Sellenger's Round or The Beginning of the World

Original instructions Facsimile of John Playford's The English Dancing Master 3rd Edition 1657

(Hopefully) easier to understand instructions:

As many couples as want to dance stand in a circle with the woman to the right and the man to the left of each couple.

Part I

A   Everyone holds hands and takes eight sliding steps to the left. Repeat to the right

B1 Everyone takes four steps forward to the center of the circle, then four steps back to their places.

      Face your partner, take a step to the right, then a step to the left, then turn around.

B2 Repeat B1.

Part II

A While holding hands, everyone takes four steps forward to the center of the circle, then four steps back to their                places.   Repeat.

BB Repeat B1 and B 2 from Part I.

Part III

A Partners face each other, take four steps toward each other until they are lined up right shoulder to right shoulder, then take four steps back to their place.

Partners face each other, take four steps toward each other until they are lined up left shoulder to left shoulder, then take four steps back to their place.

BB Repeat B1 and B 2 from Part I.

Part IV

A Partners hold right hands and walk eight steps around each other. Partners hold left hands and walk eight steps around each other.

BB Repeat B1 and B 2 from Part I.

Here are more links for more information on some of the other stuff we talked about today.


http://www.leeches.biz/leech-help.htm

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/10/1024_031024_maggotmedicine.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witch-hunt

These are the sources I used for the first part of today's class.

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2002/crabb/history.html

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/webprojects2002/crabb/history.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Flamel

http://www.alchemylab.com/flamel.htm

The last one has links to some of the things Nicholas Flamel wrote if you want to try some alchemy of your own.  I didn't get most of it, but you might do better and some of the pictures are pretty.

Alquerques -- became Draughts when Europeans tried to play it on a Chess board --  then became Checkers

Each player has 12 pieces.  They start on the two back tows and the two far right places of the third row.  Only the center space will be open when the game starts.

Pieces can move one space in any direction.

A player captures pieces by jumping them like in modern checkers.

If a capture or captures are possible, they must be taken.

If a player does not take a possible capture, the other player may remove that piece before starting their turn.

You win by taking all your opponents pieces or by trapping them where they cannot move.




Medieval vs. Modern Chess

Pawns only moved one space forward -- no first move of two spaces and no capture on the diagonal, they became queens if they reached the other side.

Bishops moves two spaces diagonally and could jump over another piece to make their move.

The Queen moved one space diagonally.

Rooks, Knights, and the King moved the same as they do now.

Like modern chess, you win by capturing or blocking the King.  You could also win (though it was considered a lesser victory) by taking all of your opponents pieces except his King.

Next week we will be learning games.  If it is not raining, we will spend most of the class outside.  Please dress comfortably for the temperature.  If it is raining, we'll go outside the week after next.

Some students personal heraldry

 

 

Today we learned how you could tell people apart when they are all wearing helmets or are far away.

The Rules of Heraldry



There are five tinctures:
Azure (blue)
Gules (red)
Purpure (purple)
Sable (black)
Vert (green)

A tincture cannot be on top of another tincture, but two tinctures can be next to each other.


There are two metals:
Argent (silver)
Or (gold)

A metal cannot be on top of or next to another metal.


There are two furs:
Ermine (weasel tails)
Vair (squirrel tails)

There are so many variations of both of them that they got their own hand out.  A fur can go on any tincture or metal or even another fur IF there is enough contrast that you would be able to see it from across a field.


Proper was allowed in the Middle Ages, but was almost never used until modern times.  Proper means the picture is the color it would be in nature.  Proper can go on any tincture, metal, or fur if there is enough contrast that you would be able to see it from across a field.

Your personal heraldry can be as complex as you would like.  However, it will be easier to draw and easier for people to see from a distance if you keep it simple.  For example, my device is Vert, a bezant - which means a gold coin on a green background.  Even when it’s very small, I can tell it’s mine from across the room.