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.
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
| Scottish Ramble | Johnson, London, ~1752 Two Hundred Favourite Country Dances, Vol. 8 RSCDS Book 5 attributes this to Caledonian Country Dances, ~1754. Several people were publishing works with that title around that time, but I can't find this dance in any of them (or none that I have access to). 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. Johnson calls the dance The Scotch Ramble and writes: First Cu. cast off two Cu. Lead up to the Top and cast off Hands 4 round with the 3d. Cu. Right hands and Left with the 2d. Cu. foot it at both Corners & turn Lead out on both sides and turn
|
RSCDS Book 17, 1953 (Coronation Book)
| A Trip to Aberdeen ~ RSCDS | David Rutherford, London, 1759 Rutherford's compleat Collection of 200 of the most celebrated Country Dances both Old and New, Vol. 2 Rutherford writes: First Man cast off and turn the 3d. Wo: First Woman cast off and turn the 3d. Man Hands round 6 that back again foot it corners and turn Lead out sides and turn The big problem I have with interpreting this dance is what to make of the strain markers ( , , and . Given the variety of the markers I would expect the tune to have three strains, each to be played twice. But Rutherford prints a rather standard jig with an A and B strain both repeated. Is one of the strains to be repeated four times? AAAABB? but if so why not use , and for the third and fourth markers? I suppose AABBAA could be intended but that doesn't seem likely to me either. AAABBB really doesn't match the markers. The RSCDS interpretation suggests that first four marks should each represent half a strain, and in other dances Rutherford seems to take a relaxed approach to what the marks mean. And it does seem likely this is a normal 32 bar jig given how the music is printed. |
Miss Milligan's Miscellany 1, ~1977
| Gramachie | Straight & Skillern, London, ~1775 204 Favourite Country Dances Straight & Skillernhttps://imslp.org/wiki/204_Favourite_Country_Dances_(Various) calls this dance Gramachree, and writes: 1st. and 2d. Cu. set & change sides the same back again lead down the middle up again & cast off lead out each side |
Statistics
Number of dances published by city (or region)
| London | 3 |
Number of dances published by semi century
| 1750-1799 | 3 |
Number of dances by early publisher/devisor
| David Rutherford | 1 |
| Johnson | 1 |
| Straight & Skillern | 1 |
References
| Johnson | Two Hundred Favourite Country Dances, Vol. 8, London, about 1752. Found in the Vaughan Williams Memorial Library (EFDSS, Cecil Sharp House). |
| David Rutherford | Rutherford's compleat Collection of 200 of the most celebrated Country Dances both Old and New, Vol. 2, London, 1759. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the National Library of Ireland, Dublin |
| Straight & Skillern | 204 Favourite Country Dances, London, about 1775. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Mus. |
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.