ages, this one lends itself least to any setting. Again it is the nature of the play — a dialogue with little action — which seems to be the cause of the lack of scenery. Costumes, in a measure, took its place. The farce shows many gradations of stage setting. Many plays of this kind were given without any setting, such as: Mestier et Mar- chandise, 11 Farce de Folconduit, 18 Farce de Jolyet, 19 etc. The art of stage decoration, how- ever, is so far advanced by the time that the extant farces make their appearance that the fact that some require decoration and others do not, proves nothing. We cannot say that there was an evolution of stage setting in the farces. It is true that the early farce of Eustache Des- champs, le Dit des .1111. Offices is without in- dication of or reference to scenery ; but it is not because of the early period of production, for stage decoration was, of course, a well-known art in the middle of the fourteenth century. "Founder, op. cit. 18 Ibid. 19 Viollet-le-Duc, op. cit. IN EBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 215 We also find farces of the sixteenth century without scenery, such as the Farce des Theo- scenery depends not upon the time of the pro- duction of the farce, but, as in the morality, upon the nature of the plot. If there is much action there is generally some scenery. A very simple setting occurs in the mono- logue of the Franc Archer du Baignolet 21 in which the direction is found : II doit avoir un espovantail de chaneviere en facon d'un arba- lestrier, croix blanche devant et croix noire der- riere. The Farce du Cuvier 22 must have given the stage the appearance of being set for an interior, but for only one scene. The washtub, into which the wife falls, appeared on the stage. What other properties there were, we cannot say. A single scene within a house was also necessary for the Farce d'ung Savetier 23 dur- ing the action of which a table is set in an interior (Or vous seez done a la table). In the Farce nouvelle du Nouveau marie 24 the scene 20 Fournier, op. cit. 21 Viollet-le-Duc, op. cit. 22 Ibid. 28 Fournier, op. cit. 24 Viollet-le-Duc, op. cit. 216 STAGE DECOEATION opens at the house of the father who tells his daughter: Entre, tu soys la bien venue. They are about to have supper. Here, again, the set- ting is that of an interior; and this is the only scene possible. A similar interior is implied in the Farce de Jeninot 25 in the direction: en se couchant dedans un lict. Only one scene is re- quired by the Farce d'un Pardonneur, Triacleur, et d'une Taverniere 2& This is a tavern, into which the actors enter. ( Yenez, entrez, j'ay de bon vin.) A chasteau is the setting for Folle Bobance 21 It is pointed out by the line: En- trez, vella vostre demeure. Of course the ex- terior of some of these scenes was shown, as in the Farce de frere Guillebert 28 which requires an interior with a bed, while an actor who was visible out of doors speaks the line: Et puis, hay, m' ouvrirez-vous Vhuys? Such settings, however, may be considered as consisting of but one scene. The Farce de Colin 29 is one of the very few plays of this kind which contains information 25 Viollet-le-Duc ; op. cit. 26 Viollet-le-Duc, op. cit. 27 Ibid. 28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. IN FEANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 217 in regard to setting in its stage directions. There is a bench (La Femme sassiet sur ung banc en plourant) ; and also the interior and exterior of Colin's house, for Colin va en sa maison, et dit en entrant. The setting of the interior must have been very complete, for a direction reads : II se met a table; and the lines point to the following objects: Et ce beau lict, eiel et cortines, Simaises, potz, casses, bassines. Banez, treteaux, tables, eseabelles. The setting of an interior of a house, with the exterior so often visible as well, is quite a com- mon setting on the stage of the Middle Ages by virtue of these farces. An example of a stage set with two scenes is found in the Farce du bon payeur. 30 The house of Lucas into which Vert Gallant enters is necessary to the action and is shown by the line : Sa femme qui file a son Tiuys. The payeur is found in bed in his house. (Est il heure de se lever?) The Farce du Munyer 31 also has but two 30 Fournier, op. cit. 31 Ibid. 218 STAGE DECOEATION scenes: the house of the miller and a scene in Hell. This farce was given in Seurre in 1496 on a stage set for a representation of the Mys- tere de saint Martin composed by Andre de la Vigne, who is also author of the farce. It was during the representation of this mystery that the accident took place which is reported as follows: . . . celuy qui jouoit le personnaige de Sathan ainsi quit volut sortir de son secret par dessoubz terre, le feu prist a son habit autour des f esses, tellement quit jut fort brusle. The Hell scene in the mystery was, therefore, suf- ficiently realistic; and no doubt the farce used the same scene. The interior of Hell is proved to have been visible by the direction in the farce: Icy la scene est en Enfer. A cauldron forms one of the properties of this scene. (Hz lui apportent une chauldiere. The house of the miller is mentioned in the direction: Le cure, devant la maison. The miller is within, couche en ung lict. . . . In Pathelin 32 there are three scenes. First, there is the house of Pathelin, in which there is a bed. That there is really a house and not merely a bed on the