Overview

The expression liturgical drama was formulated in 1834 as a metaphor and hardened into formal category only later in the nineteenth century. Prior to this invention, the medieval rites and representations that would forge the category were understood as distinct and unrelated classes: as liturgical rites no longer celebrated or as theatrical works of dubious quality. If this distinction between liturgical rites and non-liturgical representations holds, should we not examine the works called liturgical drama according to the contexts of their presentations within the manuscripts and books that preserve them? Given the ways that the words liturgy and drama have been understood, moreover, combining them makes little sense. Given the distinctions that exist within the repertory, the expression also has no definable referent. Ultimately, the expression has little utility if we wish to appreciate how these rites and representations were understood at the time they were copied, celebrated, or performed.

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9781580442633

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Reviews

This study is the first to bring together a substantial and comprehensive overview of the treatment, from the Middle Ages to the present, of the ceremonies that have, in modern times, come to be seen as 'liturgical drama.' It promises to be a foundational study that helps the reader understand the complex scholarly paths behind this material and challenges the very term 'liturgical drama' itself. - Nils Holger Petersen, University of Copenhagen

Author Information

Michael Norton received his doctorate at The Ohio State University and is Associate Professor at James Madison University in Virginia. He combines expertise in music and humanities computing with publishing widely on medieval liturgical drama.

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