Note 981 — ACT V. SCENE I.

passa-measures galliard] A corruption of passamezzo galliard. “The Passamezzo,” says Sir John Hawkins, “(from passer, [passare?] to walk, and mezzo, the middle or half,) is a slow dance, little differing from the action of walking. As a galliard consists of five paces or bars in the first strain, and is therefore called a cinque-pace, the passamezzo, which is a diminutive of the galliard, has just half that number, and from that peculiarity takes its name.” Hist. of Music, vol. iv. p. 386. In another place of the same work, vol. ii. p. 134, Sir John states that “every pavan has its galliard, a lighter kind of air made out of the former,” which, observes Nares (Gloss. in v. Pavan), “leads to the suspicion that passy-measure pavan and passy-measure galliard were correlative terms, and meant the two different measures of one dance.”