Morris Dancing may have a reputation as nothing more than prancing men with bells and hankerchiefs, but that’s just what happened when the Victorians, Puritans and the Church transformed a threatening pagan fertility rite into nothing more than a jovial dance. In truth, Morris Dancing is a very ancient custom with origins in Pagan Spring Ferility rituals and is more closely comparable to capoeira than the modern dance, in that it is a blend of dancing and fighting. Bedlam Morris dancers bring this ancient tradition back to life with Spring rebirth dances featuring black clad Ragmorris Men dancing while beating together sticks and roaring loudly (of their strength and fertility, I assume). They wear a disguise, mostly blacking their faces or wearing masks, and occasionally the dance features the symbol of male fertility himself, the Green Man. Bedlam Morris is just one of many side shows at Tewkesbury Medieval Festival every July (Tewkesury, Gloucestershire, England). So there is plenty more to see if 2, 000 men in full medieval armour in pitched battle with cannons, fighting over the English crown is just too last season darling…. For more details about Europe's largest Medieval Event see www.tewkesburymedievalfestival.org
