click photo to enlarge
Morris dancers seem to be like buses: you don't see a troupe for ages then along they come in a bunch, one after the other. At least that's how it's been with us in recent years. After a long period when we saw none of these traditional English dancers, lately we've seen them everywhere. I don't think it's to do with a sudden surge in the popularity of this old style of dancing so much as the places and events that we've happened to visit.
When we were in Herefordshire recently our son suggested we go to a "medieval fayre" that was taking place over a weekend at Tewkesbury. It sounded like somewhere I might gather a few photographs. So, in temperatures approaching 30 degrees Celsius, we set off. I've never attended such an event before so I had only a hazy idea of what to expect. There were jugglers, people in medieval garb, musicians playing old instruments and singing gentle folk songs, various olde worlde games, stalls with appropriate food and clothing, weapons and armour for sale and many more "new age" style offerings. All reasonably predictable with the exception of the new-old military equipment (of which more later).
As we walked among the tents and pavilions, from the distant edge of the site came the sound of thundering drums and electric instruments playing music in a style that I can only describe as "heavy folk-rock"; imagine Fairport Convention meets Black Sabbath. As we got closer I noticed dancers clad in what appeared to be black rags, ghoulish masks and Goth boots. Then it struck me that what I was seeing and hearing was clearly the morris dancers of Mordor, a troupe more usually associated with Sauron's hordes, perhaps entertainers of the orc armies having a day off at Tewkesbury. It's usual for English morris dancers to wear neat white shirts or blouses, jackets, waiscoats, orthodox hats, feathers, neckerchiefs, ribbons and bells, and the often black and white theme to be enlivened by plentiful dashes of primary colours: see examples
here and
here. The contrast with the dancers shown above couldn't be more stark. Those providing the music were equally "different". The usual array of acoustic instruments was augmented by a recorder, an electric bass, amplified acoustic guitar and a number of assorted, large drums. The whole effect was decidedly rhythm heavy. I loved it! Though it was hard to see through the masks I got the impression that this morris attracted a wider age range with more younger members than is usual. I could see why. As the morris men (and women) took a break from their exertions my wife went to ask who they were and was given their card. They styled themselves
Mythago Morris and hailed from the village of Ashurst, West Sussex, not too far from Brighton. In fact, nowhere near Mordor!
I took my photographs in what can only be described as difficult conditions - the sun high in the sky, the grass turned brown and light coloured against which I sought to capture detail of the the dancers' black costumes. It took a few shots and some post-processing to extract these fairly ordinary record shots.
photograph and text © Tony Boughen
Photo 1Camera: Sony RX100Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 22.7mm (61mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f8
Shutter Speed: 1/400
ISO: 125
Exposure Compensation: -1.0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On
I've never given a great deal of thought to where people who stage military re-enactments get their props from but during my recent visit to a medieval fayre in Tewkesbury I remedied that deficiency. Why? Well, there was not one but several tents selling all manner of clothing, domestic objects, armour and weaponry for the would-be knight, page, damsel, archer, pikeman, etc. Need a pair of authentic medieval-style shoes? Multiple vendors could supply any size that was wanted. How about a quilted jacket to wear under your armour plate? Name your colour (though red and blue seemed favoured). What about plate armour? Everything from a full suit to all the individual components - breastplate, greave, hemet, gauntlet, you name it - was on offer. The impecunious would-be knight could buy his suit a piece at a time! Battle axes, maces, pikes, swords, daggers, long bows and cross bows without which no self-respecting medieval warrior could feel properly attired were available in invasion-sized quantities. Clearly, unknown to me, there is a thriving cottage industry beavering away, right across Europe from the accents I heard, supplying the wherewithall of weekend warriors.
