They acted out of doors and at first scrolls covered with explanatory verse were shown as an accompaniment to the mimes. The actors, called forains, appearing at the great fairs, the Foire de Saint Germain or the Foire de Saint Laurent.
When the Commedia dell'arte spread to France, mime took on greater importance. "The most famous of the Commedia dell'arte characters are Harlequin, Pierrot and Columbine. Italian and Sicilian players were especially adept at this new type of mime play, which was called Commedia dell'arte all'improviso - a comedy improvised by professional actors. Along with these possible descendants came another - Arlechino (or Harlequin), who is supposed to be a memory of the god Mercury. Some authorities believe that the link between the Pappus, Maccus and Bucco of Roman days and the fifteenth-century Pantaloon, Clown and Punchinello is firm and complete. Characters with some similarity to those of the ancient Roman mimes were appearing in a new form. Long before the seventeenth century, Europe had seen the start of a vitally important theatrical movement.
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