In the miracle plays and mysteries staged for the populace, realism was the desired effect.
“In the miracle plays and mysteries staged for the populace, realism was the desired effect. A system of weights and pulleys resurrected Jesus from the tomb and lifted him to a ceiling of clouds. Angels and devils were made to appear magically through trapdoors; Hell opened and closed its monstrous mouth, and Noah’s flood inundated the stage from casks of water overturned backstage while stone-filled barrels turned by cranks resounded with thunder. When John the Baptist was decapitated, the actor was whisked away so cunningly in exchange for a fake corpse and fake head spilling ox blood that the audience shrieked in excitement. Actors playing Jesus sometimes remained tied to the cross reciting verses for three hours.”
Reference
Tuchman, Barbara W. (2011, Aug. 3). “A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century.” Kindle Edition. Chapter 15 The Emperor in Paris, p. 311 of 682, 48%.
