ABSTRACT
The early Elizabethan Version I of The Queen's Almain, in common with the early versions of the others, is the only one which specifically requires Almain Doubles. Comparison of all descriptions of the dance indicates that, between c.l565 and c.1606, it underwent reshaping to a greater degree than any other almain and on lines similar to the Old Almain, in that it developed from a bipartite into a tripartite structure. Neither source specifies that the four forward Doubles be performed as Almain Doubles. It is impossible to tell whether the two Singles which begin the dance should be executed face-to-face, but it is probable: the portion is an abbreviated form of a figure which in all other sources is described as a set-and-turn motion. Sources F and G show the final stages of evolution from the Elizabethan prototype of Source A to a stylized country dance, with its slides and highly-developed set-and-turn-single figures.
