What is the setting of Everyman, and Medieval Miracle Plays by ?

Consideration of setting is important to understanding these pageants on a couple of different levels. First, as the editor points out, they were all written and performed in England, a fact which, in very general terms, contributes to the somewhat conservative, narrow theological perspective at work in the plays. Continental Europe, at the time, had a somewhat broader view of Christianity and how its principles might best be lived. On another level, and again as previously discussed, the setting in time of these pageants is also important—specifically, the Medieval Period (1500s), pre-Protestant Reformation, pre-industrialization, and perhaps most importantly, before widespread use of the printing press. In other words, the general public did not have access to a written, printed version of the Bible, meaning that church and these pageants were the most significant way they had of learning about Christianity and faith.