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Would you be surprised to hear that Morris Dancing can be related to May Day? The dancing even has its own objectors, a man we already met in my May Day article, Puritan, Philip Stubbe. Miserable chap wasn't he? Mr Stubbes's description of Morris Dancers was rather miserable too. He said:
light want on colour...and as though not gawdy enough.....they bedecke them-selves with scarffes, ribbons, and laces. This done they tie about either leg 20 or 40 bells with rich handkerchiefs in their hands..." Philip Stubbes, 1583. Bah Humbug! Despite Mr Stubbs, Morris Dancing has been around in England for years. Its traditions have been handed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Its origins though are not too clear and so we can only guess, based on people's beliefs, where Morris Dancing actually came from. The biggest belief for the beginning of Morris Dancing is that it is based on a luck-bringing ceremony. These Pagan dances were adopted by the church and by the 1500's, dances were being performed for Easter, May Day and other parish feasts. The purpose of these dances was to raise funds for the church. The traditional dress for Morris is that of an all white costume with bells worn on the dancers legs. The white signifies power over darkness and the bells were used to scare the devil out of the ground before planting. Seeing as Morris Dancing was passed through generations of men who have worked the land, there could be some truth in this. By the end of the nineteenth century, many teams of dancers no longer existed. As country life gave way to industry, things linked with country living fell away. Sadly because of this, many Morris dancing traditions were lost and had it not been for historian Cecil Sharp, Morris dancing would have probably died out completely. On Boxing Day 1899, Sharp was visiting a friend and happened to meet the Headington Morris Men out on one of their traditional days for dancing. Fascinated by what he saw, and realising that he had found just one of a few remaining teams, he decided to research and document what was left of Morris Dancing in England. It is solely because of Sharp that some of the dances are known to us today. Dances vary greatly, depending on the location of the teams. Perhaps the most common type of Morris performed is the Cotswold (a region located in the western half of England.) There are several traditions of Cotswold dances and their differences usually lie in the style of the distinctive figures. Some use handkerchiefs and others clash sticks, whilst some dances are precise and some are disorderly.
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The copyright of the article From May Day to Morris Dancing in Kids' British History is owned by Elizabeth Batt. Permission to republish From May Day to Morris Dancing in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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