Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Alfabeto figurato

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Alfabeto figurato
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Dancers have followed paths to spell out the names or titles of the "presence" (the noble or aristocrat), on occasions such as weddings, etc. A few examples follow. In addition to spelling the name of the "presence", dances in geometrical figures with mystical significance also were performed. Click to see.
  1. Spelled (click any letter to see): "M- O- N- T- A- I- G- V", the "presence".
    "The Montaigü, F. Le Roussau.
    "Dance, Spectacle, and the Body Politick, 1250-1750", Nevile, Jennifer (Ed.), Indiana University, Bloomington, In., 2008, pp. 193, 194
    2. .
  2. Spelled the "D-U-K-E   O-F   Y-O-R-K-E", the "presence".
    "The Masque of Queens", Ben Jonson
    "Number Symbolism and Renaissance Choreography", Carter, François; "Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research", Vol. 10, No. 1, 1992, p. 29
    3. .
  3. Spelled "E-S-S-E-X", the "presence".
    "Hymenaei", Ben Jonson
    "Number Symbolism and Renaissance Choreography", Carter, François; "Dance Research: The Journal of the Society for Dance Research", Vol. 10, No. 1, 1992, p. 29
    4. .
  4. Henri III (Valois) and Louise de Lorraine, two "presences".
    "Festival for the Garter Embassy" (Garter refers to a Protestant order of Knights)
    "Festivals for the Garter Embassy at the Court of Henri III" Roy C. Strong, Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 22, No. 1/2 (Jan. - Jun., 1959), pp. 60-70 (see p. 67)
    Another "letter" dance at the marriage of Henri de Lorraine and Marguerite Gonzague-Mantoue. Ibid., p. 69
    5. .
  5. In Le Ballet de Monseigneur le duc de Vandôme (Paris, 1610), "letter" dancers spell "A-L-C-I-N-E". "Dance as Text: Ideologies of the Baroque Body", Mark Franko, Cambridge Univ. Press, 1993, p. 17
    6. .
  6. In Cupid's Banishment (a masque) (1617), "letter" dancers spell "Anna Regina" and "Jacobus Rex". "Dance in the Renaissance: European Fashion, French Obsession", Margaret M. McGowan, Yale Univ. Press, 2008, p. 118
    7. .
  7. In the finale of the ballet danced at Würtemberg (1616), "letter" dancers spell "Elizabeth" and "Friderich". "Dance in the Renaissance: European Fashion, French Obsession", Margaret M. McGowan, Yale Univ. Press, 2008, p. 118

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