Sword Dancing in Europe: A History

Sword Dancing in Europe: A History. By Stephen D. Corrsin. Tradition Series, no. 3. Enfield Lock: Hisarlik Press for the Folklore Society, 1997. xii + 290pp. Illus. ISBN 1 874312 25 7. 25 [pounds sterling]. Distributed by the Folklore Society (enquiries to the FLS).

It is a privilege and a pleasure to review this book. Steve Corrsin is an enthusiast and his first words set the tone for what follows: "Writing this book has been a wonderful experience for me ..." He is an eager sword dancer himself, and his delight in his subject is infectious. Equally important, he is a professional librarian, well-versed in contemporary information technology, and also with a strong academic background in European languages and history. All this expertise admirably qualifies him for such a labour of love. Perhaps it also helps that, as an American, he can stand outside the complexities of the European traditions, and can view them with a measure of objectivity.

One of the most attractive features of the book is the way in which Corrsin gives generous acknowledgements to the many people who helped him in his preparations for it. Although it is very much an individual achievement, it clearly depends on the previous labours of many individuals such as, to name only two, Trevor Stone and Christopher Cawte. It is good to see these scholars, and all their fellows, duly appreciated. The Folklore Society can be justly proud that it has helped Keith Chandler's books on morris dancing into existence, and that now it has followed them with a similarly ground-breaking work on sword dancing. Corrsin, like Chandler, has produced a genuinely pioneering book which both gathers together all that has been said in the past and also offers a secure base from which future scholarship can begin.

At first sight the structure of the book may seem unnecessarily complex, but this has been forced on Corrsin by the varied nature of his material. This divides quite significantly into two distinct periods, an earlier one from around 1400 to 1750 and a later one from 1750 to 1945. This chronological separation is then further divided geographically, so that chapters two to five cover the appropriate areas for the earlier period, and chapters six to twelve deal with the somewhat different countries or regions which are relevant for the later years. A final, thirteenth chapter gives a general outline of what has happened since 1945. In practice, this all makes complete sense; and it is perfectly simple to locate particular items of interest or areas of contrast, and to follow through lines of development.

It is, however, essential to read the first introductory chapter very carefully. Corrsin calls this "An Overview," and it is a condensed summary of his approach and of his general findings. Every word counts. He declares with refreshing forthrightness that sword dancing "is by no means an ancient timeless mystery, derived from the magical rituals of primitive humanity, insusceptible to historical study" (p. 5). He continues: "My basic principle is that the evidence must be used, and relied upon, in order to support scholarly interpretations." He acknowledges the necessary limitations which the evidence may have in terms of its unevenness of quality or availability, but he accepts this as an inevitable and healthy challenge. In the present context of folklore scholarship this positive attitude is only to be expected, as is his firm dismissal of the "doctrine of survivals" approach. But I was interested by his evident sympathy for less austere approaches to the subject: "Nonetheless, the idea of ancient rituals surviving into modern times remains a popular explanation among folk dance revivalists, performers, and casual observers. Perhaps this reflects the need many modern urban educated people feel for connections to primitive and allegedly mystical roots, and, of course, it makes a dramatic story to tell audiences" (p. 10).

As a fellow-performer I can recognise the sentiments espoused here as ones which are becoming acceptable as a contemporary orthodoxy, and they deserve further attention in an appropriate place. But here they are merely incidental to Corrsin's main concern with his "rich, distinct, and concrete history" (p. 5). After this introduction, and through the remainder of the book, he outlines his detailed evidence with skilful erudition. As far as I can judge, all the available relevant material has been gathered in, so that it is here for future reference. I cannot forbear from sharing my delight in noting Adolphe Fine, who in 1887 was organising the bacc-u-ber of the French Alps in what seems to have been much the same way that D'Arcy Ferris had organised the Shakespearean Bidford Morris Dancers in 1886 (p. 111). Controversial figures, such as Cecil Sharp, Rolf Gardner, Richard Wolfram receive full and fair treatment, with the opportunity being left for a modification of provisional judgements.

I was pleased to find that Corrsin, or his publishers, had decided to use footnotes rather than endnotes. This makes it easier to absorb the significance of references, but it does make it slightly more difficult to locate full bibliographical details for the second and subsequent use of sources. It is a pity that there is not a full bibliography, which would solve this problem. Perhaps the rationale behind this decision was that Corrsin has published admirable bibliographies elsewhere, and it may be helpful to give some emphasis here to this fact. The most useful and the most easily available is referred to in footnote 5 on p. 8, Sword Dancing in Britain: An Annotated Bibliography Based on the Holdings of the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library of EFFDS (London, 1993). This title is misleading because it does, in fact, include a valuable section on continental Europe. Like all of Corrsin's work, it is thoroughly to be recommended. It would make an admirable complement to the present volume in the absence of an integral bibliography.

I suggest a careful reading of Corrsin's conclusion to his final chapter. I like his commonsense suggestion that "change, adaptation, and revivals are essential elements in the tradition of linked sword dancing" (p. 271). Even more I approve of the following passage, a suitable place to leave an excellent book which will long serve as the basic reference source for this "wonderful material": "But this lack of definite documentation is hardly unusual or unexpected for popular performance customs. There is no reason to mourn the lack of certainty about origins or development, or to create romantic tales of unique origins. Rather there is a great deal of wonderful material available, both historical and contemporary, for scholars, performers, audiences, indeed for all interested parties to mull over and argue about" (p. 275).

Roy Judge, Folklore Society

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