Folk dancing, English; Folk music -- England -- History and criticism; Folk songs, English -- England -- History and criticism
Within the memory of some of the oldest dancers the dancing was always
accompanied by singing, and old Master Druce, of Ducklington, told us
that the Morris could not be properly danced without singing. He could,
however, only remember a few of the words of one dance—“The Lollypop
Man.”
The Bampton men gave us a few odd verses of one or two songs, but I am
afraid the real song will never be recovered, for, as one old man put
it to a friend of mine, “the words are too clumsy for girls.”
Miss Gilchrist gave me the words of a Lancashire Morris which we have
often used with very good effect—
“Morris dance is a very pretty tune,
Lads and lassies plenty,
Every lad shall have his lass,
And I’ll have four and twenty.
My new shoone they are so good,
I could dance Morris if I would,
And if hat and coat be dressed,
I will dance Morris with the best.
This is it and that is it,
And this is Morris dancing,
My poor father broke his leg,
And so it was a’chancing.
Bread and cheese and the old cow’s head
Roasted in a lantern,
A bit for me and a bit for you,
And a bit for the Morris dancer.”
Even in this doggerel there are traces of the old sacrificial rite of
animal sacrifice in which the head was considered as the most sacred
part of the animal and much coveted. It was generally awarded to the
victor or victorious side in a fight for its possession.
IV. THE DRESS
The Morris dance dress had two characteristics; it was the holiday
attire of the dancers and it had added to that certain special
ceremonial features. These were bells, ribbons, sticks or swords, and
handkerchiefs.
In the Kingston-on-Thames Churchwardens’ Accounts (1536-37) the dresses
of the Morris dancers are thus described:—They consisted of four coats
of white fustian spangled, and two green satin coats with garters
on which small bells were fastened. In an old tract called “Old Meg
of Herefordshire for a Mayde Marian, and Hereford Town for a Morris
Daunce” (1609), the musicians and the twelve dancers have “long coats
of the old fashion, high sleeves gathered at the elbows, and hanging
sleeves behind: the stuff red buffin striped with white, girdles with
white stockings, white and red roses to their shoes: the one Six,
a white jew’s cap with a jewel and a long red feather: the other a
scarlet jew’s cap with a jewel and a white feather.” Scarves, ribbands,
and laces hung all over with gold rings, and even precious stones
are also mentioned in the time of Elizabeth. Miles, the Miller of
Ruddington, in Sampson’s play, “The Vow Breaker, or the Fayre Maid of
Clifton” (1636), says he is come to borrow “a few ribbands, bracelets,
eare-rings, wyasyters and silke girdle and hand-kerchers for a morris.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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