[SCA-Dance] Haut Barrois branle

[Kirsten Garner]

Greetings...

--- Mikuláš <migulas at gmail.com> wrote:
  
> I strongly believe that "pied largy gaulche" and
> pied largy oblique 
> galuche" are two very different things! 

I don't know as I can agree with that. To take this
back to Haut Barrois, Arbeau says that for the first
step we are to jump from two feet and fall into pied
largy gaulche ("en tumbant sur pied largy gaulche").
To me that seems more like he's saying, "jump and end
up in this pose" than "jump and step left". 

If we back up to the beginning of the bransles section
(bransle double) and look at how he initially
describes what comes to be called a double step, we
find:
[after the initial reverence] "tenant ferme et pose/
le pied droit, getterez a\ couste/ le pied gaulche,
qui sera un pied largy pour la premiere mesure: Puis
pour la secunde mesure (tenant ferme et pose/ le pied
gaulche) approcherez le pied droit du gaulche, qui
sera un pied largy, quasi joinct: pour la troisieme
mesure (tenant ferme et pose/ le pied droit) getterez
a\ couste/ le pied gaulche, qui sera un pied largy. Et
pour la quatrieme mesure (tenant ferme le pied
gaulche) approcherez le pied droit pre\s dudit
gaulche, qui sera pied joinct." (Translation: holding
closed and resting on the right foot, throw to the
side the left foot, this will be a pied largy for the
first measure: Then for the second measure (holding
closed and resting on the left foot) bring the right
foot close to the left, this will be a pied largy,
almost joined: for the third measure (holding closed
and resting on the right foot) throw to the side the
left foot, this will be a pied largy. And for the
fourth measure (holding closed on the left foot) bring
the right foot near the left, this will be a pied
joinct.) Note particularly where the weight shifts on
each step. 

> The question is why he, for gods sake, describes
> position that is never 
> used? Well, I don't know. But he desribes Ru de
> vache too...

Although he says it's only done in practice, if I
remember correctly. :) 

I think I'm still a little confused. But maybe it's
self-inflicted and I'm over-analyzing. :) 

Julian