Annotation:Old Spedlings Castle's Ghost's Dance: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:34, 21 August 2015

Back to Old Spedlings Castle's Ghost's Dance

OLD SPEDLINGS CASTLE GHOST'S DANCE. Scottish, Air or Country Dance (6/8 time). A Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB. Composed by biography:James Porteous (1762-1847), a fiddler-composer, farmer and miller from Annandale who published A Collection of Strathspeys, Reels, Jigs and Hornpipes (Edinburgh, c. 1821) containing original tunes. "Old Spedlings Castle Ghost's Dance" is among them, and commemorates a rather gruesome Scottish legend. Spedling Castle, Spedlins Tower, was a 15th century keep on the south bank of the River Annan in Dumfriesshire, and was anciently the seat of the Jardines of Applegarth. It was perhaps most famous as the environs of the Spedlins Tower ghost, the shade of James "Dunty" Porteous (1650-75) an ancestor of composer James Porteous, but like the composer, was a miller, albeit for the village of Milhousebridge. Dunty (an Old English word that is thought to have meant "argument" but whose later meaning was 'one who knocks') reputedly had a quarrelsome nature, and one day while delivering bread to the tower became embroiled in an argument with Sir Alexander Jardine, the Baronet. It did not end well for Dunty, who was imprisoned by the nobleman in the dungeon of the keep. Called to Edinburgh on pressing business a short time later, Jardine neglected to leave the keys to the cell or instructions for the care of his prisoner, whom he forgot about for several says.

Spedlins Castle, from The Antiquities of Dumfries and its Neighbourhood Collected and Drawn by John McCormick

It was not until the nobleman spied the warder’s keys as he entered the West Port of the capital that he recalled with alarm that he still had the dungeon keys in his pocket, and he immediately dispatched a servant to hasten back to Spedlins and attend to Porteous. Dunty, for his part, had become increasingly ravenous, and began to loudly beg for food and sustenance...to no avail, for he went unheard or unheeded. The Baronet returned too late, to discover Dunty had expired in his cell, so desperate that he had gnawed at the flesh of his arm in his hunger. Dunty's ghost was soon heard to haunt the Tower, crying "Let me out, I'm deen o' hunger!", to the dismay of the Jardine family, who tried to have the apparition exorcised. This partly worked, supposedly trapping the ghost in a Bible which was delivered back to the dungeon. A later generation of the Jardines in 1814 built a new residence, Jardine Hall, across the river Annan removed there (for more commodious accommodations, certainly, although an escape from the ghost may also have been a factor), abandoning the tower. Everything remained still until the Bible was sent to Edinburgh to be rebound, upon which the ghost was released and began to haunt the Jardines in their new home. Once the tome was replaced in the tower, however, all became quiet again.

Spedlins Tower survived became increasingly run down until it was restored in the 1960's to serve as a residence. Jardine Hall fared worse, and was demolished in 1964.

Source for notated version:

Printed sources:

Recorded sources:

@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 [[File:spedlins.jpg|200px|thumb|left|
 Spedlins Castle, from The Antiquities of Dumfries and its Neighbourhood Collected and Drawn by John McCormick]]
-At some point he realized what he had done and hastened back to tend to Porteous. Dunty, for his part, had become increasingly ravenous, and began to loudly beg for food and sustenance...to no avail, for he went unheard or unheeded. The Baronet returned too late, to discover Dunty had expired in his cell, so desperate that he had gnawed off a hand in his hunger. Dunty's ghost was soon heard to haunt the Tower, crying "Let me out, I'm deen o' hunger!", to the dismay of the Jardine family, who tried to have the apparition exorcised. This partly worked, supposedly trapping the ghost in a Bible which was delivered back to the dungeon. Meanwhile, the Jardines built a new residence, Jardine Hall, across the river and removed there (whether to escape the ghost or simply for more commodious accommodations). Everything remained still until the Bible was sent to Edinburgh to be rebound, upon which the ghost was released and began to haunt the Jardines in their new home. Once the tome was replaced in the tower, however, all became quiet again.
+It was not until the nobleman spied the warder’s keys as he entered the West Port of the capital that he recalled with alarm that he still had the dungeon keys in his pocket, and he immediately dispatched a servant to hasten back to Spedlins and attend to Porteous. Dunty, for his part, had become increasingly ravenous, and began to loudly beg for food and sustenance...to no avail, for he went unheard or unheeded. The Baronet returned too late, to discover Dunty had expired in his cell, so desperate that he had gnawed at the flesh of his arm in his hunger. Dunty's ghost was soon heard to haunt the Tower, crying "Let me out, I'm deen o' hunger!", to the dismay of the Jardine family, who tried to have the apparition exorcised. This partly worked, supposedly trapping the ghost in a Bible which was delivered back to the dungeon. A later generation of the Jardines in 1814 built a new residence, Jardine Hall, across the river Annan removed there (for more commodious accommodations, certainly, although an escape from the ghost may also have been a factor), abandoning the tower. Everything remained still until the Bible was sent to Edinburgh to be rebound, upon which the ghost was released and began to haunt the Jardines in their new home. Once the tome was replaced in the tower, however, all became quiet again.
 <br>
 <Br>