.the Flemings. Few if any vestiges of it can be traced beyond the reign of Henry the Seventh; about which time, and particularly in that of Henry the Eighth, the churchwardens' accounts in several parishes afford materials that throw much light on the subject, and show that the morris dance made a very considerable figure in the parochial festivals. A late valuable writer has remarked that in some places the May-games of Robin Hood were nothing more than a morris dance, in which Robin Hood, Little John, Maid Marian, and Friar Tuck, were the principal personages, the others being a clown or fool, the hobby-horse, the taborer, and the dancers, who were more or less numerous;[166] but this seems to be a mistake. The May-games of Robin Hood appear to have been principally instituted for the encouragement of archery, and were generally accompanied by morris dancers, who, nevertheless, formed but a subordinate part of the ceremony. It is by no means clear that at any time Robin Hood and his companions were constituent characters in the morris. There were, besides, May-games of a more simple nature, being merely dances round a May-pole, by the lads and lasses of the village, and the undoubted remains of the Roman Floralia.[167] We find also that other festivals and ceremonies had their morris, as Holy-Thursday; the Whitsun-ales; the bride-ales, or weddings,[168] and a sort of play or pageant called the lord of misrule. Sheriffs too had their morris dance.[169] The reader may be amused with the following account of the lord of misrule, as it contains a description of an attendant morris. It has been fortunately handed down to us by a puritanical writer of the reign of Elizabeth, whose loud ravings against the fashionable excesses of his countrymen have contributed to furnish posterity with the completest information respecting a considerable portion of the manners and customs of the above period that is any where to be found. These are his words: "First, all the wilde heads of the parish, flocking togither, chuse them a graund captaine (of mischiefe) whome they innoble with the title of my Lord of misrule, and him they crowne with great solemnitie, and adopt for their king. This king annoynted, chooseth foorth twenty, fourtie, threescore or a hundred lustie guttes like to himselfe to waite upon his lordly majesty, and to guarde his noble person. Then every one of these his men, he investeth with his liveries of greene, yellow, or some other light wanton color. And as though that were not (bawdy) gawdy enough, I should say, they bedecke themselves with scarffes, ribbons and laces hanged all over with golde ringes, precious stones, and other jewels: this done, they tie about either legge twentie or fortie belles, with rich handkerchiefe in their handes, and sometimes laide a crosse over their shoulders and neckes, borrowed for the most part of their pretie Mopsies and loving Bessies, for bussing them in the darke. Thus all things set in order, then have they their hobby-horses, their dragons and other antiques, together with their baudie pipers, and thundering drummers, to strike up the Devils Daunce withall: then martch this heathen company towards the church and churchyarde, their pypers pypyng, their drummers thundering, their stumpes dancing, their bells iyngling, their handkercheefes fluttering about their heades like madde men, their hobbie horses, and other monsters skirmishing amongst the throng: and in this sorte they go to the church (though the minister be at prayer or preaching) dauncing and swinging their handkerchiefes over their heads in the church like Devils incarnate, with such a confused noise, that no man can heare his owne voyce. Then the foolish people they looke, they stare, they laugh, they fleere, and mount upon formes and pewes, to see these goodly pageants solemnized in this sort. Then after this about the church they goe againe and againe, and so foorth into the church yard, where they have commonly their sommer haules, their bowers, arbours, and banquetting houses set up, wherein they feast, banquet, and daunce all that day, and (peradventure) all that night too. And thus these terrestrial furies spend the Sabboth day. Another sort of fantasticall fooles bring to these helhoundes (the Lord of misrule and his complices) some bread, some good ale, some new cheese, some olde cheese, some custardes, some cracknels, some cakes, some flaunes, some tartes, some creame, some meat, some one thing, some another; but if they knewe that as often as they bringe anye to the maintenance of these execrable pastimes, they offer sacrifice to the Devill and Sathanas, they would repent and withdrawe their handes, which God graunt they may."[170] Another declaimer of the like kind, speaking of May games and morris dances, thus holds forth: "The abuses which are committed in your may-games are infinite. The first whereof is this, that you doe use to attyre in womans apparrell whom yon doe most commenly call maymarrions, whereby you infringe that straight commaundement whiche is given in Deut. xxii. 5, that men must not put on womens apparrell for feare of enormities. Nay I myself have seene in a may game a troupe, the greater part wherof hath been men, and yet have they been attyred so like unto women, that theyr faces being hidde (as they were indeede) a man coulde not discerne them from women. The second abuse, which of all other is the greatest, is this, that it hath been toulde that your morice dauncers have daunced naked in nettes: what greater entisement unto naughtines could have been devised? The third abuse is, that you (because you will loose no tyme) doe use commonly to runne into woodes in the night time, amongst maidens, to fet bowes, in so muche as I have hearde of tenne maidens which went to fet May, and nine of them came home with childe."[171] He seems likewise to allude to a character of the Devil in the May games, of which no mention is elsewhere made.
