- 1 From this point onwards, the collection will be referred to as Loyal Songs.
1In 1750, four years after the Battle of Culloden, Edinburgh printer Robert Fleming distributed A Collection of Loyal Songs, Poems, &c.1 This clandestine Jacobite song collection can be seen as a site of remembrance and, simultaneously, as an object of resistance. Although Loyal Songs remarkably illustrates the connections between Scottish song culture, material culture, and cultural memory, the song collection has received little scholarly attention.
- 2 The most well-known risings were the Rising of 1689 in the Scottish Highlands, the Rising of 1715–1 (...)
2Through Loyal Songs, Jacobites expressed their loyalty, collective identity, hope, and political views. The Jacobites were the supporters of King James VII of Scotland and II of England, who was deposed and exiled during the Revolution of 1688–1689, a political coup that replaced him with William of Orange. Of James’ descendants, his eldest son James Francis Edward Stuart (b. 1688) and grandson Charles Edward Stuart (b. 1720) continued to claim the throne. Their primary goal was to restore the Stuart dynasty to the British throne. To do so, they planned and carried out several risings against the British government between 1688 and 1746.2 Jacobitism could not be openly expressed, as being caught could have severe consequences (Pittock, 2013). Despite this, Jacobite supporters remained a threat to the British state until at least 1759 (Zimmerman, 2003). Importantly, as Murray Pittock reminds us, “armed uprising was an extreme manifestation of Jacobitism rather than a normative one” (Pittock, 1997, p. 109). As Jacobitism was for the most part expressed in culture, for example, through poetry, sermons, songs, glassware, and medals, their material and immaterial cultural markers are crucial resources for investigating their identity, beliefs, and cultural memory (Pittock, 1997; Guthrie, 2013). The songbook Loyal Songs was part of Jacobite material culture, a concept that extends beyond the tangible expressions of Jacobitism mentioned above and involves the values, mentalities, and views communicated through these artefacts (Guthrie, 2013; Deetz, 1977; Prown, 2001). As such, Loyal Songs—and Jacobite material culture more broadly—can be understood both as a means of communication and as a depository of shared memory (Pittock, 2013; Guthrie, 2013).
3In this article, I present the song collection as a space of memory and argue how its songs should be regarded as archival spaces that document cultural memory. Recent studies on cultural memory have shown that—contrary to earlier understandings of memory as mainly a modern phenomenon due to a primary focus on nationalism, nation—and state-building—memory played an important role in the early modern period and the long 18th century (Pollmann, 2017; Davis, 2022; Davis, 2025). As suggested by Judith Pollmann, memory “retains its power in unexpected places”, and was manifested everywhere (Pollmann, 2017, p. 4). It could be found in inscriptions on houses, statues, and city gates, but also in more immaterial sites of memory and cultural expressions, such as songs. As Thomas Crawford has pointed out, the function of songs was to transmit “past attitudes and emotions” in a society (Crawford, 1987, p. 132). Songs reveal contemporary reactions—public and personal—to events that entered the historical records as static facts and occurrences, consequently separated from any kind of emotion and thus human experience (Gilbert, 2005). As vessels of attitudes and emotions, songs give us access to a group’s culture, identity, and collective memory. Important to note is that these representations of culture, identity, and memory are always mediated. This is linked to the process of social identification (Toon van Houdt and Jan Papy, 2002). In songs, groups such as the Jacobites, presented a particular self-image that they wanted to be remembered (Monod, 1993). This way, songs can offer glimpses of social norms and values that might not come to the surface in, for example, State documents discussing the Jacobite threat (Davis, 2022). Moreover, these songs—referred to as counter-memories by Leith Davis—reveal alternative versions of historical events that stand in stark contrast to how the government or state media have attempted to “remember” them. Notable examples include the Revolution of 1688–1689 and the Rising of 1715–1716 (Davis, 2025). Drawing on David Lowenthal, Pollmann describes memory as “a constant dynamic between individuals and societies”, hence the need for examining cultural expressions when looking for a group’s cultural memory (Pollmann, 2017, p. 4). It is important to note that the markers of cultural memory examined in this study were not only read but also heard.
