Deck 13: The Middle Ages

Question 1

The liturgical trope Quem Queritas

A)celebrates the visit of the three Marys to the Christ's tomb.
B)celebrates the baptism of John the Baptist.
C)enacts the birth of Christ and a visitation by angels.
D)enacts the visitation of the three Magi to Christ on the feast of the Epiphany.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What factors contributed to Pope Innocent II's decree in 1240 that drama could no longer be played in church?

A)Audiences began to confuse the priestly office with the characters priests impersonated on stage.
B)The clergy had begun to collect lavish robes and other riches from patrons seeking religious dispensations.
C)The drama had grown too large for presentation in cathedrals,and Church officers rebelled against the growing secular authority of the plays.
D)The church-going audience grew too relaxed in church,bringing food and wine to services to make themselves more comfortable during the performance.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following does medieval drama NOT share with Greek theatre?

A)Both theatres ritualized the resurrection of a divine figure.
B)Both theatres were public and communal,attracting a mass audience for the celebration of a common mythos.
C)Both theatres were functioning parts of an evolving civic government.
D)Both theatres produced individual playwrights of great talent and magnificence who enjoyed popular recognition in their time.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which aspect of the medieval play was most important?

A)the introduction of comedy to unify different classes
B)the use of lyrical poetry to cultivate literacy
C)the artistry of the physical stage
D)the conveyance of the message

Question 5

Which guild in York produced the Building of the Ark playlet?

A)Winedrawers
B)Scriveners
C)Shipwrights
D)Cordwainers

Question 6

The term "Vulgar language" refers to

A)the common language of the people-French,German,Flemish,English-as opposed to Latin,which was the universal language of the day.
B)the idiolect of peasants rather than the more elevated language of merchants.
C)words for specific parts of the body which were normally referred to by pointing.
D)words applied to animals,furniture,or any inanimate object.

Question 7

Which of the following was NOT an effect of a theatre devoted to the glorification of Christ?

A)The theatre formed a powerful force for moral instruction of an illiterate audience.
B)The theatre supported farming and other agrarian pursuits by its need to supply oxen and horses to draw the pageant wagons.
C)The theatre facilitated the urbanization of a rural society.
D)The theatre offered festive entertainment after a long winter locked in against the cold.

Question 8

How did medieval drama represent humankind's quest for individual knowledge?

A)as a threat to religious and revealed truth
B)as the only antidote to a long history of religious warfare
C)as part of God's plan for humans to take dominion over nature
D)as an effort which was beautiful but ultimately irrelevant in the ordered cosmos of the Great Chain of Being

Question 9

The term "hubris" refers to

A)the submission brought on by succumbing to authority.
B)wanton arrogance.
C)the nobility of tragic suffering.
D)an adventuresome sense of recklessness.

Question 10

Of the forty-eight playlets that comprise the York Corpus Christi cycle,

A)individual playlets were allocated to various guilds which assumed responsibility for casting,funding,and rehearsing.
B)individual playlets were allocated to prominent families in York so that playwriting and production stayed within a family tradition.
C)all forty-eight were under the jurisdiction of an appointed town official called the Master of Revels.
D)all were subject to censorship by church officials who frequently expurgated humorous scenes.

Question 11

What common sin links Lucifer in the York Cycle with Prometheus in Prometheus Bound?

A)envy
B)hubris
C)sloth
D)self-hate

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT true of the relationship between Prometheus Bound and the York Cycle?

A)Both cultures produced the work at an outdoor springtime festival associated with religious worship and celebration.
B)Both works imply an awareness of humankind's potential to obey the laws laid down by religious revelation.
C)Both works deal with the struggle of one character to break free from the restraints imposed by a higher authority.
D)Both works show God as an understanding,rational,and logical force for order.

Question 13

Which element is NOT held in common by passion plays,mystery plays,and pageant plays?

A)composition of a series of playlets inspired by stories from the Bible
B)use of the common language as spoken by the populace
C)consistent use of a stage or series of stages
D)handwritten scripts handed from father to son over generations

Question 14

A mansion is

A)an elaborately constructed house with many rooms.
B)the French term for a temporarily crafted stage piece set up in a public square.
C)the box offstage stage that holds all the props and costumes needed for the play.
D)the platform segment that bore the stage planks.

