Antiquity as Inspiration in the Renaissance of Dance

Antiquity as Inspiration in the Renaissance of Dance: The Classical Connection and FifteenthCentury Italian Dance
Author(s): Barbara Sparti
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Dance Chronicle, Vol. 16, No. 3 (1993), pp. 373-390
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Antiquity as Inspiration in the
Renaissance of Dance:
The Classical Connection and
Fifteenth-CenturyItalian Dance
BarbaraSparti
AncientGreecehas beenan inspirationto dancersand choreographers
throughouthistory. In this centuryalone, classicalthemes and attitudes influenced, among others, Isadora Duncan, Michel Fokine,
Antony Tudor, and MarthaGraham.In seventeenth-and eighteenthcenturyFranceand England,balletsregularlyfeaturedthe trialsand
lovesof a cast of Greekheroes.And stillearlier,ThoinotArbeaucomparedhis Bouffonsto the ancientpyrrhicdances,whileFabritioCaroso
enrichedhis choreographieswith steps inspiredby Greekpoetryand
But to discoverthe firstrenovatorsof "the ancientstyle"
architecture.1
within the modernage, we must go back to fifteenth-centuryItaly.
In the fifteenth century, Italy witnessednot only a returnto
natureand a new emphasison the dignityof man, but also "an intense preoccupationwith classicalantiquity."2As partof this, it produced a profusion of treatises-in Latin and in the vernacular-on
all sorts of questions,from educationand the familyto architecture,
painting, and music.3These treatiseswere often based on classical
models, and many incorporated,at least in part, forms and styles
? 1993 by Barbara Sparti
373
374
DANCE CHRONICLE
TABLE OF FIFTEENTH-CENTURY DANCE SOURCES*
DANCE TREATISES WITH MUSIC
(in chronological order)
Title
Date
Author
Locationt
Domenico da Piacenza
c. 1455
De arte saltandi et choreas
ducendi
PBN f. ital. 972
Antonio Cornazano
1455/1465
Libro dell'Arte del
Danzare
RBV Cod. Capp. 203
Guglielmo Ebreo
1463
De pratica seu arte tripudii
PBN f. ital. 973
Giovanni Ambrosio
(alias Guglielmo Ebreo)
c. 1474
De pratica seu arte tripudii
PBN f. ital. 476
tPBN Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale
RBV Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana
LOCATION OF OTHER VERSIONS OF GUGLIELMO EBREO'S TREATISE
(without music)
(in alphabetical order)
Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale (Magliabecchiano XIX, 88)
Florence, Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (Cod. Antinori 13), 1510
Modena, Biblioteca Estense (Cod. Ital. 82. a. J. 94)
New York Public Library (*MGZMBZ-Res. 72-254)
Siena, Biblioteca Comunale (L.V. 29)
LOCATION OF OTHER DANCE SOURCES
Florence, Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale (Cod. Palat. 1021), fragment
Foligno, Seminario Vescovile, Biblioteca Jacobilli (D. I. 42), bassedanze
Nuremberg,GermanischesNationalmuseum(HS 8842/GS 1589), 1517, letter with choreographies
Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana (It. II. 34 [= 4906] Libro di Sidrach), dance descriptions
*Forfurtherinformationon the treatisesand fragments,see F. AlbertoGallo, "IIBallareLombardo, circa 1435-1475," Studi Musicali 8 (1979), pp. 61-84; W. Thomas Marrocco, Inventory
of 15th Century Bassedanze, Balli & Balletti (New York: CORD, 1981); and Barbara Sparti,
Guglielmo Ebreo: De pratica seu arte tripudii/On the Practice or Art of Dancing (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1993).
ANTIQUITYAS INSPIRATION
375
suchas the Socraticdialogueborrowedfromthe ancients.Whileearly
humanistsporedover Greekmanuscriptsof literature,history,medicine, rhetoric,and philosophy,"editing,translating,commentingand
synthesizing,"4the wealthand powerof Renaissanceprinceswas being increasinglyassessedby the quantityand qualityof antiquitiesin
their collectionsand libraries.5
Among these treatiseswere a numberon the dance, of which
nine have so far come to light (see Table).Thesecontainedthe choreographicdescriptions-and the music-of dancesthatwereperformed
on public and privateoccasions. For the most part, both the dances
and the treatiseswerethe creationof two dancing-masters,
Domenico
da Piacenzaand GuglielmoEbreo (Williamthe Jew).6Both of them
dedicatedthe first part of theirtreatisesto a theoryof the dance and
set out its basic principles.Like so many of their contemporariesin
otherdisciplines,they also includedan Apologia, in theircase aimed
at provingthe worthof the danceat a time when, like painting,it was
consideredneitherartnor science.One of the waysthe dancing-masters
soughtto give dignityto theirtreatises,and henceto the danceitself,
was to imbue both defense and theory with referencesto antiquity.7
Guglielmo,for example,emulatesPlato's Socraticdialogueand utilizes it to convincea groupof hypotheticaldisciplesof the justnessof
his fundamentalprecepts.8
Domenico, for his part, uses no less a classicalauthoritythan
Aristotle to introduceand defend his basic principlesof the dance.
