Annotation:Epping Forest (1)
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EPPING FOREST [1]. English, Country Dance Tune (6/8 time). B Flat Major/G Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABC (Barnes, Sharp): AABBCC (Raven). The tune dates to 1670 when it was published in London by John Playford in the 4th edition of the Dancing Master (p. 89). "Epping Forest" was retained in subsequent editions through the 8th (1690), after which it disappears from the series. A different tune by the same name was printed a century later by the Thompsons, and by Longman, Lukey and Broderip (see "Epping Forest (2)").
The name Epping is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word Uppingas, meaning the people of the upland (Matthews, 1972). Epping Forest, originally called Walthamstow, was an ancient forest which once stretched from the Thames to the Wash. It contains several Iron Age and old British fortifications, and it was reputedly where the ancient rebel leader Boudica fought her last battle against the Romans (and committed suicide when it was clear she had lost). Epping was long considered a royal hunting forest, although in 1226 Henry II allowed the citizens of London to hunt in it on Easter Monday, a privilege they enjoyed until 1882. The infamous highwayman Dick Turpin and his dashing partner, Tom King, had their lair in a cave in the forest and for a time robbed nearly every traveler who ventured by (see note for "Turpin Hero").
Source for notated version:
Printed sources: Barlow (Complete Country Dances from Playford's Dancing Master), 1985; No. 199, p. 53. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Karpeles & Schofield (A Selection of 100 English Folk Dance Airs), 1951; pp. 20-21. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 21. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1909; p. 64.
Recorded sources:
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