arious
toned bells to the music as they danced. This dance of fools may have
suggested or became eventually merged into the "Morris Dance" (fig.
50) of which some account with other illustrations of "Comic Dances"
will be given hereafter. The man dancing and playing the pipes with a
woman on his shoulder (fig. 36), the stilt dancer with a curious
instrument (C), and the woman jumping through a hoop, give us other
illustrations of fourteenth century amusements.

[Illustration: Fig. 35.--14th century dancers. A and C are tumblers;
B, tumbling and balancing to the tambour; D, a woman dancing around a
whipped bear; E, jesters dancing.]

[Illustration: Fig. 36.--A, man dancing and playing pipes, carrying a
woman; B, jumping through a hoop; C, a stilt dance. 14th century.]

CHAPTER V.

SOCIETY DANCING FROM THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

[Illustration: Fig. 37.--Italian dance. From an engraving, end of 15th
century, attributed to Baccio Baldini.]

Concerning the dance as a means of social intercourse, it does not
appear to have been formulated as an accomplishment until late in the
thirteenth century, and at a later date was cultivated as a means of
teaching what we call deportment, until it became almost a necessity
with the classes, as is shown by the literature of that period. The
various social dances, such as the Volte, the Jig and the Galliard,
although in early periods, not so numerous, required a certain
training and agility. These, however, soon became complicated with
many social and local variations, the characteristics of which are a
study in themselves. The dances (figs. 37 and 38) in a field of
sports, from an Italian engraving of the fifteenth century, show us
nothing new; indeed, with different costumes it is very like what we
have from Egypt (fig. 3), only a different phase of the action, and
the attitude of this old dance is repeated even to our own time.

[Illustration: Fig. 38.--Italian dancing, the end of the 15th
century.]

In the Chamber dance by Martin Zasinger (fig. 39), of the fifteenth
century, no figures are in action, but we see an arrangement of the
guests and musicians, from which it is evident that the Chamber dance
as a social function had progressed and that the "Bal pare," etc.,
was here in embryo.

The flute and viol are evidently opening the function and the trumpets
and other portions of the orchestra on the other side waiting to come
in.

[Illustration: Fig. 39.--Chamber da