The Morris Dance maintained its grip upon English country life until about a hundred years' ago. The rhythmic leaping and stamping, and the sound of bells and fluttering ribbons and twirling white handkerchiefs, gives to even the most sceptic observer, a whole effect of tremendous vitality, even one of magic and mystery. Despite being discouraged by the Church in its early stages, the young men who dance, flutter ribbons, ring bells and sometimes blacken their faces, have survived in many places to this day moreover, and the Morris Dancers were as familiar to Shakespeare as to, perhaps, a lucky few of us, if we happen to round an unknown square, and find a Team performing outside the Village Pub, on our vacations.
The Cotswold Morris was the most popular form of the dance, but in the Lancashire Morris or Derbyshire and Oxford dances, the men sometimes hold a sword in their right hand form a circle, clashing their swords high above their heads. They would then link up the swords in a weave, or plait, called a "Lock" or "Knot".
In Mediaeval England, the habit of singing whilst dancing was introduced, with the use of two men playing music on fiddles to accompany the dancers. The Sword Dance was most usually performed in the richly-decorative mid-winter season from Michaelmass to Palm Sunday, while the white handkerchiefs or 'slings' were more commonly used from Shrove Tuesday to Pentecost. Much of the character of these Morris dances is given by the twirling handkerchiefs, although the Derbyshire or Lancashire 'slings' were made of a length of raw cotton fibre, stitched into a bag about a foot long and half-inch wide. As the North Country dancers are performing their clog-dance steps, the 'slings' are twirled round by a quick action of the wrist, giving an altogether extraordinary sense of vigour and vitality. On their clogs, the men fasten little bells into the shoe-laces. The traditional costume of black velvet breeches, or breeks, trimmed with white lace, with a white shirt covered with crossed sashes held together with a broad cummerbund, and three strings of beads round the neck, the lower one reaching to the waist, gives the whole experience for the Watcher one of extreme colour, happiness and indeed, sheer joy.
Some dancers held little wooden discs, called "nuts", the size of castanets in their hands, and these they clapped in time to the music, and with a curious rolling gesture tapping further of these wooden "nuts" on their waist and knees, reaching down to the knee disc and then up again to the waist, making a continuous clatter quite barbaric and astonishing in its nature. Today, most people who know the dance at all, would confine these variations to the Cotswold Morris Dance, which distinguishes it from any others. There was from earliest times, however, quite an interchange of dancers from one region to another, to copy the country customs of the Cotswolds, and intertwine different procedures. The Gentry would frequently invite groups of Morris dancers with the accompanying fiddlers to perform in their courtyards with the promise of generous cuts of ham from the rafters, or a cottage loaf, cheese and cider when afterwards they were invited into the great Halls.
Various names were added to the men; Jack-in-the-Green was one, then there was Robin-of-the-Wood, and other semi-mythical characters known as Maid Marian, Friar Tuck and of course, the legendary Hobby Horse, a very ancient relic of early English Morris's. Other heroes later joined these stock-characters, Nelson, Wellington and recently have appeared even Montgomery, Churchill and Mountbatten. Sometimes Jack Straw was taken to the church and left there, made of the very last sheaf of wheat and acclaimed by all the Harvesters, even as late as 1947, to be later burnt on Ash Wednesday and the ashes given away in small twists of paper.
The Derbyshire Morris's, on the other hand, introduced an added element, by the idea of the procession, where the participants wear bells, white clothes and white handkerchiefs, with their hats decorated with feathers to represent the coming of Spring. These processions were often led by a man whose function it was to 'make room' for the following dancers; he carried a broom or 'besom' to sweep to and fro. He was also the custodian of a cake, fragments of which he would sell to the Bystanders. A relic of this has a place today in many ceremonies and a piece of cake, which did at one time have a magical significance of prosperity and fertility, is given to everyone present. This was especially used on Plough Sunday or Rogation Day when the fields and pastures were blessed by the Priest of the Parish.
Of course, besides the Morris Dancers, the country folk were often entertained by visiting bands of Performers giving quite simple Plays in the Market Green, often consisting of well-known Gospel readings, the Annunciation being a most popular one. All the parts were taken by men, even The Virgin Mary, to the often considerable amusement of the Onlookers. The stage was just a plank or two of wood suspended across a box or two for stairs at either end, with a curtain suspended from prop-poles mounted in blocks of wood. The costumes were simply clothes usually worn, with the Angel Gabriel wearing a gold half-mask across the face. The dialogue was more amusing than dramatic, with the Players making their entrance and exit from the 'stage' in full view of the audience, up and down the stairs at each end of the planks. Besides these visiting Mummers, as they were called, bands of Troubadours and Minstrels also roamed the countryside, singing in a rough prose fashion the news of the Realm. For this they received payment-in-kind, perhaps a chicken, fruit, a cottage loaf, cheese, and sometimes a piece of valuable coinage. Often, too, some young people would band together as acrobats, turning backward somersaults and other feats for the amusement of the cottagers, and would then have small coins thrown to them or sweetmeats.
The survival of the Morris Dance in these modern times is because the peasantry still observed many of their old customs and incorporated them in these old steps, long after they were converted to Christianity, and this has continued through the Centuries to our own time.
The cross-back-step, hockle-back-step and wide-back-step jump and leap, with the handkerchief or 'sling' twisted three times by the hand movements, and the whole leg worked from the hip joint to make the bells jingle, through thigh, and knee, and ankle, to shake the bells before the Spectators, and after the jump, alights on the ground with a conclusive ring.g.g, is a very thrilling sight to watch indeed.
It is never too late to give the Morris Dance a trial, and perhaps, a refreshment of our own English traditions. Could there be some potential Morris Men lurking in our congregation at St. George's, who might have a chord struck somewhere and want to start a Team? Father Malcolm, our Parish Priest, may cut the ice and donate some of his very large white handkerchiefs? We might see jumping, stamping and hear the bells ring-g-ging even yet!! So come along!... Hop-back-step!!.......!!
written by Rosemary Goulding
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