On the veryfirstpage of his treatise,he refersto Books Two and Ten
of Aristotle'sNicomacheanEthics.9In applyingthe Doctrineof the
Mean(BookTwo, chapter6) to dance,Domenicotellshis readernever
to take eitherAgility or Body Manner(basicprinciplesnecessaryfor
good dancing)to extremes, but to maintaina balance, so that the
dancer'smovement"is neithertoo much nor too little but has such
smoothness that it resembles a gondola driven forward . . . through
those little waves, which . . . when the sea is . . . calm, rise slowly
and fall quickly."*Then,by simplyremindingthe readerthatAristotle
*"E nota che questa agilitade e maniera per niuno modo vole essere adoperata per li estremi.
Ma tenire el mezo del tuo movimento che non sia ni tropo, ni poco, ma cum tanta suavitade
che pari una gondola che da dui rimi spinta sia per quelle undicelle quando el mare fa quieta
segondo sua natura alcando le dicte undicelle cum tardeza e asbasandosse cum presteza." (The
transcription and translation are mine; abbreviations have been silently expanded.) This metaphor describes a step embellishment-a wavelike motion of rising and falling made with each
step-which is called Air by Guglielmo and "ondeggiare" by Antonio Cornazano (note 16).
376
DANCE CHRONICLE
discussesmotion in Book Ten, Domenico apparentlybelieveshe has
providedsufficient authorityfor his basic principleof body movement.10
Domenico was able to use Aristotle's philosophyto morally
justify dance as a virtue, not only becauseit shuns the extremesand
keepsthe mean, but also becausePrudence(phronesis,practicalcommon sense)-one of the five Aristotelianmodes of thought or states
of mind throughwhichtruthis reached,along with art, science,wisdom, and intuition-is composedof Measureand born of Memory,
two other basic principlesof fifteenth-centurydance.11Measurewas
a complex and very importanttenet in the dance treatises,meaning
variousthingssuchas rhythm,units(or "measures")of music,meter,
timing(keepingone's stepswith the music),proportions(inspired,no
doubt, by Pythagoras),regulations,quantity, and moderation.Anotherkind of Measure"partitionedthe ground," the dancergauging
the space, adjustinghis steps accordingto the size of the room, and
keepingapace with his partner.
Memory was an extremelysignificantconcept in antiquity.
The roots of the mnemonicart werepre-Socratic,Simonidesof Ceos
being considered its founder.12And in the second century A.D., in his
"On the Dance," the most influentiallate-classicalwork on the subject, LuciandescribedMemoryas the veryfirst requisitefor a dancer
inasmuchas it allowed the dancerto know by heart and be able to
give pantomimicrepresentationof well-knownepisodes in history,
Medievalscholasticismrevived(and remythology, and literature.13
vised) the art of memory,as did the Neoplatonicmovementof Marsilio Ficino and Pico della Mirandolain the late fifteenth century,
transformingit "into an Hermeticor occult art."'4But the earlyhumanists-contemporariesof Domenico-tended to distancethemselves
from the Middle Ages, deprecatingthe ancient art with its "places
and images" and comingout in favor of straightforwardmethodsof
memorising.5 This pragmaticapproachto Memoryis reflectedin the
dance treatises, which seem rathernaively to include Memoryas a
basic principleprimarilyfor its name and "prestigevalue"; its applicabilityto dance is limitedto Domenico's explanationthat Memory
is the "repository"of all movements,steps, and embellishments,and
later to the admonitionof Antonio Cornazano(one of Domenico's
disciples)to "rememberthe steps you have to do when you begin a
ANTIQUITYAS INSPIRATION
377
dance!"'6 Guglielmo adds that a dancer should be wary of being
"scorned for his lack of forethoughtor want of memory," and if
he allows himselfto be borne along and led by chance, "not rememberingwhat is the beginning,the middle, or the end, [he] will appear
absent-mindedand his dancingwill be imperfect."17
Besides the basic principlesof dance, Domenico presentsan
originalconcept,still fascinatingto dancerstoday, that drawsperhaps
significantlyon ancientGreecefor both its name and the subsequent
metaphor.Accordingto Domenico, anyonewho wishedto learnthe
"craft"of dancinghad to dancewith "phantasmata."Thisterm(sing.
