'What is thy excellence in a galliard, knight?'
Masculinity and Dancing in Early Modern England

Competitive Dancing

In Thomas Middleton and William Rowley's The Old Law, the elderly husband, Lisander, challenges three young courtiers and would-be suitors of his young wife to a competition in the 'feats of youth,' 'Bring forth the weapons, we shall find you play! / All feats of youth too, jack-boys, feats of youth, / And these weapons: drinking, fencing, dancing, / Your own roadways, you glisterpipes!' [10] Much to the surprise and embarrassment of the young men (and the amusement of the audience), Lisander outdances, outfences, and outdrinks all three of them:

What! Shall we put down youth at her own virtues?
Beat folly in her own ground? [11]

We can assume that the weapon for the dance contest is the galliard, the dance Lisander has been practising and on which the Dancing Master compliments him, ' For your galliard, sir, / You are complete enough, ay, and may challenge / The proudest coxcomb of 'em all, I'll stand to it.' [12] This mastery of the galliard is especially impressive for a man of seventy-nine, as the basic step involves four kicks followed by a caper, a high jump in which the legs switch from front to back to front again all while in the air. [13] While more advanced variations such as those presumably performed by Lisander might include turns and extra beats, the basic step is quite strenuous and impressive in of itself. The competition's response, 'You've done well, i'faith, sir', is a genuine compliment.

By winning the three contests, Lisander proves himself the better man and best deserving of his wife. Likewise his mastery of youthful activities suggests that despite his age, he is still virile enough to beget children:

Why may not we be held as full sufficient
To love our own wives then, get our own children,
And live in free peace till we be dissolved?

Moreover, he has revealed the three courtiers as shams. By outperforming them in dancing, fencing, and drinking Lisander calls into question their entitlement to be called gentlemen, courtiers, or even men, 'you are all but maggots / For all your beamy outsides!' [14] In The Old Law, dancing is used to both interrogate and assert masculinity.

Competitive dancing could also occur between friends. Foyster's explanation that 'Instead of seeking mutuality, men's talk is often featured in the records left to us as highly competitive and concerned with one-upmanship,' also applies to men's dancing. [15] A galliard contest of this type occurs in William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. In their first scene together, Sir Toby Belch demands of Sir Andrew Aguecheek, ' Art thou good at these kickshawses, knight?' [16] ' What is thy excellence in a galliard, knight?' [17] By repeating the title of knight in these queries, Sir Toby reminds Sir Andrew of his rank, and that dancing is required to a proper courtier and gentleman. [18] Sir Andrew responds with ' Faith, I can cut a caper,' [19] which after some persuasion he demonstrates, eliciting the response, 'Ha, higher! Ha ha, excellent!' [20] from Sir Toby.

According to Skiles Howard, 'As the breathless boasts of the two seedy courtiers in Twelfth Night suggest, the measure of a man was the height and amplitude of his "kickshawses".' [21] I disagree with Howard's description of Sir Toby and Sir Andrew as seedy, and while Sir Andrew's boasts may be breathless, Sir Toby's responses are clever and mocking, encouraging Sir Andrew to further embarrass himself, 'Wherefore are these things hid?... I would not so much as make water but in a sink-a-pace.... Let me see thee caper.' [22] However, Howard's contention that the excellence of a man's galliard reflected the excellence of the man is more easily supported. In both Twelfth Night and Middleton's The Old Law, the galliard is used to question and prove (or disprove) manliness.

But these galliard displays do not unequivocally confirm the dancer's masculinity or courtier qualifications. Rather they highlight the ambiguity and complexity of contemporary debates surrounding dancing and gentility. Courtly conduct manuals emphasise the necessity and nuances of dancing with decorum while many of the European dancing manuals include sections on etiquette in addition to giving steps and choreographies. Whether English or European, these texts share two main concerns: maintaining patriarchal and hierarchical relationships while dancing, and balancing skill with nonchalance.

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