26 September 2021

Jean (or Jehan) Tabourot in Langres (52), Haute-Marne (52)

Jehan Tabourot (1520-95), who was born in Dijon and died in Langres, is also known under his anagram Thoinot Arbeau. That isn't the only unusual thing about a fascinating man who is apparently only openly remembered in Langres by a street name: Tabouret was a printer, a canon, a dance theorist and historian who wrote a few intruiguing books. He is perhaps best known for his Orchésographie (1588), which is written as a conversation between the narrator and the student and contains illustraions of dance steps. He also wrote the Calandrier des bergers, thought to bring good luck, and which people are said to have put under their pillows at night to ward off evil.

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