Yep - I knew that I have a good friend who is deeply into English folk culture - Morris Dancing, Mummers' Plays and the like. His surname is even Morris Sadly any martial side of it has been lost in the mists of time. No doubt someone will, sooner or later, find an old book with some pictures in and claim to have the "secret knowledge" handed down from GM Morris Hope they keep the bells on their ankles - we'll hear 'em before we see 'em
Hi Yoda, Damn it!! I found that book with the pictures and gave elhiggito a copy of it yesterday, he now has the secret!! : ) .....The book in question is a 1790 single-stick/broadsword manual called 'Anti-Pugilism' with a section called 'The Salute of the 5 Guards' It's a basic 2 man drill practiced before a bout which could easily be mistaken for a bit o' morris... elhiggito and I went through it yesterday, we also tried out Single-stick v Single-stick, Kali v Kali stick and Kali v Single-stick, Great fun, with plenty of welts & bruises to show the kids. Louie.
Morris dance; costumes, masks & blackened faces usually assumed to be of Moorish origins, actually derive from a practice long predating the impression of the Moors on European consciousness. Villages or burghs had their own Morris men or sword dancers specially chosen and trained, and these formed a holy circle or society of performers. Researchers believe 'the disguise was a rigorous necessity for those who once had to perform terrible deeds in reality, and who continued to perform them in mime' Louie
I thought the Morris dance was a fertility ritual. If you listen to the words they talk about genitalia and thrusting. Very interesting....
I'm surprised to hear affirmations of a martial root to Morris dancing. I've seen plenty of it in country pubs and I often get chatting with the guys. Never has any of them affirmed a martial component to the tradition. I even bought two books on the subject and they have nothing in them. Morrismen with swords? That I haven't seen. I think it's all witchcraft where the sticks are wands and the blades are athames. In the town I grew up in, they used marrrows! Hilarious afternoon drunkenness as the dancers complete a pubcrawl, performing outside each pub and beers on the house for an hour each time... Also I think Morrismen are a summer celebration only, centred around midsummer's day. Where's the martial connection? Please link me to martial Morrismen Rgds, David
Martial Morrismen Much of the info I have regarding the Morrismen and their martial connection comes from the 1972 book: 'A Social History of Scottish Dance' by G.S. Emmerson. No instructions but interesting historical background.... You might be able to pick it up at your library through the inter-library loan service. I know that some groups particularily in Northumbria use rapper swords, a long thin bladed knife used to scrape animal hide... As with any martial activity or style, if successive practitioners no longer use or understand the applications behind a drill/form, it becomes a dance, a ceremony, a pantomime and over time sticks replaced swords and in some cases handkerchiefs (or marrows?) replaced the sticks! As Yoda says... 'sadly any martial side of it has been lost in the mists of time' So I don't know if it's worth your while looking deeper into this subject..... I'm researching the Sword-Dancing link to ritualistic combat and stick-fighting here in Scotland (in particular an old Highland dance called the 'Dirk Dance') which I believe may have links to Scandinavian Glima wrestling ...It keeps me off the streets Louie
Morris dancing isn't old enough to be lost in the mists of time. Scots with their dirks n scrapers may very likely have a completely different heritage to English morris. I'll get my wonderful flatmate to try to get the book from the library; she has them wrapped around her little finger. If nobody's watching, I may get my books off the shelf and see again what it says. Cheers, David
