Dance in Society.

Dance was one of the major pastimes during the late Middle Ages. It was the favorite leisure activity of all levels of society from the peasants to the aristocrats and was a part of most celebrations, just as it is in modern times. In the Middle Ages, however, dance could also be found in sacred settings as a part of many church feasts, and there is an entire repertory of sacred dance songs that celebrate these events. This is not to say that dancing was completely approved by the Christian church. Alongside accounts that speak of sacred dance in a positive way, proclamations can also be found that forbid dance: some are aimed at a specific audience (e.g. clerics); others at specific occasions or locations (holy days, churches, churchyards, and cemeteries); and others are a wholesale condemnation of the entire...