a drama from the European Middle Ages portraying an event in the life of Jesus. Example: "The York Play of the Crucifixion," a mystery play, 3m.

The most common term referring to medieval plays developed from liturgical drama that treated biblical stories and themes. (They were also known as pageant plays in England, as passion plays when dealing with the Crucifixion of Jesus, and as Corpus Christi plays when performed in conjunction with that particular festival.) Unlike liturgical dramas, which were in Latin, mystery plays were written in the vernacular (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Russian versions exist) and were staged outside the church.

a medieval play representing episodes from the life of Christ

a work-in-progress