0ouTcraa/zA)-which means "ghost" in Italian, "image" in Latin,
and derivesfrom the Greekverb "to appear"-was for Domenico"a
body quickness"(or subtlety,createdby the intellect)that consisted
in the dancermakinga pauseat everystep, "as if-as the poet sayshe had seen the Medusa'shead; that is, havingmade the movement
he instantlyand completelyturnsto stone, and thenimmediatelygrows
wingslike a falcon whichis seekingits prey."18 Accordingto Cornazano, this standingstill as deathfor a tempo(the equivalentof a modern bar of music) and then enteringinto the following bar with airy
motion was not unattractiveif done now and then, and he confirms
Domenico's saying that slow dancingespeciallyshould resemblean
"ombraphantasmatica,"a ghostly shade. This quality,we are told,
means "many things which are difficult to expressin words."'9
Guglielmo,dealingwith the not unrelatedconcept of expresdescribes
sion,
dancingas "an outwardmanifestationof the movements of the soul . . . which, through our hearing, moves down with
delightto our intellectand our affections, wherethereis then generatedcertainsweetcommotionswhich,as if pentup unnaturally,struggle
mightilyto escape and displaythemselvesin action."20This passage
may well have been inspiredby a similarconceptin the Laws, where
Plato affirmsthat "dancearose from the naturaldesireof the young
... to move their bodies in orderto expresstheir emotions ... "21
is gesture,so essenCloselyconnectedto the ideaof expressivity
tial a part of ancient dance. Specificgesturesand facial expressions
are describedin two of Domenico's pantomimicchoreographies.22
Guglielmo,who makesseveralreferencesto gesture,exhortshis readers in his very first Rule to varytheir steps and gesturesaccordingto
the musical modes. The dance tunes were composed in two chiavi
378
DANCE CHRONICLE
(clefs)-B natural,"farmoreairy,"andB flat, sweeterandlesscoarseand it was of the greatestimportanceto follow carefullythe particular
music "with body and gesture."23Renaissancemusicianswerefascinated with the Greekmodes, not simply becausethey representedan
ancientand noble past, but also becauseof the belief, derivedfrom
Aristotleand Plato, that the modescould unlockthe powersof music
over human feelings and morals.24
The universeof the earlyhumanistswas dominatedby the ideal
of Harmony.Plato stresses"the senseof harmonyand rhythmwhich
. . . makes dances out of instinctive movements."25 And it is Har-
mony, seen as the sourceand sustenanceof the dance,that dominates
the introductorysonnetand Prefaceof Guglielmo'streatise.Guglielmo
also uses the Prefaceto extol the virtuesof Music, to discussits possible inventors, and finally to show how Dance was born from it.
He sets out to claim for Dance the statusenjoyedby Musicwhich, in
fifteenth-century
Italy,wasconsideredbothan artanda science.Music,
we are told, had the powerto stir old Pluto in the Underworldand to
make stones and rocksarrangethemselvesinto the wallsof Thebesin
responseto Amphion'splaying.And becausesuch fabledancientfigures as Apollo, Syrinx,Vulcan, and Pan were all consideredresponsible for the invention of Music, Dance achievedmoral and ethical
respectabilitythroughits mediatedassociationwiththem.26Now, with
its divinegenealogyassured,Dance had become an appropriatepursuit for the contemporarynobility-the actualrecipientsof the dance
treatises.27
Domenico and Guglielmoeven named some of their dances
after classicalgods and mythologicalfigures,while othersare named
in honor of Italian princes and princesses.The choreographiesfor
Jupiter,Cupid, Venus,Phoebus, andDaphnearein no way different
as regardssteps, form, and musicfrom any of the otherdancesin the
treatises.It is quitepossible,therefore,thatthesedanceswereso named
simply because of the distinctionclassicalnames conferredand the
visionsthey evoked. They may, on the other hand, have been choreographies that were originallycreated for particularallegoricalor
cosmologicalrepresentations.
