The acted stories of the Bible can be traced back into the Middle Ages, and probably descended from the Greek and Roman theatre, for many early Christians were Greeks and Romans and had a natural love for drama. The Church understood this and saw in it a way to teach the history of the Scriptures. You know yourselves how much better you remember historical events when you have seen them in moving pictures! This natural love of play-acting in mankind goes back to primitive man who acted out his prayers in his religious rites. These theatrical performances were called “moralities,” “mysteries,” or “miracle-plays,” and a very beautiful example is _Everyman_, which was revived in England and America a few years ago. In the 8th century, Charlemagne’s time, people gathered in the public markets, and the merchants entertained them by shows in which were singing and dancing. The priests forbade these performances because they were coarse and vulgar, but realizing how successful and how much loved they were, they themselves turned actors, built stages in many of the churches, turned the Bible stories into little plays, and added music. Sometimes when there were not enough priests to take part, dolls or puppets were used as in _Punch and Judy_ shows. Isn’t it interesting to think that operas and plays began in the Church? One of the most famous of the church plays was the _Feast of Asses_ in the 11th century. The people did not have means of entertaining themselves as we have, and the Church was the place to which every one went for amusement as well as religion. In the 14th century some plays given in England were: _Fall of Lucifer_, _Creation_, _Deluge_, _Abraham_, _Salutation and Nativity_, _Three Kings_, _Last Supper_, _Resurrection_. The clergy hired minstrels during this period to supply the music. In the 15th century there were also elaborate pageants. The clergy soon saw that the people wanted to take part in the plays, so societies were formed in Paris, Rome, and in England for the people. In England, like in Germany in the 16th century, the guilds (trade-unions) performed plays that were based on religious subjects, although more or less comic. The trade-guild of water-drawers, who delivered water from door to door, liked to give the _Deluge_! The story goes: Mrs. Noah objected to going aboard the ark with her husband and children, because she did not want to leave her friends, “the gossips”; she even tells Noah to get himself another wife, but her son, Shem, forces her into the ark, and when she finally enters, she slaps Noah’s face! The subjects were not always comical, some were beautiful and inspiring, like the _Passion Play_ still given in Oberammergau, Germany, every ten years. MASQUES