Folk and Country Dancing

Specific dance forms evolved in different parts of Britain. Scottish country dances include reels, jigs and slower strathspeys developed from the courtly dances of the Renaissance. The Irish céilídh and set formation dancing probably came from the same sources. Meanwhile sword, clog and morris dancing, renowned for its use of bells and handkerchiefs, flourished in England. Morris may derive its name either from the Latin mores, meaning a custom, or from Moorish, referring to the period of Muslim rule in Spain before 1492. Philip Stubbes, an Elizabethan Puritan, condemned the frivolities of morris dancing:

'They strike up the Devil's Dance withal, then march these heathen company towards the church and churchyard, their pipers piping, drummers thundering, their stumps dancing, their bells jingling, their handkerchiefs swinging about their heads like madmen.'

Philip Stubbes, Anatomie of Abuses, 1583

In 1600, the actor William Kempe famously morris danced from London to Norwich. In 1651 John Playford published The English Dancing Master, a collection of country dances performed by students at the London Inns of Court.

Until the 18th century there was little distinction between the types of dance performed at court or by peasants. Dance has always erupted spontaneously on social occasions. In the Middle Ages people would carole, joining hands in a line or circle and singing to regulate their dance. Musicians, playing percussion, pipes and bowed instruments, began to provide the rhythmic and melodic accompaniment for the dancers. The hornpipe, which emerged in the 17th century, indicates this blend of music and movement. A staple of Scottish country dancing, it is often associated with sailors. Perhaps they used it for exercise on deck during long passages at sea? Hornpipes were also danced at harvest time as part of the festivities of harvest home.

Some delightful accounts of country dancing have been published:

'The lines which a number of people together form in country or figure dancing make a delightful play upon the eye. One of the most pleasing movements is what they call the hay; the figure of it altogether, is a cipher of Ss, or a number of serpentine lines interlacing.'

William Hogarth, The Analysis of Beauty, 1753

Here is Dickens's description of Mr Fezziwig's Ball:

'Away they all went, twenty couples at once; hands half round and back again the other way; down the middle and up again; round and round in various stages of affectionate grouping; old top couple always turning up in the wrong place, new top couple starting off again'

Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843