Folk Play Links - Scotland / Alba

Compiled by Chris Little

Groups listed may be folk club, morris dance or amateur drama groups, as well as traditional performers. Publications listed may be cited, extracted or summarised publications, as well as full text.

Angus

001 * Additions to The Games of Argyleshire [sic] [by R.C. MacLagan, in Folk-Lore, Vol.XVI No.2, Jun. 1905, pp.211-216 - (fragment;) extract from , by J.F. L., in Scotsman, 31st Dec. 1902 - [Angus] text]

Ayrshire

002 * Cairntable Rhymes [Complete edition] [by Thomas Floyd, 1936, p.81 - 'Thae Days Are A' Away', poem mentioning acting "Galashuns" at Muirkirk at Hallowe'en]

Berwickshire

003 * A Berwickshire Bard [by Robert McLean Calder, 1897, pp.117-119, 59 - 'Hogmanay' - Polwarth fragment]
004 * Diversions of a Country Gentleman [by Sir George Douglas, 1902, p.32 - 'A Scottish Lady of the Old School [Lady John Scott]' - Guisards at [Spottiswoode, Westruther]]
005 * The Goloshans [citation of Emily Lyle, in Tocher, No.32, Winter 1979-1980, pp.107-112 - Westruther fragment from Sound Archive]

Dunbartonshire

006 * The Old Vale and Its Memories [Vale of Leven] [extract from James Ferguson & James Graham Temple, [1927], p.? - Archived]

East Lothian

007 * The History of Dunbar, [by James Millar, 1859, p.206 - "guisards" - as his other book]
008 * The Lamp of Lothian; or, the History of Haddington, [by James Miller, 1844, p.413 - "guisards" - probably just via Scott]

Fife

009 * Examples of Printed Folk-Lore concerning Fife [County Folk-Lore, Vol.VII : Printed Extracts, Nos. IX, X, XI] [coll. by John Ewart Simpkins, 1914, pp.144-146 - extract from Edinburgh Evening Dispatch, 31st Dec. 1903 - unlocated text]
010 * Poems and Songs [4th edition] [by Robert Gilfillan, 1851, p.xiv - "guising" at Dunfermline]
011 * Reminiscences of Dunfermline and Neighbourhood, [by Alexander Stewart, 1886, pp.151-153 - Dunfermline fragment; p.110 - paraphrasing above]
012 * Supplement to A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, by Chambers, 1835 [by Thomson, 1855 - at Dunfermline - paraphrasing, but adding mention of "Alexander the Great and Galatian", Memoir, by Anderson, 1851]

Lanarkshire

013 * Biggar Seguisers [perform Biggar text; programme]
014 * Children's Rhymes and Rhyme Games : Personal Recollections of Fifty Years Ago [by J.Liddell Kelly, in Miscellanea of The Rymour Club, Edinburgh, Vol.I, 1906-1911 - "Goloshans" at Calder Ironworks [Carnbroe]]
015 * Motherwell Seventy Years Ago - and Now [by Old Residenter [King], 1910, Chapter XII - "The Galloshans" - fragment]
016 * Old Glasgow: The Place and the People [by Andrew MacGeorge, 1880, p.210 - Glasgow "Galatians" fragment]
017 * Scran [image archive] [Photos of and video about Biggar Seguisers - Subscription required]
018 * The Mummers, or Guisers [by Bro W. Simpson, in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol.III Pt.1, 1890, pp.81-82 - Glasgow fragment]

Midlothian

019 * A Pedlar's Pack of Ballads and Songs [by W.H. Logan, 1869, p.447 - extract from Two Bannatyne Garlands from Abbotsford, 1848, p.5]
020 * Article about Edinburgh Folk Club [Formerly, mumming play]
021 * Autobiographical Notes of the Life of William Bell Scott [ed. by W. Minto, 1892, p.10 - Edinburgh fragment]
022 * Broccoli [Photos of Tammas]
023 * Criminal Trials in Scotland, [comp. by Robert Pitcairn, 1833, Vol.I Pt.I p.114fn - "Guisards" at Edinburgh]
024 * Edinburgh Picturesque Notes [by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1879, Chapter IX - Guisards]
025 * Marmion; A Tale of Flodden Field [6th edition] [by Walter Scott, 1810, Vol.II p.257-259 - 'Notes to Canto Sixth : Note III' - Edinburgh fragment]
026 * New Year Observances in Scotland [by Robert Chambers, in Olio;, Vol.IX No.I, 31st Dec. 1831, p.30 - guizards at Edinburgh]
027 * New Year Observances in Scotland [by Robert Chambers, in Edinburgh Literary Journal;, No.163, 24th Dec. 1831, pp.364-366 - guizards at Edinburgh]
028 * New Year's Morning, in Edinburgh; [by [Archibald Steel], 1792, p.8 - Subscription required for Gale: Eighteenth Century Collections Online]
029 * Scott and the Newcastle Antiquaries [by [George Willis ?], in Willis's Current Notes, No.77, May 1857, p.35 - Letter of Sir Walter Scott]
030 * Scran [image archive] [manuscript from Corson Walter Scott Collection for Two Bannatyne Garlands from Abbotsford, 1848, p.5 - "guisarding" at [Edinburgh] - Subscription required]
031 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1811-1814 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1932, p.208 - Guisarding at Edinburgh]
032 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1825-1826 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1935, pp.445-447 - Guisards at Edinburgh]
033 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1826-1828 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1936, p.98 - Edinburgh fragment]
034 * The Scot Abroad [by John Hill Burton, 1864, Vol.I p.309fn - guisards at [Liberton]]
035 * Voyages and Travels of Columbus Secundus [in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol.X No.LIX, Dec. (Pt.II) 1821, p.692 - Chap.XVIII - "guisards" or "guiserts" performing Alexander the Great or The Abbot of Unreason, at Edinburgh]
036 * Yule and Hogmanay [by [James Hogg ?], in Hogg's Weekly Instructor, Vol.5, 1847, pp.361-363 - Edinburgh fragment?]

