The Pirate

Scottish Country Dance Instruction

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Dance Information

All four are performed using waltz hold during the poussette, which is an unusual feature in Scottish country dancing, where more typical hand positions are usually employed.

This dance was first published in 1822 by Nathanial Gow. It was a 24-bar reel for two couples. The RSCDS "reconstructed" the dance in 2021 in recognition of the 250th anniversary of Sir Walter Scott's birth at Murrayfield Parish Church, Edinburgh. The new version has an optional extra 8 bars rendering it suitable for a three couple dance and so more to modern taste.

Bars 1-4 Dance in, meet, take waltz hold with partner (ready to dance in anticlockwise direction)
 dance out to the sides (top couple to men's side, bottom couple to ladies's side), couples waltz turn round each other, dancing through centre line of set (with swapped position so that original top is couple below the original bottom couple)
Bars 5-8 Continuing to waltz turn, couple dance out from centre line to the (other) sides, and then back to the centre line (so that at the end of bar 7 couples are on centre line in waltz hold, with their backs to their own sides). All retire on bar 8.

This set of dances takes its name from the novel The Heart of Mid-Lothian, first published by Sir Walter Scott in 1818. The collection draws upon titles and ideas found across Scott's literary works, with each dance named in reference to a character, setting, or theme connected to his writing.

The Pirate is a historical novel written by Sir Walter Scott and published in 1822. It is set in the late 17th century in the Shetland and Orkney Islands, which lie to the north of mainland Scotland. The story is partly inspired by the real-life figure John Gow, a pirate who was active in the early 1700s and was eventually captured and executed in London in 1725. In Scott's novel, the character Cleveland is loosely based on Gow, though the narrative takes considerable artistic liberties.

The book explores themes such as justice, loyalty, identity, and the influence of Norse and Scottish traditions in the Northern Isles. Scott combines local folklore with historical context, portraying life in a remote maritime community during a period of political and cultural change. The novel also features fictional elements such as shipwrecks, romance, and family conflicts, all set against the dramatic landscape of the northern Scottish isles.

The Heart of Mid-Lothian, another novel by Sir Walter Scott, was published earlier, in 1818. Its title refers to the Old Tolbooth, a former prison in Edinburgh that stood beside St Giles' Cathedral and was demolished in the early 19th century. The story is centred around the aftermath of the 1736 Porteous Riots, during which Captain John Porteous of the Edinburgh City Guard was lynched by a mob after being accused of ordering his men to fire on civilians.

The main character of the novel is Jeanie Deans, a young woman from a Presbyterian farming family, who undertakes a long journey on foot from Edinburgh to London. Her goal is to secure a royal pardon for her sister, who has been wrongly accused of infanticide. The narrative highlights issues of justice, religious integrity, and personal sacrifice, and offers a detailed picture of 18th-century Scottish society, including its legal system and political tensions.

Although The Pirate and The Heart of Mid-Lothian are separate works, they are both part of Scott's Waverley series of novels. These were not initially labelled as a formal series by the author, but are now collectively known as the Waverley Novels, named after his first historical novel, Waverley, published in 1814.

The Pirate 1st Edition Cover, c. 1822

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