Annotation:Marquis of Queensbury
X:1 T:Marquis of Queensberry, The M:C L:1/8 R:Reel B: Joseph Lowe - Lowe's Collection of Reels, Strathspeys and Jigs, B:book 4 (1844–1845, p. 18) Z:AK/Fiddler’s Companion K:C g|ec c/c/c ~c2 ec|fedc Bagf|ec c/c/c ~c2 ac|BGAB c2c:| |:F|(EF)GF EcGc|(Bc)dB (cg)eg|aAag fedc|BGAB c2 c:|]
MARQUIS OF QUEENSBURY. Scottish, Reel. C Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Athole): AABB (Cranford/Holland, Lowe): AABB' (Kerr). Given the melody's first appearance in musician and dancing master Biography:Joseph Lowe's (1797–1866) Collection (1844–45), it is likely that the tune refers to Archibald William Douglas (1818–1858), 7th Marquis of Queensbury, educated at Eton, who was a cornet in the 2nd Life Guards, then MP for Dumfries-shire. He died while rabbit hunting when his gun exploded (although some say he was a suicide). The next Marquis of Queensbury, John Sholto Douglas (1844–1900), endorsed a codification of boxing rules in 1867 for both amateur and professional matches. "The Marquis of Queensbury" has been a popular tune among Cape Breton fiddlers.
