The Figure of Judas Iscariot in the Mystery Plays and in the Popular Religious Tradition

The figure of Judas Iscariot, the disciple who betrayed his master, not only played an important role in the Roman Catholic Holy Thursday liturgy, namely the Evening Mass and the Officium tenebrarum, but was also a (negative) protagonist of the mystery plays. The popular religious tradition is also rich in various customs associated with Judas. This overview shows how imaginative the portraits of Judas are, both in the mystery plays and in the popular tradition. He is simply the devil incarnate, the man of damnation.