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105-637: In the mid 19th century, guisers (mummers) were evidently common in Derbyshire in the week between Christmas and New Year, as can be seen from the notes below , which record around a dozen visits to Winster Hall in the four days 26–30 December 1867. The village of Winster also has a long-established morris dance tradition. Although the first documentary evidence of morris dancing in Winster dates only from 1863, it seems to have been well established by then. The famous pioneering folklorist Cecil Sharp visited

210-447: A 15th-century physician using a golden artifact to heal his patients, their failures were attributed to the fickleness of magic. As for English folktales, some such as Weber argue that they were passed down for the purpose of reflecting the grim realities of a child's life and hence instilled valued English morals and aesthetics. Others such as Tatar would counter that these folktales' fantasies were so removed from reality that they were

315-469: A Morris dance from the notes that had been written down by Ceinwen Thomas on one particular dance that she called Y Gaseg Eira . After this 'original' dance had been pieced back together sides began to create more dances that were 'in the style of' this traditional Nantgarw Morris dance. Many of these new creations, such as Y Derwydd , are now held to be just as much a part of the Nantgarw tradition as

420-615: A brutal outlaw, ballads revelling in his violent retaliation to threats. Robin Hood fought to protect himself and his group the Merry Men , regardless the class, age, or gender of their enemy. In stories such as ' Robin Hood and the Widow's Three Sons ' and ' The Tale of Gamelyn ', the joyful ending is in the hanging of the sheriff and the officials; in ' Robin Hood and the Monk ' , Robin Hood kills

525-421: A certain weight to the stick bag, if not the proceedings. The sticks are held skiing -fashion (as in downhill , not slalom or cross-country) and are brought up in front of the face to clash. It was being danced by 1984. Previously known as Y Gamel (The Camel ) until it was renamed after the tune it is danced to. There are only eight sticks in this dance and no clashing except in the chorus. The dance pattern

630-454: A child was happy, healthy, and good. English folklore also included beliefs of the supernatural , including premonitions , curses , and magic , and was common across all social classes. It was not regarded with the same validity as scientific discoveries, but was made to be trusted by the repeated accounts of a magician or priest's clients who saw the ritual's spectacle and so believed in its efficacy. Even when such rituals failed, such as

735-489: A continuous lineage of tradition within their village or town: Abingdon (their Morris team was kept going by the Hemmings family), Bampton , Headington Quarry , and Chipping Campden . Other villages have revived their own traditions, and hundreds of other teams across the globe have adopted (and adapted) these traditions, or have created their own styles from the basic building blocks of Morris stepping and figures. By

840-620: A degree that makes them largely twentieth-century inventions as well. Some traditions have been reconstructed in several strikingly disparate ways; an example would be Adderbury, danced very differently by the Adderbury Morris Men and the Adderbury Village Morris. The North West tradition is named after the North West region of England and has always featured mixed and female sides, at least as far back as

945-409: A demon. Lob , also called loby, looby, lubbard, lubber, or lubberkin, is the name given to a fairy with a dark raincloud as a body. It has a mischievous character and can describe any fairy-like creature from British folklore. It can be confused with Lob Lie-By-The-Fire , a strong, hairy giant which helps humans. Beowulf is an anonymous Old English historical epic of 3182 lines which describes

1050-630: A form of disguise , or a reference either to the Moors or to miners; the origins of the practice remain unclear and are the subject of ongoing debate . In June 2020 the Joint Morris Organisation called for the use of black makeup to be discontinued, in response to the Black Lives Matter movement. Groups that used face paint changed to blue, green, or yellow and black stripes. The earliest (15th-century) references place

1155-524: A form of escapism, imaginative expression, and linguistic appreciation. Most folklorists would agree that the purpose of English folklore is to protect, entertain, and instruct on how to participate in a just and fair society. Folklorists have developed frameworks such as the Aarne–Thompson-Uther index which categorise folktales first by types of folktales and then by consistent motifs. While these stories and characters have differences according to

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1260-693: A founder of the Espérance Club (a dressmaking co-operative and club for young working women in London), and Herbert MacIlwaine, musical director of the Espérance Club. Neal was looking for dances for her girls to perform, and so the first revival performance was by young women in London. In the first few decades of the 20th century, several men's sides were formed, and in 1934 the Morris Ring

1365-473: A game of hide-and-seek during her wedding breakfast, hid in a chest in an attic and was unable to escape. She was not discovered by her family and friends, and suffocated. The body was allegedly found many years later in the locked chest. Standing stones are man-made stone structures made to stand up. Some small standing stones can also be arranged in groups to form miniliths. Similar to these geological artefacts are hill figures . These are figures drawn into

1470-410: A holed stone or adder stone, is a type of stone, usually glassy, with a naturally occurring hole through it. Such stones have been discovered by archaeologists in both Britain and Egypt. In England it was used as a counter-charm for sleep paralysis , called hag-riding by tradition. A petrifying well is a well which, when items are placed into it, they appear to be covered in stone. Items also acquire