Peeblesshire

037 * Popular Rhymes of Scotland [3rd edition][Select Writings of Robert Chambers Vol.7] [ed. by Robert Chambers, 1847, pp.299-306 - Peebles text]
038 * The Popular Rhymes of Scotland, [1st edition] [by Robert Chambers, 1826, p.300 - 'Specimens of Unpublished Classes of Popular Rhymes']

Perthshire

039 * Additions to The Games of Argyleshire [sic] [by R.C. MacLagan, in Folk-Lore, Vol.XVI No.2, Jun. 1905, pp.211-216 - fragment; (extract from , by J.F. L., in Scotsman, 31st Dec. 1902 - [Angus] text)]
040 * Traditions of Perth, [by George Penny, 1836, p.40 - "Guisards"]

Renfrewshire

041 * Old Greenock Characters - Second Series [extract from Donald, 1930]

Roxburghshire

042 * A Few Reminiscences of my Early Life, by William Renton, 1926 [internet only] [Morebattle text]
043 * Christmas Mummers [by W. E., in Notes & Queries, 5th Ser. Vol.IV No.104, 25th Dec. 1875, pp.506-507 - Gizards or Guisards in Teviotdale; citation of Galations, by James Maidment, 1835]
044 * Christmas Mummers [by W. E., in Notes & Queries, 5th Ser. Vol.V No.111, 12th Feb. 1876, p.133]
045 * Scottish Borders Memory Bank [Track 12 - Audio of Jim Hall's dictated interview and transcript of Crailing Guiserts' play - including the text.]
046 * The Goloshans [citation of Emily Lyle, in Tocher, No.32, Winter 1979-1980, pp.107-112 - Melrose & Morebattle texts from Sound Archive]
047 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1817-1819 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1933, p.287 - Hogmanay at Abbotsford, Melrose]
048 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1823-1825 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1935, p.144 - New Year's Day at Abbotsford, Melrose]
049 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1825-1826 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1935, pp.445-447 - New Year's Day at Abbotsford, Melrose]
050 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1826-1828 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1936, p.98 - New Year's Day at Abbotsford, Melrose]
051 * The Letters of Sir Walter Scott 1828-1831 [ed. by Herbert Grierson, 1936, p.282 - Hogmanay at Abbotsford, Melrose]

Shetland

052 * A Description of the Shetland Islands, [by Samuel Hibbert, 1822, pp.554-560]
053 * A Voyage Round the Coasts of Scotland and the Isles [by James Wilson, 1842, Vol.II pp.352-366]
054 * Buckhaven [by [Sir Walter Scott], in Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Vol.II No.XII, Mar. 1818, p.627 - see his memoirs]
055 * Dr. James Scott, Md. Rn. (1785-1859) and the Papa Stour Sword Dance [citation of Paul Smith, at Taking Shetland out of the Box : Island Cultures and Shetland Identity, Lerwick, 7th-10th May 2009]
056 * Memoirs of the Life of Sir Walter Scott, [2nd edition] [by [J.G. Lockhart], Vol.IV, 1839, pp.217-219 - Papa Stour, 7th Aug. 1814]
057 * Re: Papa Stour [citation of Trevor Stone, in The Morris Dancer, Vol.1 No.11,]
058 * The Oxonian in Iceland; [by Rev Frederick Metcalfe, 1861, p.23]
059 * The Papa Stour Sword Dance : some notes on its recent history [citation of Keith Chandler, in The Morris Dancer, Vol.1 No.10, ]
060 * The Pirate : A Melo Dramatic Romance, [by Thomas Dibdin, 1822, p.41]
061 * The Pirate [Waverley Novels, Magnum Opus edition, Vols.XXIV-XXV] [by Sir Walter Scott, 1831, Vol.I [of 2], pp.266-271]
062 * The Sword Dance of Papa Stour, Shetland [citation of Ivor Allsop, in Folk Music Journal, Vol.3 No.4, 1978, pp.324-342]
063 * The Sword-Dance / Papa Stour, Shetland [index to Alfred W. Johnston, in Old-Lore Miscellany of Orkney, Shetland, Caithness and Sutherland, Vol.V Pt.IV, Oct. 1912, pp.175-185]
064 * The Very Old Manuscript: A Re-Examination of the Relationship between Samuel Hibbert’s and Sir Walter Scott's Descriptions of the Sword-Dance from Papa Stour, Shetland [citation of Michael J. Preston, at Taking Shetland out of the Box : Island Cultures and Shetland Identity, Lerwick, 7th-10th May 2009]

