onger the vocal accompaniments to dances round the maypole, old ballads
are still sung to dance tunes. The present acceptation of the word _ballet_
is--a theatrical representation in which a story is told only by gesture,
accompanied by music, which should be characterized by stronger emphasis
than would be employed with the voice. The dancing should be connected with
the story but is more commonly incidental. The French word was found to be
so comprehensive as to require further definition, and thus the
above-described would be distinguished as the _ballet d'action_ or
pantomime ballet, while a single scene, such as that of a village festival
with its dances, would now be termed a _divertissement_.

The _ballet d'action_, to which the changed meaning of the word is to be
ascribed, and therewith the introduction of modern ballet, has been
generally attributed to the 15th century. Novelty of entertainment was then
sought for in the splendid courts of Italy, in order to celebrate events
which were thought great in their time, such as the marriages of princes,
or the triumphs of their arms. Invention was on the rack for novelty, and
the skill of the machinist was taxed to the utmost. It has been supposed
that the art of the old Roman _pantomimi_ was then revived, to add to the
attractions of court-dances. Under the Roman empire the _pantomimi_ had
represented either a mythological story, or perhaps a scene from a Greek
tragedy, by mute gestures, while a chorus, placed in the background, sang
_cantica_ to narrate the fable, or to describe the action of the scene. The
question is whether mute pantomimic action, which is the essence of modern
ballet, was carried through those court entertainments, in which kings,
queens, princes and princesses, took parts with the courtiers; or whether
it is of later growth, and derived from professional dances upon the stage.
The former is the general opinion, but the court entertainments of Italy
and France were masques or masks which included declamation and song, like
those of Ben Jonson with Inigo Jones for the court of James I.

The earliest modern ballet on record was that given by Bergonzio di Botta
at Tortona to celebrate the marriage of the duke of Milan in 1489. The
ballet, like other forms of dancing, was developed and perfected in France;
it is closely associated with the history of the opera; but in England it
came much later than the opera, for it was not introduced until the 18t