Daniel, Lazarus, &c. Compositions on the last-named
two themes remain from the hand of one of the very earliest of medieval
play-writers, Hilarius, who may have been an Englishman, and who
certainly studied under Abelard. He also wrote a "miracle" of St
Nicholas, one of the most widely popular of medieval saints. Into the
pieces founded on the Scripture narrative outside characters and
incidents were occasionally introduced, by way of diverting the
audience.

The collective mystery.

These mysteries and miracles being as yet represented by the clergy
only, the language in which they were usually written is Latin--in many
varieties of verse with occasional prose; but already in the 11th
century the further step was taken of composing these texts in the
vernacular--the earliest example being the mystery of the Resurrection.
In time a whole series of mysteries was joined together; a process which
was at first roughly and then more elaborately pursued in France and
elsewhere, and finally resulted in the _collective mystery_--merely a
scholars' term of course, but one to which the principal examples of the
English mystery-drama correspond.

Mysteries, miracles, and morals distinguished.

The productions of the medieval religious drama it is usual technically
to divide into three classes. The _mysteries_ proper deal with
scriptural events only, their purpose being to set forth, with the aid
of the prophetic or preparatory history of the Old Testament, and more
especially of the fulfilling events of the New, the central mystery of
the Redemption of the world, as accomplished by the Nativity, the
Passion and the Resurrection. But in fact these were not kept
distinctly apart from the _miracle-plays_, or _miracles_, which are
strictly speaking concerned with the legends of the saints of the
church; and in England the name _mysteries_ was not in use. Of these
species the miracles must more especially have been fed from the
resources of the monastic literary drama. Thirdly, the _moralities_, or
_moral-plays_, teach and illustrate the same truths--not, however, by
direct representation of scriptural or legendary events and personages,
but allegorically, their characters being personified virtues or
qualities. Of the moralities the Norman _trouveres_ had been the
inventors; and doubtless this innovation connects itself with the
endeavour, which in France had almost proved victorious by the end of
the 13th century, to ema