Morality play

Moralities were spectacles with moral or religious character lehrhaftem that were popular in the Middle Ages in Europe. Especially in England ( morality ) and in France ( moralité ) they were extremely popular, but in Germany they were widespread. There were allegorical pieces in which the individual figures vices or virtues represented, for example, lust, avarice, but also charity or mercy.

In this case, these spectacles were by no means dry doctrines, but thoroughly entertaining, sometimes quite hefty representations in which especially the vices were like shown as comic types, which so happened to all kinds of hardships on the stage, to the delight of the audience, and by the virtues were defeated at the end.

A widely used also in Germany was the motive of the man who is suddenly faced with death, and now expects from his servants help. But neither friendship nor money can help him, only faith and his good deeds will accompany him. In English The piece is called Everyman, the German Anyone who is listed in the modernized version of Hugo von Hofmannsthal today every year at the Salzburg Festival.

The morality plays developed in the 15th and 16th centuries from the mystery plays that had emerged in the 14th century.