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Morricers

"We do it all day, we do it all night, because it's our fertility rite!" *

The morris is an ancient tradition of men's ritual dance from the Cotswold region of England (in Oxfordshire). The morris men's waving of handkerchiefs, clanging of bells, and beating of sticks wake the spirits of the earth in spring, bringing good fortune and fertility to your farm, field, and family.

The ritual's origins are obscure and unchronicled, but they probably derive from pagan ceremonies. Folklorists documented the dances in the early 20th century as the custom was dying out. The documentation spawned a number of revival morris teams, and the founding of the Morris Ring in England. The morris revival spread to America in the late 1960s, and now there are morris teams in many US and Canadian cities.

Each Cotswold village has its own variation, or "tradition", of the dances. A group - local to the Washington, DC area - the Foggy Bottom Morris Men, were founded in 1977 performs at various occasions. Practice is Thursday nights at 8:00 o'clock at Takoma Park Intermediate School. Call Jud at 703-528-0588.

For more information about morricers --

Also, see the following for a compendium of all known morris-related web sites.

• http://web.syr.edu/~rsholmes/morris/rich/morris_links.html
  
  
• http://web.syr.edu/~rsholmes/morris/rich/ml_intro.html

Excerpt from The Lady of the Lake **

Now in the Castle-park, drew out
Their checquered bands the joyous rout.
There morricers, with bell at heel,
And blade in hand, their mazes wheel;
But chief, beside the butts, there stand,
Bold Robin Hood, and all his band -
Friar Tuck with quarter-staff and cowl,
Old Scathelocke with his surly scowl,
Maid Marion, fair as ivory bone,
Scarlet, and Mutch, and Little John;
Their bugles challenge all that will,
In archery to prove their skill.
The Douglas bent a bow of might -
His first shaft centered in the white,
And when in turn he shot again,
His second split the first in twain.
From the King's hand must Douglas take
A silver dart, the archer's stake;
Fondly he watched, with watery eye,
Some answering glance of sympathy -
No kind emotion made reply!
Indifferent as to archer wight,
The Monarch gave the arrow bright.

Definitions ***

• Morrice - Noun. Obsolete form of Morris.
• Morricer - Noun. Form of morrice, Morris. A morris-dancer, Scott
• Morris - Noun. Substitute use of morys, obsolete variation of Moorish, 1500;
• Morris-Dance - 1512; a body of morris-dancers, 1500; morris bell, one of the small metal bells attached to the clothing of morris-dancers, 1560; Footing the Morris about a May pole, 1589.
• Morris, morrice - Instransitive verb. To dance
• Morris-dance - Noun. 1458; A grotesque dance performed by persons in fancy costume, usually representing characters from the Robin Hood legend. Hence, any similar mumming performance. Also, a representation of this dance. Hence, Morris-dancer, 1507. ***

Sources:
* From the Foggy Bottom Morris Men's flyer
** Scott, Sir Walter, The Lady of The Lake, George G. Harrap & Co. LTD., London, undated
*** From The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary

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