1575-538: A lasting impact on English culture , literature , and identity . Many of these traditional stories have been retold in various forms, from medieval manuscripts to modern films and literature. To this day, traditional folk festivals such as May Day , Plough Monday , Bonfire Night , Allhallowtide , and Harvest festival continue to be practised. Morris dancing , Mummers' plays , and Maypole dancing remain popular forms of folk traditions, often depicting or echoing themes or stories from English folklore. Before England

1680-429: A long stick like the handle of a brush or rake, the other with a besom broom (blurred). The one with the stick wears white trousers, a dark jacket and a top hat; his face is disguised, perhaps by a mask or possibly wrapped in cloth. The other has a dark jacket and a flat-topped, ornate hat that looks like a smoking cap ; he may be wearing a mask or perhaps a painted-on beard; his legs cannot be seen. Next to them stands

1785-413: A malevolent genius loci inhabiting fields, marshes or other topographical features. The household boggart causes objects to disappear, milk to sour, and dogs to go lame. They can possess small animals, fields, churches, or houses so they can play tricks on the civilians with their chilling laugh. Always malevolent, the boggart will follow its family wherever they flee. In Northern England, at least, there

1890-585: A monk and his young helper. Paradoxical to English values of strict adherence to the law and honour, Robin Hood was glorified in ballads and stories for his banishment from society. Robin Goodfellow , or Puck, is a shape-changing fairy known for his tricks. Since some English superstition suspected that fairies were demons, 17th century publications such as 'Robin Good-Fellow, his Mad Prankes and Merry Jests' and 'The Anatomy of Melancholy' portrayed him as

1995-626: A moral imperative stemming from Christian values . They frequently explore the relationship between humans and the natural world, as seen in the legends of the Green Man or Herne the Hunter , or the consequences of human actions, as illustrated in tales like the Lambton Worm . Additionally, English folklore has been influenced by historical events, such as the witch trials of the early modern period, which are reflected in stories like that of

2100-598: A number of traditions which have been collected since the mid-twentieth century, though few have been widely adopted. Examples are Broadwood, Duns Tew, and Ousington-under-Wash in the Cotswold style, and Upper and Lower Penn in the Border style. In fact, for many of the "collected" traditions in Bacon, only sketchy information is available about the way they were danced in the nineteenth century, and they have been reconstructed to

2205-464: A paler, long-sleeved garment. The other "musician" is more smartly dressed, in top hat, a long riding jacket, breeches, tight, knee-length socks or gaiters and polished shoes. He has what appears to be a false beard and bushy eyebrows. The performance may have been arranged by Llewellynn Jewitt, who lived at the hall between 1868 and 1880. In 1931, Stanley Evans ("Folk Dancing in Derbyshire", Derbyshire Countryside , vol 1, no 2, April 1931, p29) suggested

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2310-409: A rather matronly woman in a long apron; she has no facial disguise and is possibly a member of the household staff rather than a performer; another smartly dressed person, also possibly a servant is looking out of the house through a window in the door. Another character wears a rather voluminous, tattered, long, dark dress with pale sleeves (or a pale blouse under it) and a top hat . Busily brushing

2415-428: A side performing it. This is the first of three dances which conform to a standard pattern; which can, with a little care, be memorised and need, therefore, no calling. Like Y Gaseg Eira it is a handkerchief dance. The current practise with the music is to use hornpipe time , which lends a lilt to the dance that some people find attractive. It had been added to the Nantgarw repertoire by 1984. Sixteen sticks lend

2520-531: A single local festival or event (such as the Abram Morris Dancers ), the majority of teams now rehearse throughout the year, with the majority of performances occurring in the spring and summer. The dances themselves were often called 'maze' or 'garland dances' as they involved a very intricate set of movements in which the dancers wove in and out of each other. Some dances were performed with a wicker hoop (decorated with garlands of flowers) held above

2625-467: A skull) dug up for the purpose, but does not say whether it was associated with the morris. It seems he did not see them himself, and his account published in 1924, long after his visit to Winster, is confusing. In 1966, Winster morris dancers stated that there had never been a hobby horse associated with their morris, but that there had been a separate horse ceremony involving a skull that was reburied each year. It seems possible that Sharp's "Snap Dragon" and

2730-566: A tabret". In 1600, the Shakespearean actor William Kempe Morris danced from London to Norwich , an event chronicled in his Nine Daies Wonder (1600). Almost nothing is known about the folk dances of England prior to the mid-17th century. While it is possible to speculate on the transition of "Morris dancing" from the courtly to a rural setting, it may have acquired elements of pre-Elizabethan (medieval) folk dance, such proposals will always be based on an argument from silence as there

2835-485: A tendency to truncate the second double step and leap straight into the capers, leading to a loss of balance and poise. The hand movements are straight up-and-down, with Adderbury -style circular movements at waist level for the capers. In the 'chipping' sequences in Y Gaseg Eira and Hunting the Hare the arms are raised in turn and in time with the single stepping which accompanies it. Morris dancing has been practiced in

