Please see Transcriber’s Notes at the end of this document.
This is Volume I of a two-volume work. Volume II (including the Addenda) is available on the Project Gutenberg websitehere. The hyperlinks to Volume II work when this book is read on the Project Gutenberg website;when read elsewhere or when the files have been downloaded, the hyperlinks to Volume II may not work.
A DICTIONARY
OF
BRITISH FOLK-LORE
EDITED BY
G. LAURENCE GOMME, Esq., F.S.A.
PRESIDENT OF THE FOLK-LORE SOCIETY, ETC.
PART I.
TRADITIONAL GAMES
BY THE SAME EDITOR.
Small 4to. In Specially Designed Cover.
ENGLISH SINGING GAMES.
A Collection of the best Traditional Children’s SingingGames, with their Traditional Music harmonised, andDirections for Playing. Each Game, Text and Music,is written out and set within a Decorative Border byWinifred Smith, who has also designed Full-pageIllustrations to each Game, and Initials and DecorativeBorder to the playing directions.
[All rights reserved.]
THE
Traditional Games
Of England, Scotland, and Ireland
WITH
TUNES, SINGING-RHYMES, AND METHODS OF PLAYING
ACCORDING TO THE VARIANTS EXTANT AND
RECORDED IN DIFFERENT PARTS
OF THE KINGDOM
COLLECTED AND ANNOTATED BY
ALICE BERTHA GOMME
VOL. I.
ACCROSHAY-NUTS IN MAY
LONDON
DAVID NUTT, 270-71 STRAND
1894
TO
MY HUSBAND
PREFACE
Soon after the formation of the Folk-lore Society in 1878 myhusband planned, and has ever since been collecting for, thecompilation of a dictionary of British Folk-lore. A great dealof the material has been put in form for publication, but atthis stage the extent of the work presented an unexpectedobstacle to its completion.
To print the whole in one alphabet would be more thancould be accomplished except by the active co-operation of awilling band of workers, and then the time required for suchan undertaking, together with the cost, almost seemed to debarthe hope of ever completing arrangements for its publication.Nevertheless, unless we have a scientific arrangement of theenormously scattered material and a close comparison of thedetails of each item of folk-lore, it is next to impossible toexpect that the full truth which lies hidden in these remnantsof the past may be revealed.
During my preparation of a book of games for children itoccurred to me that to separate the whole of the games fromthe general body of folk-lore and to make them a section ofthe