For
answers to a few of the more commonly asked questions see below.
Why
is it called Morris Dancing?
Let's
make it clear straight away. Morris Dancing isn't named after a person, in fact
nobody really knows for sure were the name came from. There are a few theories
however.
- Early
dancers would often blacken their faces as a form of disguise and at that time
(12th century) the only race of people with dark skins were the Moors of Southern
Spain, hence Moorish Dancers.
- A
popular French dance, the Moresque, was adopted by the court of Henry VII (1494).
This dance rapidly spread around the country and was probably danced in processions.
- The
Latin phrase "Et moris est" roughly translates into "It is the
custom".
Any
one of these, and probably more, could be the explanation - who knows?
Where
does Morris Dancing come from?
To
most people, the term Morris Dancing refers to "those people (or words to
that effect) who dance with bells on the their legs and wave handerchiefs around"
and to some extent this is true, but the word Morris in this context is much broader
than that.
-
The style of morris dancing generally seen in Somerset and danced by Taunton Deane
during the summer dancing season is Cotswold Morris. These dances originated in
the "Cotswolds" a rural area in the Southern Midlands of England. This
is the style most people would recognise as Morris, i.e. sticks, bells and handkerchiefs.
However near Christmas time we can be seen around Taunton, usually on the Saturday
before Christmas, dancing Border Morris. These dances come from the border counties
of England and Wales. Sticks and handkerchiefs are still very much in evidence
but the style and kit are very different.
- Other
styles of dances that tend to come under the collective name of Morris (although
the dancers may not agree!) are Molly Dancing from East Anglia, Clog Morris from
the North-West and Cheshire and Rapper Sword and Longsword dancing from the North-East
of England - definitely no sticks or handkerchiefs there.
Why
do you wave handkerchiefs when you dance?
Difficult
one this. Cecil Sharp in his introduction to "The Morris Book" first
published in 1906 conjectured that the use of handerchiefs evolved from dances
where they were originally linked together in pairs. In English Sword dances this
a main part of the dance. The title page of a pamphlet called "Kemp's Nine
Daies Wonder" published around 1600 shows a dancer, one William Kemp, with
sleeve extensions in the fashion of the time. Could the use of handkerchiefs have
evolved from this? Again - who knows?
What
is the earliest record of Morris Dancing?
Expenses
of a team's kit (not ours!) can be traced back to parish records in 1508. Written
accounts of what is thought to be Morris can be found as early as 1303.
Why
do you wear bells on your legs?
Well,
to wear them anywhere else would look stupid. It was believed that the noise of
the bells (and the clashing of sticks) would frighten away any evil spirits which
may bring bad luck. It must work because we haven't seen any for ages!
If
you would like to delve more seriously into the mysteries of Morris and associated
dancing take look at The Morris Ring Website
What
are you collecting for?
Not
for beer that's for certain. At each club night during the summer dancing season
we do"Rattle the Barrel". Money collected goes to the general running
of the club, kit, etc. If there is an excess we donate to a charity around Christmas
time.