2940-404: A term used to refer to male and female healers, magicians, conjurers, fortune-tellers, potion-makers, exorcists, or thieves. Such people were respected, feared and sometimes hunted for their breadth of knowledge which was suspected as supernatural. The wild hunt was a description of a menacing group of huntsmen which either rode across the sky or on lonely roads. Their presence was a hallmark of

3045-451: A tradition, but the original Nantgarw dance, Y Gaseg Eira , is considered to be a dance for the Welsh sides. Consequently, it is often performed by the sides Isca Morris and Cardiff Morris. It was members of Cardiff Morris who developed the modern Nantgarw dances and so they are the most common performers of these dances. It has been pointed out that there are "obvious" similarities between

3150-560: Is a combination of Odysseus ' Argos and Hades ' Cerberus from Greek mythology , and Fenrir from Norse mythology . The first collection of sightings of the black dog around Great Britain, Ethel Rudkin's 1938 article reports that the dog has black fur, abnormally large eyes, and a huge body. The black dog is a common motif in folklore and appears in many traditional English stories and tales. They often denote death and misfortune close at hand and appear and disappear into thin air. A boggart is, depending on local or regional tradition,

3255-537: Is a folk explanation of strange, flickering lights seen around marshes and bogs . Some perceive them as souls of unbaptized infants which lead travellers off the forest path and into danger, while others perceive them as trickster fairies or sprites . King Arthur is the legendary king of the Britons, the Once and Future King and True Born King of England. The origins of King Arthur and his exploits are vague due to

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3360-703: Is associated with Plough Monday , is a parodic form danced in work boots and with at least one Molly man dressed as a woman . The largest Molly Dance event is the Whittlesea Straw Bear Festival , established in 1980, held at Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire in January. There is also Stave dancing from the south-west and the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance . English folklore English folklore consists of

3465-499: Is based on rhythmic stepping and the execution of choreographed figures by a group of dancers in costume, usually wearing bell pads on their shins and/or shoes. A band or single musician, also costumed, will accompany them. Sticks, swords, handkerchiefs, and a variety of other implements may be wielded by the dancers. Morris dancing first appeared in England in the 15th century . Its earliest surviving mention dates to 1448 and records

3570-421: Is correct and Snap Dragon was made from a horse's skull, the photograph may show one such "conjoined" team of guisers. Jewitt also seems to have seen several different hobby horses and two different Snap Dragons (the Winster one and another) during these four days, as it is unlikely he would have paid the same team twice in two days. Morris dance Morris dancing is a form of English folk dance . It

3675-486: Is depicted differently according to where he is engraved and who carves him; on a church he may symbolise either inspiration or lust, or he may symbolise an ancient protector of travellers in a forest. The phrase originated from 'whifflers' who dressed in leaves or hair to make way for processions during pageants from the 15th to 18th centuries. There was a belief that those born at the chime hours could see ghosts. The time differed according to region, usually based around

3780-569: Is first recorded in English in the mid-15th century as Morisk dance , moreys daunce , morisse daunce , i.e. 'Moorish dance'. The term entered English via Flemish mooriske danse . Comparable terms in other languages include German Moriskentanz (also from the 15th century), French morisques , Croatian moreška , and moresco , moresca or morisca in Italy and Spain. The modern spelling Morris-dance first appears in

3885-422: Is identical to that of Hunting the Hare, even down to the half-heys in the chorus, except that the corner figures are completely replaced with Stars. It was put together in 1991. This is a stick dance based around circular hays. This is a processional dance. Unlike the other dances which take place in one location this dance takes the dancers from one place to another. It takes its name from an old Welsh carol,

3990-688: Is no direct record of what such elements would have looked like. In the Elizabethan period, there was significant cultural contact between Italy and England, and it has been suggested that much of what is now considered traditional English folk dance, and especially English country dance , is descended from Italian dances imported in the 16th century. By the mid 17th century, the working peasantry took part in Morris dances, especially at Whitsun . The Puritan government of Oliver Cromwell , however, suppressed Whitsun ales and other such festivities. When

4095-536: Is often a supernumerary "character", who dances around, outside, and inside the set. The English mummers play occasionally involves Morris or sword dances either incorporated as part of the play or performed at the same event. Mummers plays are often performed in the streets near Christmas to celebrate the New Year and the coming springtime. In these plays are central themes of death and rebirth. Other forms include Molly dance from Cambridgeshire . Molly dance, which

4200-490: Is performed almost exclusively by girls and women in Lancashire, Cheshire and parts of North Wales. Performances typically take place in sports halls and community centres and participants more closely align with British carnival performances such as jazz kazoo marching bands, entertainer troupes and majorettes, than with the morris performances of the folk revival. In 2005, playwright Helen Blakeman staged 'The Morris' at

