the idea of the theater in latin christian thought

the idea of the theater in latin christian thought

The Idea of the Theater in Latin Christian Thought augustine to the fourteenth century Donnalee Dox the university of michigan press Ann Arbor

Copyright by the University of Michigan 2004 All rights reserved Published in the United States of America by The University of Michigan Press Manufactured in the United States of America c Printed on acid-free paper 2007 2006 2005 2004 4 3 2 1 No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher. A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Dox, Donnalee. The idea of the theater in Latin Christian thought : Augustine to the fourteenth century / Donnalee Dox. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. ISBN 0-472-11423-9 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Theater ome Historiography. 2. Theater History To 500 Historiography. 3. Theater History Medieval, 500 1500 Historiography. 4. Theater eligious aspects Christianity History of doctrines Early church, ca. 30 600. 5. Theater eligious aspects Christianity History of doctrines Middle Ages, 600 1500. 6. Christian literature, Early Latin authors History and criticism. 7. Christian literature, Latin (Medieval and modern) History and criticism. I. Title. PA6074.D695 2004 792'0937'0902 dc22 2004003468

For Cary

Acknowledgments i am indebted to numerous individuals and organizations. Stipendiary fellowships cosponsored by the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities esearch and the Department of Performance Studies and Program in eligious Studies at Texas A&M University covered research expenses, which allowed for the timely completion of the manuscript. I thank Daniel Bornstein, Peter Lieuwen, and James osenheim for their support. Ideas and material that eventually became parts of chapters were accepted for publication as the larger project was taking shape. John Gronbeck-Tedesco (Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism), Blair Sullivan (Viator) and David omán (Theatre Journal) saw early explorations of this material into print. Nils Holger Petersen of the Centre for the Study of the Cultural Heritage of Medieval ituals at the University of Copenhagen sponsored my attendance at the Centre s conference Genre and itual: Traditions and Their Modi cations in 2002, which led to invaluable exchanges with several scholars. Mette Birkedal Bruun, Wim Verbaal, and Jeremy Llewellyn made connections between sources and writers I had overlooked. Their collegiality and scholarly generosity have been exceptional. Several colleagues read and responded to parts of this manuscript in its formative months. I am deeply indebted to Pavel Blazek, then at Charles University, Prague, whose curiosity about the use of Bartholomew of Bruges in theater history set in motion the inquiry that became chapter 4. Comments from Bonnie Kent at the University of California at Irvine and John Christian Laursen at the University of California at iverside were particularly helpful in the re nement of chapter 4. Constant Mews, of Monash University in Mel-

viii Acknowledgments bourne, prompted my more serious consideration of theological contexts for the texts considered here, during the conference Culture and Belief at Monash University in 2001. Constant s intellectual breadth is inspirational. The responses of John O. Ward at the Australia New Zealand Association for Medieval and Early Modern Studies in 2001 and Nancy Struever at the joint conference of the Medieval Academy and the Arizona Center for Medieval and enaissance Studies in 2000 helped give direction to chapter 3. Philipp osemann s enthusiastic response to my paper at the 2001 Texas Medieval Association meeting prompted me to continue working on Augustine. The interest of these collegial and rigorous scholars gave vitality to ideas that might otherwise have languished. For their tireless attention to detail, Joy ichmond and Cathy Dineen deserve much credit for the initial preparation of the manuscript. Christina Francis and Neil Waldrop at the Arizona Center for Medieval and enaissance Studies assisted in the nal stages of its preparation, and I am grateful for their particular areas of expertise. Warren Smith at the University of New Mexico assisted directly with many of the Latin translations, though I take full responsibility for any errors in translation. My sincere gratitude goes to the anonymous readers for the University of Michigan Press. Their criticisms, suggestions, and queries strengthened the manuscript and saved me from many mistakes. From his immediate interest in this topic through the completion of the project, I could not have asked for a more thoughtful, careful, and ef cient editor than Christopher Collins. Sarah Mann patiently answered my numerous questions, even when the answers should have been self-evident. Mary Hashman has my deep appreciation for her kindness and patience. Two constants have sustained the construction of this book. Texas A&M s Department of Performance Studies, under the leadership of Peter Lieuwen, and the collegial environment of the Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities esearch provided excellent circumstances in which to work. The last words of appreciation and they are woefully insuf cient go to Cary J. Nederman. The depth of Cary s commitment to medieval scholarship and intellectual history gave this project a context and, above all, meaning. Day in and day out, Cary has been a source of clarity. For his tolerance for tedium and well-placed provocations, I am grateful beyond measure.

Contents Abbreviations Introduction 1 xi chapter one The Idea of a Theater in Late Antiquity: Augustine s Critique and Isidore s History 11 chapter two Transmission and Transformation: Liturgical Allegory and the Idea of Theater 43 chapter three enaissance and eorientation: Ancient Theater evisited in the Twelfth Century 72 chapter four From Poetics to Performance: The eception and Interpretation of Aristotle s Poetics to the Early Fourteenth Century 95 chapter five Afterword: From Idea to Practice 125 Notes 129 Bibliography 177 Index 191

Abbreviations AL Laurentius Minio-Paluello, ed. Aristoteles Latina. Vol. 33. Brussels: Desclée de Brouwer, 1968. Baur Ludwig Baur, ed. De divisione philosophiae, by Dominicus Gundisalvi. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und Theologie des Mittelalters, vol. 4, nos. 2 3. Münster: Aschendorffschen Buchhandlung, 1903. CCCM Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Medaevalis. Turnhout: Brepols, 1967. CCSL Corpus Christianorum Series Latina. Turnhout: Brepols, 1954. Hanssens Amalarii episcopie opera liturgica omnia. Edited by Johannes Michael Hanssens. 3 vols. Vatican City: Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, 1950. Keats-ohan John of Salisbury. Ioannis Saresberiensis: Policraticus I IV. Edited by K. S. B. Keats-ohan. Corpus Christianorum Continuatio Mediaevalis. vol. 118. Turnhout: Brepols, 1993. Lutz emigius of Auxerre. emigii autissiodorensis commentum in Martianum Capellam Libri I and II. 2 vols. Edited by Cora E. Lutz. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1962 65. Migne PL Jacques-Paul Migne, ed. Patrologia Latina. 221 vols. Paris: Apud Garnier Fratres, 1844 64. Sheridan Alan of Lille. Anticlaudianus; or the Good and Perfect Man. Translated by James J. Sheridan. Toronto: Ponti cal Institute of Mediaeval Studies, 1973.