How to Dress for Dancing, 1530

engraving of man dancing with leg aloft, reaching for rope hanging from above In case of dance emergency, pull cord.
Cesare Negri, Nuove inventioni di balli, 1604

You must always be garbed to perfection and your codpiece must be well tied. We sometimes see codpieces slip to the ground during the basse dance so you must tie them well.

Antonius Arena, Leges dansandi (trans. John Guthrie and Marino Zorzi)

Oh, that anxiety dream: you’re getting your basse dance on with a shapely demoiselle when suddenly you realize that the codpiece on the floor is yours! Don’t let it happen to you.