03223cam a22003733u 4500 76428 UtSlPG 20260610134753.0 m cr n 260607r20251915utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PQ Sand, Maurice, 1823-1889 The history of the harlequinade, volume 1 (of 2) Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2025 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Translation of the first part of: Masques et bouffons. Release date is 2025-07-02 deaurider and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) "The history of the harlequinade, volume 1 (of 2)" by Maurice Sand is a historical study of theatre and performance written in the early 20th century. The work explores the lineage of the commedia dell’arte—its masks, costumes, improvisational methods, and touring troupes—tracing how figures like Harlequin, Pantaloon, Columbine, and Pierrot developed from ancient mime and Atellane farce through the Italian Renaissance and into French popular theatre. It focuses especially on Harlequin’s iconography, stagecraft, and shifting character, setting the scene for a detailed typology of the classic masks. At the start of this study, the author surveys a long prehistory: Greek mimes and dancers, Roman pantomime and masks, and the use of marionettes, showing how comic performance survived Church prohibitions to re-emerge in medieval and Renaissance Italy. He explains the scenari and improvisation of the commedia dell’arte, the stock roles and regional variants, the acoustics and staging of Renaissance theatres, and the spread of Italian troupes into France, where they influenced fairground stages and the Opéra-Comique amid legal quarrels with established companies. The introduction closes by narrowing the scope to the masks and improvisers themselves. The opening chapter then turns to Harlequin, beginning with a playful first-person monologue that sketches his poverty, gluttony, cowardice, agility, and amorous intrigues, before unpacking his probable descent from ancient phallophores and planipes, the evolution of his black half-mask, patchwork costume, bat, and rabbit-tail emblem, and the shift from simpleton to witty trickster. It culminates with the transformation of the role by the famed actor Domenico Biancolelli, whose lively dancing and invention helped fix the modern Harlequin. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Originally published: London: Martin Secker, 1915 Pantomime Commedia dell'arte Italian drama (Comedy) -- History and criticism Comedy -- History and criticism Harlequin (Fictitious character) https://archive.org/details/historyofharlequ01sanduoft https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/76428 117153 117153