These representations,called morescheor tramezzi(mimed,
danced,or musicalinterludesinsertedinto long plays or banquets),28
are described,for the most part, in contemporarychroniclesand am-
ANTIQUITY AS INSPIRATION
379
bassadorialreports.29They portrayedallegorical,heroic, exotic, and
pastoralscenes and were performed,for the most part, in costume,
using distinctiveheadgear,masks, scenery,and special effects-fire
in particular.Mock skirmisheswerecommon and the Fool a popular
character,whilethe grotesquewas representedby dodderingold men
and fantasticmonsters.Animals were often impersonated,the most
frequentlyrepresentedbeing lions, unicorns, bears, and stags. The
motif of the SevenPlanetswas a favoriteand may well have been inspiredby the ancient dances of the spheresreferredto in Lucian. A
dance of the Seven Planets was performedin Pesaro in 1475during
the wedding festivities of a Sforza prince.30And in the celebrated
Festadel Paradiso,stagedand directedby Leonardoda Vinciin 1490
in Milan, the SevenPlanets-followed by Mercury,the threeGraces,
the seven Virtues, nymphs, and Apollo-came down to earth and
honored the Duke and his new wife.3'
The moresche performedon state occasions and at official
Carnivalcelebrationshad a specific function and were not mere diversion.The allegoricalthemesand symbolismflatteredand idealized
the prince, his image reinforcedthroughthe highlightingof his virtues, magnificence,and power.32In 1474,a princefromthe Aragonese
court of Naples was honored in the Duchy of Urbino with a "festa
scenicamitologica." In one scene, six lewd and treacherouswomen
of antiquity, with Semiramisand Cleopatraat their head, accused
Cupid of havingtried to kidnapPersephone,and were subsequently
dispatchedto their "dark and gloomy haunt." The high point of the
spectaclewas a danceperformedaroundChastity,led in by Penelope.
First, six "queens of antiquity"-Nicostrata, Zenobia, Artemisia,
Dido, the Queenof Sheba, and Tamyris-performeda bassadanzain
a ring, and then, as they kneltin conclusion,they werecircledin turn
by twelvenymphsdancingaroundthem, both dancesbeingperformed
to the playedand sungmusicof two well-knownchansons.33One cannot help but see similaritiesin Ben Jonson's TheMasque of Queens
of 1609,in whichtwelvewitches(Vice)dancedtwice,threateningKing
Jamesandthe audienceitself, until "the hagsand theirHellvanished"
andtwelve"famousQueensof history"(Virtue)dancedthreedances.34
The quintessentialallegorical "representation"is probably
the magnificentballo whichtook place duringthe banquetorganized
in Rome in 1473for the weddingof Ercoled'Este, the brotherof the
380
DANCE CHRONICLE
celebratedIsabellad'Este.The dancecenteredon Hercules,thegroom's
namesake.After dancingwith variousheroesand nymphs,Hercules
engagedin battle and in a grand finale defeated the Centaurs.35
It is interestingto compareDionysiusof Halicarnassus'
account
of anotherbattle dance, or pyrrhic,with that of one that took place
in Ferrarain 1502for the weddingfestivitiesof LucreziaBorgia, the
daughterof Pope AlexanderVI. Dionysius,in hisArchaeologia(Roman
theirhelmetsadorned
Antiquities),describesthe dressof the performers,
with plumes, their spearsand shields. He explainsthat the company
was split into three divisions, each with a leaderwho prescribedthe
figureof the dance for the others and, to the music of flute or lyre,
kept time with the beat. Generally,the motions were quick and warlike, and differentoffensive movementswere attempted,at times in
singlecombat, at timesone divisionagainstanother.36In Ferrara,ten
warriorstook part, appearingfirstone by one and laterin two groups.
They also were dressedin armorand in helmets, with red and white
plumes. They were "armedafter the mannerof the ancients," with
large knives, maces, two-handedswords, and daggers.They danced
to the musicof pipes and taborsand, with quickmovementsexpressing a determinationto kill the opponent, they fell to blows which,
like their steps, were in time to the music. The maces broken, they
drewtheirswords,stabbingat eachotherwithgreatdexterity(forward
and backward),dancingthe wholetime. At a givensignal,they threw
down their swords,and takingtheirdaggers,attackedeach other. At
anothermusicalsignal, one half of the numberfell down as if dead
or wounded, while the others, with their daggersdrawn, stood over
them. The conquerorsthen bound their prisonersand led them off
the stage.37
Not only were the pyrrhicdancersin Ferraraarmed "in the
ancient manner"; they dressedin classicalcostume as well. Italian
painterswho were contemporariesof Domenico and Guglielmoalso
clothedtheirallegoricalpersonagesin the conventional"ancientmanner." Men, indeed,wereoften portrayedwearingRoman-typearmor,
whilewomenweredepictedmuchlikeSalomein FilippoLippi's"Dance
of Salome"in the Cathedralof Prato. Salomewearsno overgarments
but has her chemisepouchedout betweenthe girdlestied aroundand
belowherwaist.The sameformulais usedin Mantegna's"Parnassus,"
now in the Louvre. Accordingto Stella Mary Newton, Mantegna's
ANTIQUITY AS INSPIRATION
381
FilippoLippi's"Danceof Salome," a detailof a fresco(1452-64)
in the Cathedralof Prato (Italy).