4The first part of this article situates Jacobite songs within the broader context of 18th‑century song culture by explaining relevant terminology and highlighting the social significance of songs. Following this contextual groundwork, it turns to an analysis of Loyal Songs as a Jacobite songbook. By considering the political circumstances that led to the production and shaped the contents of Loyal Songs, this article sheds light on the function of the collection as well as the importance of this specific manifestation of memory. To the Jacobite individuals involved, Loyal Songs was more than just a songbook. As Neil Guthrie argues in his study of Jacobite material culture, loyalty to the king and the cause formed the foundation of Jacobite identity (Guthrie, 2013). Loyal Songs not only promoted this identity but also served to reaffirm it. Moreover, the songbook activated a sense of collective identity, ultimately strengthening the bonds among Stuart adherents.
5Having established the role of songs in Jacobite culture, the second part of the article then presents an analysis and discussion of two songs from the collection, namely The Clans and A Song. Through intermedial analysis—that is, considering both text and tune—I demonstrate how songs can be spaces of memory and remembrance, and at the same time, acts of resistance and empowerment. Ultimately, by approaching the songs in A Collection of Loyal Songs and the collection itself as manifestations of memory and as archives, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of cultural memory in the 18th century.
6A song is anything that is sung (Grijp & van der Poel, 2016). From the early modern period onwards, news about politics, disasters, wars, or new laws would reach the people through song. These songs were often contrafacts—that is, new texts set to existing, often popular, tunes (ibid.). The use of popular tunes made it easy for people to sing along with the new texts and, that way, spread news, gossip, and political ideas. An important feature of the contrafact practice is what Louis Peter Grijp has termed borrowing. Not only did ballad makers borrow tunes, but they could also borrow entire “ideas and phrases” from existing songs (ibid., pp. 17–18). The most important forms of borrowing in the present study are “continuous” and “thematic” borrowing (ibid., pp. 17–18). Grijp has explained the first as keeping “the original words wherever possible, changing only what does not fit the new purpose”, and the latter form as taking over certain ideas and moods from the original (ibid., pp. 17–18). Songs existed as part of oral culture, and therefore, lyrics as well as tunes could slightly change over time (Burke, 2009). The implication for historians is that, even when contemporary notations of tunes and lyrics are available, they represent only a snapshot of the song at a specific historical moment. The song may have undergone further alterations after being written down.
7Contrafacts were powerful, informative devices. Through time, certain associations such as death, hope, or victory would have stuck to the tunes (Marsh, 2004; McIlvenna, 2022). The Restoration of Charles II in 1660, for example, became associated with the tune “When the King enjoys his own again” (Simpson, pp. 764–768). The memory of this particular Stuart victory became attached to this specific melody and entered the collective memory, where it remained for decades. In the 18th century, the tune was used again, this time by Jacobites to emphasise the theme of victory in their songs (Szechi, 2019). As Christopher Marsh points out, “prior associations would have found their way uninvited into the mind, and the listener’s attitude to the song would have been profoundly influenced by his or her previous knowledge of the tune” (Marsh, 2004, p. 180). The accumulative associations, and thus memories, gave the contrafacts their power.
- 3 Modern‑day examples of singing songs as acts of resistance against authorities can be found in prot (...)
8Songs and the act of singing played a significant role in Jacobite communities (Pittock, 1997; Szechi, 2019), serving not only as cultural expression but also as a means of resistance. As Guillorell and Hopkin (2018) note, singing is a vital tool for groups seeking to challenge authority. Indeed, the use of song as a form of resistance was widespread across Europe and the British Isles. The authorities’ fear of protest songs becomes most evident when we look at their efforts to control the singing practices. Examples of this can be found in 18th‑century France and Spain, where the authorities attempted to censure the type of ballads performed by singers in public (Guillorell & Hopkin, 2018). In mid‑18th‑century Paris, the spreading of hostile material about the government was severely punished. Police spies were deployed en masse to identify individuals disseminating treasonous material against King Louis XV and began interrogating anyone deemed suspicious. Political songs on current events became increasingly popular and eventually led to arrests. A striking example of this is the arrest of a man named Pidansat de Mairobert. After his arrest in 1749, the police found sixty-eight songs and poems in his residence, most of them seditious (Darnton, 2010). Earlier in the 18th century, in London in 1716, as Paul Kléber Monod points out, the rise of public singing of Jacobite songs forced the Lord Mayor to issue a proclamation against the practice as it was provoking the people and causing riots (Monod, 1993, p. 47). In the late 18th‑century Netherlands, singing too was the perfect mechanism for causing chaos and political turmoil (Vulto, 2020a).3 Importantly, as Guillorell and Hopkin sharply point out, when it comes to the authorities’ attempts at control, the “legislation might be aimed at the object of commerce—a printed sheet—but just as often it was directed at the performance, because governments were frightened by the reach and effect of such oral flows of opinion” (Guillorell & Hopkin, 2018, p. 6).
