presentative German examples of the
species. The academical instinct, or some other influence, kept the more
elaborate productions on the whole apart from the drolleries of the
professional strollers (_fahrende Leute_), whose Shrove-Tuesday plays
(_Fastnachtsspiele_) and cognate productions reproduced the practical
fun of common life. Occasionally, no doubt, as in the Lubeck
_Fastnachtsspiel_ of the Five Virtues, the two species may have more or
less closely approached to one another. When, in the course of the 15th
century, Hans Rosenplut, called Schnepperer--or Hans Schnepperer, called
Rosenplut--the predecessor of Hans Sachs, first gave a more enduring
form to the popular Shrove-Tuesday plays, a connexion was already
establishing itself between the dramatic amusements of the people and
the literary efforts of the "master-singers" of the towns. But, while
the main productivity of the writers of moralities and cognate
productions--a species particularly suited to German latitudes--falls
into the periods of Renaissance and Reformation, the religious drama
proper survived far beyond either in Catholic Germany, and, in fact, was
not suppressed in Bavaria and Tirol till the end of the 18th century.[3]

Sweden, Carpathian lands, &c.

It may be added that the performance of miracle-plays is traceable in
Sweden in the latter half of the 14th century; and that the German
clerks and laymen who immigrated into the Carpathian lands, and into
Galicia in particular, in the later middle ages, brought with them their
religious plays together with other elements of culture. This fact is
the more striking, inasmuch as, though Czech Easter plays were performed
about the end of the 14th century, we hear of none among the Magyars, or
among their neighbours of the Eastern empire.

Religious drama in England.

Cornish miracle-plays.

Coming now to the English religious drama, we find that from its extant
literature a fair general idea may be derived of the character of these
medieval productions. The _miracle-plays_, _miracles_ or _plays_ (these
being the terms used in England) of which we hear in London in the 12th
century were probably written in Latin and acted by ecclesiastics; but
already in the following century mention is made--in the way of
prohibition--of plays acted by professional players. (Isolated
moralities of the 12th century are not to be regarded as popular
productions.) In England as elsewhere, the clergy ei