Rhetoric, "performance" and the memory of violence in medieval theater

Without questioning here the genuine and deep beauty of faith, of the religious dimension of the mass, of the tropes, and of the liturgical pieces, the point is to explore a darker side of this beauty, the beauty of pain, the pleasure of sorrow, the joy of suffering. This paper analyses the links which appear between the violence of faith in the light of their connection with three sorts of performance: rhetorical and especially mnemonic performance, theological performance, and musical performance. As soon as memory is integrated into the study of the liturgical drama, it sheds light on the interdependence between image, music, religion, pedagogy, and violence in the aesthetics of faith and in the methods - which are as painful and terrifying as they are beautiful - aiming at making one believe.