Roger de (or of) Coverley (also Sir Roger de Coverley or ...Coverly) is the name of an

English country dance A country dance is any of a very large number of social dances of a type that originated in England in the British Isles; it is the repeated execution of a predefined sequence of figures, carefully designed to fit a fixed length of music, perfo ...

and a

Scottish country dance Scottish country dance (SCD) is the distinctively Scottish form of country dance, itself a form of social dance involving groups of couples of dancers tracing progressive patterns. A dance consists of a sequence of figures. These dances are ...

(also known as The Haymakers). An early version was published in ''

The Dancing Master ''The Dancing Master'' (first edition: ''The English Dancing Master'') is a dancing manual containing the music and instructions for English country dances. It was first published in 1651 by John Playford. History It was published in several ...

'', 9th edition (1695). The Virginia Reel is probably related to it.

References in modern culture

It is mentioned in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' (1843) when the

Ghost of Christmas Past The Ghost of Christmas Past is a fictional character in Charles Dickens' 1843 novella ''A Christmas Carol''. The Ghost is one of three spirits that appear to miser Ebenezer Scrooge to offer him a chance of redemption. Following a visit from t ...

shows Scrooge a party from his apprenticeship with Mr. Fezziwig. "...the great effect of the evening came after the Roast and Boiled, when the fiddler ... struck up 'Sir Roger de Coverley'. Then old Fezziwig stood out to dance with Mrs. Fezziwig." In the 1951 film ''Scrooge'', based on Dickens's story and starring Alastair Sim in the title role, the fiddler is shown playing the tune at an energetic tempo during the party scene. It figures in William Makepeace Thackeray's short story ''The Bedford-Row Conspiracy'' as the musical centrepiece of a political feast pitting the Whigs against the Tories, and in Arnold Bennett's novel ''Leonora'' as music considered by the older gents as more suitable for a ball than the likes of the Blue Danube Waltz. The 1985 British TV adaptation of Dickens' Pickwick Papers showed the titular character, along with his friends performing the dance at Christmas celebrations at the Manor Farm - Mr. Wardle's residence. It is also played in the 1939 film version of

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is the only novel by the English author Emily Brontë, initially published in 1847 under her pen name "Ellis Bell". It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the ...

, during the sequence in which Heathcliff, newly established as master of the estate, visits the ball at the invitation of Isabella Linton. It is mentioned in ''

Silas Marner ''Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe'' is the third novel by English author George Eliot, pen name of Mary Ann Evans. It was published on 2 April 1861. An outwardly simple tale of a linen weaver, the novel is notable for its strong realism a ...

'' by

George Eliot Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wrot ...

, when the fiddler at the Cass

New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve refers to the evening, or commonly the entire day, of the last day of the year, 31 December, also known as Old Year's Day. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinkin ...

party plays it to signal the beginning of the evening's dancing, and in the children's book ''

The Rescuers ''The Rescuers'' is a 1977 American Animated film, animated adventure film, adventure comedy-drama film produced by Walt Disney Productions and released by Buena Vista Distribution. Bob Newhart and Eva Gabor respectively star as Bernard and B ...

'' by Margery Sharp. Harry Thompson mentions the dance in his first novel '' This Thing of Darkness'': "... and so it was that, five minutes later, he found himself bowing to her, and she curtsying in reply, as they lined up facing one another for the commencement of the Sir Roger de Coverley". The dance plays a part in the Dorothy Sayers short story " The Queen's Square"; in

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

's '' The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.''; in ''Stig of the Dump'' by Clive King when Barney and his sister attend a fancy dress party; in D H Lawrence's '' Sons and Lovers'' (1913), where Gertrude Morel is reported never to have learned the dance; and in

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope ( ; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among the best-known of his 47 novels are two series of six novels each collectively known as the ''Chronicles of Barsetshire ...

's novel ''

Can You Forgive Her? ''Can You Forgive Her?'' is a novel by Anthony Trollope, first published in serial form in 1864 and 1865. It is the first of six novels in the Palliser novels, Palliser series, also known as the Parliamentary Novels. The novel follows three pa ...

'' Vol. 2 Ch. IX. The tune was used by

Frank Bridge Frank Bridge (26 February 187910 January 1941) was an English composer, violist and conductor. Life Bridge was born in Brighton, the ninth child of William Henry Bridge (1845–1928), a violin teacher and variety theatre conductor, formerly a ...

in 1922 as the basis of a work for strings titled ''Sir Roger de Coverly (A Christmas Dance)''. Sir Roger de Coverley and the gypsies LCCN2003680808

Sir Roger de Coverley was also the name of a character in ''

The Spectator (1711) ''The Spectator'' was a daily publication founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England, lasting from 1711 to 1712. Each "paper", or "number", was approximately 2,500 words long, and the original run consisted of 555 numbers, begin ...

'', created by

Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 May 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright, and politician. He was the eldest son of Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richard Steele, with w ...

and

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator (1711), The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steel ...

. An English squire of Queen Anne's reign. Sir Roger exemplified the values of an old country gentleman, and was portrayed as lovable but somewhat ridiculous ('rather beloved than esteemed') (''Spectator'' no. 2), making his

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

politics seem harmless but silly. He was said to be the grandson of the man who invented the dance.

References

External links

* The annotate
Sir Roger de Coverley

''The Complete System of Sir Roger De Coverley''
at the Library of Congress Dance Instruction Manual collection * {{Authority control English country dance Scottish country dance Male characters in literature Charles Dickens

References in modern culture

See also

References

External links