Dance The Auld Alliance 289
Also known as “Old Aliens” (unofficial).
See also: The Auld Alliance (R32, 3/4L, Boehmer: Cameo 17), The Auld Alliance (S32, 3/3L, Drewry)
Reel · 32 bars · 4 couples · Longwise - 4 (Progression: 2341)
- Devised by
- Jacques & Liliane Chamoin
- Intensity
- 6222 8888 8888 0088 = 71% (1 turn), 72% (whole dance)
- Formations
-
- Allemande for 2 couples (ALLMND;2C;)
- Rights and Lefts - half (R&L;HALF;)
- Steps
-
- Skip-Change
- Published in
-
- Book 23 [1]
- Pocket: Books Five for 1965,23,24 [6]
- Scottish Country Dances Books 19 to 24 (Combined A5 edition) [58]
- Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 8 [10] (diagram only)
- Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 7 [7] (diagram only)
- Scottish Country Dances in Diagrams. Ed. 6 [7] (diagram only)
- Recommended Music
- Extra Info
The Auld Alliance
The Auld Alliance began with the Treaty of 1295 between Scotland and France, a pact often invoked and as often ignored, whose intent was political and military, but whose impact was social and cultural.
The Scottish background for the Alliance was complicated to the point of being chaotic.
In 1290 Margaret, the “Maid of Norway”, grand-daughter of Alexander III, and child heiress to the Scottish crown, died in Orkney on her way to the rmother’s country. At once there rose up no less than thirteen eager claimants to the throne. One was Eric of Norway, Margaret’s father. Another was the Earl of Badenoch, John “the Black” Comyn, a descendent of Donald Bane, the brother of Malcolm Canmore. Six more had illegitimate antecedents. The other five were descendents of David, Earl of Huntingdon, younger brother of Malcolm the Maiden and William the Lion. Florence V, Count of Holland, was the great-grandson of Ada, the sister of Malcolm, William, and David, and Robert Pinkney was the great-grandson of their younger sister, Marjorie. John Balliol was the grandson of the earl’s eldest daughter, Margaret. Robert Bruce, grandfather of Robert I (The Bruce), was the son of the earl’s second daughter, Isabella. John Hastings was the grandson of the earl’s youngest daughter, another Ada. Fortunately, Alexander III’s two sons died before the scramble for the crown took place, for the field was already over-crowded. The barons and clergy who had the unhappy chore of sifting through the claims of various grandsons and great-grandsons were soon exhausted by the heated arguments and when faced with civil war between the Bruce faction and the supporters of Balliol, the Scottish Solomons came to the conclusion that an outsider ought to make the choice. So, Edward I of England was asked to settle the matter, an invitation that Edward was only too happy to accept. It was this same Edward who rode off to London with Scotland’s Stone of Destiny, the Stone of Scone, upon which Scottish kings were traditionally crowned and [which] now rests in Westminster Abbey under the coronation chair.
In a twinkling of the royal eye, Edward made himself overlord of the Scots and demanded fealty from the claimants. They bent the knee and Edward chose John Balliol. For three years “Toom Tabard” (Empty Coat) as he was called by the Scots was Edward’s man in Scotland. But, when Edward ordered John to raise both taxes and men for England’s fight against the French, the Scots had had enough. In 1295 John made a treaty with Philip IV and together Scotland and France faced England who wanted desperately to conquer both of them.
From 1295 until 1560 the allies often found each other rather tedious and strong epithets were hurled back and forth. By 1358 the French would have enjoyed joining England so that they might attack Scotland. On the other hand, the Scots had had it up to their bonnets with French ambitions and broken promises.
It was the Auld Alliance, coupled with the stubbornness of James IV and the pugnacity of Henry VII that brought about one of the two most crushing defeats in the history of Scotland. In 1513 Henry declared war against France and James, as France’s ancient ally, declared war on England. On 9 September James led the Scots over the Border into battle at Flodden Field. When the bitter fighting was over, king, earls, bishops, lords, barons, knights and Scottish soldiers, at least ten thousand men, lay dead upon the field.
I’ve heard the lilting at our yowe-milking,
Lasses a-lilting before dawn o’ day;
But now they are moaning on ilka green loaning:
“The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away.”
At buchts, in the morning, nae blythe lads are scorning;
The lasses are lonely, and dowie, and wae;
Nae daffin’, nae gabbin’, but sighing and sabbing:
Ilka ane lifts her leglen, and hies her away.
In hairst, at the shearing, nae youths now are jeering.
The bandsters are lyart, and runkled and grey;
At fair or at preaching, nae wooing, nae fleeching;
The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away.
At e’en in the gloaming, nae swankies are roaming,
‘Bout stacks with the lasses at bogle to play;
But ilk ane sits drearie, lamenting her dearie –
The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away.
Dule and wae for the order sent our lads to the Border!
The English, for ance, by guile, wan the day;
The Flowers of the Forest, that foucht aye the foremost,
The prime o’ our land, are cauld in the clay.
We’ll hear nae mair lilting at our yowe-milking,
Women and bairns are heartless and wae;
Sighing and moaning on ilka grey loaning:
“The Flowers of the Forest are a’ wede away.”
– Jane Elliot (1727–1805)
In 1527 the French signed a treaty with the English, short-lived and of purely Continental military expediency, but it was sufficient to make the Scottish weary of their ally. For well over two hundred and fifty years the Auld Alliance was an entente not always cordiale.
