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According to Prof. Jan Okon, author of a history of the Polish school drama
and theater "Dramat i teatr szkolny", Wroclaw 1970, the tradition of Corpus
Christi plays starts in Poland after Trent, with the jesuits.
In the XVIth c. 33 performances were recorded (about the same number as in
Italy, France, Germany and Bohemia together), in the XVIIth - 80.
Three main types are represented: (1) processional para-theatrical
productions (the oldest in 1569, not after ca 1650),
(2) programs of songs, poems and disputes held in the church or at the four
altars (in Latin, Polish, German, Hebrew or Greek - Poland was at that time
a multi-language commonwealth); the oldest - 1566;
(3) eucharistic dialogues and plays of different genres - allegorical or
narrative, mostly in Polish, the oldest in 1577; produced in colleges, not
during processions.



Dr Andrzej Dabrowka
Uniwersytet Warszawski, Instytut Germanistyki
Browarna 8, PL-00-311 Warszawa