Pubblicato in “Early Drama, Art and Music Review”, vol. 24, Fall 2001, 1, pp. 1-21. Medieval Institute Publications Western Michigan University
Throughout the Middle Ages, the ancient stage and acting were the subject of medieval reconstructions which also ispired the illustrators of manuscripts. Scattered comments referring to Roman theatre, mingled with observations from contemporary spectacles, were derived from early medieval glossaries and found their way into the antiquarian definitions of learned humanists. The identity of the actor in the medieval conception of ancient theatre is blurred and influenced by the performances of jesters. This indefinite idea of theatre is also to be caught in the illustrations of the comedies of Terentius and in some XVth century miniatures of the City of God, translated and commented by Raoul de Presles, where the ludi scenici are represented as a court dance or a sort of tournament.