9Jacobite communities or networks can be seen as social alignments or groups built on shared values, beliefs, or goals. The underlying foundation for Jacobite groups was the shared support for the exiled Stuart kings and the aim to restore them. The music of such alignments, as Martin Stokes has pointed out, “can provide a powerful affective experience in which social identity is literally ‘embodied’” (Stokes, 1994, p. 12). The embodiment that takes place when groups sing together has been researched extensively by Renée Vulto (2020b). She underlines that singing together initiates an affective mechanism called emotional contagion. Perceiving the emotional expressions of, for example, fellow Jacobites, would invoke an empathic reaction. This emotional process would then lay the foundation for physical expressions of emotion, namely, muscular bonding and sonic bonding. Together, these three processes of emotional, physical, and audible connection cause people who sing together to experience feelings of solidarity and fellowship (Vulto, 2020b). When Jacobites could not fight for their cause in public, singing together substituted the fight and helped to continuously strengthen their bond. Singing together often took place in Jacobite Clubs, social networks of Jacobites that held meetings during which they read and discussed Jacobite media such as newspapers and pamphlets, drank to the health of the Stuart king (toasting treasonably), and, above all, sang seditious ballads (Szechi, 2019; Monod, 1993; Pittock, 2013). Although the majority of these seditious and thus fugitive ballads have perished, some have been preserved in song collections and chapbooks (Pittock, 2006). The following section looks at Loyal Songs and places it in a contemporary context.
- 4 The Battle of Culloden took place on the 16th of April 1746 and was the last major battle of the Ja (...)
10Given the political circumstances around 1750, in the aftermath of the Battle of Culloden, printed material as seditious as this song collection could not have been produced or distributed openly (Pittock, 2013; Guthrie, 2013).4 This does not rule out the possibility, however, that Jacobite print material such as Loyal Songs was produced and distributed by a regular bookseller. As Neil Guthrie points out, 18th‑century printers, publishers, and sellers “often catered to both sides of the partisan divide” (Guthrie, 2013, p. 7). These politically ambivalent book—and print sellers often had stock that could be interpreted in various ways. This meant that Jacobite material could not explicitly be identified as such, which helped to avoid legal penalties (ibid.). After all, the Jacobite world was, as Pittock underlines, “a criminalised world” (Pittock, 2013, p. 4). Jacobite support undermined the State and was therefore regarded as treason. Pittock explains that all aspects of Jacobitism, including printing and distributing Jacobite material, were severely threatened by treason and sedition legislation (Pittock, 2013). Expressing Jacobite sympathies could have dire consequences (Guthrie, 2013, pp. 19–20).
- 5 University of Aberdeen Library, Aberdeen (no shelfmark); Advocates Library, Edinburgh (no shelfmark (...)
- 6 The ornament on the title page of A Collection of Loyal Songs Poems &. can be found in Compositor, (...)
11Information on the origin of this songbook is scarce. One copy of Loyal Songs is held at the British Library (BL) and contains a title page stating that it was printed in the year 1750 (A Collection of Loyal Songs, Poems, &c., 1750, [s.n.]). Twenty‑one copies have survived to this day and are kept in libraries in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States.5 The BL copy is printed in octavo format and has 72 pages. There are no references to the printer or the place of publication, which is common for 18th‑century chapbooks (Crawford, 1979). A note on the flyleaf in the BL copy states that it was privately printed at Raglan Castle in Wales. This seems implausible because at the time of printing, Raglan Castle had fallen into disrepair (Kenyon, 1994). An ornament on the title page could relate to the publishing company of Robert Fleming in Edinburgh (see Figures 1 and 2).6
Figure 1. – Ornament on title page of A Collection of Loyal Songs Poems &c., 1750.
Figure 2. – Ornament used on The Principal Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland printed by James Davidson and Robert Fleming, Printers to the Church of Scotland in Edinburgh, 1727.
