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PREFACE to Volume 1
SOON after the
formation of the Folk-lore Society in 1878 my husband planned, and
has ev^r since been collecting for, the compilation of a dictionary
of British Folk-lore. A great deal of the material has been put in
form for publication, but at this stage the extent of the work
presented an unexpected obstacle to its completion.
To print the whole in one alphabet would be more than could be
accomplished except by the active co-operation of a willing band of
workers, and then the time required for such an undertaking,
together with the cost, almost seemed to debar the hope of ever
completing arrangements for its publication. Nevertheless, unless we
have a scientific arrangement of the enormously scattered material
and a close comparison of the details of each item of folk-lore, it
is next to impossible to expect that the full truth which lies
hidden in these remnants of the past may be revealed.
During my preparation of a book of games for children it occurred to
me that to separate the whole of the games from the general body of
folk-lore and to make them a section of the proposed dictionary
would be an advantageous step, as by arranging the larger groups of
folk-lore in independent sections the possibility of publishing the
contemplated dictionary again seemed to revive. Accordingly, the
original plan has been so far modified that these volumes will form
the first section of the dictionary, which, instead of being issued
in one alphabet throughout, will now be issued in sections, each
section being arranged alphabetically.
The games included in this collection bear the important
qualification of being nearly all Children’s Games: that is to say,
they were either originally children’s games since developed into
games for adults, or they were the more serious avocations of
adults, which have since become, children’s games only. In both
cases the transition is due to traditional circumstances, and not to
any formal arrangements. All invented games of skill are therefore
excluded from this collection, but it includes both indoor and
outdoor games, and those played by both girls and boys.
The bulk of the collection has been made by myself, greatly through
the kindness of many correspondents, to whom I cannot be
sufficiently grateful. In every case I have acknowledged my
indebtedness, which, besides being an act of justice, is a guarantee
of the genuineness of the collection. I have appended to this
preface a list of the collectors, together with the counties to
which the games belong; but I must particularly thank the Rev. W.
Gregor, Mr. S. O. Addy, and Miss Fowler, who very generously placed
collections at my disposal, which had been prepared before they knew
of my project; also Miss Burne, Miss L. E. Broadwood, and others,
for kindly obtaining variants and tunes I should not otherwise have
received. To the many versions now printed for the first time I have
added either a complete transcript of, where necessary, or a
reference to, where that was sufficient, printed versions of games
to be found in the well-known collections of Halliwell and Chambers,
the publications of the Folk-lore and Dialect Societies, Jamieson’s,
Nares’, and Halliwell’s Dictionaries, and other printed sources of
information. When quoting from a printed authority, I have as far as
possible given the exact words, and have always given the reference.
I had hoped to have covered in my collection the whole field of
games as played by children in the United Kingdom, but it will be
seen that many counties in each country are still unrepresented; and
I shall be greatly indebted for any games from other places, which
would help to make this collection more complete. The tunes of the
games have been taken down, as sung by the children, either by
myself or correspondents (except where otherwise stated), and are
unaltered.
The games consist of two main divisions, which may be called
descriptive, and singing or choral. The descriptive games are
arranged so as to give the most perfect type, and, where they occur,
variable types in succession, followed, where possible, by any
suggestions I have to make as to the possible origin of the game.
The singing games are arranged so as to give, first, the tunes;
secondly, the different versions of the gamerhymes ; thirdly, the
method of playing; fourthly, an analysis of the game-rhymes on a
plan arranged by my husband, and which is an entirely hovel feature
in discussing the history of games; fifthly, a discussion of the
results of the analysis of the rhymes so far as the different
versions allow; and sixthly, an attempt to deduce from the evidence
thus collected suggestions as to the probable origin of the game,
together with such references to early authorities and other facts
bearing upon the subject as help to elucidate the views expressed.
Where the method of playing the game is involved, or where there are
several changes in the forms, diagrams or illustrations, which have
been drawn by Mr. J. P. Emslie, are inserted in order to assist the
reader to understand the different actions, and in one or two
instances I have been able to give a facsimile reproduction of
representations of the games from early MSS. in the Bodleian and
British Museum Libraries.
Although none of the versions of the games now collected together
are in their original form, but are more or less fragmentary, it
cannot, I think, fail to be noticed how extremely interesting these
games are, not only from the point of view of the means of amusement
(and under this head there can be no question of their interest),
but as a means of obtaining an insight into many of the customs and
beliefs of our ancestors. Children do not invent, but they imitate
or mimic very largely, and in many of these games we have, there is
little doubt, unconscious folk-dramas of events and customs which
were at one time being enacted as a part of the serious concerns of
life before the eyes of children many generations ago. As to the
many points of interest under this and other heads there is no
occasion to dwell at length here, because the second volume will
contain an appendix giving a complete analysis of the incidents
mentioned in the games, and an attempt to tell the story of their
origin and development, together with a comparison with the games of
children of foreign countries.
The intense pleasure which the collection of these games has given
me has been considerably enhanced by the many expressions of the
same kind of pleasure from correspondents who have helped me, it not
being an infrequent case for me to be thanked for reviving some of
the keenest pleasures experienced by the collector since childhood;
and I cannot help thinking that, if these traditional games have the
power of thus imparting pleasure after the lapse of many years, they
must contain the power of giving an equal pleasure to those who may
now learn them for the first time.
ALICE BERTHA GOMME
Barnes Common, S.W., Jan. 1894.
PREFACE to Volume 2
The completion of the
second volume of my Dictionary has been delayed from several
unforeseen circumstances, the most important being the death of my
most kind and learned friend the Rev. Dr. Gregor. The loss which
folk-lore students as a body sustained by this lamented scholar’s
death, was in my own case accentuated, not only by many years of
kindly communication, but by the very special help which he
generously gave me for this collection.
The second volume completes the collection of games on the lines
already laid down. It has taken much more space than I originally
intended, and I was compelled to add some important variants to the
first volume, sent to me during the compilation of the second. I
have explained in the memoir that the two volumes practically
contain all that is to be collected, all, that is to say, of real
importance.
The memoir seeks to show what important evidence is to be derived
from separate study of the Traditional Games of England. That games
of all classes are shown to contain evidence of ancient custom and
belief is remarkable testimony to the anthropological methods of
studying folk-lore, which I have followed. The memoir fills a
considerable space, although it contains only the analytical portion
of what was to have been a comprehensive study of both the
analytical and comparative sides of the questions. Dr. Gregor had
kindly promised to help me with the study of foreign parallels to
British Games, but before his death it became apparent that this
branch of the subject would almost need a separate treatise, and his
death decided me to leave it untouched. I do not underrate its
importance, but I am disposed to think that the survey I have given
of the British evidence will not be materially shaken by the study
of the comparative evidence, which will now be made the easier.
I ought perhaps to add, that the “Memoir” at the end of this volume
was read as a paper at the evening meeting of the Folk Lore Society,
on March 16th, 1898.
I have again to thank my many kind correspondents for their help in
collecting the different versions of the games.
A. B. G.
24 Dorset Square, N.W.
Volume 1 |
Volume 2 |
