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 11, 1936
| The Long Chase | Blantyre MS, Scotland, ~1805† According to Hugh Thurston's Scotland's Dances, 1954 (on page 98) this dance was taught by Mr. William Seymour for Kilbride in 1805. I do not have a description of the figure so I can't check that it matches the modern one. In many ways this is a three couple dance in a four couple set with the 1s progressing one space down, but there are a number of whole set figures. | |
| The Moudiewort | Bowman, Scotland, ~1761† The RSCDS attributes this dance to Alexander Bowman. Hugh Thurston's Scotland's Dances, 1954 refers to something called the Bowman MS (held in the Laing Collection at the University of Edinburgh) dated somewhere between 1750 and 1800. |
(R)SCDS Book 13, 1945 (Victory Book)
| Strathglass House | Robert Bremner, London, 1769‡ For the Year 1769. A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances The RSCDS attributes this to Bremner's work: A Second Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances, which they date variously to ~1757 and ~1765. In ~1765 Bremner published A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances; a work which only contains tunes with no figures. According to Hugh Thurston the second collection was published in London in 1769. As far as I can tell, what was published in London was actually titled: For the Year 1769. A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances. At any rate, that work contains this dance. Robert Keller Bremner titled this dance Straglass House - Strathspey. Robert Bremner writes: The 1st, 2d, and 3d Cu: foot it and hands round Six the same back again cross over two Cu: lead up to the Top and cast off Turn corners with your right hands ℵ turn partner with your Left the other corners the same lead outsides and turn The RSCDS claims this comes from A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances and it may be in that, but I know it is in For the Year 1769. A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances (both by Bremner). |
(R)SCDS Book 15, 1949
| Middling, Thank You | Thomas Wilson, London, ~1814†‡ No. 26 of Button & Whitaker's Selection of Dances, Reels and Waltzes According to the Regency Dance site, Button & Whitaker published a dance with this name in their 26th selection, and their page on Thomas Wilson indicates that he was the deviser of the Country Dances in that selection. Sadly I do not have access to the figures of these dances. |
RSCDS Book 19, 1957
| The Widows | Blantyre MS, Scotland, 1805† |
RSCDS Book 20, 1959
| Miss Ogilvie's Fancy | William Campbell, London, 1795‡ Campbell's 10th Book of New and Favorite Country Dances & Strathspey Reels On page 24 of book 10, Campbell writes: The 1st. & 2d. Cu Poussette quite round to their own places Lead down the middle up again hands 4 round at bottom Right & Left at top. The music consists of an eight bar strain and a sixteen bar strain. I assume it is intended to be played AAB. Campbell spells the dance "Miss Ogleves Fancy". |
RSCDS Book 25, 1970
| Miss Brown's Reel | Bartholomew Cooke, Dublin, 1796‡ Cooke's Selection of the Present Favorite Country Dances for the Year 1796 The Scottish Country Dance Dictionary attributes this to "F Gilruth". In his Cooke's Selection of the Preset Favorite Country Dances for the Year 1796 (Dublin), Cooke writes: Change Sid: & Back again Down the mid: up again. Cast off & turn your Part: |
RSCDS Book 26, 1972
| The Ladies of Dunse | Anonymous, date unknown† |
RSCDS Book 29, 1979
| Land o' Cakes | G. Goulding, London, 1793‡ Twenty four Country Dances for the Year 1793 Goulding spells the title The Land of Cakes. The adaptation is rather loose. |
RSCDS Book 39, 1996
| The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh | Allie Anderson and Florence Lesslie, [Unknown City], 1947 RSCDS Book 39 |
Miss Milligan's Miscellany 2, ~1977
| The New Highland Laddie | David Rutherford, London, ~1756‡ Rutherford's compleat Collection of 200 of the most celebrated Country Dances both Old and New, Vol. 1 |
Statistics
Number of dances published by city (or region)
| London | 5 |
| Scotland | 3 |
| [Unknown] | 2 |
| Dublin | 1 |
Number of dances published by semi century
| Unknown | 1 |
| 1750-1799 | 6 |
| 1800-1849 | 3 |
| 1900-1949 | 1 |
Number of dances by early publisher/devisor
| Blantyre MS | 2 |
| Allie Anderson and Florence Lesslie | 1 |
| Anonymous | 1 |
| Bartholomew Cooke | 1 |
| Bowman | 1 |
| David Rutherford | 1 |
| G. Goulding | 1 |
| Robert Bremner | 1 |
| Thomas Wilson | 1 |
| William Campbell | 1 |
References
| Anonymous | Blantyre MS, about 1805. Found in "The Atholl Collection" at the A K Bell Library of Perth. |
| Robert Bremner | For the Year 1769. A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances, London, 1769. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh |
| William Campbell | Campbell's 10th Book of New and Favorite Country Dances & Strathspey Reels, London, 1795 |
| Bartholomew Cooke | Cooke's Selection of the Present Favorite Country Dances for the Year 1796, Dublin, 1796 |
| G. Goulding | Twenty four Country Dances for the Year 1793, London, 1793. Robert Keller's site says this may be found in the British Library |
| David Rutherford | Rutherford's compleat Collection of 200 of the most celebrated Country Dances both Old and New, Vol. 1, London, about 1756 |
| Thomas Wilson | No. 26 of Button & Whitaker's Selection of Dances, Reels and Waltzes, London, about 1814. I don't know where to find it. |
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.