Constructing a Hobby Animal
In the past everyone could have given his own, probably different, meanings to such terms as 'Hooden Horse' or 'Hobby Horse'. Certain books however, have now laid down a nomenclature which we may accept as definitive.
In the following such terms are written in capitals. I have expanded on some of these to attempt a terminology explicit enough to differentiate all variations which could he included in the present study.
HOBBY ANIMAL/BEAST. Any mock creature which has a human operator incorporated in it or included with it.
MAST BEAST. The head is mounted on a pole and the operator is concealed under a cloth. There are two basic variations.
3-legged - Operator stoops with the pole acting as a front leg.
2-legged - Operator walks upright and carries the pole.
There are two categories which are visually similar to the two-legged mast beast but which differ in construction; they are-
Frame-Mounted Animal in which the head is mounted an a rucksack-type frame and is above the operator.
Carnival Head. in which the operator's head is inside that of the animal which is supported on either his head or his shoulders.
TOURNEY BEAST. This animal has a horizontal body, through which projects the head and usually the upper torso, of the operator. Two kinds are-
Carried on the shoulders, operator's head disguised. (Padstow)
Suspended from the shoulders to waist-level or fixed to a belt
Tourney beasts can also he classified by their mode of operation:
The character is all in the beast. This includes Padstow/Minehead and some others.
The character is all in the rider, the animal does very little.
·east and rider have separate (conflicting?) characters.
There is a type of tourney beast called a SIEVE HORSE which is not easy to classify. The operator wears a long coat which is cut to cover a circular or oval hoop usually positioned a little above the waist. A very small head is attached to the hoop and pokes through the coat at the front. The jaw snaps and there is sometimes a tail. The name comes from the fact that the frame was often made from the that of an old sieve or riddle - a fact seen as significant by some folklorists. Examples can be seen at Abbots Bromley, and in some Wooing Plays where it is interesting to note that when the operator speaks it is in the character of the animal using the first person. In some of the latter, the operator's head is disguised by a 'horsy' covering.
There seems to be a strong feeling among folklorists that the tourney beast with rider is not traditional to England and came from the Continent via court-type revels. Although the riders of theatrical tourneys often have dummy legs, E C Cawte, p.197. [see page 6] notes that in 'folk' situations dummy legs were not used.
A variation included for completeness is a sort of Tourney Man in which one man seems to be carrying another on his back, perhaps in a sack or bin.
There are other categories of beast which have so far been little exploited. Examples include-
Pantomime beasts which develop by accretion into,.
Chinese Dragons. I've seen kids mumming with a 6-legged one.
Cock-horse which has a head on a stick which passes between the legs of the operator. Otherwise known as a STICK HORSE.
We might also consider:
Mechanical Animals, built round a bicycle or a cart. There is a two-wheeled dragon depicted at a celebration in the 'Low Countries' in a painting by Pieter Breughel (1530-691.)
Ventriloquist's Dummy. c/f sundry life-size models or Hull's Emu.
Any animal whose operator is visible as a character in his own right offers scope for techniques classified as fooling.