4305-554: Is said that the dance found its way to the area through Cornishmen who migrated to work in the Rossendale quarries. Carnival morris dancing shares a parallel history with North West morris dancing but began to evolve independently from around the 1940s onwards. It remains extremely popular with upwards of 8000 current dancers. Girls' carnival morris dancing is highly competitive and characterised by precise, synchronous routines with pom-poms (or 'shakers') executed to pop music. It

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4410-400: Is the sword dance tradition, which includes both rapper sword and longsword traditions. In both styles the "swords" are not actual swords, but implements specifically made for the dance. The dancers are usually linked one to another via the swords, with one end of each held by one dancer and the other end by another. Rapper sides consist of five dancers, who are permanently linked-up during

4515-965: Is the hub for Morris dancing in the Midwest , with 6 teams in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area and 9 teams in the whole of Minnesota. Dancing the sun up on May Day is an important activity for many American Morris dance teams. Today, there are six predominant styles of Morris dancing, and different dances or traditions within each style named after their region of origin. Lionel Bacon records Cotswold Morris traditions from these towns and villages: Abingdon , Adderbury , Ascot-under-Wychwood , Badby , Bampton , Bidford, Bledington , Brackley , Bucknell , Chipping Campden , Ducklington , Eynsham , Headington Quarry , Hinton-in-the-Hedges , Ilmington , Kirtlington , Leafield (Field Town), Longborough , Oddington , Sherbourne, Stanton Harcourt , Upton-upon-Severn and Wheatley . Bacon also lists

4620-402: Is unknown). Robin Hood was a vicious outlaw who expressed the working-class' disenchantment with the status quo. Through Robin Hood, the forest (called the "greenwood" by folklorists) transformed from the dangerous, mystical battleground of Arthur to a site of sanctuary, comradery, and lawlessness. Rather than a philanthropic thief of the rich, Robin Hood's tales began in the 15th century as

4725-562: Is widely regarded as the starting point for the Morris revival. Cecil Sharp was visiting at a friend's house in Headington , near Oxford, when the Headington Quarry Morris side arrived to perform. Sharp was intrigued by the music and collected several tunes from the side's musician, William Kimber , including Country Gardens . A decade later he began collecting the dances, spurred and at first assisted by Mary Neal ,

4830-582: The Green Man and Black Shuck . These tales and traditions have been shaped by the historical experiences of the English people, influenced by the various cultures that have settled in England over centuries, including Celtic , Roman , Anglo-Saxon , Norse , and Norman elements. The stories within English folklore often convey themes of justice, loyalty, bravery, and the supernatural, and often contain

4935-609: The Joint Morris Organisation , organises joint events and discusses issues that affect all members, such as access to both public liability and personal insurance cover. The United Kingdom experienced a revival in folk dancing and Morris dancing in the 1960s. In Wales this meant, in part, a resurgence in interest in the Nantgarw tradition from sides who were looking for Welsh dances to add to their English ones. Cardiff Morris Men began piecing together

5040-555: The Pendle witches . During the Renaissance in the 16th century, England looked to more European texts to develop a national identity. English folklore has continued to differ according to region, although there are shared elements across the country. The folktales, characters and creatures are often derived from aspects of English experience, such as topography , architecture , real people, or real events. English folklore has had

5145-691: The Wild Hunt which originates from wider Europe, and Herne the Hunter which relates to the Germanic deity Woden . The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance may represent a pre-Christian festival and the practice of Well dressing in the Peak District , which may date back to Anglo-Saxon or even Celtic times. May Day celebrations such as the Maypole survive across much of England and Northern Europe . Christmas practices such as decorating trees ,

5250-463: The myths and legends of England , including the region's mythical creatures , traditional recipes , urban legends , proverbs , superstitions , dance , balladry , and folktales that have been passed down through generations, reflecting the cultural heritage of the country. This body of folklore includes a diverse array of characters, such as heroic figures like Beowulf or Robin Hood , legendary kings like Arthur , and mythical creatures like

5355-495: The 17th century. In Edward Phillips's The New World of English Words , first published in 1658, the term morisco was referenced as both "a Moor" and "the Morris dance, as it were the Moorish dance", while John Bullokar defined it in 1695 as "a certain dance used among the Moors; whence our Morris dance". It is unclear how the dance came to be referred to as Moorish, "unless in reference to fantastic dancing or costumes", i.e.