12Other ornaments used in Loyal Songs could point us in the direction of Robert Fleming as well. Moreover, at least two similar song collections were printed in 1748 and 1749 by Fleming (A Collection of Loyal songs. For the Use of the Revolution Club. Some of Which Never before Printed, Edinburgh, Robert Fleming, 1748; A Collection of Loyal Songs. For the Use of the Revolution Club. Some of Which Never before Printed, Edinburgh, Robert Fleming, 1749). Both songbooks were priced at six pence. This was a significant amount of money for most people, given that, in the mid‑18th century, a day labourer in Edinburgh would make about seven pence a day and a maid servant between two and three pence a day (Fox, 2020, p. 37). Interestingly, the 1748 and 1749 songbooks are—despite their pro‑Williamite and pro‑Hanoverian nature, profoundly similar to the 1750 songbook. All three of the songbooks have a similar structure and layout and contain similar songs such as “Highland Laddie” and a ballad to the tune “From Scourging Rebellion”. The 1748 and 1749 songbooks are overtly pro‑Hanoverian, while the 1750 songbook is evidently Jacobite. The same ornamental dividing lines are used in all three songbooks; however, as becomes evident using Compositor, these were used more broadly by printers in Edinburgh in this period. What stands out when comparing these songbooks is that the 1748 and 1749 songbooks are printed with more information. They both state the printer and city, and even contain indexes, while the 1750 songbook does not give any of this information. Although further research is necessary, given this evidence, it is likely that the songbook is related to the publishing company of Robert Fleming. Fleming’s affiliation with Jacobite printer Thomas Ruddiman might substantiate his connection to Jacobite activities (Hay Carnie & Paterson Doig, 1959). The two earlier songbooks could be distributed openly; the latter had to be circulated clandestinely. Comparing these three songbooks not only shows the different worlds of these works, but it also shows that Fleming, assuming he is the printer, catered for both sides of the partisan divide.
- 7 This idea requires further investigation but lies outside the scope of the current article.
13The note in the BL copy states that “a few copies were distributed as presents”. This might suggest that the song collection was circulating in Jacobite circles around 1750, and that it was meant for only a select group of people. As pointed out by Daniel Szechi, these groups could be Jacobite clubs, who met in coffee-houses and taverns, but also other “networks of kinship and sociability” that supported the cause from the privacy of their own homes (Szechi, 2019, p. 33). Drawing on Monod, who explained that some Jacobite clubs had their own “special songs”, it is possible that Loyal Songs was commissioned for a certain Jacobite club (Monod, 1993, p. 48).7 Considering the unreliability of the note discussed earlier, we ought to be critical. However, given the dangers attached to Jacobite activity and what is known about Jacobite social structures, it is not unlikely that the copies ended up in the hands of a select group of people, especially after Culloden.
14Loyal Songs contains 42 entries, of which 30 are songs. Other entries in the collection are 4 odes, 1 health, 1 poem, and a preface with the reader’s instructions. 22 of these songs are provided with a tune indication (‘to the tune of’, stating only the title of the tune). The tune indications tell us that these songs are contrafacts. Conforming to the early 18th‑century broadside ballad practice, none of the songs includes musical notation. As Crawford has explained, printers picked up popular songs on the street and printed them as broadside ballads and chapbooks (Crawford, 1979).
- 8 Although not all songs in the songbook provide a tune indication, twenty-four tunes can be recogniz (...)
- 9 “A cobbler there was, &c.”; “If the heart of a man, &c.”; “When young at the bar, &c.”.
15At least 24 tunes appear in Loyal Songs, most of which have been preserved and are still accessible to us today.8 The 1750 songbook presents a wide variety of tunes. 3 tunes were used in John Gay’s The Beggar’s Opera (1728), arranged by Johann Christoph Pepusch.9 The Beggar’s Opera is a ballad opera that used popular tunes for its songs (Hume, 2002). Because of this practice, it is important to keep in mind that these 3 tunes in Loyal Songs did not originate in this specific ballad opera but rather were already highly popular and broadly circulating as broadside ballads before 1728.
16In addition to the songs from The Beggar’s Opera, Loyal Songs contains one tune composed by Handel. The tune, “From Scourging Rebellion”, was first published in The London Magazine in July 1746. In this magazine, the tune is used for a song titled: “From Scourging Rebellion or A Song on the Victory obtained over the Rebels by His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland” (“A Song on the Victory Obtained over the Rebels by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland”, The London Magazine and Monthly Chronologer, July 1746). The song is said to have been composed to celebrate the outcome of the Battle of Culloden (1746). This tune and its Jacobite contrafact will be discussed below.