paintingsin particulargiveus an ideaof the costumesusedfor "nymphs
and goddesses, and of the generalscenic presentationof the Italian
court theatreas it was at the end of the fifteenth century."38Scenes
from antiquityoften decoratedmarriagechests, like the cassonenow
at the HuntingtonLibrary,which representsStratonice,daughterof
King Demetriusof Macedonia, marrying,banqueting,and dancing
with Antiochus, her new husband. With her underdresstucked up,
she too is dressedin the mock-classicalfashion of the early Renaissance.39
In his treatise, Guglielmoalso addressedhimself to the question of who should dance, quite probablytaking inspirationfrom
Plato and Aristotle. "This [artof dancing],"he writes, "most favors
andbefitsthosewhoseheartsarelovingand generousand whosespirits
382
DANCE CHRONICLE
A detail of Andrea Mantegna'spaintingParnassus(1497), now
in the Louvre.
ANTIQUITY AS INSPIRATION
383
"Antiochusand Stratonice":a detail of a fifteenth-centurycassone painted"in the mannerof" Matteodi Giovanni,now in the
HuntingtonLibrary,Pasadena,California.
areennobledby a heavenlybent ... but it is completelyaliento, and
the mortalenemy of, vile and rude mechanicalswho often, with corrupt souls and treacherousminds, turn it from a liberalart and virtuous science into somethingadulterousand ignoble." At the same
time, however, dance "not only ennobles and refines virtuous and
esteemedmen, but even the ill-manneredand the base-bornbecome
most noble-minded." To dance well, Guglielmocontinues, is "far
easierand moreamenablefor those whose natureand noble make-up
havebeen disposedto it by the heavensabove, and whosewell-proportioned bodies are pliant, healthy, and agile."40
For Aristotle, dancing needed to be regulatedto give young
men moraltrainingand intellectualand aestheticgratification,highly
384
DANCE CHRONICLE
idealisticdance "purgingthe young student'ssoul of unseemlyemotions and preparingthe future citizen for a truly honourableenjoymentof leisuretime."'4And in the Laws, Plato suggeststhat all boys
and girlsshouldbe instructedin noble danceand music(whichis fine
and honorable),while all kinds of "unworthyrhythmsand harmonies, stepsand gestures"shouldbe excludedfrom publicperformances
and schools. Noble dancing createda well-balancedmind and conferredhealth, agility, and beauty on the body and goodness on the
soul.42
Whateverparallelsthere may be betweenancient Greeceand
fifteenth-centuryItaly regardingthe status of the dance, certainimportantdifferencesdid exist. Whereasdancingwas heldin highesteem
in Greece, it did not rank among the leading pursuitsat the Italian
courts despitethe efforts of Domenico and Guglielmo;and although
dancingwas an integralpart of most entertainmentsand festivities,
many princes, in fact, had no permanentdancing-masters.Furthermore,the chroniclersof greatweddingsandreceptionstook littlenotice
of the dancing,insteaddescribingandrecordingthe valueof the clothes
and jewels of those present. The humanistcurriculum,directedprimarilyat educatingprincesand upper-classmales, and centeringon
moral and religious studies, intellectualtraining, and physical development,essentiallyignoredand at times explicitlycondemnedthe
dance.43Onlytwo of the thirteenor moretreatiseson educationwritten
by leadingItalianhumanistsin the fifteenthcenturyadmitdancing.44
Guarinoallows it along with outdoor activitiessuch as ball games,
hunting, walking, and riding, while Vittorino da Feltre warns that
dancing, like choral singing and instrumentalmusic, should have a
situationsonly, that is, where
placein the curriculumin circumscribed
it is certainnot to lead to either indolenceor sensualexcitement.45
As to the statusof the dancing-masters
themselves,in antiquity,
to
Lillian
of
"Teachers
Lawler,
according
dancing,who devisedand
taught the choreographyfor the ancient ritual dances, were held in
the highestregard,"whileall professionalactivityin the field of dance
(as well as music) was to be relegatedto slaves, freedmen,and foreigners.46The situationwas rathersimilarto that in Italy, wherethe
social status of dancing-masterswas so low that, judgingby Guglielmo's careerat least, even knighthooddid not betterit, and even the
best dancing-masterhad constantlyto searchfor patronage.47
ANTIQUITYAS INSPIRATION
385
While it is unlikelythat the dancing-mastersthemselveswere
acquaintedwith Plato's or Lucian'swritingson the dance, theirtreatisesarewrittenin the humaniststyleandreflectthe interestin all things
Greek.48Referencesto the Golden Mean, to Memory, to classical
philosophersand divinities,when appliedto the dance, seem to have
been primarilyintendedto impressthe noble readerand to elevate
the status of the dance. Parallelsbetween allegoricalmorescheand
the ancientsung-and-danced
theatreinterludesmaywellexist,although
we shall probablyneverknow if and in what ways the composersof
the moreschethought they were recreatingthese Greekspectacles.49
What is importantis that the morescheallow us to claim them as yet
anotherindicationof the way the fifteenthcenturyfound inspiration
in antiquity,and at the same time they stand as a manifestationof a
Renaissanceconceptionof antiquity,vivid if inaccurate.
