Moresque is an obsolete alternative term to "Moorish" in English, and in the arts has some specific meanings. By itself, the word is used to describe the stylized plant-based forms of tendrils and leaves found inornament and decoration in theapplied arts inRenaissance Europe that are derived from thearabesque patterns ofIslamic ornament. Like their Islamic ancestors, they differ from the typical Europeanplant scroll in being many-branched and spreading rather than forming a line in one direction. The use of half-leaves with their longest side running along the stem is typical for both.
First found in 15th-century Italy, especiallyVenice, moresques continue in theMannerist andNorthern Mannerist styles of the 16th century.
The term is ultimately derived from the name of theMoors, a historic people in the western Mediterranean. Other similarly derived words includeBlackamoor,Kammermohr, Matamoros,Maure,Mohr im Hemd,Moresca,Moresche,Moreška,Morianbron,Morisco,Moros y cristianos, andMorris dance.
Another, related, meaning was defined in 1611 byRandle Cotgrave'sA Dictionarie of the French and English Tongues as: "a rude or anticke painting, or carving, wherin the feet and tayles of beasts, &c, are intermingled with, or made to resemble, a kind of wild leaves, &c."[1] The word was also used for such a figure, starting off as a human or animal, but terminating as part of a decorative scheme of foliage or geometricstrapwork.
In fact the origin of figures like those described by Cotgrave comes not from the Islamic world, but from the Renaissance version, influenced by the Ancient Romangrotesque decorative style, of medieval ornament, especially that found inilluminated manuscripts. Here men and beasts whose forms disappear into geometric or foliage decoration go back almost a thousand years to the interlace ofInsular art seen in theBook of Kells and other manuscripts. These themselves derive from theAnimal style ofbarbarian Europe. However, the termmoresque is not used of these medieval versions.
Tooled and decorated finebookbindings and printer's ornaments marking the end of a chapter were one of the first places where the style appeared, in 15th century Italy. Moresque decoration remained a common element in decorated book bindings throughout the 16th century, and across Europe, often combined withstrapwork or bandwork.
