Morris dancers can be seen everywhere during the Celtic summer at various festivals throughout the British Isles. The Puritan writer, Philip Stubbs had something to say about the Morris dance, often referred to as 'the dance of the devil'.
'They bedeck themselves with scarves, strings and laces hanged all over with golde rings, precious stones and other jewels: This they tie abouteeither legge 20 or 40 belles with riche handkerchiefs in their handes and sometyme laide across their shoulders and necks, borrowed for the moste parte of their prettie Mopsies and lovying Bessies for busying them in the darke. These thyngs sette in order, they have their hobbie horses, dragons and other antiques, together with their bawdy pipers and thunderying drummers to sricke up the Devil's dance...'
The earlist records of Morris dancing date back to the 15th century with one school of thought saying that it originated from a court jester's dance whilst another states that it was a dance performed by Spanish Arabs, i.e the Moors, of which Morris is a derivative.
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