MORRIS MEN

What could be more English than a load of men wearing mainly white clothes with multicoloured streamers dancing around and hitting each other? The name 'morris' is thought to be a corruption of 'moorish', referring to the Moors of North Africa. It has been part of English life for at least six hundred years and many scholars would argue that it is much older. By Elizabethan times the Morris was already regarded as an ancient custom. Several references to the dance appear in the works of Shakespeare. Following the Civil War many ancient customs were outlawed by the Puritans and, although the Restoration saw some revivals, the gradual drift of the population from countryside to town saw many communities abandon their Morris dances. However, towards the end of the Victorian Era, interest in matters pastoral led to the beginnings of a revival of interest.

The majority of Morris clubs dancing today are 'revival' clubs, and are officially known as 'sides'. They meet regularly for practice and to give public shows, unlike the 'old' clubs that would often meet and dance for a short period each year. A side will have a Squire or Captain, a Bagman or Secretary, and often a Foreman responsible for teaching the dances. Each side will have its own costume derived from traditional forms, with perhaps a symbol or badge having some civic or territorial association. Many sides have a Fool and/or an Animal to amuse the audience. In the old sides the Fool was sometimes the Squire, as it was said that he had to be the best dancer.

THE MORRIS RING

The activities of the early collectors and revival dancers was savagely interrupted by World War I. However as the enthusiasm of the early collectors spread again through society in the late 1920's and a number of revival Morris clubs came into being to support the few traditional teams still dancing. In 1934 the Cambridge Morris Men invited five other teams to join them in the formation of a national organisation and the six clubs - Cambridge, Letchworth, Thaxted, Oxford, East Surrey and Greensleeves - met at the Thaxted meeting of that year to inaugurate the Morris Ring. There is still a 'Thaxted' Ring Meeting each year, and several other Ring Meetings are organised each year by and for member clubs. There are now 260 clubs in the Morris Ring. Many more sides were formed during the ' folk ' revival of the the 1960's and and 1970's, until which time there were were about 80 clubs. As we approach the Millennium there are about 800 Morris sides in the UK and over 1000 worldwide!

THE COTSWOLD MORRIS

Perhaps the best known variety of the Morris is that which was collected by Cecil Sharp in the villages on the uplands of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire, and which has therefore become known as Cotswold Morris. The teams consist of six dancers and a musician, and often a Fool or animal character. Each village produced its own steps and dances, and these have become the ' traditions ', known by the name of the parent village - Bledington or Badby, for example. There are 'old' sides at Chipping Campden, Abingdon, Bampton and Headington Quarry, but some villages have revival sides, notably Ilmington, Adderbury and Eynsham. The set dances include handkerchief dances, stick dances and hand-clapping dances. The men will usually wear a white shirt, white trousers or dark breeches and black shoes. Bells will be worn below the knee, and the club costume will often be a coloured baldrick or a waistcoat. A variant of the Cotswold Morris is found in the north midlands and dances have been collected from Lichfield, and Winster in Derbyshire.

THE SWORD DANCES

From the North Eastern counties of England come two types of sword dance. Yorkshire provides the Longsword dance, performed by six or eight men who carry rigid swords made of steel or wood. Intricate figures are made under or over the swords, which are woven into a star-shaped lock at the end of the dance. No bells are worn. While teams wear a variety of costumes, the most distinctive is that worn by Handsworth, a traditional team from Sheffield. There are other traditional teams at Grenoside and Goathland, and many revival teams.

The sword dances performed in Northumberland and Durham are the Rapper sword dances, rappers being a flexible sword with a handle at each end. For most of the dance the swords are held above the dancers heads while they weave intricate patterns at high speed. The dance begins with five men, but often the fool characters, the Tommy and Betty, will join in before the end. Frequently teams will only wear dark breeches and a white shirt, but sometimes the shirt will be decorated with rosettes.

THE NORTH WEST MORRIS

The Morris of the North West of England is danced by at least nine men and is of a processional nature in that the dancers move around the community performing set figures accompanied by much stepping. They wear a most elaborate and colourful costume but with fewer bells than the Cotswold Morris man, and they dance in clogs that accentuate the rhythmic stepping. In recent years many Lancashire communities have seen the re-birth of their team - Manley, Horwich, Preston, Leyland and many more - and a few teams have recreated the Rushcart tradition, most notably and successfully at Saddleworth.

THE BORDER DANCES

At one time it was believed that the dances collected in the villages of the Welsh border counties were simplified versions of the Cotswold dances, but now it is thought that they are simply older variants of the Morris. They are danced by sides of four, six or eight men who will black their faces and wear' rags ' and dark trousers. The stepping and figures are very simple and vigorous, and many of the dances involve stick clashing.

THE MUSIC

All Morris sides have their own musicians. In Elizabethan times the common instruments were the pipe and tabor, but now these have been joined by the fiddle, concertina, melodeon and accordion and a host of other instruments. While the Cotswold and Sword dances are usually accompanied by one musician, the Border and North West teams will often have a band. In the North West this may even be the local brass band, but even if there is not a full complement of instruments there will nearly always be a bass drum and a side drum. The tunes are drawn from many sources. Some of the Cotswold tunes are very old - for example ' Trunkles ' - while others come from the music hall era ('Getting Upstairs' and 'Old Black Joe'). It is probably true to say that they were generally popular tunes of the day adapted to fit the dances. The North West dances use many march tunes and the bands accompanying the Border dances may even break into variants of modern songs.

ASSOCIATED TRADITIONS

All over England our town and village communities have developed strange traditions. Many of these are very old and in most cases the communities have forgotten the original reasons for continuing the custom. It is enough that the custom must be observed. Some of them have close links with the Morris, in fact the term 'Morris' is often held to include all of these traditional celebrations. The oldest include the famous Padstow and Minehead Hobby Horses, the Britannia Coconut Dancers and the Abbots Bromley Horn Dancers. The horns appear early in September and are accompanied by Robin Hood, Maid Marian, a jester and a Hobby Horse. There is a re-enactment of the Horn Dance at the Thaxted Ring meeting in June, but in the last few years the two events have developed very different characteristics.

In recent years a number of forgotten customs have been revived, often supported by local Morris teams. In January the Whittlesea Straw Bear walks in the Fens and Plough Monday is increasingly celebrated in East Anglia. Morris teams also play a significant part in the Lichfield Bower, Nutsford May Day, the Gate to Southwell and many other celebrations throughout the year.

MUMMERS

There are a number of traditions that come under the general umbrella of the Morris. Groups of Mummers can be found in many parts of the country, some of them still presenting their local plays, but today many Morris sides have a play that they take inside during the winter season. The plays all tell an ancient story of death and resurrection, and St. George.

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