Note 727 — Chapter IX · THE SWORD-DANCE
Reading edition
Müllenhoff, Z. f. d. A. xviii. 11, quoting Covarubias, Tesoro della lengua castellana (1611), s.v. Danza de Espadas: ‘una mudanza que llaman la degollada, porque cercan el cuello del que los guia con las espadas.’ With these sword manœuvres should be compared the use of scythes and flails in the mock sacrifices of the harvest-field and threshing-floor (p. 158), the ‘Chop off his head’ of the ‘Oranges and Lemons’ game (p. 151), and the ancient tale of Wodan and the Mowers.