Four Doubled Figures in the Origins of English Folk Theatre

Abstract

Most authorities examining English folk theatre agree that its origins lie in fertility cult ritual.' However, this origin has not been thoroughly examined for the light it may throw on folk theatre, although the fertility cult is identifiable. From the time of Augustine, Christian records in England plainly attest the existence of an indigenous, widespread fertility-based religion. Its beliefs are outlined with some clarity in the condemnations of Christian kings and clerics from the seventh through the sixteenth centuries, when, conservatively, the folk theatre may be said to have emerged.