stage is shown by the direc- 32 Jacob, op. cit. IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 219 tion: II frappe a la porte de Pathelin. The second scene is the shop of the drappier shown by the direction: devant la houtique du drap- pier. Pathelin enters the shop and sits down. Thus the scenery was no mere summary repre- sentation of the place. Finally there is the scene before the judge who was probably seated in a chair ; but there seems to be no other setting for this scene. In regard to the construction of scenery, Kigal has a theory which may well be con- sidered in the light of these plays. He says: Pour les habitations, la necessite d'une telle convention etait plus grande encore, parce que la plupart des cabanes, des ermitages, des cham- bres, faisaient face, non au public, mais a la scene. II etait impossible d'y faire dialoguer les acteurs; tout un cote de la salle ne les eut point vus, et V autre cote lui-meme aurait eu de la peine a les entendre. Que faisait-on? Si la chambre renfermait " un lit bien pare," un personnage pouvait se montrer d'abord sur ce lit, qui occupait le point le plus en vue du com- partiment; mais il s'en levait bien vite, et venait parler hors de sa chambre. La plupart du temps, c etait sur le seuil meme des chambres, 220 STAGE DECOEATION des ermitages, des cdbanes, que les personnages se montraient, et Us ne sy tenaient meme pas. 33 If this is true, Pathelin would go to bed and show himself for a moment, then rise quickly and come out of his room to speak. The miller would do the same in the Farce du Munyer. He would not die in bed, as he manifestly does. Such an action would spoil entirely the cleverly built situation of Pathelin feigning illness in bed and it would have become, under these con- ditions, unintelligible to the audience. Rigal does not give any source for his belief that it was the side wall of the maisons which was taken out. Such a proceeding would be im- practicable, and would seem to cause unneces- sary difficulty. Therefore, just as the artist of miniatures in the Middle Ages left out the wall of the maison which faces the eyes in order to allow what was going on within to be seen, so the stage carpenter surely left out the front wall of his maisons. This is the obvious and sim- plest way of showing an interior. Doors and windows were then in the side wall, which was foreshortened enough to allow a full view of the stage. This is the plan which is followed at the 33 Eigal, op. tit., p. 264. IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 221 present time if two rooms or an exterior and interior must be visible simultaneously on the stage. Farces which require more than two settings are rare, yet the Farce du Poulier 3 * probably used four scenes. The miller's house is re- quired by the lines: . . . Je mettray L'huys hors des gons, si tu ne m'ouvre. The hen-house is also shown. (Cachez vous dedans ce poulier.) There is also a house for Mme. de la Papilloniere implied by the line: II ne vous desplait pas si j'entre. There is nothing in the text which refers to a house for Mme. la Hannetonneur ; but since she plays a similar role to Mme. de la Papilloniere she had some sort of a maison, in all probability, in which she was visited. The hen-house was, in reality, a part of the miller's house, for the two gallants, when concealed in the hen-house, can see what is going on in the miller's dwelling. In another farce 35 on the same subject the chicken coop is in a second story, as is shown 34 Mabille, Choix de Farces, Nice, 1875, vol. II, p. 94. 35 Mabille, op. cit. 222 STAGE DECOKATION by the words : montez au poulier. Perhaps this arrangement existed in this play, for the gal- lants may well be looking down from above, rather than through a door or window placed so that the interior of the house is visible from their hiding place. This setting, then, really consists of only one important scene and two minor ones. The stage when set for a farce had little scenery. This style of dramatic representa- tion was very popular during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Therefore the stage of the Middle Ages was often very simply decorated. In the farce, Heaven was never represented, and Hell was rarely seen. The stage often con- sisted of but one level. The scenes were set simultaneously in purely profane drama; but they were few in number in comparison with the religious drama, and they were far less elaborate. The Parisian, therefore, was quite accustomed, after 1402, to a stage with few scenes and on one level. This stage is just as characteristic of the Middle Ages as the large temporary plat- form on which many scenes were placed includ- ing Heaven and Hell. In fact the Parisian may have considered the great open air spectacles. IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 223 as we consider performances in a Hippodrome 36 or on the large stage of an opera, as being out of the ordinary in regard to scenery; while the Hopital de la Trinite and Hotel de Bourgogne with their small stages may have seemed to him to constitute the regular and normal theater from the beginning of the fifteenth century when the inclosed stage was established per- manently. 