The first of this series of play texts from County Durham was written by Topliff and is dated about 1815, the oldest known sword dance play text, if incomplete. Comparison shows that only two of the eight later sources studied contain any significant original text. The evidence is entirely literary, without any significant information about the dance, but some of the characters in the calling-on song are found in other such plays in the three north-eastern counties. Tunes similar to the one for this song are also found elsewhere, and an objective method is offered for determining which tunes are related. The performers were pitmen, and this can be added to the other points in the song tune and text to conclude that the text may have come from an area a few miles west of Sunderland. Such a sword dance, with six dancers, presumably a sword dance, would be well north of those already known from County Durham, but there are also significant connections with the Earsdon rapper performance, which itself presents some problems about is origin.
This preliminary clarification of one set of data tests some methods which could be used for a more detailed and widespread comparison of other sword dances.
