Miracle game
The miracle game (from Latin miraculum , "miracle"), also called miracle, is a form of the performing arts that originated in the 11th century and belongs to the genre of spiritual drama with exclusive references to Christianity . Spiritual dramas are stage productions and consequently related to the art form known today as theater .
content
In terms of content, the Miracle Game deals primarily with the life and miracles of the saints and the Virgin Mary . In the German-speaking countries, it was also known and widespread as the legend game in the late Middle Ages. Miracle games were based on dramatized legends and depicted the special strength of faith and closeness to God of well-known saints , which showed themselves through enduring martyrdom . Usually they were performed on the feast days of the saints and told their stories, which demonstrated their moral superiority over evil. Miracle games that told of miracles showed people who had fallen to Satan and were freed from their delusion by a miracle of God. The devil always appeared as a seducer, but in the end he was always the loser, since the purified turned back to God.
development
The miracle game was particularly widespread in France from the 12th and 13th centuries , and later also in England, the Netherlands and Germany. In the 14th and 15th centuries , Marian miracles became popular, which shaped the story of the drama through the introduction of comic elements .
Until the 13th century, the Passion of Christ was the leitmotif of all spiritual games. After the game was organized outside the church, the repertoire of game motifs expanded. As a result, stories were told such as B. the birth of Christ, the appearance of the three kings and their visit to King Herod , who soon became the epitome of evil, but also reinterpreted as a comic figure and the focus of a separate genre, the Herodes games . This also led to changes in the forms of play with differentiated dramaturgical structures and considerable expenditure on equipment. Above all, the national language was now the language of the games, although the Latin-language Easter Games continued to exist into the High Middle Ages . The miracle and mystery play each represent forms of play of their own kind and yet they show strong parallels with one another, as both emerged from the spiritual play. The venues for the Miracle Games were the city marketplaces, where they attracted large audiences.
Zeitgeist
In general, the miracle game is a type of game that leaves a lot of space for thematic expansion of realistic everyday life. It was in keeping with the spirit of the times when people believed they were living in a world that is permeated with the unreal, with miracles, which is apparently the reason for the popularity of the games.
literature
- Elke Ukena: The German Miracle Games of the Late Middle Ages , Bern, Frankfurt am Main, 1975, ISBN 978-3-261-00964-7
- Manfred Brauneck : Europe's theater: 2500 years of history - an introduction , 2012, ISBN 978-3-499-55710-1