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Many Christians think of the Middle Ages as the “dark ages,” when learning came to a halt and the truths of Scripture were largely lost to the common man and woman. This picture, however, doesn’t take in the medieval church’s great intellectual activity and artistic creativity.

And despite widespread illiteracy, the Bible played an important role in the faith of the ordinary believer. It wasn’t the printed word that imparted the key events and teachings of Scripture, but the visual word: mosaics, paintings, book illuminations, dramas, stained glass, and sculptures.

For those who could read, Bible manuscripts were available in Latin, some containing beautiful “illuminations” or illustrations of Bible stories and characters. Earlier manuscripts were the work of monks, but urban workshops of illustrators developed later when wealthier individuals began to demand their own copies of Bibles and other religious works.

Some of the most well-known examples come from the eighth-century Book of Kells (probably from the island of Iona), which has illustrations of biblical stories as well as portraits of the four evangelists. The Paris Psalter (Psalm book) of the tenth century includes an illustration of David’s repentance.

In the English Winchester Bible (1150–80), Saul’s death in battle is illustrated inside the large capital F, which begins the book of 2 Samuel. In the late Middle Ages, large Bibles and psalters were produced, filled with illustrations of characters and events.

One popular means of showing Bible stories was through drama. Three types were performed.

Mystery plays began as mini-plays that presented biblical topics during Easter. The Creed play, for instance, was divided into twelve pageants, each of which dramatized a phrase from the Nicene Creed; the phrase about forgiveness of sins, for example, was illustrated by the story of the woman taken in adultery.

As these mini-plays became longer and began using local languages (rather than Latin), they were moved to the church steps and yard. Eventually they were performed by theater guilds, lay brotherhoods, and even entire towns.

Subjects were drawn from the Old and New Testaments: the Creation, Adam and Eve, the murder of Abel, and the last judgment. In England, one well-known play was Noyes Fludde (Noah’s Flood). Most mystery plays, however, were grouped around Christ’s life and passion, his resurrection, and his ascension.

Usually these plays kept closely to the biblical narratives, but they sometimes elaborated on scenes such as Balaam and his donkey or the visit of the shepherds to the child Jesus. Some plays were organized into cycles requiring 25 to 50 productions. In France a single play, The Acts of the Apostles, included 494 speaking parts and 61,908 lines of rhymed verse. It took 40 days to perform.

Morality plays were allegories: the characters represented vices, such as greed or gluttony, or virtues, such as truth or temperance. In York, England, the Pater Noster (“Our Father”) play was designed to set forth “the goodness of the Lord’s Prayer,” linking the petitions of the Lord’s Prayer to the seven virtues and the seven deadly sins. The petition, “Give us this day our daily bread,” for example, might have a play illustrating the dangers of sloth, with the point that we shouldn’t take for granted the Lord’s provision.

Miracle plays depicted the lives of saints, some of which were biblical subjects such as Mary Magdalene or the conversion of Paul.

The medieval play could be elaborate. In France and Italy, a drama might take place in the town square on a stage 100 feet wide or in an old Roman theater. Paradise was represented above the stage and hell beneath it, with earthly scenes on the stage itself. In England, these plays were usually performed on wagons by traveling companies. The stage sets used trap doors and other mechanical devices to produce special effects such as flying angels, fire-breathing monsters, floods of water, and realistic-looking crucifixions.

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