17The majority of songs in Loyal Songs address historical events that took place after 1700. The lyrics, which should always be treated with caution, can be evidence of the period in which these songs were produced. As observed by Pittock, “the song-culture of Jacobitism, one of its main means of popular expression, was integrated into the Risings themselves” (Pittock, 1997, pp. 113–114). Several songs in Loyal Songs address events such as the Rising of 1715 and the Rising of 1745–1746, illustrating Pittock’s remarks. Similar to individual ballads, songbooks like Loyal Songs could reflect attitudes and reactions to contemporaneous events—although perhaps more comprehensive because songbooks contain a multitude of reflections. In this sense, songbooks and chapbooks can be understood as valuable sources for accessing popular—or at least contemporaneous—mentalities. They function as sites of cultural memory. Works such as Loyal Songs, along with the 1748 and 1749 songbooks discussed earlier, demonstrate that Jacobitism—or the perceived threat thereof—remained a potent presence even after the final battle had been fought.
18The foundation of Jacobite identity was loyalty to their King and the cause. According to Guthrie,
Jacobite objects served both to promote this identity and to reaffirm it, whether this was an intensely private process on the part of a lone Jacobite in the midst of others who were hostile to the Cause, or as a means of forming a “corporate identity” with like-minded souls through shared recognition and use of such objects (Guthrie, 2013, p. 5).
Loyal Songs’ physical form (octavo size), together with its contents (the variety of songs), similarities with contemporary, albeit pro‑Hanoverian, songbooks, and presumed distribution, are all characteristics that would have caused contemporary users to understand and experience it as a songbook (Grenby, 2007, as cited in Beavan, 2023). Singing from it could, of course, only be done in the company of other Jacobites. From what is known about the usage of other Jacobite objects, like glassware and medals, it is likely that Loyal Songs was only used when the owners were sure about the nature of their company (Guthrie, 2013). Loyal Songs would give hope to the Jacobite owners, both as a songbook and as an object of commemoration and loyalty. We could say that the song collection embodied the continuing fight for the cause in both its materiality and its contents. Whether private or not, works such as Loyal Songs could be regarded as vehicles “for the declaration of allegiance” (McShane, 2009, p. 875).
19The following discussion of The Clans and A Song shows that these songs are, on top of their other functions, expressions of cultural memory, and therefore archives in their own right. What unites these two songs is that both are contrafacts, set to melodies that originated, metaphorically speaking, on the opposing side of the battlefield. The tunes were initially used for anti-Jacobite songs, which adds a significant layer of meaning to these songs. The Clans shows how Jacobite song makers made use of an older tune, for them, at this point, full of prior associations. A Song, on the other hand, demonstrates how speedily and skilfully more recent tunes could be appropriated to fit the Jacobite cause. The Clans is the first song presented in the songbook, possibly emphasising the symbol of clanship. The brief version of Jacobite history conveyed on a catchy melody might have been placed so prominently to set the tone for the songbook. A Song, set to a Hanoverian victory tune, is placed near the end of the songbook and between songs to the tunes “God Save our Lawful King” and “The King Shall Enjoy His Own again”, possibly emphasising the legitimacy of their king and the continuing hope for a restoration. For each song, I discuss the origin of the tune, how the Jacobite ballad maker used the prior associations of the tune to create a new contrafact, and what this song conveys in terms of cultural memory.
- 10 For a recording of a modern fiddle version, see Pa’s Fiddle Band, “The Campbells Are Coming / Haste (...)
- 11 Due to a lack of access to the original manuscript letter, the author was unable to consult the pri (...)
- 12 Information on the tune is scarce. It is possible that, because of the tune’s supposed origin with (...)
- 13 Due to the ephemeral nature of the cheaply printed broadside ballads, relatively few ballads have s (...)
