Masquing Vizards: Function and Rationale
A neutral face mask had been worn by court dancers in England for at least a hundred years by 1600. While we can identify the original rationale for this practice, the continuation of this to at least 1640 is harder to understand. This paper will link the masque vizard to the wearing of masks in social settings with examples from the late seventeenth century. Evidence of the use of vizards is found in financial records, with only a single image extant to explore. How did the vizard affect the reception and meaning of the masque? As the revels or ball was an intrinsic stage of the whole event, what was the experience of dancing with a masked partner? How far did the mask hide the identity of the dancer? We will also note the significance of the unmasking that became a routine ending of a masque. With the addition of professional dancers performing in character and comic roles from 1609, we can explore whether they went bare-faced or whether artisans devised face masks representing characters or animals. How did a full face covering affect the ability to dance well, particularly in ensemble figure dances of twelve or more performers? The discussion will draw on practical reconstruction of masque dancing, and the paper will be illustrated with reproduction vizards.
Anne Daye pursues documentary research and practical reconstruction of dances and dancing of the past, with specialist study of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Her doctoral thesis examined the antimasque of the Stuart masque, exploring its development as a political and artistic concept, alongside the emergence of the professional dancer in England. Post-doctoral research is centred on the dance theatre of the Jacobean court. Recent publications include ‘The Revellers Are Entering: Shakespeare and Masquing Practice in Tudor and Stuart England’ in The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare and Dance (OUP 2019); ‘Dancing at Court: ‘the art that all Arts doe approve’ in Performances at Court in the Age of Shakespeare (Cambridge 2019); ‘Morris dancers from Germany’ in The Museum of Renaissance Music (Brepols 2022); ‘Measure: moving in and out of time’ in Tanz und Musik (Basel 2024).