<P> The boundaries of the early medieval period are a matter of controversy . It is generally agreed that it begins with Augustine (354--430) who strictly belongs to the classical period, and ends with the lasting revival of learning in the late eleventh century, at the beginning of the high medieval period . </P> <P> After the collapse of the Roman empire, Western Europe lapsed into the so - called Dark Ages . Monasteries were among the limited number of focal points of formal academic learning, which might be presumed to be a result of a rule of St Benedict's in 525, which required monks to read the Bible daily, and his suggestion that at the beginning of Lent, a book be given to each monk . In later periods, monks were used for training administrators and churchmen . </P> <P> Early Christian thought, in particular in the patristic period, tends to be intuitional and mystical, and is less reliant on reason and logical argument . It also places more emphasis on the sometimes - mystical doctrines of Plato, and less upon the systematic thinking of Aristotle . Much of the work of Aristotle was unknown in the West in this period . Scholars relied on translations by Boethius into Latin of Aristotle's Categories, the logical work On Interpretation, and his Latin translation of Porphyry's Isagoge, a commentary on Aristotle's Categories . </P> <P> Two Roman philosophers had a great influence on the development of medieval philosophy: Augustine and Boethius . Augustine is regarded as the greatest of the Church Fathers . He is primarily a theologian and a devotional writer, but much of his writing is philosophical . His themes are truth, God, the human soul, the meaning of history, the state, sin, and salvation . For over a thousand years, there was hardly a Latin work of theology or philosophy that did not quote his writing, or invoke his authority . Some of his writing had an influence on the development of early modern philosophy, such as that of Descartes . Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (480 c.--524) was a Christian philosopher born in Rome to an ancient and influential family . He became consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths . His influence on the early medieval period was also marked (so much so that it is sometimes called the Boethian period). He intended to translate all the works of Aristotle and Plato from the original Greek into Latin, and translated many of Aristotle's logical works, such as On Interpretation, and the Categories . He wrote commentaries on these works, and on the Isagoge by Porphyry (a commentary on the Categories). This introduced the problem of universals to the medieval world . </P>

Which of the following is not an example of a typical medieval play