20The Clans is set to the tune “The Campbells are Coming”.10 Previous scholarship has indicated that the tune is mentioned in a manuscript letter from 1716 giving an account of the tune being played by pipers of British state troops during the Jacobite rising of 1715–1716 (Wodrow Correspondence, vol. XI, no. 96; Dalyell, 1849; Winstock, 1970).11 Although the Jacobites outnumbered the government regiments at Sheriffmuir during the rising of 1715–1716, there was no decisive victor, and both the Jacobites and the British State claimed they had won (Szechi, 2019). Not all Highlanders, and not all Scottish clans, were Jacobites. On the contrary, many clans supported the British State. The Campbells were such a loyalist clan and, led by John Campbell, they fought against the Jacobite army at Sheriffmuir (ibid.).12 On a broadside ballad from 1716 that is kept in the National Library of Scotland (NLS, The Jolly Soldier, Being a Song over a Bottle), the tune “The Campbels are Coming” is used for a song “on the victory of John, Duke of Argyll, at Sheriffmuir”.13
21Despite the tune being used in early 18th‑century broadside ballads and addressed by historians in connection to the Battle of Sheriffmuir, no printed version from the period before 1750 seems to have survived. Its earliest known surviving printed notations date from around 1760, fifteen years after the last major Jacobite uprising, and were published in A Collection of Scots Reels or Country Dances by Robert Bremner (1757) and in James Oswald’s Caledonian Pocket Companion (1760). Figure 3 shows a simplified version of the tune as presented by Oswald. Although the melody was notated for fiddle and flute, it gives the basic idea of how it sounded when sung. Measures 1‑8 correspond with the eight lines of each verse. Measures 9‑16 accompany the refrain that follows each verse but is not written out in full.
Figure 3. – The Clans to the tune “The Campbels are Coming” (Loyal Songs, 22–23).
- 14 John Campbell, Duke of Argyll led the government troops against the Jacobite army at the Battle of (...)
22In the NLS version of the ballad, the first line is as follows: “Here’s a health to the noble and valiant Argyle”.14 In “The Clans”, the first line is “Here’s a Health to all brave English Lads”. Here, the ballad maker clearly has carried out a combination of ‘initial’ and ‘thematic’ borrowings (Grijp & van der Poel, 2016). What this song reveals is the Jacobite perspective on a rising, likely the Battle of Culloden, as the fourth verse of the song mentions the coming of Charles (“C‑‑‑‑‑”), albeit concealed. Clans were crucial components within the Jacobite army (Szechi, 2019). In this song, the ballad maker has used, or borrowed, the symbol of clanship as a means of identification.
23The first verse refers to “our brave Scots” (see Figure 3) and expresses gratitude toward the English Jacobites who supported the Scots in their struggle against the British state. The pronouns used are not consistent; the clans are addressed as “they” and “the”, which could suggest that the song was not written from a clan member’s perspective. The plural first-person “we” appears in the third verse with the phrase in “we will protect both Church and State, tho they be held our mortal foe”, the foe being George II. Textually, the last symbol of Scottish identity is the bagpipe, which is mentioned in the first verse as well. It is likely that by using these symbols and means of identification, the Jacobites attempted to strengthen the movement on a more local level (Pittock, 1998). Bringing the cause closer to a person’s identity would make them feel more strongly attached to it.
24Because of its supposed origin as a march, the tune was automatically associated with the act of marching together as a movement and, with that, the embodiment of the fight for the cause. This strengthened the bond between Stuart adherents, likely even after the last major uprising. The Clans greatly exemplifies the significance of the cooperation of text and tune. Again, in the fourth verse, we see the references to Jacobites as lions. The Jacobites are portrayed as strong and powerful. One can imagine how this imagery, together with the marching tune, would boost the morale of Jacobite followers.
25Another empowering element of this case study is the fact that the Jacobite ballad maker took a tune that can be seen as—to use a modern‑day illustration—the soundtrack of the enemy. Loyalist clans and the State had used the tune earlier to mobilise the troops, after which the Jacobites appropriated it to take back control over their past. This is clear when we look at how the original refrain was changed from “the Campbells are coming” to “the clans are coming”. What needs to be kept in mind is that it could simultaneously be the case that the ballad maker used the tune deliberately to mock the enemy (Vulto, 2020a). In terms of cultural memory, this song reveals how conscious the Jacobites were of the prior associations attached to the tune and how they chose this one specifically to ‘set the record straight’. The tune had been circulating for over thirty years since the Jacobites fought the government troops at the Battle of the Sheriffmuir and continued to do so well into the years following the Battle of Culloden. The tune was deeply ingrained with meaning and historical associations before it became a vessel for conveying a counter-memory. These meanings and associations were exactly the reason why it was chosen as a vessel. The tune can thus be understood as a living memory.
