Moralities

Originally the intention was to represent scenes in Scripture history, but gradually they introduced "Moralities" -- fanciful pieces in which God, the Devil, the Virtues, &c., were the dramatis personæ.

History of English Humour, Vol. 1 (of 2) With an Introduction upon Ancient Humour Alfred Guy Kingan L'Estrange 1873

They were termed Moralities because each had its moral, which was spoken at the end of the piece by a person called the Doctor.

Wild Wales : Its People, Language and Scenery 2004

By using these as the personages, in the manner of the early dramas called the Moralities, he is enabled to attack and severely scourge the evil lives and practices of the clergy, and the abuses which had sprung up in the Church, and to foretell the punishment, which afterward fell upon the monasteries in the time of Henry VIII., one hundred and fifty years later:

English Literature, Considered as an Interpreter of English History Designed as a Manual of Instruction Henry Coppee

Gradually there grew up a play in which the places of religious characters were taken by abstract virtues and vices personified, and plays called Moralities were produced.

Song and Legend from the Middle Ages Porter Lander MacClintock 1906

When the new European stage sprung up in the fifteenth century, with its allegorical and religious pieces called Moralities and Mysteries, its rise was uninfluenced by the ancient dramatists, who did not come into circulation till some time afterwards.

Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature August Wilhelm Schlegel 1806

In form they approach most nearly to what was elsewhere called Moralities; allegorical personages are frequent in them.

Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature August Wilhelm Schlegel 1806

Adaptations from classical pieces began to alternate with the purely religious "Moralities"; and an attempt at a livelier style of expression and invention appeared in the popular comedy of "Gammer Gurton's Needle"; while Sackville, Lord

History of the English People, Volume V (of 8) Puritan England, 1603-1660 John Richard Green 1860

a new one, to which they gave the name of "Moralities," and which differed little from the mysteries, except in name.

Handbook of Universal Literature From the Best and Latest Authorities Anne C. Lynch Botta 1853

Paul Krugman should be praised for his January 14, 2011 New York Times column "A Tale of Two Moralities" in which he seeks common ground and ground rules and for non-violent, respectful political debates.

Sheri and Allan Rivlin: Paul Krugman's Two Political Moralities Leave Out the Majority of Americans and Even Our Elected Leaders Sheri 2011

A Tale of Two Moralities in which he seeks common...

Sheri and Allan Rivlin: Paul Krugman's Two Political Moralities Leave Out the Majority of Americans and Even Our Elected Leaders Sheri 2011