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06 Jan 18 - 01:25 PM (#3897760) Subject: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: Ringer It's a long time since I logged in here. I hope you are still as helpful as I remember you having been. When I used to dance the morris, I always assumed that Laudanum Bunches referred to a bunch of flowers, probably poppies, but when I look in the dictionary the only entry for laudanum is "tincture of opium". Does anyone know how this dance (these dances) got its name? And is Lads a-Bunchum a corruption of the same name as, again, I've always assumed? |
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06 Jan 18 - 02:01 PM (#3897764) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: RTim I think that Laudanum Bunches is derived from Lad's a-Bunchum... an alternative is Boys of The Bunch. Tim Radford |
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07 Jan 18 - 06:39 AM (#3897867) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: GUEST,Mikefule Laudnum Bunches (usually spelled without the second "a" for the dance title) is a lively 6 person corner dance in the Headington Quarry style. Lads a Bunchum is a fairly standard Adderbury dance, often danced in an 8 person set (or longer). There is no similarity between the tunes and the dances and they seem unlikely to be directly related. By contrast, tunes from different traditions such as Princess Royal or Nutting Girl have obvious similarities, as do some dances with similar tunes that are known by different titles. I understood that it was at one time traditional/acceptable to put bunches of the soporific herb, laudanum, into a baby's cot to, er... encourage it to sleep quietly. The dance title relates to these bunches of laudanum. I have no idea of the derivation of Lads a Bunchum, but I always suspected that the name had "changed in the telling" because of the perceived similarity between the two dance names. |
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08 Jan 18 - 09:44 AM (#3898065) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: Greg F. soporific herb, laudanum Herb? Have you the scientific name of the plant in question? |
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08 Jan 18 - 01:11 PM (#3898121) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: TheSnail Papaver somniferum |
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08 Jan 18 - 02:39 PM (#3898151) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: Ringer Thanks for your input, all. Snail, have you any evidence that Papaver somniferum, which is just the opium poppy, is/was known as laudanum? I don't think you can have a bunch of "tincture of opium," can you? |
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08 Jan 18 - 04:35 PM (#3898175) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: Snuffy I've always had an sneaking suspicion that the tune(s) could be of foreign origin, and the English names are corruptions of the foreign (Gaelic? Breton? Finnish? Basque? whatever) title. But I have never pursued that line of enquiry. I would be looking for something like "Lazan Banjam" or "Latza Panjum" |
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08 Jan 18 - 05:39 PM (#3898194) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: Greg F. Papaver somniferum And the evidence that 1. anyone ever placed opium poppies "into a baby's cot to, er... encourage it to sleep quietly" 2. or that so placing said poppies would have any effect whatsoever is...??? |
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09 Jan 18 - 05:28 AM (#3898272) Subject: RE: Lads a-bunchum, Laudanum bunches From: GUEST,Henry Piper of Ottery "Laudanum" was a widely available over the Counter"proprietary preparation consisting of opium dissolved in alcohol in Victorian and Edwardian times. It was intended as a patent medicine for pain relief, but was also widely used recreationally. A few drops in a baby's food or drink would certainly ensure sound sleeping ! but at the risk of setting the child on the road to opium addiction. I believe both Laudanum and Morphine, along with cocaine, were still legally available over the counter in the U.K until sometime in the'20's !! As to the Headington Morris Dance of that name I have no idea how that came about, (possibly as a mishearing of a more correct name), but when I was dancing with Hartley Morris back in the '60's and 70's our squire Bob Tatman always introduced it as a "Soporific Dance" !!!! |