- 15 For a recording of the tune, see George Frideric Handel, ‘24 English Songs, HWV 228: no. 9, “From s (...)
26A Song is associated with the Battle of Culloden (April 16th, 1746). It is set to the tune “From scourging Rebellion”, which was composed by Georg Friedrich Händel to celebrate the British government’s victory over the Jacobites at Culloden.15 This song was used by the political enemies of the Jacobites, Hanoverian supporters, and was thus originally an anti-Jacobite song. Despite the tune’s anti-Jacobite origin, or perhaps because of it, the Jacobites used the tune for a new contrafact.
27Although the newer Jacobite song in Loyal Songs only gives the tune-indication, a fully notated version of the tune did survive. The song was published in The London Magazine in July 1746 as: “A Song on the Victory obtained over the Rebels by his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland”. The song provides elaborate details on its production and dissemination; the text was written by Mr Lockman, the tune was written by “Mr. Handel”, and the song was sung by “Mr. Lowe, &.” (The London Magazine and Monthly Chronologer, 1746). No such information is provided with the Jacobite version, which can be explained by the necessity for Jacobite balladeers to operate covertly. We thus do not know who the ballad maker, the printer, or the distributer were before the song was included in Loyal Songs in 1750.
Figure 4. – “A Song” to the tune “From Scourging Rebellion” (Loyal Songs, 64–65).
28With the full musical notation of the tune, it is possible to reconstruct “A Song” from Loyal Songs (see Figure 4). What stands out is that the entire refrain was taken from the anti-Jacobite version (see Figure 7 below). The Jacobite ballad maker altered little of the text, changing only “William”, referring to the Duke of Cumberland, into “E[dward]”. “A Song” consists of 6 verses, one more than the pro‑Hanoverian version. The Jacobite ballad maker has taken the exact tune and mood and uses it to set the historical record straight. Not only does it use the original version’s tune, but the Jacobite ballad maker also takes over entire ideas and phrases from the original song. Subjection to Grijp’s taxonomy for borrowing reveals that it is a case of both ‘continues borrowing’ and ‘thematic borrowing’, similar to the 1st case study (Grijp, 2016). The Jacobite ballad maker borrowed the 4th and 5th verses of the original model almost completely for the 4th and 5th verses of his own contrafact and changed “King” into “Prince”, and “William” into “Edward”, fitting the Jacobite cause.
29Moreover, the Jacobite ballad maker masterfully takes phrases from the pro‑Hanoverian model, adjusts them to create a Jacobite tone, and spreads them over his 6 verses. For example, phrases from the 1st verse of the pro‑Hanoverian model come back in the 2nd verse of the Jacobite contrafact. The “conquer or die” phrase from the model’s 2nd verse comes back in verse 3 of the contrafact. The stark contrast between the views of the Jacobites and the pro‑Hanoverians becomes evident when the two songs are compared. The 4th verse in both songs is exactly the same, illustrating that both parties viewed each other’s leader as a tyrant in an equal manner.
30What becomes evident in the song as well is the Jacobite ballad maker’s urge to tell their version of events. An example of this is found in verse 5 of the model and verse 6 of the contrafact. The model verse expresses that the ones who enslave Britons, the Jacobite “rebels”, should be captured and chained. The contrafact replies to this with the hopeful phrase: “That G[erman]s no more may free Britons enthrall”. Both parties see each other as the cause of the misery that Britain is enduring. The 1st verse of the model portrays the Jacobites as rebels, the 1st verse of the Jacobite contrafact expresses that the British State has enslaved them and that they need to be freed.
31Culloden was perhaps the most important event during the later years of Jacobitism. What is most significant here is the underlying message of the Jacobites. At first glance, the contrafact might look like a satirical parody in which the Hanoverian supporters are put in their place using their own words and tune (Dentith, 2000). While this is likely, the fight for the cause continues in the song as well. Although defeated at Culloden, the Jacobites remained hopeful and did not see this at the end of their fight. The lyrics are hopeful and confident that the Stuart monarch will return to his throne. The lines “Though Cumberland’s army at Culloden surpriz’d, he boldly did fight but was falsely advis’d”, in verse 2 in particular, can be read as a justification or excuse for what caused the outcome to be so unfortunate.