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5460-490: The 18th century. There is a picture of Eccles Wakes painted in 1822 that shows both male and female dancers. Historically, most sides danced in various styles of shoes or boots, although dancing in clogs was also very common. Modern revivalist sides have tended more towards the wearing of clogs. The dances were often associated with rushcarts at the local wakes or holidays, and many teams rehearsed only for these occasions. While some teams continue to rehearse and dance for

5565-467: The English revival in the 19th century. During the English folksong revival , English artists scrambled to compose a national identity consisting of England's past folksongs and their contemporary musical influences. Authors such as Francis James Child , Arthur Hugh Clough , and Chaucer made English folksong supranational due to the willingness to import other languages' words, pronunciations, and metres. Other examples of non-Christian influences include

5670-506: The Grimm brothers collected were integrated into the English school curriculum throughout the 19th century as educators of morality. Although English folklore has many influences, its largest are Christian, Celtic and Germanic. Non-Christian influences also defined English folklore up to the eleventh century, such as in their folksongs, celebrations and folktales. An example is the 305 ballads collected by Francis James Child published during

5775-551: The Liverpool Everyman, inspired by her childhood experience as a carnival morris dancer. In 2017, an exhibition of photographs taken at a carnival morris dancing competition in Southport by artist, Lucy Wright was presented at Cecil Sharp House. The term "Border Morris" was first used by E. C. Cawte in a 1963 article on the Morris dance traditions of Herefordshire , Shropshire and Worcestershire : counties along

5880-548: The Morris Ring (this has now changed), two other national (and international) bodies were formed, the Morris Federation and Open Morris . All three bodies provide communication, advice, insurance, instructionals (teaching sessions) and social and dancing opportunities to their members. The three bodies co-operate on some issues, while maintaining their distinct identities. An umbrella body that includes all three,

5985-456: The Morris dance in a courtly setting. The dance became part of performances for the lower classes by the later 16th century. Henry VIII owned a gold salt cellar which depicted a Morris dance with five dancers and a "tabrett". A "tabret" is a small tabor drum. On 4 January 1552, George Ferrers , the Lord of Misrule of Edward VI , put on a show in London which included "mores danse, dansyng with

6090-855: The United States since at least 1908, although an article published by the Country Dance and Song Society points to 1910 as the year Morris dancing truly took off in America. The primary organization supporting Morris Dance in the US is the North American Morris Dance Organization, which is affiliated with the Country Dance and Song Society as well as the Morris Ring, Morris Federation, and Open Morris. British-American musician and folklorist Tony Barrand

6195-670: The United States. English immigrants form a large part of the Morris tradition in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and Hong Kong . There are relatively isolated groups in other countries, for example those in Utrecht and Helmond , Netherlands; the Arctic Morris Group of Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden; as well as in Cyprus and St Petersburg, Russia. Throughout its history, the Morris seems to have been common. It

6300-603: The Welsh Nantgarw style of Morris dance and the English Lichfield style of Morris dance. It is known that there were potteries in Nantgarw and these were largely staffed by workers from Staffordshire where Lichfield Morris was danced. This handkerchief dance has a pattern entirely peculiar to itself and was the first Nantgarw dance to see the light of day with the Cardiff Morris. The name of

6405-548: The West Country, from Malvern to Bicester and from Redditch to Moreton in Marsh . By 1910, he and Cecil Sharp were in correspondence on the subject. Several English folklorists were responsible for recording and reviving the tradition in the early 20th century, often from a bare handful of surviving members of mid-19th-century village sides. Among these, the most notable are Cecil Sharp and Mary Neal . Boxing Day 1899

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6510-490: The adventures of its titular character, prince Beowulf of Geats . The story goes that Beowulf slays Grendel , a monster who has tormented the hall of Hrothgar King of the Danes for twelve years. Grendel's mother seeks to gain revenge and Beowulf slays her also, after which Beowulf becomes king of the Danes himself. After 50 years, Beowulf's people are tormented by a dragon and Beowulf dies while slaying her. Original speculation

6615-451: The border with Wales. Characteristics of the tradition as practised in the 19th and early 20th centuries include: blackface or coloured facepaint (in some areas), use of either a small strip of bells (in some areas) or no bells at all (in others), costume often consisting of ordinary clothes decorated with ribbons, strips of cloth, or pieces of coloured paper (known as 'raggies'); or sometimes "fancy dress", small numbers of traditional dances in

6720-400: The branches of trees about to bloom to symbolise the birth of new life. Eventually the flowers were replaced with ribbons and May day became a day for celebration and dancing in which a May queen and sometimes a May king would be crowned to also symbolise fertility. A parish ale is a type of party in the parish usually held to fundraise money for a particular purpose. Plough Monday

6825-646: The countryside by digging into the ground and sometimes filling it in with a mineral of a contrasting colour. Examples are the Cerne Abbas Giant , the Uffington White Horse , and the Long Man of Wilmington and are the focus for folktales and beliefs. The Green Man is a description originating in 1939 which describes the engraved sculpture of a face with leaves growing from it in English architecture. His presence symbolises nature, but he

6930-530: The crown was restored by Charles II , the springtime festivals were restored. In particular, Whitsun Ales came to be celebrated on Whitsunday ( Pentecost ), as the date was close to the birthday of Charles II. A regional reference occurs in Horsham , Sussex in 1750. Morris dancing continued in popularity until the Industrial Revolution and its accompanying social changes. Four teams claim

7035-486: The dance is a Welsh idiom for a very large snowball , and it is so named because at one point in the dance the hand waving movements resemble the movements of somebody rolling a large snowball. This is the original Nantgarw dance and was being danced by Cardiff Morris by 1974. An article in the Welsh Folk Dance Magazine published in 1959 featured an article on this dance along with a photograph of

