Wikipedia says:”Roger de (or of) Coverley (also Sir Roger de Coverley or …Coverly) is the name of an English country dance and a Scottish country dance (also known as The Haymakers). An early version was published in The Dancing Master, 9th edition (1695).[1] The Virginia Reel is probably related to it.”
As can be seen way below, Wikipedia is mostly right; Sir Roger de Coverley is the ancestor of the Virginia Reel, there is a similar Scottish dance called The Haymakers, but the IRISH Haymakers is much more popular. The Olde English country dance called The Haymakers bears no resemblance to Sir Roger/Virginia Reel/Irish Haymakers.
From The Library of Dance https://www.libraryofdance.org/dances/sir-roger/ “One of the most popular dances in the history of social dance, Sir Roger De Coverley (later known as the Virginia Reel), is a fun, easy group dance with long-lasting appeal.”
In The Perfect Art of Modern Dancing (1894), Edna Witherspoon writes: “It is one the merriest of dances, and during its performance stateliness and decorum gives place to fun and jollity, although, as a matter of course, refinement forbids anything approaching boisterous rudeness.” Routledge’s Ball-Room Guide (1868) describes it as “so easy, that the most inexperienced dancer may fearlessly venture to take part in it,” adding, “long may its cheerful rustic strains be heard in our ball-rooms, and prove we have not grown too fine or too foolish to take pleasure in the simple dances of our ancestors.”
Many 19th century sources propose that Sir Roger De Coverley was (and should be) danced as the final dance of the evening. For example, in Thomas Wilson’s The Complete System of English Country Dancing (c. 1820) he proposes that: “At all Balls properly regulated, this Dance should be the finishing one, as it is calculated from the sociality of its construction, to promote the good humour of the company, and causing them to separate in evincing a pleasing satisfaction with each other.” Likewise, Routledge (1868) writes that “Sir Roger de Coverley is always introduced at the end of the evening; and no dance could be so well fitted to send the guests home in good humour with each other and with their hosts.”
Bill Lidicker wrote an essay on Sir Roger de Coverley published in the ©2001 edition of the Folk Dance Problem Solver, from which I’ll be quoting extensively. Bill’s quotations will be in italics. Historical research reveals that its origins go back in England at least 365 years, and that the tune with the same name can be traced to the time of Richard I (end of 12th century).
Sir Roger de Coverley – the Music
According to a 1717 manuscript quoted in William Chappel’s Old English Popular Music (1838), there was a knight from Yorkshire in the time of Richard I called “Roger of Calverley” for whom a tune was composed and named. This tune, called “Roger a Calverley” early on, and then “Roger of Caulveley” and “Roger of Coverly” was extensively modified but survived in recognizable form to the present. It was first published in 1685 in the John Playford volume of English country-dance music [7th edition, DB]. Interestingly, it used 9/4 (later 9/8) meter, which was called “slip jig”.
Sheet Music
Best seen at The Session https://thesession.org/tunes/1196 Many versions, plus discussion.
Sir Roger de Coverley – the Dance
In 1695 a dance description under the name of “Roger of Coverly” was published in the ninth edition of Henry Playford’s Dancing Master, but this dance was much simpler and different from the one that came to be called “Sir Roger de Coverley.”
The first description of the dance in its modern form apparently was published in 1765 (Thompson’s Compleat collection of 200 country dances, vol.II), at which time it was still listed as “Roger of Coverley.” It was first notated as Roger de Coverley in an 1814 compendium by Thomas Wilson (The complete system of English country dances).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s-B63O2G0I
YouTubes of Sir Roger de Coverley almost all use the same melody, but the choreography varies considerably. For an attempt at a complete list of possible choreographies, see the Library of Dance website. A quote: “The reconstruction presented here is an attempt to capture all of the key elements, which can be re-arranged or abbreviated to suit the fancies of each dance community. If you like all the parts, do all the parts. If you don’t like something, or the complete version feels too long, include only your favorite parts, in the order that makes the most sense to you. This may sound like chaos, but as the historical descriptions below clearly show, this is exactly what dance masters have been doing with this flexible and popular dance for centuries.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2azHIzmf7lc
Addison & Steele
Wikipedia: “Sir Roger de Coverley was the name of a character in The Spectator (1711), created by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele. 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 politics seem harmless but silly. He was said to be the grandson of the man who invented the dance.”
Comment to the Russian YouTube: I was reading up on the character of Sir Roger de Coverley which Addison and Steele created for their publication in 1711. According to their narrative this dance was invented by their protagonist’s great-grandfather.
Bill Lidicker (see above) writes: This story is both enriched and confounded by two British writers, Richard Steele and Joseph Addison. In 1711, Steele founded an influential periodical called The Spectator, and starting in March of that year he and Addison collaborated in publishing a series of essays under the pseudonym of Sir Roger de Coverley. They claimed that this gentleman’s great-grandfather invented that famous country-dance for which he is named. As Sir Roger was a fictitious character, it is not known if the reported ancestor belonged to Steele or Addison, or was completely fabricated. In any case the name Sir Roger de Coverley became well-known in Britain and was associated with a country dance.
It seems appropriate to consider how this dance achieved such remarkable longevity as well as producing so many successful progeny, in spite of the ebb and flow of numerous dance fads over the decades. Surely part of the answer is that the dance was widely acclaimed as being sociable, fast-paced and joyous. Perhaps of greatest importance was the fact that the dance was proclaimed by dance manuals as the only proper way to end a ball; it was sometimes called “The Finishing Dance” (Wilson, 1814)…Wilson further says that “the sociability of its construction promote[d] the good humour of the company and cause[d] them to separate in evincing a pleasing satisfaction with each other.” With such prominence, its spread from ballroom to ballroom across Europe and to North America can be envisioned easily.
Summary:
Sir Roger de Coverley is but one name of an ancient melody much altered over time. Much later when the footwork of popular dances began being published, it was common to name a dance after the melody most associated with it, and Sir Roger de Coverley may be a case in point. A few years later a pair of influential writers likely attached a well-known name to a character they created, and claimed that his ancestor created a well-known dance. The melody and associated dance became a fixed staple of country dance, partly due to its reputation for being the best dance to finish a ball.
Haymaker’s Jig
Surprisingly similar to Sir Roger, with an Irish flair. Pure speculation on my part, but could the Irish have seen the dance in their English overlords’ mansions, liked the figures but couldn’t abide the very English name?
Folkdance Footnotes 