From sanctulus to sacer. Suggested typology of Jesuit school plays featuring St. John of Nepomuk in the Bohemian province
Abstract
The study analyses a thematic corpus of plays on St. John of Nepomuk, more specifically dramatic texts written in the Bohemian province in the first half of the 18th century.
Based on the treatment of the biographical narrative it divides these dramatic works into four types according to the portrayal of the saint: John as a little boy, as a young man, as a priest and martyr and lastly as a saint. While the plays have the same subject matter, which they loosely adapt and develop, they differ in terms of content and language, depending on the age and level of the actors.
As a didactic part of the curriculum of Jesuit colleges, these texts would improve the rhetorical capability of the students but also support their moral and religious instruction.