In Garb Of Old Gaul

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

IN GARB OF OLD GAUL (S8x32) 3C (4C set) Hugh Foss Dances To Song Tunes

1- 8 1s turn RH, cast (2s step up), dance ½ Fig of 8 round 2s
9-16 1s turn 2H, dance down, cast up round 3s, lead up to 1st place opposite sides (2s step down 15-16)
17-20 1s turn RH, cast while 2s set, turn RH moving up to 1st place
21-24 1s+2s dance ½ double Fig of 8 (1s cross up, 2s cast to start)
25-28 1s turn 2H moving up to 1st place, opening out to cast to 2nd place own sides while 2s cast to 3rd place and cross RH also 3s (nearer hands joined) dance up to 2nd place (bars 25-26) and turn 2H moving up to 1st place. 312
29-32 3s+1s+2s dance ½ reels of 3 on sides (3s cast, 1s down and in, 2s out and up to start) 213

(MINICRIB. Dance crib compiled by Charles Upton, Deeside Caledonian Society, and his successors)

Keith Rose's Crib Diagrams

In Garb Of Old Gaul Keith Rose's Diagram

In Garb Of Old Gaul - Full Size And Key To Symbols

Dance Information

The title of this dance, In Garb Of Old Gaul, comes from The Garb Of Old Gaul - Song written by Sir Henry Erskine c. 1769, about the martial prowess of Highland soldiers and the perceived British tradition of freedom and fighting against the despotic French.

The phrase "Garb Of Old Gaul" refers to the traditional Highland dress, ancient Gaul being thought of at the time as the heartland of the Celtic peoples.

In the garb of old Gaul with the fire of old Rome,
From the heath cover'd mountains of Scotia we come,
Where the Roman's endeavour'd our country to gain,
But our ancestors fought, and they fought not in vain.

The Garb Of Old Gaul Song - Information Video

"Gaul soldiers" Larousse Illustre c. 1898

Dance information licensed under this Creative Commons Licence 3.0.
Text from this original The Garb Of Old Gaul article on Wikisource.
Image copyright Larousse, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

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