Transfer from the Church to the Street: Discussion on the Secularization of European Medieval Religious Dramas

Abstract

In the Middle Ages of Europe, a new kind of drama, the religious drama, was developed. It evolved from the Redundancy of Words of church worship, and then evolved into mystery, miracle and moral drama. In the late Middle Ages, secular factors continued to permeate the performances of religious dramas, promoting its secularization in five aspects: performance venues, theatrical themes and content, the form of performance, the increase of harlequins, the secularization of church music and the birth of urban drama, ultimately leading to the arrival of the Shakespeare literati era.