Early Sources of RSCDS dances

None of the dances published by the RSCDS before book 13 were devised by the RSCDS, instead they were considered "traditional" dances. Many dances published in subsequent books fall into that category as well. I have tried to track down the sources of these dances and display here the earliest published versions of the dance's figure which I've been able to find.

Note: this is often different from the earliest dance with that name. The dance's name was often the name of the tune to which it was danced, and many tunes had multiple figures attached to them, so care must be taken.

Note also: there may very well be earlier sources than "the earliest published version ... which I've been able to find". Many early sources have been lost to the ravages of time, and others have simply escaped my notice. And in other cases the publication dates are uncertain, and which is earliest may be indeterminate.

In some cases the RSCDS mentions a source. Often I have found earlier examples of the dance. Sometimes I have been unable to find the RSCDS source and will present the earliest source I have found.

When I know the deviser, I mark the name in italics. In most cases for these old dances I only know the publisher.

When a dance source is marked with "†" it means I have been unable to verify the source of the dance, when it is marked with "‡" it means I have been unable to find any Scottish dance manual containing this dance (prior to 1924).

Hovering the mouse over a dance's devisor/publisher will (often) produce a popup containing the text of the original.

By default the list below shows only traditional dances interpreted by the (R)SCDS. I believe that Book 34 (1986) was the last book to contain any traditional dances. Before Book 13 all (R)SCDS dances were traditional, but Book 13 contains The Reel of the 51st Division, the first published modern dance. No further modern dances were published until Book 22 (1963), and after that some books contained modern and some traditional dances until Books 31&34, which contains both.

At the end I have several tables of statistics.

Order by: RSCDS Book Original Publication Date
Include: All Dances Only Traditional Dances Only Modern (post 1924) Dances [Not Complete]
(R)SCDS Book Range:
Containing figure:

(R)SCDS dances originaly published in Dumfriesshire, Scotland

(R)SCDS Book 6, 1930

Lennox Love to Blantyre

Anonymous, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, ~1730
Holmain MS

(R)SCDS Book 9, 1934

The Birks of Abergeldie	Anonymous, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, ~1730 Holmain MS From the Holmain MS (dated sometime between 1710 and 1750): First sett & cast down, sett & cast down again, then lead up & cast down one pair, then right & left, then sett to the 2d woman, she to the 1st man, & turn them, then set to the 1st woman, she to the 2d man, & turn your partner, then lead down & cast up & turn your partner, lead up & cast down & turn your partner. Skillern (1776), Longman & Broderip (1790), Bartholomew Cooke (1796), Bland & Weller (1800), and Wilson (1809, 1816) published dances with this name, but their figures do not match that of the RSCDS.
Cauld Kail	Anonymous, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, ~1730 Holmain MS From the Holmain MS (dated sometime between 1710 and 1750): 1st Part. Cross right hands & go round all four; cross left hands & go back to your place, then sett to your partner, & cast off one pair, the right and left. 2nd Part. First go down on the Woman's right side then come back to her left, & again to the right, then sett round & clap hands, & then go to the next woman. Originally spelled "Cald Kale".

(R)SCDS Book 15, 1949

Argyll's Bowling Green	Anonymous, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, ~1730 Holmain MS From the Holmain MS (dated sometime between 1710 and 1750): First sett to your partner, & cast off one pair, sett again, & she turns up & he turns down betwixt the third pair, she betwixt the 2d pair, then leads up joining three hands & meets, then 3 hands round, & reels, then he setts to the 2d woman she to the 1st man & turns them, then he setts to the 1st woman, she to the 2d man, & turn your partner, then 4 hands round with the 1st pair, & cast off, then meet and turn your partner. Originally spelled "Argiles Bouling Green".
This Is No' My Ain House	Anonymous, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, ~1730† Holmain MS From the Holmain MS (dated sometime between 1710 and 1750): Cross four hands & cast down one pair, cross hands again, & turn down another pair, then sett & lead up to the head, then cast down then sett, & turn your partner, then go round the 2d woman, she round the 1st man, then back to back, & go round the 1st woman she round the second man, then turn her, then set to the 2d woman, she to the 1st man, & turn, then sett to the 1st woman, she to the 2d man, & turn your partner. Originally spelled "This is not My Own House". In 1803 Preston published a dance with this name and a different figure.

RSCDS Book 17, 1953 (Coronation Book)

Miss Heyden

Anonymous, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, ~1730
Holmain MS

Statistics

Number of dances published by city (or region)

Dumfriesshire, Scotland

Number of dances published by semi century

1700-1749

Number of dances by early publisher/devisor

Anonymous

References

Anonymous

Holmain MS, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, about 1730

Scans of old dance manuals are scattered about the internet. The Vaughan Williams Memorial Library, International Music Score Library Project, Scott Pfitzinger's Playford site, Richard Powers' website, Library of Congress, and The Library of Dance all provide primary sources. A number of other sites provide indeces of these sources: The Regency Dance site, The Library of Dance again, and my own site have all proven useful for finding old sources. Finally there is Robert Keller's index which does not provide sources directly but lists thousands of dances, the publications containing them, dates and a brief coded description of the figures. This last has proven invaluable for tracking down dances for which I had no complete sources.

And, of course, both the Scottish Country Dance Database and the Scottish Country Dancing Dictionary provide online descriptions of all the RSCDS books and often hint at early sources.

This website is copyright © 2021-2026 by George W. Williams V
My work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Most of the dances have more restrictive licensing, see my notes on copyright, the individual dance pages should mention when some rights are waived.