Danzatrici e cavalle del diavolo: La concezione del ballo femminile nel Medioevo

The sinfulness of dance stood as a cardinal concept of medieval morality, at least until its partial reevaluation within the context of courtly ceremony, and dancing was often related to the negative idea of self-exhibition. Preachers and Christian writers aimed their condemnations especially at show-women, since ostentation of the female body represented a diabolical incitement to the pleasures of the flesh and to lechery. Medieval imagery virtually opposed David’s holy dance to Salomé’s sinful exhibition before Herod. Since the reward of her dancing is Saint John’s decollation, the performance becomes twice as sinful and the miniatures showing Salome as a jongleresse reflect a significant superposition of subjects. Since the XIIIth century, preachers’ sermons described dance as a sinful entertainment and depicted performing women as instruments of the devil. Reflections of these concepts can also be found in medieval miniatures, especially in gothic manuscripts, where bodily transformation sometimes appears as a beastly degradation of dignity and a sign of moral perversion, while the mere presence of a woman can become an allusion to lust.