The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #117716 Message #2537470
Posted By: McGrath of Harlow
10-Jan-09 - 05:25 PM
Thread Name: Folklore: Blacking up for morris - origin?
Subject: RE: Folklore: Blacking up for morris - origin?
The blacking up of Rochester sweeps is to do with being covered in soot, and that's something associated with sweeps as a trade since long before the Mistrels came along.
And the term "guysing" in relation to mummers plays and so forth woudl appear to be cognate with the word "disguising",