Acta Albaruthenica

A Theatrical Analysis of Intermezzi in Jesuit Drama: The Codex of Orsha and the Use of the Vernacular

2025, Issue 25

Alesia Mankouskaya

0009-0008-3520-451X

University College London, United Kingdom

DOI

10.31338/2720-698Xaa.25.10

Publication date

13.02.2026

Submission date

11.06.2025

Acceptance date

13.06.2025

Publishing model

open access

License type

CC BY-NC 4.0 Int.

Field

Dziedzina nauk humanistycznych

Discipline

literaturoznawstwo, językoznawstwo

Language of publication

Belarusian

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Abstract

This article examines early Jesuit drama and intermezzi performed in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, focusing on the Codex of Orsha manuscript and its links to the Polatsk College. It discusses questions of authorship, linguistic variation, and regional attribution, highlighting how vernacular Ruthenian dialects were used in comic scenes to reflect social and cultural identities. By comparing these plays with contemporary Western European examples, the study situates early Belarusian theatre within the broader framework of the European Baroque stage.

Keywords:

Belarusian theatre,Jesuit drama,intermezzi,dialect,Codex of Orsha,Polatsk,Baroque

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