Thus the _mysteria_ or _miracle play_ originated, and served a double purpose.
"As in ancient Greece, generations before the rise of the great dramas of Athens, itinerant companies wandered from village to village, carrying their stage furniture in their little carts, and acted in their booths and tents the grand stories of the mythology--so in England the mystery players haunted the wakes and fairs, and in barns or taverns, taprooms, or in the farm-house kitchen, played at saints and angels, and transacted on their petty stage the drama of the Christian faith."[29] THE MYSTERY, OR MIRACLE PLAY .-- The subjects of these dramas were taken from such Old Testament narratives as the creation, the lives of the patriarchs, the deluge; or from the crucifixion, and from legends of the saints: the plays were long, sometimes occupying portions of several days consecutively, during seasons of religious festival.

They were enacted in monasteries, cathedrals, churches, and church-yards.

The _mise en scene_ was on two stages or platforms, on the upper of which were represented the Persons of the Trinity, and on the lower the personages of earth; while a yawning cellar, with smoke arising from an unseen fire, represented the infernal regions.

This device is similar in character to the plan of Dante's poem--Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise.
The earliest of these mysteries was performed somewhere about the year 1300, and they held sway until 1600, being, however, slowly supplanted by the _moralities_, which we shall presently consider.

Many of these _mysteries_ still remain in English, and notices of them may be found in _Collier's History of Dramatic Poetry_.
A miracle play was performed to celebrate the birth of Philip II.