The expression "liturgical drama" was formulated in 1834 as a metaphor and hardened into formal category only later in the nineteenth century. Prior to this invention, the medieval rites and representations that would forge the category were understood as distinct and unrelated classes: as liturgical rites no longer celebrated or as theatrical works of dubious quality. This ground-breaking work examines "liturgical drama" according to the contexts of their presentations within the manuscripts and books that preserve them. "This study is the first to bring together a substantial and comprehensive overview of the treatment, from the Middle Ages to the present, of the ceremonies that have, in modern times, come to be seen as 'liturgical drama.' It promises to be a foundational study that helps the reader understand the complex scholarly paths behind this material and challenges the very term 'liturgical drama' itself." Nils Holger Petersen, University of Copenhagen Michael Norton received his doctorate at The Ohio State University and is Associate Professor at James Madison University in Virginia. He combines expertise in music and humanities computing with publishing widely on medieval liturgical drama.