J. F. Campbell Collection > Popular rhymes of Scotland

306 POPULAR RHYMES OF SCOTLAND.
custom this is a relic and living memorial. The simple
swains of Peeblesshire, when they shuffle into the houses
of their neighbours to play Galatian, little think that such
goings-on were strictly forbidden by the Concilium Afri-
canum in the year 408, as well as by anotheii council of the
church at Auxerre in Burgundy in 614. The Plantagenet
kings of England were regularly regaled every Christmas
with such plays ; and even down to the time of Elizabeth,
a play was one of the constant amusements of Christmas
in the universities and inns of court. If we were to judge
of the antiquity of Galatian from its language, we would
assign it to the early part of the sixteenth century, on
account of its resemblance to the structure of verse found
in such specimens of primeval English comedy as Ralph
Moyster Doyster, and Gammer Gurtori's Needle^ which were
productions of the reign of Mary.
The rhymes connected with the performance of the Sword-
Dance, an ancient Scandinavian amusement, which lingered
till a recent period in Shetland, bear a considerable resem-
blance to those of Galatian. They have fortunately been
preserved in a succession of copies, the last of which was
written, about 1788, by Mr William Henderson, younger
of Papa Stour, one of the remotest of the Shetland islands,
where the dance or ballet is even now sometimes performed.
This document is given by Sir Walter Scott amongst the
notes which he latterly appended to the novel of The
Pirate : —
'words used as a prelude to the sword-dance, a DANISH
OR NORWEGIAN BALLET, COMPOSED SOME CENTURIES AGO,
AND PRESERVED IN PAPA STOUR, ZETLAND.
PEPSON.3E DRAMATIS.*
Enter Master, in the character of St George.
Brave gentles all within this boor,t
If ye delight in any sport,
Come see me dance upon this floor,
Which to you aU shall yield comfort.
Then shall I dance in such a sort,
As possible I may or can ;
* So placed in the old MS.
t Boor— so spelt, to accord with the vulgar pronunciation of the word hower.