From Pulpit to Parish: Preaching Dance and Parish Dances in England and Scandinavia, 1300-1700

This article considers English and Scandinavian sermon tales alongside accounts of parish practice from 1300-1700, focusing on dance among the laity. It posits that the negative perspective of Scandinavian Protestants towards dance was a result of the medieval North Sea networks that brought England's approach to dance to Nordic parishes, shaping the approach to lay dance and parish culture in both regions. The circulation of medieval English sermon tales like Robert Mannyng of Brunne's Handlyng Synne in Scandinavian contexts meant that this particularly English view of dance spread in early modern Scandinavian parishes and sermon tales. Sources like Mannyng's show how, unlike Latinate or French sources, the English vernacular approach aggressively connected dance to female transgression and sacrilege. This sharing of sermon literature between England and Scandinavia helps to explain the emphasis on gendered transgression in northern accounts of dance, with important ramifications for parish discipline and oversight.