Notes
1. ThoinotArbeau(pseudonymfor JehanTabourot),Orchesographie
(Langres, 1589; fac. rpt. Langres:D. Gueniot, 1988; Geneva:
Minkoff, 1972;Englishtr. M. S. Evans, new ed. J. Sutton, New
York: Dover, 1967). FabritioCaroso, Nobilta di dame (Venice,
1600;rpt. Bologna:Forni, 1970;tr. J. Sutton, OxfordUniversity
Press, 1986). The step-namesare the Dactyl, the Spondaic, the
Sapphic, and the Corinthian.
2. Erwin Panofsky, Renaissanceand Renascencesin WesternArt
(New York:Harper& Row, 1969;rpt. Icon ed., 1972),Ch. I and
p. 39.
3. See, among others, works by Leon BattistaAlberti on painting,
architecture,and the family; FranchinoGafurio on music; and
Vergerioand LeonardoBruni on education.
4. Claude V. Palisca, Humanism in Italian RenaissanceMusical
Thought(New Haven: Yale UniversityPress, 1984), p. 23.
5. See, for example, Thomas J. Tuohy, "Studies in Domestic Expendituresat the Courtof Ferrara(ArtisticPatronageand Princely
Magnificence),"Ph.D. dissertation(London:WarburgInstitute,
1982).
386
DANCE CHRONICLE
6. See my edition and translationof GuglielmoEbreo:De pratica
seu arte tripudii/On the Practice or Art of Dancing (Oxford:
ClarendonPress, 1993).Chapter1 deals with the variouscopies
of Guglielmo'streatise,Chapter2 with his life. See also Chapter
1, pp. 3-4, for informationon Domenico'slife andtreatise.Domenico's treatiseis publishedby D. R. Wilson(Cambridge,Engl.:
The Early Dance Circle, 1988).
7. These referenceswereoften simply "rhetoricalattemptsto bolster the social status" of the artist and his art and were, more
than occasionally,madeup of no morethan naiveaffirmations,
commonplaces,cliches,and forced, farfetchedargumentswhich
reflected,togetherwith "profoundoriginalideas about the nature of the arts," the "manynotions [which]werein the air" at
the time. EmanuelWinternitz,Leonardoda Vincias a Musician
(New Haven: Yale UniversityPress, 1982), p. 219.
8. This same dialogueform was first used in a "defenseof dance"
in the second centuryA.D. by Lucianin his On the Dance, The
Loeb ClassicalLibrary,Vol. 5 (London: WilliamHeinemann;
Cambridge,Mass.: HarvardUniversityPress, 1936).And it was
to be takenup againin the sixteenthcenturyby ThoinotArbeau
in Franceand FabritioCarosoin Italy in theirimportantdance
manuals(see note 1).
9. The Ethics of Aristotle/The NicomacheanEthics, tr. J. A. K.
Thomson, rev. H. Tredennick(London:PenguinBooks, 1953;
rpt. 1987).
10. Aristotle discussesmotion in Book Ten, Chapter4.
11. Domenico, fol. 2v, states: "la mexura e parte de prudentia ...
12.
13.
14.
15.
la
memoriae madrede la prudentia."See also Aristotle'sEthics,
VI. ii-vi, and FrancesYates, TheArt of Memory(Chicago:Universityof ChicagoPress, 1966),pp. 20-1.
See Yates, pp. 1-4.
Lillian B. Lawler, TheDance in Ancient Greece(Middletown,
Conn.: WesleyanUniversityPress, 1965),points out that "some
scholarsregardthis essay as the work of an imitatorof Lucian"
(p. 145).
Yates, p. 128.
Ibid., pp. 126-7.
ANTIQUITY AS INSPIRATION
387
16. Antonio Cornazanowas a courtier,humanist,and poet. Though
not a dancing-master,he wrote a treatise for Ippolita Sforza,
the daughterof the Duke of Milan. A latercopy of the original
treatise,now lost, was publishedby CurzioMazzi in La Bibliofilia, XVII, 1915, and translatedinto Englishby MadeleineInglehearnand PeggyForsyth(London:DanceBooks Ltd., 1981).
17. See Sparti, GuglielmoEbreo, pp. 94 and 95.
18. Domenico, fol. 2'. "The poet" probablyalludesto Homer,who
first mentionedthe Gorgon'shead. Hesiod, however,in specifying three differentheads, was the first poet to referto Medusa.
