Scénická poznámka středověkého chrámového dramatu z hlediska obsahu a formy. Úvod do problematiky

Abstract

The stage directions of medieval plays, the so-called rubrics, represent a unique and integral part of the dramatic text which is most often examined for the purpose of interpreting and reconstructing the staging aspect of a concrete play or general staging forms and conventions of the period theatre. Somewhat less attention has been paid to formal and stylistic aspects of rubrics, their language, purpose and their diverse functions within the text of the medieval play, their relation to the dialogue, and so on. The study presents the content, style and specific form of the rubrics of medieval Church drama and outlines possible ways of their interpretation with the help of modern theories and classification of stage directions in a drama. It is based on the previous extensive analyses of Latin rubrics of more than two hundred dramatic texts of medieval Church plays, consisting mostly of the Latin (or bilingual) liturgical plays staged within the close connection to liturgy in European monasteries and churches during the whole Middle Ages (i. e. Easter and Christmas drama, liturgical dramatizations connected to Marian feasts) and also several semi-liturgical or extra-liturgical religious plays.