#morris dance

It's the holiday season! Time for incomprehensible traditions and seasonal fads. The sort of annual things that make one say, "How the hell did that get started?" and "What in the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Well today we are going to talk about just such a tradition. Mired in the mysterious mists of time, folklore, and possibly alcohol. Do you hear the jingle of bells? Do you hear a rhyming verse outside your house? Are you in Wales? If so, it might not just your average carolers... It might just be Mari Llwyd.

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Enjoy the episode images below!

This is one version of Mari Llwyd with a horse skull.

A Mari Lwyd ca. 1904

A Mari Lwyd from the mid 19th century

The Mari Lwyd is always led around by a well dressed gentlemen.

A "Hooden Horse" from Kent. Similar to Mari Lwyd, but not a horse skull.

The origin of Mari Lwyn and other similar traditions most likely come from the fad of Hobby Horses in the 16th and 17th centuries. Here a painting of Morris Dancers from 1620 features a dancer in a "Tourney Style" hobby horse.

A stained glass window depicting Morris Dancers and a Hobby Horse. Note the mention of "May". Hobby horse traditions could occur at multiple times of the year. Mari Lwyd is associated with the winter solstice, Christmas, or new years eve in Wales, but other hobby horses make appearances on May Day, or the summer solstice.

Nor is the tradition restricted to Britain. Here are hobby horses from Catalonia in Spain. And it is from Spain that hobby horses most likely galloped into the rest of Europe.

The spread of hobby horses came at a time when there was interest amongst European nobles in all things Moorish. The Morris Dance was directly a reference to the Moors. And the presence of hobby horses with Morris Dancers further establishes this connection.

Source details and larger version.