Medieval Circle Dance: Carole

Medieval Dance scene from the Roman de la Rose, ca. 1350. Source: Google search

         
​        Medieval feast, or still a ball in the king's court?

The answer can be yes and no, because everything depends on time and environment. The cultural development of the European courts is rooted in the Duchy of Burgundy in the 15th century. But even before, during the 12th - 14th centuries in the Middle Ages, people celebrated festive events. 

... And when there was a feast,  people danced ... And courtiers were dancing in the court, but peasants in the village. It was a very important celebrating tradition during festive events, which also affected the Winter Solstice celebrations and, of course, also the Christmas season, relating to the influence of Christianity.

They had not yet court balls in the sense of the later centuries, but a certain beginning was already marked in the medieval culture. The idea of courtly feasts & balls has been known since the Middle Ages, when kings and queens began to organize festive events with musical accompaniment and dances at the Italian, French and English courts. Dance was the mean that allowed to show glamorous ballroom costumes and showcase the latest events of time.
In Western Europe, the prototype of ballroom dress is rooted in the tradition of wearing the most glamorous outfit. And that costume demanded an appropriate posture, courtly behavior and, of course, environment.
Truly ceremonial costumes for the first time were worn in the 15th century in the Duchy of Burgundy at the times of Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, because it was he who created the first courtly dress code in the history of Western Europe.  Taking into account the tradition established in the Duchy of Burgundy, each of the following historical fashion styles gave special significance to the costume, the signatures of its wearing at the celebrations and feasts at the court. 

Medieval Dance, a detail from the Roman de la Rose, ca. 1350. Source: Google search

Circle Dances & Carole 
​

There are several types of medieval dances. The most common types were the Circle Dances, Court Dances and Country Dances. Probably the oldest medieval dances are circle dances. This type of medieval dance has been a part of community life ever since people started dancing, not just during the medieval period. However, some of these dances were not documented in history.

Carole was one of the main dances of Western Europe in the 12th and 14th centuries. It was a relatively simple dance done by men and women together. The origins of the carole are in ancient ring dances of May and Midsummer festivals and, more remotely, in the ancient Greek choros, or circular, sung dance. Mentioned as early as the 7th century, the carole spread throughout Europe by the 12th century and declined during the 14th century.
When dancing the Carole, a group of people would form a circle, sometimes around an object like a tree. They would each hold hands, but sometimes they would hold each other by their fingers, in this circle and move in a clockwise direction. By moving sideways to the left, the dancers would start their step with their left foot, and then join the right foot to the left. The sources often describe it as the right foot striking against the other. 
The music of the Carole would be sung by the dancers themselves. Usually it would be one of the dancers, or a small group of them, who would begin the singing. After a few songs, they would give way to another dancer, who would then sing while the group continued their dance, and so on. Instruments such as drums, horns and lutes were also used while dancing. They were used as accompaniment to the songs sung during these performances.  

Pontus and Sidonia is a medieval prose roman, originally composed in French in ca. 1400, known as Ponthus et la belle Sidonie, possibly by Geoffroy IV de la Tour Landry. There is an illustration from surviving version in German. This illustration off the manuscript is showing feast scene from "Pontus and Sidonia" - Stuttgart - Werkstatt Ludwig Henfflin, ca. 1475 Cod. Pal. germ. 142 Folio 16r. (Heidelberg).

​For about three centuries the Carole remained a popular dance within all segments of society, from nobility to the peasants. Sources say, that not everyone was happy with this dance, however, as a few religious moralists bitterly complained about it. Jacques de Vitry, a French theologian from the 13th century, has said that the dance is like a circle whose center is the Devil, and in it all turn to the left, because all are heading towards everlasting death. Many other medieval moralists have condemned this circle dance as indecent. Indeed, even in a sense, in today's vocabulary, the saying "going in the circle dance" is still a folkloric sign of festive frenzy.

Medieval dance - 15th Century illustration from "Roman de la Rose", France, Bibliothèque nationale de France

​​Medieval Dance Costumes 

​But what about those dancers' clothes? Of course, fashionable dances within a specified period of time had always been appropriate for the dancers' movements to better discover the splendor of their costumes and to tell about the modern trends of their time. And yet, medieval dance costumes varied per class. The upper class men and women wore more vivid, dramatic and luxurious attire. They mostly wore gowns that were made of silk and other expensive materials. Some medieval dance costumes,  especially during the late Gothic period, had longer sleeves for a more dramatic effect.
Women wore corsets and heavily structured petticoats underneath late medieval dance costumes. Petticoats helped to form perfectly rounded shapes towards the bottom of the gown. It was all more evident during the late 15th century. Especially extravagant were the late medieval women's headgear. Tower type headgear such as, hennins were also very popular among women from the upper-class society as they played a major part of the medieval formal attire and were worn during social occasions and medieval dances in the 15th century.

Medieval men, on the other hand, wore boldly colored tunics that were mostly decorated with emblems signifying their wealth and influence. Some medieval men would carry swords, fitted at the right hand side of their belts. These expensive looking outfits usually came with leather shoes and fur hats to accessorize them.

Meanwhile, peasants wore their daily clothing. Most peasants during the medieval times only had one set of clothing but if they owned more than one, they most likely wore the more fashionably acceptable ones during these occasions. Females commonly wore plain cut colored dresses while males wore dull and darker woolen jackets and shirts. 

Historical evidence about medieval dance costume shows, during feasting and dancing are still kept in the gorgeous miniature books as well as in the paintings and sculptures that still bring us into imaginative scenes of past ages.

Mirth and Gladness lead a Dance. miniature from "Roman de la Rose" in the Bodleian Library -MS Douce 364, folio 8r

References & Further Reading: 

​Mullally, R. The Carole:  A Study of a Medieval Dance. - Ashgate Publishing Limited, Surrey, England, 2011. ​
http://www.medievalists.net/2013/09/how-did-medieval-people-dance/ ​
www.medievalchronicles.com/medieval-life/medieval-dance/ 

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