19. Cornazano,Libro, fol. 7r. It is still difficult today to interpret
this enigmaticquality:possiblythe holdingandreleasingof breath
or energy,similarto a fermata,or perhapsrubatoor phrasingin
music. Domenico,indeed,refersto the body'sbreathingthrough
"phantasmata"(fol. 1').And one wondersif theremay not be a
linguisticand conceptuallink with the "umbregi"or body shading describedby Guglielmoin his Chapteron Manner(fol. 8V).
20. See Sparti, GuglielmoEbreo, pp. 88 and 89.
21. Especiallyjoy. Lawler,p. 14.
22. Mercantiaand Sobria. See also Giorgio's Tangeloso,wherethe
two dancers,with each step, have to "look at one anotherwith
jealousy."The Giorgiotreatisehasrecentlybeeneditedby Andrea
Francalanciand is publishedin BaslerJahrbuchfur historische
Musikpraxis,14 (Winterthur:AmadeusVerlag, 1990).
23. Sparti, GuglielmoEbreo, pp. 104 and 105. The chiavi (musical
clefs or signatures)of B molle and B quadroprobablyrefer to
the two systemsknown later as cantusmollis and cantusdurus,
which developedout of the hexachordtheory. The three hexachordswerenaturale,beginningon C; durum(hard),beginning
on G; and molle (soft), beginningon F, with a B flat.
24. Palisca, p. 12.
25. Lawler,p. 14.
26. Luciandid not have to provethe worthof dancethroughmusic.
It was enough for him to recall that the greatestof the heroes
and gods of ancientGreecehad danced.
27. See PatriziaCastelli,"I1moto aristotelicoe la 'licitascientia,' "
in the catalogueMesuraet Arte del Danzare. GuglielmoEbreo
388
DANCE CHRONICLE
da Pesaro ... (Pesaro:Gualtieri,1987).Among the princesand
princessesto whomGuglielmoand Cornazanopresentedtreatises
(of which all but one are lost) are Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke
Federicoof Urbino, GaleazzoSforza(the futuredukeof Milan),
his sisterIppolita(who becameDuchessof Calabria),and AlessandroSforza, lord of Pesaro.
28. Nino Pirrotta,Musicand Theatrefrom Polizianoto Monteverdi,
tr. K. Eales(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress, 1982),has
someexcellentreferencesto and descriptionsof fifteenth-century
intermediand moresche. See the chapter, "ClassicalTheatre,
intermedi and frottola . . ," pp. 37-75.
29. See, among others, Burchard,papal masterof ceremonies,and
El Prete, Isabellad'Este'sambassadorto the Pope, in Ferdinand
Gregorovius,Lucrezia Borgia (1874; tr. John Leslie Garner,
London: Oxford, 1968, and New York: BenjaminBlom, 1968,
rpt. of 1903ed.; also Rome:Arazanie Torraca, 1968);M. Sanuto, Diarii, and B. Zambotto,DiarioFerrarese;GiacomoTrotti,
Este ambassadorto the Sforzacourt, and TristanoChalco, historian at the Sforza court, in Guido Lopez, Festa di nozze per
Ludovico il Moro ... (Milan:De Carlo, 1976).
30. TammaroDe Marinis,Le nozze di Costanzo Sforza e Camilla
d'Aragona celebrate a Pesaro nel 1475 (Florence: VallecchiAlinari, 1946). Costumesare describedin detail. See also page
161in StellaMaryNewton'sRenaissanceTheatreCostume(New
York: TheatreArts Books, 1975).
31. Edmondo Solmi, "La Festa del Paradisodi Leonardoda Vinci
e BernardoBellincione,"ArchivioStoricoLombardo, 1 (1904).
32. AlessandroPontremoliand PatriziaLa Rocca, II BallareLombardo (Milan:Vita e Pensiero, 1987), pp. 205-17.
33. Alfredo Saviotti, "Una rappresentazioneallegoricain Urbino
nel 1474," Atti e memoriedella R. AccademiaPetrarcadi Scienze, Lettereed Arti in Arezzo, I (1920), pp. 18-26, wherecostumes are also described.(See also page 161, note 28, in S. M.
Newton's Renaissance TheatreCostume.) That the queens, Chas-
tity and Penelope come from differentcivilizationsand historic
periodswas not unusual.Antica, at this time, was a catchallfor
medieval(Christian)Virtues,for Sybils, Prophets,and Kingsof
the Old Testament, for Roman generals, Greek philosophers,
ANTIQUITYAS INSPIRATION
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
389
and OlympianGods, all of whom "could appeartogetherin the
same cast" (S. M. Newton, p. 159). For the music and dances,
in particular,see Wolfgang Osthoff, Theatergesangund darstellendeMusik in der italienischenRenaissance(Tutzing:Hans
Schneider,1969),Vol. I, pp. 33-8, Vol. II, pp. 34-7, and F. Alberto Gallo, "La danza negli spettacoliconvivialidel secondo
quattrocento," in Spettacoli conviviali dall'antichiti classica
alle corti italianedel '400(Rome:Nuova ColettiEditore, 1982),
pp. 263-5.
