Gerechtigkeitsdiskurse in Passionsspielen des ‚neuen‘ Glaubens:Eine Studie zu den Passionsspielen des Jakob Ruf (1545), des Hans Sachs (1558) und des Hugo Grotius (1608)

Discourses of Justice in the Passion Plays of the ‘New’ Faith:A study about the passion plays of Jakob Ruf (1545), Hans Sachs (1558) and Hugo de Groot (1608)Justice is a European leitmotif that appeals to the imagination. This observation is particularly true for the genre of passion play. Hence, this genre, which originated in Europe in the 12th century, has remained current through the centuries.It remains current in such a way that the Netherlands, a country where church buildings are redeveloped into artists’ studios and discotheques, holds an annual march called ‘the Passion’, which stages Jesus’ sufferings.This dramatised Biblical story of Jesus which reflects injustice and the accompanying suffering from different angles suits well the study of this leitmotif.The study researched three passion plays to investigate how the period of the Reformation and confessionalism influenced – even changed – the leitmotif of justice.The Zurich passion play of 1545 stylizes Jesus as a ‘welfare recipient’, emphasising the just treatment of the poor based on their needs, akin to the treatment of Jesus Himself. The passion play from Nuremberg (1558) by Sachs expresses the criticism that the introduction of the ‘New’ Faith could not ensure that the rich have developed a moral compass; on the contrary, they are exploiting the poor even more. Further, in his renowned 1608 passion play, the famous Hugo de Groot from Leiden poses and addresses a question about justice when Jesus rebels against His fate in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Jesus character ponders, ‘Does it really has to happen?’ and answers ‘Yes, it has to but only with my consent’. This study brings to light the reality that the suffering of Jesus depicted in these three passion plays has, to some extent, become a part of social – rather than religious – history. Moreover, de Groot’s passion play highlights that Jesus refuses to resign to his fate but actively takes on his fate as his mission. The latter stresses the human side of Jesus