narrative from the birth of
our Saviour until His death. Being too long for a play of one act, it
was continued from day to day. What would seem irreverent on a modern
stage was regarded as perfectly simple and natural in the Middle Ages,
and it was a potent factor in teaching the masses the truths of their
faith.

Following these Mysteries of the Passion came a host of other plays
taken from the Old Testament, or from the lives of the Saints. The
earliest "Miracle" on record is the Play of St. Catherine, which was
represented at Dunstable about 1119, written in French; it was in all
probability a rude picture of the miracles and martyrdom of the saint.

The stage was divided into three different floors, with Heaven on top,
hell on the ground floor, and the earth between. Frequently the play
would proceed in all three divisions at once, with angels and devils
ascending and descending by means of ladders, as their help was needed
in the different worlds.

The Devil generally played the part of clown or jester. The modern
puppet play of Punch is a tradition handed down from these ancient
miracles, in which the Evil One was alternately the conqueror or victim
of the human Buffoon; who was also called by the names of Jester or
Vice.

These early miracle plays were generally written in mixed prose and
verse.

The oldest manuscript of a miracle play in English is The Harrowing of
Hell, believed to have been written in 1350.

The Morality plays were the outcome of the Mysteries; they were either
allegorical or else taken from the Parables, or from the historical
events in the Bible. The chief Moralities were Everyman, Lusty
Juventus, Good Counsel, and Repentance. The oldest English Morality
play now extant is The Castle of Perseverance, written about 1450. It
is a dramatic allegory of human life representing the many conflicting
influences that surround man on his way through the world. Lusty
Juventus depicts in a vivid and humorous way the extravagances and
follies of a young heir surrounded by the virtues and vices, and the
misery which follows a departure from the path of religion and virtue.
Gradually these Moralities were corrupted and became mixed with a
species of comedy called Interludes, a merry and farcical dialogue. The
Four P's, one of the best of these early Interludes, was written by
John Heywood, an entertainer at the Court of Henry VIII. It turns upon
a dispute between a Peddler, a Palmer, a Pardoner an