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 Book 2, 1925

The Haymakers ~ RSCDS

Thompson, London, ~1770
Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, Vol II

Wilson writes in 1820:

The top Lady at A and bottom Gentleman at B advance, meet at F, Courtesy and Bow to each other, and then retire to places at A D; then the Lady at C and top Gentleman at B do the same: the top Lady and bottom Gentleman advance to the same Situation and swing with right Hands; the top Gentleman and bottom Lady do the same: then the top Lady and bottom Gentleman swing with left Hands; the top Gentleman and bottom Lady do the same: the top Gentleman and bottom Lady meet and turn with both Hands; the top Gentleman and bottom Lady do the same: then the top Lady and bottom Gentleman meet and Allemande round each other; the top Gentleman and bottom Lady do the same.

The top Couple at A B, bass each other at E, and cross over every Couple till they come to the Bottom, the Lady moving in Direction C D, and the Gentleman in the Line little c and d.* (Should the set be very long, they may cross over every other Couple, missing a Couple ever time; in crossing, the Lady passes in front of the Gentleman, that is, always passing the Gentleman on her Right Hand.)

The top Couple, by crossing over, will now be at the Bottom; they Cross Hands and Promenade up the middle, in the Lines c d; all the Couples follow them, beginning from the Bottom: the Ladies all follow the Lady that commenced the Dance in Line G; and the Gentlemen follow her Partner in the Direction H, by which means they all regain their Situations, except the Couple that begun the Dance, who will now be at the Bottom of the Room.

N.B. This Dance may be performed by any Number of Persons.

In A Pocket Companion, for Young Ladies and Gentlemen..., Smyth, 1830 calls the dance The Haymakers and writes:

The top Lady and bottom Gentleman advance to the middle, and turn by the right hand: the first Gentleman and last Lady do the same. The same couple repeat the same with the left hand, These again repeat the same by both hands. The first two advance and pass back to back, and return to their places. The other two do the same. The first Lady and bottom Gentleman advance, bow and curtsey, and return to their places; the others do the same. The whole chassé from top to bottom. the first couple half pousette with each couple till they reach the bottom of the Dance.

In Ball-Room Guide: A Manual of Dancing, H. D. Willock, 1868 calls the dance Sir Roger de Coverly, or The Haymakers and writes:

The first lady and last gentleman turn by the right hand, then by left hand, then by both hands, the back to back, then bow and courtesy. The above movements are repeated alternately by the partners of the leading couples . . . 40

Ladies cast off to right, gentlemen to left, meet at bottom; the first couple join hands, forming an arch, the others pass under to places . . . 8

The last part may be done thus:—
Ladies cast off to right, gentlemen to left, meet at bottom, and lead up,
First couple pousette to bottom.

In Kate Hughes's manuscript from Dundalk Ireland, 1867 it is also called "Hay Makers".

1-4	W1 and last man right hand turn
5-8	M1 and last woman right hand turn
9-12	W1 and last man left hand turn
13-16	M1 and last woman left hand turn
17-20	W1 and last man two hand turn
21-24	M1 and last woman two hand turn
25-28	W1 and last man back to back
29-32	M1 and last woman back to back
33-36	W1 and last man curtsey and bow
37-40	M1 and last woman bow and curtsey
41-44	Top couple cast to bottom as others follow
45-48	1s arch at bottom others dance up to progressed places

(R)SCDS Book 12, 1938

Kiss Me Quick, My Mither's Coming

Walsh, London, 1740
The Compleat Country Dancing-Master Book 2, 3rd Ed.

RSCDS Book 32, 1984

Miss Nancy Arnott

Graeme Stevens, Kirkcaldy, 1983
RSCDS Book 32

RSCDS Book 43, 2003 (Golden Jubilee Dances)

The Queen's Quadrille

Alan MacPherson, [Unknown City], 2002
RSCDS Book 43

Statistics

Number of dances published by city (or region)

London	2
Kirkcaldy	1
[Unknown]	1

Number of dances published by semi century

1700-1749	1
1750-1799	1
1950-1999	1
2000-2049	1

Number of dances by early publisher/devisor

Alan MacPherson	1
Graeme Stevens	1
Thompson	1
Walsh	1

References

Thompson	Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, Vol II, London, about 1770. Found in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House).
Walsh	The Compleat Country Dancing-Master Book 2, 3rd Ed., London, 1740. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the Birmingham University Library

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.