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

English Country Dance is a form of folk dance. It is a social dance form, which has earliest documented instances in the late 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I of England is noted to have been entertained by "Country Dancing," although the relationship of the dances she saw to the surviving dances of the mid-17th century is disputed....
 and a Scottish Country Dance
Scottish country dance

Scottish country dancing or "Reel " is a form of social dance involving groups of mixed couples of dancers tracing Formation dance according to a predetermined choreography....
 (also known as The Haymakers). An early version was published in The Dancing Master
The Dancing Master

The Dancing Master is a dancing manual containing the music and instructions for English Country Dances. It was published in several editions by John Playford and his successors from 1651 until c1728....
, 9th edition (1695). The dance is probably related to the Virginia Reel
Virginia Reel (dance)

The Virginia reel is a folk dance that dates from the 17th century. Though the Reel may have its origins in Scottish country dance and the Highland reel, and perhaps have an even earlier influence from an Irish dance called the Rinnce Fada, it is generally considered to be an English country dance....
.






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

English Country Dance is a form of folk dance. It is a social dance form, which has earliest documented instances in the late 16th century. Queen Elizabeth I of England is noted to have been entertained by "Country Dancing," although the relationship of the dances she saw to the surviving dances of the mid-17th century is disputed....
 and a Scottish Country Dance
Scottish country dance

Scottish country dancing or "Reel " is a form of social dance involving groups of mixed couples of dancers tracing Formation dance according to a predetermined choreography....
 (also known as The Haymakers). An early version was published in The Dancing Master
The Dancing Master

The Dancing Master is a dancing manual containing the music and instructions for English Country Dances. It was published in several editions by John Playford and his successors from 1651 until c1728....
, 9th edition (1695). The dance is probably related to the Virginia Reel
Virginia Reel (dance)

The Virginia reel is a folk dance that dates from the 17th century. Though the Reel may have its origins in Scottish country dance and the Highland reel, and perhaps have an even earlier influence from an Irish dance called the Rinnce Fada, it is generally considered to be an English country dance....
. The name refers to a fox, and the dance's steps are reminiscent of a hunted fox going in and out of cover.

It is mentioned in Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol

A Christmas Carol in Prose, Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is a book by Charles Dickens that was first published on December 19, 1843 with illustrations by John Leech ....
 (1843) when the Ghost of Christmas Past 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."

It is mentioned also in the book,Silas Marner
Silas Marner

Silas Marner: The Weaver of Raveloe is a dramatic novel by George Eliot which was first published in 1861....
, by George Eliot
George Eliot

Mary Anne Evans , better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an England novelist. She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era....
, when the fiddler at the Cass New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is on , the final day of the Gregorian calendar year, and the day before New Year's Day.New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day....
 party plays it to signal the begining of the evening danceing.

The dance plays a part in the Dorothy Sayers short story "The Queen's Square", and is mentioned in Washington Irving
Washington Irving

Washington Irving was an United States author, essays, biography and history of the early 19th century. He was best known for his short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle", both of which appear in his book The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon His historical works include biographies of George Washington, Oliver Goldsmi...
's The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon

The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent., commonly referred to as The Sketch Book, is a collection of 34 essaysand short stories written by Washington Irving....
.

It is also mentioned in D. H. Lawrence
D. H. Lawrence

David Herbert Richards Lawrence was an England author, poet, playwright, essayist and literary criticism. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanizing effects of modernity and industrialization....
's Sons and Lovers
Sons and Lovers

Sons and Lovers is a novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence....
 (1913), where Gertrude Morel is reported never to have learned the dance.

The tune was used by Frank Bridge
Frank Bridge

Frank Bridge was an English composer....
 in 1922 as the basis of a work for strings titled Sir Roger de Coverly (A Christmas Dance). H. E. Bates
H. E. Bates

Herbert Ernest Bates, Order of the British Empire, , better known as H. E. Bates, was an England writer and author. His best-known works include Love for Lydia, The Darling Buds of May , and My Uncle Silas....
 used the name Sir Roger to refer to a real hunted fox in the novel Love for Lydia
Love for Lydia

Love for Lydia is a semi-autobiographical novel written by United Kingdom author H. E. Bates, first published in 1952....
.

Sir Roger de Coverley was also the name of a character in The Spectator (1711)
The Spectator (1711)

The Spectator was a daily publication of 1711–1712, founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England after they met at Charterhouse School....
. 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.

A silent but fearsome-visaged character named Major —— de Coverly appears in Joseph Heller
Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller was an American satirical novelist, short story writer and playwright. He wrote the influential novel Catch-22 about American servicemen during World War II....
's novel Catch-22
Catch-22

Catch-22 is a Satire, Historical fiction novel by the United States author Joseph Heller, first published in 1961. The novel, set during the later stages of World War II from 1943 onwards, is frequently cited as one of the great literary works of the twentieth century....
. The absence of the name may be related to the practice of calling Roger de Coverely simply ...Coverley".

External links

  • The annotated
  • at the Library of Congress Dance Instruction Manual collection