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Home > EARLYTHEATRE > Vol. 5 > Iss. 2 (2002)

 

Abstract

Historians of theatre usually discuss the quem quaeritis Easter tropes and Hroswitha’s plays as discrete phenomena: debating whether or not the quem quaeritis represents a first step in the development of liturgical drama, discussing Hroswitha’s plays as the first Christian plays based on saints’ lives and not tied to the liturgy. The Easter tropes and the plays of Hroswitha may not be as unrelated as they appear. The tropes may be more than mere tropes, more than just extensions of Scripture woven into special liturgical services. They may be consciously scripted “playlets” aimed at purposes far beyond beautifying and intensifying the liturgy. These “playlets” may relate to, and stem from, issues of educational and ecclesiastical reform that marked the efforts of tenth- and early eleventh-century, Lotharingian/German clerics, who in turn were connected in a sort of network to ecclesiastical reformers in France and England. Hroswitha, personally and institutionally, was part of this network, and her plays may well be another phenomenon reflecting those policies. To demonstrate that premise, it is necessary to trace the network Lotharingian/German, French and English reformers, Hroswitha’s place within that network, and the common interests and policies of these reformers in matters of ecclesiastical reform.

Author Biography

James H. Forse is Professor of History and Adjunct Professor of Theatre, Bowling Green State University. Though he originally trained as a medievalist with a specialty in tenth-century Germany, for the past several years his focus has been upon the history of theatre during the Tudor and Jacobean eras. His book Art Imitates Business appeared in 1993. His most recent work includes a forthcoming article on the explosion of touring acting troupes under Elizabeth and another jointly authored with Ronald Shields of the Department of Theatre on historiographical issues surrounding one of John Foxe's "martyrs." Other recent work includes articles questioning the accepted view of the "hatred" of the Spanish during the reigns of Mary and Elizabeth. He currently is pursuing that topic into the reign of James I, as well as continuing research in the connections among commercial interests, aristocratic patrons and Tudor acting troupes.


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