Question 15

"Corpus Christi" plays are so called because

A)they were commonly performed during the church festival of Corpus Christi some time between late May and late June.
B)the theme of the play always involved an analysis of the position of the church.
C)they were named after the author,Desiderius Corpus.
D)before the play began,a priest celebrated the Mass,a central feature of which was the transubstantiation,or symbolic creation,of Christ's body.

Question 16

How much time did one complete production of the Corpus Christi plays last?

A)every day in the afternoon light for one week
B)one full liturgical year
C)almost an entire day,beginning at four-thirty in the morning and lasting until late in the evening
D)three days,with sixteen playlets performed each day beginning at eight o'clock A.M.

Question 17

Which of the following is TRUE of the Middle Ages?

A)The Middle Ages were dominated by stories about knights only.
B)The Middle Ages were a time when all actors got paid.
C)Medieval communities avoided any kind of theatrical event.
D)The Middle Ages were a time of intense theatrical achievement.

Question 18

The Middle Ages are comprised of the period of history

A)between the sack of Constantinople and the building of Chartres cathedral.
B)between the death of Saladin and the birth of William Shakespeare.
C)between the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Renaissance.
D)between the First Crusade and the invention of the printing press.

Question 19

A hellmouth is

A)drawn on the wall of the pageant wagon to represent the entrance to hell.
B)a stage piece designed to "swallow" sinners into the low staging area.
C)the central theme of the playlet The Fall.
D)a liturgical trope,like Quem Queritas,which was performed the first day of Lent.

Question 20

The function of the Quem Queritas trope was

A)to present one playlet alone with grand pageantry and personification.
B)to ritualize and bring to life the most important moment in the story of Christ.
C)to entertain the masses only with no religious intent.
D)to show that Christian mysteries were joyous by bringing humor to ritual.

Question 21

The common language that united the different European countries during the Middle Ages was French.

Question 22

Compare and contrast the function and symbolism of Lucifer in the Creation playlet of the York Cycle with Prometheus in Prometheus Bound.

Question 23

In Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream,the craftsmen's play (the play within the play)parodies the conventions and forms of medieval theatre.

Question 24

The staging of cycle plays was extraordinary because it employed the proscenium arch.

Question 25

Between A.D.925 and the Late Middle Ages,how did the form of drama,context of production,and nature of performance change as the Church increasingly surrendered control over their presentation? What might this have reflected about social changes at the time?

Question 26

The English cycle plays of the Middle Ages hold particular interest to historians of language because they were written in

A)Latin,the language of the church.
B)French,the language of the elite.
C)Greek,the language of the classics.
D)English,the language of the people.

Question 27

A four- or six-wheeled vessel with a curtained dressing room below and an acting space above,with at least two vertical levels for acting,is known as a "dramatic cart."

Question 28

Medieval artists,including playwrights,were for the most part anonymous,rarely signing their work and observing piety rather than self-celebration.

Question 29

How was the economic burden of play production handled in medieval drama?

Question 30

Medieval morality plays depict

A)the trials of the saints and martyrs.
B)the struggles of the early Church believers against intolerance during the Roman Empire.
C)the conflicted choice of an archetypal human between good and evil.
D)the moral struggles and temptations of Jesus Christ,such as his trials in the desert and the expulsion of sinners from the temple.

Question 31

An elaboration of the official Catholic Church liturgy,staged as part of regular church services during between the tenth and twelfth centuries,is known as a

A)historiography.
B)trope.
C)conversion.
D)celebration.

Question 32

A "trope" is a one-act play lasting over an hour,with fewer than five characters that ends happily.

Question 33

The York Cycle Corpus Christi plays begin with a playlet called

A)The Creation.
B)Adam and Eve.
C)The Fall of Lucifer
D)The Resurrection of Christ.

Question 34

One contemporary analogy to the rolling procession of the cycle plays is

A)the halftime show at the Superbowl.
B)the Rose Bowl Parade.
C)the flea market or bazaar.
D)the rodeo.

Question 35

Describe the contributions of the guilds to the development of medieval drama.

Question 36

Medieval staging was highly realistic,valuing a high level of detail.

Question 37

The High Middle Ages extended from the tenth and eleventh centuries onward.

Question 38

Pageant plays,cycle plays,and miracle plays are all typical medieval play forms.

Question 39

Compare and contrast the ritual functions of Greek drama with those of medieval drama.

Question 40

The theatre of the Middle Ages was professional in that it was created and supported by highly motivated professional artisans working through various guilds.