Pageant Wagons
During the Middle Ages, stages could either be fixed or movable. Because of the processions that made use of pageant wagons was so popular, let's look at these moving theaters! It's a good thing that we were able to travel back in time to see this pageant wagon, because in the year 2010 there are no remaining pageant wagons, or even pictures of pageant wagons! Because of this, scholars and historians can only guess. Do you want to know what the three main guesses are?
1. Some scholars believe that the pageant wagon was a moving stage, carrying everything needed to put on a show! Amazing! An entire show in the confines of a wagon.
2. Other scholars believe that the pageant wagons only carried scenery and costumes to the actual stage. This is a nice though, but not as fun as a theater in a wagon.
3. Another argument holds that the pageant wagons were "floats." Costumed characters rode in processions into the city pantomiming the essence of their play. If this is the case, would this be the world's first parade?
Most discussions about the pageant wagon is based on David Rogers' account. He wrote a manuscript in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century that described pageant wagons as having two stories and six wheels. The lower area would serve as a dressing room and the upper area would serve as the stage. Unfortunately, scholars aren't sure whether to trust his account. First, they aren't sure he ever saw a pageant wagon. Secondly, they would have had to be 15 feet tall and very narrow. Plus, all of the actors would have to fit on the stage. It just doesn't seem very plausible when you think about it, does it?
Glynne Wickham argues that the pageant cart carried the scenic background and served as a dressing room, but the acting itself took place on a scaffold cart that was placed next to the wagon. You can see this in the diagram below.
In any case, every wagon could have been different and made specifically for the play that was being performed. They were built for about 200 years and showed off the wealth of the middle class. I am sure that they were grand and everyone in the town was excited to see them come, whether as a "float" or as a 15-foot-tall theater wagon. Look! There is a pageant wagon over in the distance. I wonder if they are going to perform. Let's hurry over there so we can see what a pageant wagon is and maybe take our observations back to 2010.
1. Some scholars believe that the pageant wagon was a moving stage, carrying everything needed to put on a show! Amazing! An entire show in the confines of a wagon.
2. Other scholars believe that the pageant wagons only carried scenery and costumes to the actual stage. This is a nice though, but not as fun as a theater in a wagon.
3. Another argument holds that the pageant wagons were "floats." Costumed characters rode in processions into the city pantomiming the essence of their play. If this is the case, would this be the world's first parade?
Most discussions about the pageant wagon is based on David Rogers' account. He wrote a manuscript in the late sixteenth or early seventeenth century that described pageant wagons as having two stories and six wheels. The lower area would serve as a dressing room and the upper area would serve as the stage. Unfortunately, scholars aren't sure whether to trust his account. First, they aren't sure he ever saw a pageant wagon. Secondly, they would have had to be 15 feet tall and very narrow. Plus, all of the actors would have to fit on the stage. It just doesn't seem very plausible when you think about it, does it?
Glynne Wickham argues that the pageant cart carried the scenic background and served as a dressing room, but the acting itself took place on a scaffold cart that was placed next to the wagon. You can see this in the diagram below.
In any case, every wagon could have been different and made specifically for the play that was being performed. They were built for about 200 years and showed off the wealth of the middle class. I am sure that they were grand and everyone in the town was excited to see them come, whether as a "float" or as a 15-foot-tall theater wagon. Look! There is a pageant wagon over in the distance. I wonder if they are going to perform. Let's hurry over there so we can see what a pageant wagon is and maybe take our observations back to 2010.
