Essays on festive drama - plays, pageantry and traditional ceremonies - of the European middle ages, with comparative material. Festive drama, in these studies, includes processions and folk-customs as well as full-blown plays, from Spain, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Britain, Denmark, and Bohemia (now the Czech Republic). The main focus is the middleages, but style and approach are as relevant as time-scale, reflecting a culture in which there are no firm divisions between drama and pageantry and traditional ceremonies. Common themes emerge: the world turned upside-down of Shrovetide; the emotive power of religious celebration; and the links between commerce and the demonstration of civic pride. Festive customs are viewed as hidden agendas of popular culture, and performances are reconstructed. Thisis the obverse of art and power: the means by which the people, not the princes, rule the world. Professor MEG TWYCROSS teaches at the Department of English at Lancaster University. Contributors: PETER H. GREENFIELD, OLGA HORNER, SHEILA LINDENBAUM, CLAIRE SPONSLER, RONALD E. SURTZ, RAFAEL PORTILLO, MANUEL J. GOMEZ LARA, PAMELA M. KING, ROBERT POTTER, JOHN CARTWRIGHT, DAVID MILLS, JAMES STOKES, ALAN E. KNIGHT, MARJOKE DE ROOS, FEMKE KRAMER, TOM PETTITT, LEIF SNDERGAARD, WIM HUESKEN, JEAN-MARC PASTREE, SALLY-BETH MACLEAN, MALCOLM JONES, CHRISTINE RICHARDSON, JARMILA F. VELTRUSKY, JOHN COLDEWEY.

Leonard Cohen was right in the middle of a career peak when he released 1973's LIVE SONGS, which came in between two titanic studio albums, SONGS OF LOVE & HATE and NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY. But since much of the album was recorded during a 1970 tour, it consists mostly of songs from his second album, SONGS FROM A ROOM. An ensemble including Charlie Daniels on fiddle and Jennifer Warnes on backing vocals lends a good amount of oomph to these tunes, but previously unreleased songs like "Queen Victoria" and "Please Don't Pass Me By" (which never made it onto a studio album) are among the most visceral and striking. Cohen would go on to release three more live albums over the years, but this is probably the best.