Elgin Kirk Session records for 7 January 1623 state that five gwysseris - James Bonyman, Alexander and Johne Petrie, Robert Dunbar and Archibald Law were each fined 40 shillings for sword dancing in, amongst other places, the kirkyard. As in numerous early references to dancing and guising, they were masked.

The dancers' names survive only because they some of many who suffered the Kirk's attempts to stamp out the "auld reitis and ceremoneis...during the tyme called Yooll". Prohibited acts included gwysing, dansing, singing carallis, play at the fut ball.... They were a cheerful bunch in Elgin presbytery.

Unfortunately no records remain of the actual figures of the Elgin dance. Over the summer of 1993 two experienced sword dancers, Iain Campbell and Ranko Vrclj, then with Clydeside Rapper and Sword, wrote the new Elgin Longsword Dance based on stylistic considerations of traditions from Shetland, Tyneside and the Low Countries, blended with Scotland`s musical heritage.

The dance is now in the keeping of the Biggar Seguisers who can be seen performing it in the video to the right. The particular version danced here is to a tune in 6/8 - the dance is done to a count of 8. We also dance it to a 9/8 tune - to a count of 6 - but there is no video of that just yet.