Origins of the Mystery Plays

According to Oxford Reference Online, a mystery play is, "(also called miracle play) a medieval drama based on a religious story and performed in the vernacular. During the 13th century, trade guilds in Europe started producing plays based on biblical stories; originally these were performed in churches, but they became increasingly secular and began to be staged elsewhere; later productions introduced apocryphal elements and were often satirical. In England they were performed on temporary stages or on wagons which were trundled along an established route, stopping at fixed points where the audience awaited them. Individual dramas merged into a cycle of plays: the best known are those of York, Chester, Coventry, and Wakefield" (ORO The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary).

The earliest form of the Mystery Plays is what is called Quem Quaeritis? which translates to "Whom do you seek?". It refers to the scene where an angel stands at Jesus' tomb and talks to the three women who have come to find Jesus. The form was one question was asked, then it was answered, a very simple form of play. They were performed at the Church, often in Latin, but in 1210, a papal edict was handed down that the clergy could not act in public, therefore the plays were handed off to the guilds. The guilds made several changes, including vernacular text versus Latin, so the average person could understand them. This brought us the Mystery Plays as we know them.