Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/224

198 of Castelnuovo in Canavese. The present volume consists of a Passion Play, acted by the peasants at the same place in 1835 and 1836. It is printed from a manuscript copied in 1810-11 from an older manuscript. This is supplemented by extracts from other manuscripts which supply omissions or exhibit divergencies. It is introduced by a general account of the play by Count Nigra and a critical commentary by his collaborator. The play was performed in a hay-loft. One of the clergy of the neighbourhood beat the drum (the only representative of an orchestra), officiated as manager and prompter, and announced the various actors as they mounted the stage.

The study of Miracle and Passion Plays is not merely essential to the history of dramatic art; it is also necessary to a right understanding of the mental life of the people. The Passion Play of Castelnuovo, carefully edited, described and commented on as it is in this little book, is an important contribution to our knowledge. The more famous Passion Play at Oberammergau, on the other side of the Alps, has been subjected to influences such as this one never underwent. A comparison of the two is likely to afford a good deal of instruction to students.