Entertainment / Literature / Mystery Play: A religious play performed outdoors in the medieval period that enacts an event from the Bible, such as the story of Adam and Eve, Noah's flood, the crucifixion, and so on. Although the origins are uncertain, Mary Marshall and other early scholars like E. K. Chambers (author of The Medieval Stage, 1903) suggested that the plays developed out of the Latin liturgy of the church, in particular out of the Quem Quaeritis trope of Easter Day festivals. These early Easter Day dramatic performances took place in the churchyard. Later, these plays gradually became secular and used vernacular languages rather than Latin, and they gradually moved out of the churchyard and ecclesiastical control, becoming outdoor performances controlled by the craftsmen in each city, according to this theory. Other scholars such as V. A. Kolve refute this idea, however.
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Mystery Noun Synonyms: detective story or novel, murder (story), whodunit
Mystery Adjective Synonyms: puzzle, enigma, conundrum, riddle, question
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Play Noun Synonyms: amusement, frivolity, entertainment, recreation, fun, pleasure, sport, merrymaking, revelry, tomfoolery, horseplay, skylarking, monkey business, monkey tricks or monkeyshines
Play Verb Synonyms: engage, contend with, compete with or against, challenge, vie with, pit oneself against, take on, rival
Play Adjective Synonyms: amuse oneself, frolic, frisk, cavort, gambol, caper, sport, have fun, have a good time, enjoy oneself, disport (oneself), carouse
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Entertainment / Literature / Mystery Novel: A novel focused on suspense and solving a mystery--especially a murder, theft, kidnapping, or some other crime. The protagonist faces inexplicable events, threats, assaults, and unknown forces or anta MORE
Entertainment / Literature / Corpus Christi Play: A religious play performed outdoors in the medieval period that enacts an event from the Bible, such as the story of Adam and Eve, Noah's flood, the crucifixion, and so on. The word is derived from th MORE
Entertainment / Literature / Mystery Cycle: A collection of mystery plays in a single manuscript meant to be performed sequentially. See discusion under mystery play, below. MORE