Abbots Bromley Horn Dance

The Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is a folk dance which takes place each September in the village of Abbots Bromley in Staffordshire, England. It is performed by ten dancers, accompanied by a musician playing an accordion and a youth with a triangle. Six of the dancers carry reindeer horns; the remaining four are a hobby horse, Maid Marian, a fool, and a youth with a bow and arrow. On Wakes Monday, beginning early in the morning at the parish church where the horns are stored, the performers dance around the parish all day.

The origin of the dance is unknown. The earliest written record of a hobby horse performance at Abbots Bromley dates to 1532 and the first mention of the reindeer horns is from 1686. Radiocarbon dating has shown that at least one of the horns dates to the eleventh century, though it is unknown how or when they came to Staffordshire or became associated with the dance. Many explanations of the meaning of the dance have been proposed, and it is commonly interpreted as a pagan ritual, but there is no evidence for any of them.