Anne Daye, "Dance and Music in the StuartMasque," in the
papersfrom the conferenceThe Marriageof Music and Dance
(Cambridge,Engl.: National Early Music Association, 1992).
The hagsrepresentedmoralweaknesses,suchas Ignorance,Suspicion, Falsehood, Malice, and Rage, rather than particular
women. The QueensincludedBoadiceaof Britainand Penthesilea of the Amazons.
See, among others, FabrizioCruciani,Teatronel Rinascimento
Roma 1450-1550(Rome: Bulzoni, 1983), pp. 151-64.
MargaretMcGowan,"A RenaissanceWarDance:The Pyrrhic,"
Dance Research,III, 1 (1984), p. 33.
See William Gilbert, LucreziaBorgia (London, 1869), and B.
Zambotti's "Diario Ferrarese,"Rerum ItalicarumScriptores,
XXIV, vii, p. 325. McGowan(pp. 29-38) describesa very similar armeddanceperformedin Lyonsin 1548to honor the entry
of HenriII of France.She points out that the dance, morethan
just a militaryexercise,was a politicalstatementand, above all,
that it "restored"an early form of dancing.
Newton, p. 130.
This cassone, painted "in the mannerof" Matteo di Giovanni,
is in the HuntingtonLibraryGalleryin California,togetherwith
its "twin" panel, whichdepictsthe sick-with-loveAntiochusbeing examinedby Eristrate,the physicianinforming the King,
and the King's decision to divorce Stratonice.
40. Sparti, Guglielmo Ebreo, pp. 90 and 91, 114 and 115, 98 and 99.
41. Aristotle, Politics 8. v-vii. See also Lawler, p. 125.
42. Lawler,p. 124.
43. See Paul F. Grendler'sSchoolingin RenaissanceItaly:Literacy
and Learning1300-1600(Baltimore:Johns Hopkins University
390
DANCE CHRONICLE
Press, 1989);EleonorB. English's1978UCLA thesis, "Physical
EducationPrinciplesof Selected Italian Humanists;"William
H. Woodward, Vittorino da Feltre and Other Humanist Edu-
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
cators(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress, 1897,rpt. Teachers College, ColumbiaUniversity, 1963/1970);and the chapter
"Humanism:A Programfor RulingClasses"in LauroMartines'
Power and Imagination(Baltimore:Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1979, rpt. 1988).
See Woodward,pages 180-1, for a list of the principaltreatises
withapproximatedates.Thebest-knownauthorsbesidesVittorino
da Feltre are Vergerio, Leonardo Bruni, Francesco Barbaro,
AeneasPiccolomini,Guarinoof Verona,Maffeo Vegio, Jacopo
Porcia, and Gianozzo Manetti.
English;Woodward,p. 241.
Lawler,pp. 125-7.
See Sparti, GuglielmoEbreo, Chapter2.
The roughand pedestrianstyle of Guglielmo'slettersand Autobiography(which is includedin the GiovanniAmbrosiocopy),
comparedwith the format of his treatise,with its eruditereferences to antiquityand elegantprose, leads one to speculatethat
he, at least, maywellhaveuseda "ghost-writer"to shapeandenhancehis "bookof dances,"someonelikethe poet-humanist
Mario
Filelfo, whose "Ode to Guglielmo"is includedin the treatise.
Expandingour knowledge in these and related areas requires
furtherresearchand, in particular,the collaborationof specialists-not only expertsin ItalianRenaissanceand ancientGreek
dance, but of scholarsworkingon the generalinfluencesof antiquity on the Renaissanceand the Baroque. See, for example,
the article "GreekDance" by the late J. W. Fitton, University
of Exeter,in ClassicalQuarterly,XXIII, 3 (1973);and R. Weiss'
The Renaissance Discovery of Classical Antiquity (Blackwell,
1969);as wellas RegineAstier's"TheInfluenceof GreekRhetoric
on the Compositionand Interpretation
of BaroqueStageDances,"
in the Proceedings of the International Conference "Dance and
Ancient Greece" (Athens, 1991, distributedby Dora Stratou
Dance Theatre),II, pp. 199-211, and FrancoiseSyson Carter's
"Dance as a Moral Exercise," in Atti del convegno internazionale
di studi Pesaro 16-18 luglio 1987, ed. Maurizio Padovan (Pisa:
Pacini, 1990), pp. 169-79.

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