New Testament history after the Passion is dramatized in the Mystère des Actes des
Apôtres, attributed to Simon Greban. Comprising some 62,000 lines of verse, this play is
the longest of those surviving from the late-medieval period. It was staged in 1536 in
Bourges and again in 1541 in Paris. Dramatizing events from the Book of Acts, the play
also draws upon postbiblical history and legendary material, presenting the Apostles on
their missionary journeys and showing their martyrdoms in faraway lands.
The immediate postbiblical era is represented by the Vengeance de Jésus Christ. Little
known today, the play was staged relatively often in the 15th and 16th centuries. It
survives in two manuscript versions and six early printed editions. Its historical basis is
the Jewish War of A.D. 66–70 conducted by the emperor Vespasian and his son Titus,
which ended in the siege and destruction of Jerusalem. Woven into the plot are the
legendary accounts of the trial and death of Pilate and the miracles of Veronica. In an era
when spectators sought realism in the portrayal of historical events, the violence and
carnage that accompany the destruction of Jerusalem in this play must have attracted
large audiences and may have been a reason for its popularity.
Plays based on the lives of the saints cover much of the period between the 1st and the
15th centuries. Though from our point of view such plays are based on legendary
accounts, the original audiences saw them as reenactments of historical events. Because
the staging of history plays was costly, they were often subsidized from municipal
treasuries. As a consequence, many of them portray the life of a town’s patron saint. The
town of Seurre, for example, staged the life of its patron, St. Martin, in 1496. A play by
Guillaume Flamant on the life of St. Didier, bishop of Langres, was staged in that city
over a three-day period in 1482. In his search for historical realism, the author devoted
half the play to battle scenes in which the Vandals besiege and sack the city and in which
a Roman army later destroys the invaders.
Late-medieval contemporary history was dramatized in the lengthy Mistère du siège
d’Orléans. The work is a detailed and historically accurate account of the defense of the
city of Orléans against the English in the siege of 1428–29 and of its ultimate deliverance
by Jeanne d’Arc. Writing most likely between 1440 and 1467, the anonymous author was
possibly a witness to the events. In any case, he also consulted written accounts of the
siege for greater historical accuracy. Though the play is patriotic in tone, its characters
are unidealized. Jeanne d’Arc is portrayed as a simple, straightforward young girl; the
character of the poet Charles d’Orléans, a prisoner of the English at the time, is consonant
with what is known of him from other historical sources. Despite the appearance of many
well-known historical figures, the play’s major protagonist is the city of Orléans itself.
At the other end of the historical spectrum, we find a play that treats the Trojan War.
In the late Middle Ages, the French believed themselves to be descended from Trojans
who, like Aeneas, had fled the final destruction of their city. No doubt, this presumed
ancestry inspired Jacques Milet to write the Istoire de la destruction de Troye la grant.
The play is based not on Homer but on a medieval Latin account of the conflict. Though
there is no record of its having been performed, the text is rich in stage directions and was
almost certainly intended for performance. Its survival in a dozen manuscripts and an
equal number of early printed editions suggests that it was widely read as well.
The history plays of the late-medieval period, both religious and secular, were
dramatic spectacles that served to define the community, to provide individual and group
identity, and to reinforce social values.
The Encyclopedia 869