As the Catholic Church developed through the 12th and 13th centuries, strict tradition dominated most if not all of the churches ceremonies. The most appear ant being the use of Latin during mass and following the strict and careful elements laid before the members of the clergy during the proceeding. The church followed it’s services by the book and did little to change the fact. This is because the people, or laity, we’re present to observe the clergy rather than a participant role. “This emphasis had the effect of reinforcing the community’s role as witnesses of the sacraments rather than participants in it.” (Madigan 301) As nearly every member of society was illiterate, save the ecclesiarchy, they were left having little to no inclination of what was being recited by the clergy. This left the weekly held worship as a poor tool of religious education. Thus knowledge of the bible and it’s stories, rules, and interpretations was left to being inherited from others passing the knowledge down. At this time drama had begun to pick up speed amongst popular culture and became a strong medium for which the Christian message was transferred.

One of the most important and influential stories in Christian tradition is that of the Annunciation, the Virgin Mary being presented the news that she is to conceive Jesus. Many churches in the 14th century began to adopt the practice of dramatizing key events from the Bible as a way to reinforce the Church’s creed and interpretation of what the Biblical events mean. It became a tradition for Church’s to dramatize the Annunciation on the day itself or during Advent. Doing this was highly effective for educating the laity to what is supposed to actually happen between the primary characters in the Annunciation. Almost all Christians at this point in time understand the basics of the event; but as none actually understand Latin during standard worship are clueless to the real details. Providing the masses with a firsthand visual representation and reading of the event in a language they can understand heavily reinforces the actual encounter Mary had with Gabriel. The people have a real learning opportunity courtesy of the Church, which also serves the clergy in reinforcing their interpretations of the Bibles meanings on the people. One of the highlights of this story to Christians at this time would be to witness Mary’s trust in God when she takes Him on His word that he has a plan in making her mother of Jesus. This can be used to reinforce the basic belief in the laity to trust in God’s divine plans for them so long as they remain faithful to Him.

The dramatization of Genesis 2-3 is quite different from that of Luke 1. Firstly, it is done outside of the Church, typically in a town square or other populated area simply on a stage; however the stage is highly decorated to reflect the beauty of Eden. One of the most interesting features of the directions of the drama is the fact that the stage is set so the actors are only shown from shoulder height up. This is perhaps to take away from movements and possible ‘distractions’ on stage to emphasize that the story is the primary concern of the drama. A key feature of the actual play is the addition of the devil and many other daemons with him, as well as the addition of Adam and Eve being dragged into Hell at the closure. The drama adds a large amount of dialogue between Adam and Eve and the Devil leading up to them finally submitting to temptation. To begin they are strong in their resilience to the Devil, but they eventually succumb. Showing the audience just how persistent the Devil will be in his attempts to lie and trick them all. Hell is also thrown in at the end to show the inevitable fate of those who disobey God. The sole purpose of this representation is to enforce submitting to God’s will, and to show what happens when one tries to rise above what God has planned for them. It also bluntly displays medieval roles of the sexes with God telling Adam “She is subject to your command.” Women’s experience in Christianity could in many circumstances be difficult as this play, under certain interpretation, be taken as blaming Eve for Adam’s downfall and the creation of original sin as she was the first to fall to the Devil’s persuasion.