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Before the 9th century, Latin was the literary language of France. It was not until the end of the 11th century that the first notable works, the chansons de geste, were written in French. The chansons de geste were long poems relating the deeds of Christian knights. In all probability, these poems were invented by jongleurs to entertain pilgrims, or feudal courts. These poems were inspired by French heroes who spent their lives in the service of religion, by Charlemagne, frequently viewed by the French as the Champion of Christianity, and by tales from popular folklore.
In essence, the roots of French literature were planted firmly in the traditions of the informal theater by way of elaborate storytelling and religious pageantry. The evolution of French medieval literature from religious to secular forms emerges through the theater. The drames liturgiques of the 11th century were composed, first in Latin prose, of sentences from the Bible. As a rule, they concerned the nativity and passion of Christ. With the appearance of lay actors during the 12th century, the French language was adopted in the drame secularise, which still employed secular episodes. The scope was extended in the 13th
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century to include miracle plays about the saints and the Virgin Mary. This period also produced the first pastoral play and comic opera, Le jeu de Robin et de Marion. The miracle of the Virgin Mary remained the favorite subject during the 14th century while popular interest in the theater increased, and theater production was freed from ecclesiastical influence.
During this same period, folk plays, secular farces, and pastoral dramas emerged through anonymous authors. All these influenced the evolution of the morality play during the 15th century. Although drawing on Christian theology for theme and characters, the moralities were unlike the early drame secularise, in that they were allegorical, self-contained dramas usually performed by professionals such as the minstrels/jongleurs. The plays generally dealt with the individual's journey and conduct through life. The allegorical characters included such figures as Death, Gluttony, Good Deeds, as well as other vices and virtues. The emergence of the professional actors introduced music and action and exploited comic possibilities in many vice and demon roles to create a popular dramatic form. Although the simple morality
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