JNR invites proposals for a special issue, edited by Lynsey McCulloch and Emily Winerock, on ‘Dance of the Northern Renaissance’. Dance was a key cultural practice of the early modern period: it was integral to theatrical representation; it was a significant element of court ritual; and it fulfilled an important social function. But how might we characterise the particular dance practices of Northern Europe? French, Spanish and Italian traditions have dominated histories of Renaissance dance. However, more recent accounts have challenged the conflation of North and South in discussions of early European dance, drawing attention to the myriad regional and national variations at work. They have also complicated our understanding of cultural transfer. No longer a one-way process in which Northern nations mimicked the choreographies of their Southern counterparts, the transfer of dance knowledge is now understood to have been a complex geographical exchange. This special issue seeks to continue this vital work, celebrating the particularities of Northern Renaissance dance and resituating it within a wider European context.

Contributors can propose articles on any aspect of dance practice in Northern Europe in the period 1430-1650. Comparative studies, with Southern Europe or beyond, are also welcome, as are interdisciplinary articles. 

The Journal of the Northern Renaissance (JNR) is a peer-reviewed, open-access online journal dedicated to the study of early modern Northern European cultural production.

Please submit an abstract of no more than 300 words and a short biography to Dr Lynsey McCulloch at ab3405@coventry.ac.uk before July 19th, 2021. Notification of your proposal’s acceptance will be sent no later than July 31th, and the deadline for full chapters (no longer than 8,000 words) will be January 31st, 2022. Please note that articles will be subject to full peer review at this stage. It is anticipated that this JNR special issue will be published in the summer of 2022.