Legal theory, legal practice and drama (1200-1600)

Theatre and the law always have a complex relationship. An analysis of French legal sources from the Middle Ages and the early modern period clearly points to the tension between the conceptual and the practical sides of drama. Three main issues will be addressed: codification by the Church, what notarial contracts can and cannot tell us about the 'rise of professional drama', and how imperial and municipal authorities tried to control theatre practice during the Reformation period in the French-speaking Low Countries. The intersection of the legal and the theatrical reveals 'a history' of drama untold in 'the history' of drama.