How old is the Morris? A question which can be answered with any date from last year back to the 'mists of time'. A dance may have only been written last summer and is yet to prove its staying power; a tradition or style of dance may grow with a new side and fade as they disperse; the 'snapshot' of the traditions collected from the old sides at the turn of the century and preserved; the mention without a description of Morris in Shakespeare; the earliest mentions of a 'Maurice' dance in Parish records; The dances danced before they were thought worth recording. Each answer is valid but answers a different question.