Morris dance

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Morris dancer sculpture in Olching based on Erasmus Grasser the magician ⊙

The Moriskentanz ( Italian moresca , from Spanish morisca ) is a stage dance of the late Middle Ages and the early modern period , the spread of which can be traced back to the 15th century within the courtly Renaissance culture. In addition to its importance in terms of theater, dance and music history, the Moriskentanz is also of popular interest. The word Moriske , also called moriscos (Spanish morisco , 'Moorish' ) is derived from the name for the Moors who lived in Spain after the victory of the Reconquista . The thesis that has been valid for a long time that the Moriskentanz was of North African origin and emerged in the 12th century from the struggle between Moors and Christians in Spain, in order to spread from there over all of southern and western Europe, can today be supported by results from the German language Refute research. Rather, it is assumed that the origin of the Moriskan dance lies in archaic fertility rites .

Origin debate

Moriskentanz from the so-called Trachtenbuch by Christoph Weiditz , around 1530–1540. Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg, Hs. 22474, Bl. 107-108. Caption: [Bl. 107] All so the morystgen dance with ain other Schnölle with their fingers (so the moriscos dance with each other quickly with their fingers), [p. 108] this is the moristgis dantz spil shout ... to it like the kelber (this is the moriskische dance game. Shout like the calves).

The two fundamental opinions that have emerged from the attempts made so far to explain the Moriska dance have been described by PP Domokos:

“According to one explanation, the Moriskentanz is a dance of historical character that has its origins in the battles between the Christian population of southern countries and the Saracens ( Moors ). Hence his name. Its name, which comes from this declaration, can be traced back to the 15th century. But now the bell rings at the foot of numerous Morisk dancers, one of the most important props of this dance. Now the bell is also an indispensable prop of the Danza de Cascabeles in the 14th century. Accordingly, the view developed that the two dances have merged into a single dance over time. "

execution

Copy of a morisk dancer by Erasmus Grasser in the old town hall in Munich . The original is in the Munich City Museum .
Glockenspiel above the Fridrich jeweler in Munich

The dance, which is particularly popular in the courtly Renaissance culture of Italy, is characterized by various characteristic jumps and contortions of the body. Dancing it requires a certain acrobatic skill, which is why a wide variety of traditional actors such as jugglers (Italian buffoni ) specialized in it in the past . The hopping and jumping of fools and acrobats in films about the Middle Ages is probably based on ideas about this dance. Sometimes the wild jumping is interpreted as an indication of the origin of the morris dance in the sword dance . This assumption can also be refuted today, as it is just one expression among many, such as the moreška on the Croatian island of Korčula .

The morris dance probably required a number of character actors in different roles. A total of 16 figures should represent the entire medieval population spectrum. The assignment to the individual characters is nowadays rather arbitrary due to the lack of documents. For example, a distinction is made between: “Farmer”, “Lady”, “Young man ready for a wedding”, and so on. The popularity of the moriska dance is evident in the wood-carved morris dancers by the sculptor Erasmus Grasser from Munich. The more than 500 year old wooden figures show the individual participants in a morris dance. The inspiration for this group of figures was a banquet given by Duke Christoph the Strong .

Nowadays, however, there is no precise idea of ​​how the morris dance was actually danced. A book about dancing in a courtly context from the 16th century speaks somewhat vaguely of “dance tapping” and “foot markings”. It is believed that much of the morris dance was improvised spontaneously.

The Moriskentanz is still practiced today in many places, including by groups in Munich , Kaltenberg Korčula and during the Landshut wedding .

  • The Kaltenberger Moriskentanzgruppe at the Kaltenberg Knight Festival in 2005

  • The Munich Moriskentanzgruppe during the costume parade to the Oktoberfest in Munich 2008

The Morris dance in England

The English morris dance is a special form of morris dance , if not an independent form of dance .

Illustration of William Kempes Morris dancing from London to Norwich in 1600
Morris dancers with Hobbyhorse : Detail from Thames at Richmond, with the Old Royal Palace , ca.1620

While the earliest mentions from the 15th century describe the morris dance in a courtly context, it seems that the dance in the 16th century was mainly found in a popular cultural context; William Kempe , shortly before an actor in William Shakespeare , is said to have traveled from London to Norwich dancing a Morris dance in 1599 , which he reports in his Nine Daies Wonder (1600). The Morris dance is danced by individual groups, so-called sides . Originally the dancers were exclusively men, but now there are also mixed sides in which women also dance.

The resurgence of morris dance in the 20th century is thanks to the efforts of English folklorists such as Cecil Sharp , Maud Karpeles and Mary Neal , who recorded dances and music and revived the morris dance tradition . The starting point of the "Morris Revival" is generally December 26, 1899.

Today there are essentially six regional styles:

The music was originally played on pipe and tabor ( one-handed flute and drum) or fiddle . Today other instruments are also common, most commonly the melodeon . Other drums are also used. Cotswold and sword dancers were usually accompanied by a single musician, while Northwest and Border sides were often accompanied by a group of musicians.

  • Exeter Morris men

  • North West Morris

  • Cotswold Morris

  • Morris dancers in Adderbury

See also

literature

  • Charlotte Gschwandtner: Moresca. Diversity and constants of a dance practice between the 15th and early 17th centuries. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2017.
  • Pál Péter Domokos: The morris dance in Europe and in the Hungarian tradition. In: Studia Musicologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae , Vol. 10, Fasc. 3/4 (1968) Akadémiai Kiadó, pp. 229-311. JSTOR 901447
  • Thomas Kuster: The Moreskentänze (r): A form of princely amusement. In: Maximilian I. - Triumph of an emperor: rulers with European visions. Edited by Tyrolean art cadastre (among others), Tyrolean provincial government, Innsbruck 2005–2006, ISBN 3-902112-03-4 , pp. 42–48.

Web links

Commons : Morris dance  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Domokos: The Moriskentanz in Europe and in the Hungarian tradition. 1968, p. 229.
  2. ↑ en: Moreška (English Wikipedia)
  3. ^ Grasser's Moriskentancer in the collection of the Münchner Stadtmuseum
  4. ^ Moriskentanz in Munich
  5. ^ Kaltenberger Moriskentancer
  6. ↑ Morris Dance (Wikipedia)
  7. ↑ Morristanz videos on Dancilla
  8. ↑ The Morris Tradition booklet, German