Anna Arc he he he he he or the etymology of farce

alice wellintown alicewellintown at gmail.com
Tue Nov 29 15:58:23 CST 2011


late 14c., "force-meat, stuffing;" 1520s, as a type of dramatic work,
from M.Fr. farce "comic interlude in a mystery play" (16c.), lit.
"stuffing," from O.Fr. farcir "to stuff," (13c.), from L. farcire "to
stuff, cram," of unknown origin, perhaps related to frequens
"crowded." The pseudo-Latin farsia was applied 13c. in France and
England to praise phrases inserted into liturgical formulae (e.g.
between kyrie and eleison), then in O.Fr. farce was extended to the
impromptu buffoonery among actors that was a feature of religious
stage plays.

see Medieval Drama

especially the Easter Mass wherein music becomes the words spoken



More information about the Pynchon-l mailing list