With the Reformation the religious issue complicated the military aspects of the alliance and at the Battle of Leith in the time of Marie de Guise, widow of James V and mother of Queen Mary, Protestants, both Scottish and English, were fighting the French-influenced Catholics. The gradual domination of Scotland by France came to an abrupt end on 6 July, 1560, with the Treaty of Leith (or Edinburgh) that followed the battle. This time the pact was between Scotland and England, both in fear of Roman Catholicism, and after that the native Protestants dominated the government of Scotland.
But the influence of France on the social and cultural life of Scotland continued long after the battles ended and the treaties were signed. There had been much intermarriage and France became the refuge for persecuted Catholics and hunted Jacobites. Culturally, France put her indelible stamp upon the fabric of Scottish life: in language, law, cooking, customs, art, architecture, music and, most especially, the dance.
Name | Artist | Album | Media | Trk | Type | Time | Pace | Clip |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Auld Alliance | The Southern Cross Ceili Band | Looking For a Partner | MP3+ | 8 | R32 4 | 0:00 | 0.0 | |
The Auld Alliance | Gordon Shand and his Scottish Dance Band | Book 23. Twelve Modern Scottish Country Dances | CD+ | 1 | R32 4 | 2:31 | 37.8 | |
The Auld Alliance | The Deirdre Adamson Quartet | An Angus Welcome | CD | 14 | R32 4 | 2:20 | 35.0 |
The Auld Alliance 4/4L · R32
- 1–
- 1M+2W change places RH | 1W+2M & 1M+3M repeat LH ; 1W+3W & 1M+4W repeat LH | 1W+4M repeat LH (2x,3x,4x,1x)
- 9–
- 2c & 1c cross RH while{2} 3c+4c ½ RHA | Middles face Ends and change places LH (4,2,1,3) ; all turn P RH into
- 17–
- 4c+2c (facing up) Allemande & 1c+3c (facing down, M on the R) Mirrored Allemande (start to L, curve to R), at end 4c & 3c pass LH into BtoB facing opposite side
- 25–
- 4c+3c cast round end couple, meet and dance in to 2plx/3plx ; 4c+3c ½R&L (2,3,4,1) (option: dance the ½R&L starting up/dn)
The Auld Alliance 4/4L · R32
- 1-8
- 1M+2L cross diag RH, 1s cross LH diag with 2M/3M, 1s cross RH diag with 3L/4L, 1L+4M cross LH & all end on opp sides 1s at bottom
- 9-16
- 2s & 1s (end cpls) cross RH as 3s+4s dance 1/2 RH across, 2s facing 4s also 3s facing 1s change places LH on sides & all turn ptnrs RH
- 17-24
- 4s+2s dance Allemande while 1s+3s dance an inverse Allemande (to bottom), middle couples (4s+3s) cross LH
- 25-32
- 4s & 3s cast to ends & dance into centre to 2nd/3rd places (opposite sides) & dance 1/2 R&L. 2 3 4 1
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)RSCS Vienna Branch
Added on: 2020-07-17 (Murrough Landon)
Quality: Demonstration quality
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Kuckucksnest Germany, November 2021
Added on: 2021-12-02 (Murrough Landon)
Quality: Reasonable
Watch on YouTube
(YouTube must be enabled in cookie preferences to embed videos.)Kuckucksnest, Germany, November course 2018.
Added on: 2019-09-04 (Murrough Landon)
Quality: Informal/Social (RSCDS)
Name | Date | Owner | Last changed |
---|---|---|---|
Book 23 and RSCDS 4/1978 | 2019-01-11 | Ann Murray | Jan. 8, 2019, 7:09 p.m. |
Vienna Branch Video Project | Felix Hamelbeck | Nov. 27, 2018, 8:34 a.m. | |
HHk 2022-05-24 | 2022-05-24 | Peter Price | May 24, 2022, 1:14 a.m. |
Potters Pairs Weekend 2019 - Advanced Class | 2019-04-27 | Cord Walter | April 27, 2019, 11:23 a.m. |
Annette Copping | 2016-11-21 | aec50 | Nov. 20, 2016, 12:45 p.m. |
Spring Tea Party | 2024-04-06 | Daria Soldatova | March 5, 2024, 4:15 p.m. |
140418 Lyon Easter Fri. | 2014-04-18 | Martina Mueller-Franz | Jan. 25, 2014, 4:02 p.m. |
Pawling 2022: Dances Taught | 2022-05-26 | Ken Saunders | May 26, 2022, 5:50 p.m. |
UFA - 2022 | Ussurey Dancer | Aug. 3, 2022, 9:33 a.m. | |
2021-11-20 CGB November Saturday | 2021-11-20 | antoine rousseau | Nov. 20, 2021, 5:07 p.m. |
Oxford class 240404 | 2024-04-04 | Christine Jeffery | April 6, 2024, 8:48 p.m. |
Kuckucksnest CGB November 2018 Wednesday and Saturday evening | 2018-11-24 | Martin McWilliam | Nov. 26, 2018, 2:19 p.m. |
Vienna Branch Social Evening, Saturday 26.5.2018 | 2018-05-26 | Felix Hamelbeck | May 17, 2018, 8:58 p.m. |
CGB November 2021 Classes | 2021-11-18 | Martin McWilliam | Nov. 20, 2021, 3 p.m. |
November Course 2018 - Kuckucksnest | 2018-11-23 | Martina Mueller-Franz | Nov. 24, 2018, 4:59 p.m. |
CGB November 2021 Evenings | 2021-11-17 | Martin McWilliam | Nov. 19, 2021, 2:45 p.m. |