Stirlingshire

065 * Bibliographical List of the Various Publications by James Maidment, Esquire, Advocate, from the Years M.DCCC.XVII to M.DCCC.LIX [by Thomas George Stevenson, 1859, p.15 - citation of Galations, 1835]
066 * Daft Days [by John Wood Reddock, in The Every-Day Book;, Vol.II, 18??, cols.18-21 - Falkirk text]
067 * Galoshins : A New Year Play from Kippen [by Emily Lyle, in Tocher, No.36/37, 1982, pp.380-383 - Kippen text from Sound Archive, including Audio of the introductory song]
068 * Galoshins : A New Year Play from Kippen [citation of Emily Lyle, in Tocher, No.36-37, 1982, pp.380-383 - Kippen text from Sound Archive]
069 * Popular Rhymes of Scotland [3rd edition][Select Writings of Robert Chambers Vol.7] [ed. by Robert Chambers, 1847, p.301fn - Falkirk fragment]
070 * Profile of a Parish [Baldernock] [comp. by Jean Stewart, 1974, p.27 - fragment]
071 * Scran [image archive] [illustration from Bob McCutcheon Collection [Search for 'Galoshins'] - Subscription required]
072 * The History of Stirlingshire [3rd edition only] [by Nimmo, 1880]

West Lothian

073 * The Goloshans [citation of Emily Lyle, in Tocher, No.32, Winter 1979-1980, pp.107-112 - Broxburn fragment from Sound Archive]

[General]

074 * A further Explanation of the Word Hagmenai [by B. A., in Gentleman's Magazine: & Historical Chronicle, Vol.LX Pt.2:Jul, Jul.-Dec. 1790, p.616 - "guisarts"]
075 * An Essay on Masquerade [in The London Magazine:, Vol.XLIII, Feb. 1774, p.81 - "Guisearts"]
076 * Ancient Scottish Poems [1770, p.286 - gysarts]
077 * Chambers's Book of Days [US edition] [ed. by R. Chambers, 1879, Vol.II p.789 - Guisers or Guizards in Scotland at Christmas, Hogmanay, New-year's Day and Handsel Monday]
078 * Children's Rhymes Children's Games Children's Songs Children's Stories : A Book for Bairns and Big Folk [2nd edition] [by Robert Ford, 1904, pp.94-100 - '"The Goloshans"']
079 * Dictionary of the Scots Language [Comprises A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue, 1931-2002 & The Scottish National Dictionary,1931-1976 - Search for 'gysar', 'guyser', 'galatian', 'guiser' and 'mumming']
080 * Galloway [Kirkcudbrightshire & Wigtownshire] New Year's Customs [by E.M. Johnstone, in The Graphic, Vol.47 No.1206, 7th Jan. 1893, p.14bc - Subscription required for Gale: 19th Century British Library Newspapers]
081 * Galoshins: The Scottish Folk Play [by Brian Hayward. Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 1992 - Subscription required for Questia]
082 * Highland Superstitions [in Belle Assemblee, New Ser. Vol.XXI, Jan.-Jun. 1820, p.128 - "guizarts"]
083 * Observations on Popular Antiquities: [with additions] [by John Brand, rev. by Henry Ellis, 1813, Vol.I pp.350-354 - 'Hagmena' - fnF - extract from Hagmenai, by B. A., in Gentleman's Magazine: & Historical Chronicle, Vol.LX Pt.2:Jul, Jul.-Dec. 1790, p.616]
084 * Popular Rhymes of Scotland [3rd edition][Select Writings of Robert Chambers Vol.7] [ed. by Robert Chambers, 1847, p.304fn - west of Scotland fragment]
085 * Proverbs, Proverbial Expressions, and Popular Rhymes of Scotland [by Andrew Cheviot [James Hiram Watson], 1896, pp.169-173 - entry for 'Hogmany' - Border district text]
086 * Scotsheets 2 [Pack for sale:]
087 * Scottish Guising: Medieval And Modern Theatre Games [by Sarah Carpenter, in International Journal of Scottish Theatre, Vol.2 No.2, Dec. 2001]
088 * Scottish Life and Society : Oral Literature and Performance Culture [Book for sale: eds. by John Beech et al., 2007]
089 * Sketch-book of the North [by George Eyre-Todd, 1890]
090 * The Ballad Minstrelsy of Scotland [ed. by [?], 1871, pp.xv-xvi - "Galatians" or "Galashins" South-west Scotland fragment; may derive their name from "Galashin" who was the brother of "Kemp Owyne"]
091 * The Book of Days [? edition] [ed. by R. Chambers, 1869, Vol.II - Guisers or Guizards in Scotland at Christmas, Hogmanay, New-year's Day and Handsel Monday]
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