Up a double, Siding, Arming
Country Dances, Ancient and Modern

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:
Include:
(R)SCDS Book Range:
Containing figure:

(R)SCDS Book 5, 1929

Lady Susan Stewart's Reel
Johnson, London, ~1754†‡
Caledonian Country Dances Vol. II

The RSCDS attributes this to "Caledonian Country Dances, c. 1754". Both Johnson (1750) and Walsh (1748, 1751, 1755) published books called "Caledonian Country Dances" around the 1750s, but none of those books has a dance with a name like "Lady Susan Stewart's Reel". There may, of course, be other publishers or publications of which I'm not aware.

Note: RSCDS Book 10, for the dance The Lady's Breist Knot has a more nearly complete attribution: "Jno Johnson Caledonian Country Dances Vol. II, c. 1754" but I still can't find it.

Note: RSCDS Book 28, for the dance Not I contains the comment "The source given is Caledonian Country Dances, 1754 but attempts to trace this manuscript have been unsuccessful.

1-21s set
3-81s cast below 3s, lead up and cast down to face 1st corners as 2s move up
9-16Hello, good-bye setting, end facing 1st corners (again)
17-201s turn 1st corners right, partner left
21-241s turn 2nd corners right, partner left, finish on own sides facing down
25-281s dance below 3s, cast up to second place
29-321s dance above 2s, cast down to second place

(R)SCDS Book 9, 1934

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 10, 1935

There's Nae Luck Aboot the Hoose ~ RSCDS
Thomas Wilson, London, 1816‡
A Companion to the Ball Room

In his A Companion to the Ball Room, 1816, Thomas Wilson published There's Nae Luck About the House:, wherein he writes:

SINGLE FIGURE (Each strain repeated)
Hands 3 round on the ladies side hands 3 round on the gent: side   lead down the middle up again & right & left at top  

OR THUS Set & change sides with 2d. Cu: set & back again   lead down the middle up again & hands four round at top  

DOUBLE FIGURE (Tune played twice thro' with repeats)
Cast off 2 Cu: & back again   swing with right hands top & bottom   set contrary corners   & the double triangle.

The music consists of 2 four bar strains, both repeated. The RSCDS has picked the third figure (the one marked "DOUBLE FIGURE") which means the music should be played AABBAABB. " " indicates two repetitions of a strain.

Wilson defines his figures in his An Analysis of Country Dancing.

  • Cast off 2 Cu: (& back again) is defined on pages 8-9 and means: "active couple cast down, go outside the set, passing two other couples, then turn away from each other to face up, and return to places."
  • swing with right hands top and bottom this is defined on pages 87-88: "Partner right turn half, using the momentum to loop round your partner's place, and cast down below the 2s to meet in the middle between them and the 3s, again right turn half casting up on their own sides back to original places.
  • set contrary corners may be found on pages 55-57 and means "move to 1st corner and set, pass partner right moving to 2nd corner, set, return to places the easiest way". Wilson does not show the corners setting back.
  • the double triangle does not appear until the 3rd edition of the Analysis on page 113 and means: the middle couple loop first corner right shoulder pass outside partner's place, then loop 2nd corner right shoulder and return to place.
    This is completely different from the RSCDS version of double triangles.

(R)SCDS Book 15, 1949

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 16, 1951

Struan Robertson's Reel
John Rutherford, London, 1775‡
Rutherford's Compleat Collection of 200 of the most Celebrated Country Dances, both Old and New, Vol. 3

The dance was originally published in 1771, presumably in a "Twenty four country dances for the Year 1771", a work now lost.

RSCDS Book 24, 1968

Adieu Mon Ami
Thomas Wilson, London, 1814
Le Sylphe, An Elegant Collection of Twenty four Country Dances, for the Year 1814

RSCDS Book 26, 1972

A Mile to Ride
Anonymous, date unknown†

Johnson in ~1751 published a dance called A Mile to Ride, but it did not match this figure.

Thompson, in 1771, Goulding, in 1808, and Wilson in 1809 and 1816 published dances called Ride a Mile, but none matches this figure.

RSCDS Book 35, 1988

Major Ian Stewart
John Drewry, Aberdeen, 1986
RSCDS Book 35

RSCDS Book 44, 2004

Starlight
Ed Abdill, [Unknown City], ~2004
RSCDS Book 44

RSCDS Book 46, 2010

Links with St. Petersburg
Malcolm Brown, [Unknown City], 2009
RSCDS Book 46

RSCDS Book 47, 2013 (90th Aniversary)

Linnea's Strathspey
Tim Wilson, [Unknown City], 2001
RSCDS Book 47

RSCDS Book 50, 2016

Les Remparts de Séville
Aliénor Latour, [Unknown City], 2014
RSCDS Book 50

Miss Milligan's Miscellany 1, ~1977

The Bonnie Links
Anonymous, date unknown†

Miss Milligan's Miscellany 2, ~1977

Lady Susan Stewart's Strathspey
Anonymous, date unknown†

Statistics

Number of dances published by city (or region)

[Unknown]7
London4
Dumfriesshire, Scotland2
Aberdeen1

Number of dances published by semi century

Unknown3
1700-17492
1750-17992
1800-18492
1950-19991
2000-20494

Number of dances by early publisher/devisor

Anonymous5
Thomas Wilson2
Aliénor Latour1
Ed Abdill1
John Drewry1
John Rutherford1
Johnson1
Malcolm Brown1
Tim Wilson1

References

AnonymousHolmain MS, Dumfriesshire, Scotland, about 1730
JohnsonCaledonian Country Dances Vol. II, London, about 1754. I don't know where to find it.
John RutherfordRutherford's Compleat Collection of 200 of the most Celebrated Country Dances, both Old and New, Vol. 3, London, 1775. May be found in Bibliothèque nationale de France, or Württembergische Landesbibliothek, Stuttgart
Thomas WilsonLe Sylphe, An Elegant Collection of Twenty four Country Dances, for the Year 1814, London, 1814. I don't know where to find it.
"A Companion to the Ball Room, London, 1816. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the British 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
Creative Commons License 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.