7140-436: The dance. The rapper sword is a very flexible strip of spring-steel with a wooden handle at each end. The longsword is about 2'6" (0.8 metres) long, with a wooden handle at one end, a blunt tip, and no edge. Sometimes ribbons are threaded through a hole in the tip of the sword, and the dancers grab on to them during the course of the dance. Longsword sides consist usually of five to eight dancers. In both rapper and longsword there

7245-419: The dancer's head. Some dancers were also associated with a tradition of mumming and hold a pace egging play in their area. The Britannia Coconut Dancers , named after a mill not far from Bacup , are unique in the tradition, in that they used sawn bobbins to make a noise, and perform to the accompaniment of a brass ensemble. They are one of the few North West Morris groups that still black up their faces. It

7350-632: The deliberately "exotic" flavour of the performance. The English dance thus apparently arose as part of a wider 15th-century European fashion for supposedly "Moorish" spectacle, which also left traces in Spanish and Italian folk dance . The means and chronology of the transmission of this fashion is now difficult to trace; the London Chronicle recorded "spangled Spanish dancers" performed an energetic dance before King Henry VII at Christmas in 1494, but Heron's accounts also mention " pleying of

7455-410: The folktale types of English folklore. Dragons are giant winged reptiles that breathe fire, poison and acid. They are usually associated with treasure rooms, waterfalls, and hollowed out tree stumps. A Wyvern is a smaller relative of dragons with two legs rather than four. It also has smaller wings and cannot breathe fire. The black dog is a creature which foreshadows calamity or causes it. It

7560-399: The ground with a besom broom, "she" is reminiscent of the character Besom Bet who appears in some mummers plays or the Winster morris Witch. The last two characters, on the outer edges of the group, are playing rough music on bladder fiddles . One has his face disguised with a simple (cloth?) mask and wears a peaked cap. He wears white trousers, and possibly a dark, sleeveless jerkin over

7665-406: The harvest, or a way to mock nearby farms which had not yet collected their harvest. There has been a recent resurgence in their creation led by Minnie Lambeth in the 1950s and 1960s through her book A Golden Dolly: The Art, Mystery, and History of Corn Dollies . A superstition among children was that, if the first word uttered in the month was " Rabbit !", then that person would have good luck for

7770-551: The horse ceremony recalled by the morris men are the same custom that is shown in the Winster Hall photograph. In 1867 Jewitt recorded several visits to Winster Hall by groups of traditional performers (some being children, others men): 'guisers', 'mummers', the 'hobby horse' and 'Snap Dragon'. Jewitt differentiates between 'Snap Dragon' and 'Hobby Horse(s)' but does not describe how they were made, or how they differed, but implies that they did not always go out together. If Sharp

7875-424: The house between 1868 and 1880) shows a possibly unique midwinter custom involving three hobby horses. (The picture appears to have been taken in winter, as the climbing plants on the wall are leafless.) Eight or nine performers are involved; all (bar one?) have facial disguise. It has been claimed to be the oldest known photograph of a group of mummers or guisers. Two men wearing military-looking jackets, buttoned to

7980-702: The house if their gifts are called payments, or if the owners of the house misuse them. Brownies make their homes in an unused part of the house. A dwarf is a human-shaped entity that dwells in mountains and in the earth, and is associated with wisdom, smithing, mining, and crafting. The term had only started to be used in the 19th century as a translation for the German, French, and Scandinavian words which describe dwarfs. Ogres are usually tall, strong, violent, greedy, and remarkably dull monsters and they originate from French culture. In folktales they are likely to be defeated by being outsmarted. The Will-o'-the-wisp

8085-531: The late 19th century, and in the West Country at least, Morris dancing was fast becoming more a local memory than an activity. D'Arcy Ferris (or de Ferrars), a Cheltenham-based singer, music teacher and organiser of pageants, became intrigued by the tradition and sought to revive it. He first encountered Morris in Bidford and organised its revival. Over the following years he took the side to several places in

8190-474: The legs removed). The horsemen are faceless: their heads are wrapped in light-coloured cloth. The performers are grouped around a "mast horse" with a shiny black head made from a skull (with ears attached and a large eyeball in its white-painted eye socket) set on a short pole. It is operated by a person who crouches under a blanket, attached to the back of the skull, that hides most of the pole. Behind this horse are two men who seem to be threatening it, one with

8295-693: The many reproductions of his character. The Historia Brittonum and the Annales Cambriae reference many battles of an Arthur, Annales Cambriae also referencing Mordred , a rival, and Merlin , a wise mentor. Although these sources have been used as proof for Arthur's origins, their credibility has been disputed as mythology rather than history. As English folklore has progressed, King Arthur's retellings have been classified into romances such as Malory 's Morte Darthur , chronicles such as Geoffrey 's Historia Regum Britanniae , and fantasies such as Culhwch ac Olwen (whose author

