The linked-sword dances of of north-eastern England are performed by five, six or eight men. Traditionally they appear only during the Christmas season, usually on Plough Monday, which is January 12 this year.
The ceremony begins with the dancers walking round in a circle, in some versions clashing their swords together. Then they place the sword over the shoulder and each man grasps the point of the sword in front of him with one hand, while keeping hold of his own hilt with the other hand. Next the swords are lowered to waist-level, so that the dancers form a ring, linked with hilt and point by their weapons. This link is normally maintained throughout the dance.
Always mintaining their grip on their own and their neighbor’s swords, the dancers then perform a series of complicated figures– each following the other, they jump over and pass under the weapons, either singly or in pairs, so that the whole set turns itself inside-out and right-way-about many times. As a culmination, the swords are ingeniously woven togher into a pentagonal, hexagonal or octagonal star (variously called the Lock, Rose, Knot or Nut) which is held aloft for display.
Both forms of sword dance share these basic characteristics. The Longsword dances of Yorkshire are performed by six or eight men, who use semi-rigid swords made from wood or metal, about three feet long, with a simple hilt at one end. After the Lock has been made - and sometimes passed from hand to hand round the marching ring of dancers–it is dropped over the head of a jester or clown so that it rests about his neck. Then at a given signal the dancers suddenly withdraw their swords and the pretend victime falls “dead” to the ground.
This dramatic feature is not included in the Rapier dances of Northumberland and Durham. These five-man dances are performed with short two-foot rapiers of flexible sprung steel, having both a fixed hilt and a swivelling point-guard. The pentagular Nut is so small that sudden withdrawal could really result in a beheading. The Nut is symbolically rested around the victim’s neck or used to knock off his hat. Often it is simply held up while the sword team performs clog dance in line or perform athletic feats like back somersaults over the swords.
Where did this sword dance originate? It is possible that this ritual dates to prehistoric times. It is also feasible that the dance originally represented the sacrifice of either a man or woman or totem beast. In some places the victims or jesters still wear animal skin caps whose resurrection were vital to the survival of the community. In prehistory the animal was the human source of food, clothing and weapons.
However it originated, it is a unique and skillful representation of the way of the sword. The sword dancers who still perform today are preserving a link to the past.
Happy Plough Day!