A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Measure (dance)

by William Barclay Squire

MEASURE originally denoted any dance remarkable for its well-defined rhythm, but in time the name was applied to a solemn and stately dance, of the nature of a Pavan or a Minuet. The dignified character of the dance is proved by the use of the expression 'to tread a measure'; a phrase of frequent occurrence in the works of the Elizabethan dramatists. In the reigns of Elizabeth and James I, Measures were danced at court, and at the public entertainments periodically given by the Societies of Law and Equity. On these occasions the great legal and state dignitaries took part in them, but the custom seems rapidly to have died out under Charles I. It is somewhat remarkable that no trace can be found of any special music to which Measures were danced; this circumstance seems to prove that there was no definite form of dance tune for them, but that any stately and rhythmical air was used for the purpose.

[ W. B. S. ]