minstrel: Acting in the Silence

[Steven G. Anderson]

I know that acting survived as a popular form during the so-called
"thousand years of silence" (during which the Catholic Church prohibited
the operation of theaters) in large part due to the improvisational acting
techniques of some kinds of minstrels, especially scops.  Unfortunately,
that's -all- I know on the subject of "improv" in between the closing of
the Roman theaters and the start of the Commedia dell'Arte.  Can anyone
point me toward some good resources on what exactly scops did and/or to
what extent other kinds of minstrels got in on the improvisational action?

Thanks!


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