8400-456: The mourice dance " four days earlier, and the attestation of the English term from the mid-15th century establishes that there was a "Moorish dance" performed in England decades prior to 1494. An alternative derivation from the Latin mos , moris (custom and usage) has also been suggested. It has been suggested that the tradition of rural English dancers blackening their faces may be

8505-429: The neck, and white trousers stand astride small hobby horses of an apparently unique design: a cylindrical body, "about three inches diameter and two feet long", held between the rider's legs (supported at the front by a cord or narrow strap around the rider's neck), with a flat, curved wooden neck and a small, stylised head with snapping jaws (apart from their mouths, the horses look almost like simple rocking horses with

8610-484: The original dance. Today there are five Morris dances that are commonly recognised as being a part of the Nantgarw tradition. The five dances in the Nantgarw tradition include: Y Gaseg Eira (The Snow Mare ), Hela'r Sgwarnog (Hunting the Hare ), Ty Coch Caerdydd (Red House of Cardiff), Y Derwydd (The Druid ) and Y Goron (The Crown). There are no hard and fast rules as to which Morris sides can perform dances from

8715-595: The payment of seven shillings to Morris dancers by the Goldsmiths' Company in London. The term "Morris" comes from a Flemish form of " Moorish ", although Morris dancing has no known historical connection to the Moors. Three prominent groups organise and support Morris in England: Morris Ring , Morris Federation and Open Morris ; all three organisations have members from other countries as well. There are around 150 Morris sides (or teams) in

8820-674: The people of England continued to be passed down through oral tradition . During the Renaissance , artists captured these customs in the written word; such as Shakespearean plays' reflections of English folklore through their witches, fairies, folk medicine, marriage and funeral customs, superstitions, and religious beliefs. The Grimm brothers' publications such as German Legends and Grimms' Fairy Tales were translated from their original German and distributed across Europe in 1816. Their stories inspired publishers such as William Thoms to compile legends from within English folklore and without to compose an English identity. The stories that

8925-401: The perception of the countryside as a wild and mystical place. On May Day , the first day of May, a tall, decorated pole is put up as a symbol of fertility called a maypole . The maypole may represents a phallic object impregnating the earth at the end of spring to ensure a bountiful summer, but this association is very late. The maypoles were decorated originally with flowers and carved from

9030-411: The performers may have been performing a mumming play. Cawte dismissed this suggestion: "if so it is a most unusual one, there is no sign of the combatants, the pair of horses is of an unusual design, and the mast horse seems to be the centre of attention." But, despite the absence of weapons, it is not difficult to envisage the two military-looking characters on hobby-horses as possible combatants, or even

9135-431: The region of their origin, these motifs are such that there is a national identity of folktales through which these regions have interacted. There are likely many characters and stories that have never been recorded and hence were forgotten, but these folktales and their evolutions were often a product of contemporary figures, places, or events local to specific regions. The below are only a small fraction of examples from

9240-485: The rest of the month. Variants include: "rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!", "rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit!", and "white rabbit!". After a person died, a poor person was hired to take on their sins by eating before or after the funeral over their body- a sin-eater . The sin-eater would hence ensure that the recently deceased would be taken to heaven. Sir Francis Drake's Drum is a legend about the drum of an English admiral who raided Spanish treasure fleets and Spanish ports. He

9345-534: The significance of holly , and Christmas carolling were born from the desire to escape from the harshness of winter around Europe. These combine to form a folklore which teaches that, through an upright and virtuous character, a person can achieve a successful life. Lullabies , songs, dances, games, folktales, and superstitions all imparted a religious and moral education, and form a person's sense of justice and Christianity. Children's games would often contain counting songs or gamifications of manners to ensure that

9450-578: The streets of Winster, stopping at certain places to perform one or two of their stationary dances. The King headed the procession, marching in step with the music … the Queen and the musician walked by the side of the dancers; the Fool and the Witch ran about clearing the way." The photograph (right) taken at Winster Hall , Derbyshire, in about 1870 (probably by or for Llewellynn Jewitt (1816–1886), who lived at

9555-433: The team repertoire, often only one and rarely more than two, highly variable number of dancers in the set and configurations of the set (some sides had different versions of a dance for different numbers of dancers), and an emphasis on stick dances almost to the exclusion of hankie dances. Usually regarded as a type of Morris, although many of the performers themselves consider it as a traditional dance form in its own right,

9660-399: The times of monk's prayer which were sometimes marked by a chime. Crop circles are formations of flattened cereal. While they have been speculated to have mysterious and often extraterrestrial origins, most crop circles have been proven to be hoaxes. Those made by Doug Bower and Dave Chorley across England in 1991 have since started chains of copycats around the world. Cunning folk was

