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3 results

  • Chapter 11 - Erasmus’s Prophecy

  • from Part IV - The Eurasian Resurgence (starting c. 1500 ce)
  • Steve Tillis, Saint Mary's College of California
  • Book:
    The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre History
    Published online:
    20 February 2026
    Print publication:
    05 March 2026, pp 176-190

  • Summary

    Europe’s recovery and reconfirmation were brought about by a growing and increasingly urbanized population as well as by technological advancements and the “Columbian Exchange” that gave Europe access to American riches. Even as the balance of economic power shifted from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, the humanistic ideology first developed in Italy spread throughout the region and stimulated the emergence of new theatre forms. The theory and practice of commedia erudita (developed from the study of Roman comedy) and commedia dell’arte (Europe’s first fully professional theatre form) were brought together in the spoken theatre that filled new niches for urban commercial theatre in the leading cities of Spain, England, and France. The study of Greek tragedy, meanwhile, prompted the emergence of opera in Italy, even as royal courts in France and England glorified themselves with ballet and court masques, respectively.