In the course of time these several recreations were blended together so as to become almost indistinguishable. It is, however, very certain that the May games of Robin Hood, accompanied with the morris, were at first a distinct ceremony from the simple morris, which when Warner lived was celebrated about the season of Easter, and before the May games: he thus speaks of them:
"At Paske begun our Morrise, and ere Penticost our May."[172]
It is probable that when the practice of archery declined, the May games of Robin Hood were discontinued, and that the morris dance was transferred to the celebration of Whitsuntide, either as connected with the Whitsun ales, or as a separate amusement. In the latter instance it appears to have retained one or two of the characters in the May pageants; but no uniformity was or possibly could be observed, as the arrangement would vary in different places according to the humour or convenience of the parties.
The painted glass window belonging to George Tollett, Esq., at Betley, in Staffordshire, exhibits, in all probability, the most curious as well as the oldest representation of an English May game and morris dance, that is any where to be found.[173] The learned possessor of this curiosity, to whom the readers of Shakspeare are much indebted not only for this, but for many other valuable communications, has supposed that the window might have been painted in the youthful days of Henry the Eighth, when he delighted in May games; but it must be observed that the dresses and costume of some of the figures are certainly of an older period, and may, without much hazard, be pronounced to belong to the reign of Edward the Fourth. Among other proofs that could be adduced, it will be sufficient to compare it with the annexed print of another morris dance. This is a copy from an exceedingly scarce engraving on copper by Israel Von Mecheln, or Meckenen, so named from the place of his nativity, a German village on the confines of Flanders, in which latter country this artist appears chiefly to have resided; and therefore in most of his prints we may observe the Flemish costume of his time. From the pointed shoes that we see in one of the figures it must have been executed between the year 1460, and 1470; about which latter period the broadtoed shoes came into fashion in France and Flanders. It seems to have been intended as a pattern for goldsmiths' work, probably a cup or tankard.
The artist, in a fancy representation of foliage, has introduced several figures belonging to a Flemish May game morris, consisting of the lady of the May, the fool, the piper, two morris dancers with bells and streamers, and four other dancing characters, for which appropriate names will not easily be found. The similitude between some of the figures in this print and others in Mr. Tollett's window, is very striking, and shows that the period of execution, as to both, was nearly the same. One objection to this opinion will, no doubt, present itself to the skilful spectator, and that is the shape of the letters which form the inscription A MERY MAY on the pane of glass No. 8. These are comparatively modern, and cannot be carried further back than the time of Elizabeth; but this will be accounted for hereafter.
The above curious painting has furnished the means of ascertaining some of the personages of which the May games and morris consisted at the time of its execution. To trace their original forms and numbers, or the progressive changes they underwent, with any degree of accuracy, would be perhaps impossible; because not only the materials for such an attempt are extremely few, but a variety of circumstances contributed to constitute their differences even during the same period. Wherever we turn, nothing but irregularity presents itself. Sometimes we have a lady of the May, simply, with a friar Tuck; and in later times a Maid Marian remained without even a Robin Hood or a friar. But consistency is not to be looked for on these occasions, when we find, as has been remarked, that the May games, those of Robin Hood, the ales, and the morris dances, were blended together as convenience or caprice happened to dictate.[174]
The several characters that seem in more ancient times to have composed the May game and morris were the following: Robin Hood, Little John, Friar Tuck, Maid Marian the queen or lady of the May, the fool, the piper, and several morris dancers habited, as it appears, in various modes. Afterwards a hobby horse and a dragon were added. To avoid the confusion that might otherwise ensue, it will be best to speak of each character by itself.
I. Robin Hood. The history of this celebrated outlaw has been so ably and ingeniously treated by Mr. Ritson, and every fact that relates to him so minutely developed, that it will be long before any novelty shall be discovered of sufficient importance to deserve attention. It appears that in the May game he sometimes carried a painted standard.[175]
II. Little John. The faithful companion of Robin Hood, but of whom little that is not fabulous has been handed down to us. He is first mentioned, together with Robin Hood, by Fordun the Scotish historian, who wrote in the fourteenth century, and who speaks of the celebration of the story of these persons in the theatrical performances of his time, and of the minstrels' songs relating to them, which he says the common people preferred to all other romances.[176]