Plays · Chapter
The Plays of Roswitha explained
This chapter introduces the six plays of Roswitha, a 10th-century nun, focusing on their themes, structure, and dramatic qualities.
What happens
This chapter introduces the six plays of Roswitha, a 10th-century nun, focusing on their themes, structure, and dramatic qualities. It discusses Gallicanus, Dulcitius, Callimachus, Abraham, Paphnutius, and Sapientia, highlighting Roswitha's skill in blending Christian morality with human emotion, her use of comedy and tragedy, and her unique portrayal of martyrdom and repentance. The translator, Christopher St. John, reflects on the challenges of translation and the historical context of the plays.
Themes in this chapter
The War Between Flesh and Spirit
Central to Callimachus, Abraham, and Paphnutius, exploring the struggle between human desires and spiritual purity, with emphasis on penance and redemption.
Martyrdom and Suffering
Prominent in Gallicanus, Dulcitius, and Sapientia, depicting the trials and deaths of Christians under pagan persecution.
Female Agency and Virtue
Constance's shrewdness in preserving her virginity and Sapientia's dignified defiance highlight women's roles in spiritual and moral decisions.
Redemption and Repentance
Explored through Thais's penance and Mary's return to faith, showing the transformative power of contrition.
Characters to notice
- Gallicanus
A general who converts to Christianity after a heavenly intervention in battle, renouncing his betrothal to Constance.
- Paphnutius
A hermit who confronts the harlot Thais and guides her through severe penance, representing spiritual authority and compassion.
- Thais
A harlot who undergoes penance and achieves sainthood, depicted with spiritual depth and irony.
- Callimachus
A lover whose passion for Drusiana leads to tragedy, echoing themes of Romeo and Juliet.
- Drusiana
A woman who dies of grief after Callimachus's confession, later resurrected.
- Abraham
A hermit who rescues his niece Mary from a life of sin, showing compassion and wisdom.
- Mary
A young woman who lapses from religious life but is redeemed through her uncle Abraham's intervention.
- Sapientia
A mother who witnesses the martyrdom of her daughters and prays for death, embodying faith and grief.
Key passages
“Gallicanus, saved from defeat at a critical moment in the battle by the intervention of a heavenly host, becomes a Christian, and on his return to Rome shows respect for Constance’s resolution to remain in the virgin state, and renounces her.”
Gallicanus is converted after angels help him win a battle, and he honors Constance's vow of chastity by giving up his claim to marry her.
Summarizes the conversion and renunciation in Gallicanus.
“The final scene in which Sapientia, having buried the bodies of her martyred children outside Rome, lifts up her soul in an ecstatic prayer for death is described by Magnin as 'a ray of Sophocles shining through a Christian mind.'”
Sapientia's prayer for death after burying her martyred daughters is praised as a Sophoclean moment in Christian drama.
Highlights the dramatic and spiritual power of Sapientia's final scene.
“With true insight Roswitha makes Paphnutius treat his penitent with far more severity than the hermit Abraham treats Mary.”
Roswitha shows Paphnutius being harsher with Thais than Abraham is with Mary, reflecting different spiritual paths.
Contrasts the approaches of Paphnutius and Abraham in their respective plays.
