Editing Farce (section)

== Historical context ==
The term ''farce'' is derived from the French word for "stuffing", in reference to improvisations applied by actors to medieval [[Liturgical drama|religious dramas]]. Later forms of this drama were performed as comical interludes during the 15th and 16th centuries.<ref>{{cite book
 | title=The Oxford Companion to English Literature
 | editor1-first=Dinah | editor1-last=Birch
 | edition=7th | publisher=OUP Oxford | year=2009
 | isbn=978-0191030840 | page=1043
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qJoyAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT1043 }}</ref> The oldest surviving farce may be ''[[Le Garçon et l'aveugle]]'' (''The Boy and the Blind Man'') from after 1266, although the earliest farces that can be dated come from between 1450 and 1550. The best known farce is ''[[La Farce de maître Pathelin]]'' (''The Farce of Master Pathelin'') from c. 1460, although, at some 1500 verses long, it is among the most unusual.<ref>{{cite book
 | title=A New History of French Literature
 | editor1-first=Denis | editor1-last=Hollier
 | editor2-first=R. Howard | editor2-last=Bloch
 | publisher=Harvard University Press
 | year=1994 | isbn=0674615662 | page=126
 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nGQOodBVG9YC&pg=PA126 }}</ref> The entire repertoire of typically shorter pieces experienced a heyday in medieval and Renaissance France, where over 200 such comedies survive. Over 70 of these have been translated into English, many of which can be found in these anthologies:

* Axton, Richard, and John Stevens, trans. ''Medieval French Plays''. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1971.
* Boucquey, Thierry, trans. ''Six Medieval French Farces''. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 1999.
* Denny, Neville, ed. and trans. ''Medieval Interludes.'' London: Ginn, 1972.
* Enders, Jody, ed. and trans. ''“The Farce of the Fart” and Other Ribaldries: Twelve Medieval French Plays in Modern English''. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011.
* Enders, Jody. ''“Holy Deadlock” and Further Ribaldries: Another Dozen Medieval French Plays in Modern English''. The Middle Ages Series. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017. 
* Enders, Jody, ed. and trans. ''Immaculate Deception and Further Ribaldries: Yet Another Dozen Medieval French Plays in Modern English.'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2022.
* Enders, Jody, ed. and trans. ''Trial by Farce: A Dozen Medieval French Comedies in Modern English for the Stage. ''  Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2023.
* Mandel, Oscar, trans. ''Five Comedies of Medieval France''. 1970; rpt. Boston and London: University Press of America, 1982. 

Spoof films such as ''[[Spaceballs]]'', a comedy based on the ''Star Wars'' movies, are farces.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=|title=farce|url=https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/farce|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=|website=Vocabulary.com}}</ref>

Sir [[George Grove]] opined that the "farce" began as a [[canticle]] in the common French tongue intermixed with [[Latin]]. It became a vehicle for satire and fun, and thus led to the modern Farsa or Farce, a piece in one act, the subject of which is extravagant and the action ludicrous.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Grove|first=Sir George|title=Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians|publisher=McMillan|year=1908|location=New York|page=8}}</ref>