9765-803: The tradition from Lichfield, which is Cotswold-like despite that city's distance from the Cotswold Morris area; the authenticity of this tradition has been questioned. In 2006, a small number of dances from a previously unknown tradition was discovered by Barry Care, MBE , keeper of The Morris Ring Photographic Archive, and a founding member of Moulton Morris Men ( Ravensthorpe, Northamptonshire )—two of them danceable. Other dances listed by Bacon include Border Morris dances from Brimfield , Bromsberrow Heath , Evesham , Leominster , Much Wenlock , Pershore , Upton-upon-Severn, Upton Snodsbury , White Ladies Aston , and miscellaneous non-Cotswold, non-Border dances from Steeple Claydon and Winster . There are

9870-476: The tune for which was used for the melody of " Deck the Halls ". The figures can be summarised as Foot Up, Corners Change, Top Hey, Bottom Hey and Circular Hey, with usually a distinctive verse figure unique to each dance. There is double step throughout, except when 'chipping' (hopping in one spot whilst simultaneously rotating). The basic pattern is two double steps followed by four capers. There had been

9975-464: The two characters behind who are waving a pole and a broomstick. Moreover, the "Wild Horse" is a central character in the Soul-caking plays of nearby Cheshire (see photo). In his field notes, made in 1908, folklorist Cecil Sharp referred to a hobby horse "without a curtain" being connected with the morris dance at Winster; he also mentions a "Snap Dragon" made from "a real horse's head" (presumably

10080-563: The village in 1908 and noted five dances, including The Processional and The Gallop. All the dancers are men or boys, dressed in white; a full team numbers 16. There are four other characters, also men: the King and Queen, who preside over the dancing, and the Jester (formerly known as the Fool) and the Witch, who entertain the crowd, as Cecil Sharp described: "The dancers danced in procession … through

10185-538: Was a custom in which, on the first Monday after Christmas , men visited people's doorsteps at night and asked for a token for the holiday. They carried whips and a makeshift plough and dug up the house's doorstep or scraper if the house refused to give them an item. Corn dollies are a form of straw work made as part of harvest customs of Europe before the First World War . Their use varied according to region: it may have been decorative, an image of pride for

10290-502: Was believed to have white magic which enabled him to turn into a dragon (as hinted by his name, Drake meaning dragon in Latin). When he died, the drum which he brought on his voyage around the world was sung about- that in England's peril, they could strike it and he would come to their aid. Eventually the legend evolved to be that the drum would strike itself in England's peril, and it has been heard struck since. A hagstone , also called

10395-536: Was confined to her chambers until death and roamed the halls of Raynham , named after the brown brocade she wears. Differing versions of the story attest that she was locked in by her husband, Lord Townsend, or by the Countess of Wharton. The Legend of the Mistletoe Bough is a ghost story which has been associated with many mansions and stately homes in England. The tale describes how a new bride, playing

10500-505: Was founded by six revival sides: In the 1950s and especially the 1960s, there was an explosion of new dance teams, some of them women's or mixed sides. At the time, there was often heated debate over the propriety and even legitimacy of women dancing the Morris, even though there is evidence as far back as the 16th century that there were female Morris dancers. There are now male, female and mixed sides to be found. Partly because women's and mixed sides were not eligible for full membership of

10605-679: Was founded in the year 927, Wessex and its surrounding areas' cultures were transformed by the invasion of the Danish King Guthrum between 865 and 878. The king of Wessex , King Alfred , prevailed against King Guthrum's troops in 878 and King Guthrum was baptised and became the ruler of East Anglia . This continued the process of the assimilation of Norse words into the English language. Eventually English folklore melded with Norse traditions such as in their iconography , which became more Greek, and in their clothing and folktales which adopted more Nordic elements. The folklore of

10710-407: Was imported from village festivities into popular entertainment after the invention of the court masque by Henry VIII . The word Morris apparently derived from morisco , meaning ' Moorish '. Cecil Sharp , whose collecting of Morris dances preserved many from extinction, suggested that it might have arisen from the dancers' blacking their faces as part of the necessary ritual disguise. The name

10815-805: Was key in developing and documenting Morris history in the US, including founding the Marlboro Morris Men as well as the Marlboro Morris Ale. Most Morris sides in the United States are concentrated on the East Coast , particularly in the Boston-Washington development corridor . Large regular events in this part of the country include the Marlboro Morris Ale and Dancing America Rapper Tournament (the American offshoot of Dancing England Rapper Tournament ). Minneapolis

10920-404: Was that Beowulf was a Scandinavian epic translated to English, theorised due to the story's Scandinavian settings. However, Beowulf was cemented as an Old English epic through the study that heroes of folklore are not ordinarily natives of the country they save. The Brown Lady of Raynham is a story of the ghost of a woman of Norfolk , Lady Dorothy Walpole. After her adultery was discovered, she

11025-530: Was the belief that the boggart should never be named, for when the boggart was given a name, it could not be reasoned with nor persuaded, but would become uncontrollable and destructive. A brownie is a type of hob (household spirit), similar to a hobgoblin . Brownies are said to inhabit houses and aid in tasks around the house. However, they do not like to be seen and will only work at night, traditionally in exchange for small gifts or food. Among food, they especially enjoy porridge and honey. They usually abandon

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