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Dance

Abbots Bromley Horn Dance

Horn DanceAbbots Bromley, Staffordshire · United Kingdom

English village custom danced each Wakes Monday in Staffordshire with six sets of reindeer antlers radiocarbon-dated to circa 1065 CE.

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The tradition & historical record

1 min read · 7 cited sources

Every September on Wakes Monday, twelve performers collect six pairs of painted reindeer antlers from St Nicholas Church in Abbots Bromley and walk a ten-mile parish circuit across farms, lanes, and pub yards. [1]

Radiocarbon testing of the antlers showed the reindeer lived in eleventh-century Scandinavia, making the horns the oldest surviving dance regalia in Britain. [2]

Transmission & Custody

Documented custodians and practitioner lineages: Abbots Bromley Horn Dancers.

Sources on Record
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What is still undocumented in this room

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Active Practitioner Census
Current guild- or locality-level count of active masters and apprentices awaits a cited survey.
Field Audio & Notation
CC-licensed performance audio or rhythmic notation is not yet linked to this record.
Vernacular Bibliography
Regional-language monographs and local academy catalogues remain open for citation.

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