88 We refer to the New York theater of that CONCLUSI0N The existence of liturgical drama was the result of an attempt to make certain religious ceremonies more real and life-like. In order to heighten the effect of reality the altar was considered as representing the sepulchre or the manger. Such scenes are primitive beginnings of a system of stage decoration which lasted through many centuries. Do we find this the spontaneous and unconscious origin of modern stage setting? Did the people of the Middle Ages suddenly awake to find that the Church had created drama and had introduced scenery ? If it be granted that drama was introduced into the Church from profane shows of some kind, the question of the origin of scenery is still unanswered. It would be possible for the dra- matic form of art to live without scenery, yet the element of setting was so important in the earliest medieval dramas, which have been pre- served, that it is easy to believe in a figurative, summary setting in profane mimes. Thus as 224 IN FBANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 225 we accept the theory of an unbroken dramatic tradition, so we accept the theory of an un- broken tradition of stage decoration, although we realize the futility of attempting to prove that this was the case from data available at present. It is merely the impression which has arisen during the study of the whole question. Whatever setting there was during the period of attempted suppression of dramatic perform- ances by the Church, and during the rise of religious drama, was undoubtedly improvised and much must have been left to the imagina- tion. Proof of this is found in the description of the earliest settings which are known to us. The liturgical drama, however, soon spread out its field of action. As the play grew more com- plicated, so the scenery followed it. A play was written in which the action occurred in two places. The scenery representing them was set before the action began and the simultaneous stage setting existed. This may have happened in either the religious or profane drama. The first extant example of this system occurs in religious drama. The liturgical drama discards makeshift and improvised scenery, and uses real scenery, 15 226 STAGE DECOKATION finally. Its scenes are set on one level. The Hell scene is shown very rarely, and there is no setting which formally represents Heaven. These two scenes are the least important of all in this kind of drama. The custom of setting the scene in Heaven on a higher level is foreshadowed in the liturgical dramas in which angels appear from on high; and, in the Adam play, Terrestrial Paradise is placed on a level above the stage. A Hell scene is also indicated in this play, although prob- ably the entrance was the only visible part of the setting, and there is little reason for con- jecturing that the scene was in the form of a dragon's head as early as the thirteenth century. Had this setting been popular so early, it is not probable that it would have been considered as something wonderful in the fifteenth cen- tury. The stage of the thirteenth century is set with few scenes. " " There seems to be hesitation between the stage of one level and that of two levels. There is thus little difference between the appearance of the stage set for religious plays and one set for profane representations. There is a development in the importance of IN FKANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 227 scenery, which begins to fulfill the function of adding interest to the production as well as of making the action clear. This secondary use of scenery to delight the eye grows in impor- tance when the plays in pantomime and tab- leaux are represented along the streets. In the latter part of the fourteenth and the beginning of the fifteenth century dramatic pro- ductions must be divided into two classes : those given in-doors and hence on a small stage, and those given in the open air on stages built to meet all demands of the play in regard to scenery. Productions in the open air were no novelty even in the thirteenth century; but the mimed productions of the fourteenth and fifteenth cen- turies must have influenced these representa- tions in the matter of stage decoration. The fact that no word was spoken in these panto- mimes and tableaux would force the setting to be exact and interesting. The people grew ac- customed to a long, out-door stage upon which there were many places represented with elabo- rate scenery. It is but a short step to the great spoken mystery in a market place or an amphi- theater. The step is made by having the char- 228 STAGE DECOEATION acters speak. On these stages the setting reached its highest point of development. Heaven and Hell were very important scenes and were set with great care. The stage showed two and three levels and sometimes more, as in Michel's version of the Passion. The number of levels often depended npon whether the in- terior of Hell had to be open to view or not. These productions are very wonderful and curious, but they are more or less of an episode in the history of the French drama. They reached a certain point in their development and then disappeared, with the exception of a few scattered performances in later centuries. !N"o doubt the existence of such spectacles in the open air tended to make the scenery of the in- door stage more realistic; but these two kinds of stages must have differed, not in principle, but in result. The indoor stage is smaller. There are few scenes set upon it. This is just as true in 1636 as in 1402. Eeligious and profane dramas were given on these stages. The Parisian saw many kinds of stage decoration; but he was fully