Figure 5. – Mm. 1–4: A Song to the tune “From Scourging Rebellion”?
32Musically, what stands out in the song’s text-music relation is the placement of the phrases like “army at Culloden” and “lur’d by false fame” in verses 2 and 3 on a melisma (see notes marked in red in Figure 5, m. 1). Melismas are multiple notes accompanying one syllable or word, which were used to emphasize words or phrases with a significant meaning. In this song, Jacobite phrases have been placed deliberately on the pre‑existing melisma, stressing the importance of the text. This is certainly evident in the phrase “He boldly did fight but was falsely advised” in verse 3 (see Figure 4). Lyrics such as these can be seen as attempts to shape the legacy of the Battle of Culloden. Despite defeat, the Jacobite movement did not end, and songs like these were an important part of this enduring resistance (Cook, 2024). The Jacobites remained loyal to the cause, and the Stuart heir after 1746, and the emphasis on phrases relating to Culloden illustrates this.
33Other examples of the text-music relationship are taken right from the anti-Jacobite model, as the refrain was taken over through continuous borrowing. As can be seen in Figure 6, the technique of word-painting appears first in m. 9 with the word “High”. The high note marked in red reflects the literal meaning of the text (Carter, 2001). The notes marked in purple in measure 14 correspond to the first statement of the word “Raise” in the refrain, and here the music literally sounds—and in its notated form illustrates—the gesture of raising a glass or toasting, a known habit within Jacobite groups (Pittock, 2013).
Figure 6. – Mm. 9–16: “A Song” / ”From Scourging Rebellion”.
34Significantly, this song, in terms of cultural memory and the formation thereof, is that it shows the immediate reaction or reply to the pro‑Hanoverian narrative of the outcome of the Battle of Culloden. It demonstrates the high speed at which the Jacobite poets adapted songs to new causes (McDowell, 2006). What it also reveals is the necessity experienced by the Jacobites to quickly re‑inscribe history. A Song can be seen as an archive, a space of memory, in that it encapsulates the multi-layered narrative of the Jacobites’ version of events.
Figure 7. – Textual comparison of Jacobite contrafact and Whig model.
35This article has shown how the Jacobite songs The Clans and A Song—and with them, the collection—not only capture a historical narrative, but also convey political sentiments and insight into the self-representation of the Jacobites. Jacobite ballad makers used songs as re‑inscriptions of historical narratives and events. The songs’ function as counter-memories causes them to be acts of resistance.
36As contrafacts, both The Clans and A Song were expressions of Jacobite cultural memory. The songs’ hopeful message and the addressing of the continuing fight for the Jacobite cause, together with the originally anti-Jacobite tunes makes them incredible sources for the study of Jacobite history. Not only are the ideas and beliefs the Jacobites attempted to perpetuate in these songs of importance here, but also the way in which the Jacobites constructed them. The analysis of The Clans has shown how Jacobite ballad makers actively drew on the cultural memory of the Rising of 1715–1716, years after the events took place, by taking the tune associated with the Battle of Sheriffmuir and reviving and adjusting it to accompany their experiences of the Rising of 1745–1746, the more recent historical event. A Song, on the other hand, shows how quickly Jacobite ballad makers could produce re‑inscriptions of the 45–46’. By adapting the pro‑Hanoverian song From Scouring Rebellion in the aftermath of Culloden, the Jacobites showed the resilience of their cause. Significant here is the empowerment that came from the use of anti-Jacobite tunes. In doing so, the Jacobites not only ridiculed the political enemy but also strengthened the bonds between Jacobite followers.
37As a song collection and a site of Jacobite memory, Loyal Songs inevitably played a crucial role for the Jacobite network in which it circulated. For them, it was a direct and physical link to the cause. The personal meaning attached to the collection, combined with the act of singing the songs therein together—something that would have been frequently done by Jacobite social groups—would have embodied the cause in a multisensory way while at the same time strengthening the bond within the group. Songbooks like Loyal Songs contain curated collections of memories, beliefs, and resistance in the form of songs. These expressions of cultural memory offer glimpses into the narratives that have at times been deemed unworthy of archiving by, in the words of Leith Davis, “those who sought to minimize and eradicate the Jacobite threat” (Davis, 2025). By piecing together these glimpses and fragments, we can reestablish the stories of historically oppressed groups and offer them a worthy place in history at last.