Decorum in Dances in Thoinot Arbeau’s Orchesographie (1589)

Abstract

This article aims to identify and translate excerpts from Orchesographie, a treatise on dances by Thoinot Arbeau (1520 – 1595), which address behavior and customs in 16th century France, related to dance as part of the courtier’s education, the Rules of Courtesy set out in Il Libro del Cortegiano, by Baldassare Castiglione (1478 – 1529), first published in 1528. For this, we took as sources the original of the Orchesographie in French, published in 1589, and the annotated English translation made by Mary Stuart Evans (1967).