ac- customed to a small stage with few scenes. The question of whether Heaven and Hell were IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES 229 shown or not depended upon the play. A stage was often set without either scene or sometimes with one and not the other. It was this setting of five or six scenes which Hardy used and of which Scudery said in 1637 : Le theatre en est si mal entendu qu'un meme lieu representant V appartement du roi, celui de V infant, la maison de Chimene et la rue presque sans changer de face, le spectateur ne sait, le plus souvent, oil sont les acteurs. In the Trois Sosies, Eotrou uses the same words which occur in the mystery plays in the direction: le del s'ouvre. But this system of stage decora- tion was destined to fall into disuse with the advent of the three unities. The method of setting several scenes at once upon a stage ought to need no apology. At first glance one is likely to consider this system as naive. But all drama rests upon convention. Perhaps no other form of art demands such a complete surrender of the reasoning power to the imagination and so perfect an understand- ing between the producer and the recipient. One may easily believe a story no matter how extravagant it may be ; but in the theater every- thing is a sham and unreal. At present we are 230 STAGE DECOEATION very free in regard to theatrical conventions. The supernatural may be introduced on the stage in any form. One will believe that years have intervened, or that thousands of miles have been traversed, provided a curtain is dropped or the theater is darkened for a moment. The medieval spectator did not need this aid to the imagination. He could turn his eyes from one scene to another without being awakened from his delightful unreal world. At times the dramatic effect was even heightened by the ex- posure of different scenes at once. Imagine for a moment the dramatic contrast in seeing the blessed in Heaven and the damned in Hell at the same time. Who shall say that this sys- tem is any more naive than the one in vogue at present! If the audience of the Middle Ages did not wish to let their eyes wander, there was practically but one scene before them at a time; and the spectator was not called back periodically to the garish reality of a theater as he is in modern times. The Columbia University Press Columbia University in the City of New York The Press was incorporated June 8, 1893, to promote the publication of the results of original research. It is a private corporation, related directly to Columbia University by the provisions that its Trustees shall be officers of the University and that the President of Columbia University shall be Pres- ident of the Press. The publications of the Columbia University Press in- clude works on Biography, History, Economics, Education, Philosophy, Linguistics, Literature, and the following series : Columbia University Biological Series. Columbia University Studies in Classical Philology, Columbia University Studies in Comparative Literature. Columbia University Studies in English. Columbia University Geological Series. Columbia University Germanic Studies. Columbia University Indo-Iranian Series. Columbia University Contributions to Oriental His- tory and Philology. Columbia University Oriental Studies. Columbia University Studies in Romance Philology and Literature. Blumenthal Lectures. Hewitt Lectures. Carpentier Lectures. Jesup Lectures. Catalogues will be sent free on application. The Macmillan Company, Agents 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK The Columbia University Press COL UMBIA UNIVERSITY STUDIES IN ROMANCE PHIL- OLOGY AND LITERATURE Edited by Adolphe Cohn and Henry Alfred Todd FREDERIC MISTRAL, POET AND LEADER IN PROV- ENCE. By Charles Alfred Downer, Ph.D., Professor of the French Language and Literature, College of the City of New York. 12mo, cloth, pp. 10+267. Price, $1.50 net. CORNEILLE AND THE SPANISH DRAMA. By J. B. Segall, Ph.D. 12mo, cloth, pp. ix+147. Price, $1.50 net. DANTE AND THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. By Richard Thayer Holbrook, Ph.D. 12mo, cloth, pp. 18+376. Illus- trated. Price, $2.00 net. THE INDEBTEDNESS OF CHAUCER'S TROILUS AND CRISEYDE TO GUIDO DELLE COLONNES HISTORIA TROJANA. By George L. Hamilton, A.M. 12mo, cloth, pp. vi+159. Price, $1-25 net. THE ANGLO-NORMAN DIALECT. A Manual of its Pho- nology and Morphology, with illustrative specimens of the literature. By Louis Emil Menger, Ph.D., late Professor of Romance Philology, Bryn Mawr College. 8vo, cloth, pp. xx+167. Price, $1.75 net. CORNEILLE AND RACINE IN ENGLAND. A Study of the English Translation of the Corneilles and Racine, with especial reference to their representation on the English stage. By Dorothea Frances Canfield, Ph.D. 12mo, cloth, pp. xiii+295. Price, $1.50 net. THE VERSIFICATION OF THE CUADERNA VIA, as found in Berceo's Vida de Santo Domingo de Silos. By John Driscoll Fitz-Gerald, Ph.D. 8vo, pp. xiii+112. Facsim- iles. Price, paper, $1.00 ; cloth, $1.25 net. PIERRE LE TOURNEUR. By Mary Gertrude Cushing, Ph.D. 12mo, cloth, pp. xi+317, Price, $1.50 net. THE DEVELOPMENT OF STAGE DECORATION IN FRANCE IN THE MIDDLE AGES. By Donald Clive Stuart, Ph.D. 12mo, cloth. Price, $1.50 net. CHARLES DE SAINTE-MARTHE. By Caroline Ruutz- Rees, Ph.D. 12mo, cloth. Price, $1.50 net, The Macmillan Company, Agents 64-66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK MAY IS 1310 One copy del. to Cat. Div. :