Dictionaries of the Scots Language
Dictionars o the Scots Leid

Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)

Hide Quotations Hide Etymology

Abbreviations Cite this entry

About this entry:
First published 1971 (SND Vol. VIII).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.

SCUDDLER, n. Also scudler, skud(d)lar, -er, scuddaler, skodler (Jak.); scudlert. [′skʌdlər]

1. A scullion, kitchen-boy; a maid of all work (Abd. 1932).Gall. 1711 Session Bk. Penninghame (1933) I. 282:
He was become a scudler or undercook in a man of warr.Abd. 1954 Buchan Observer (9 Nov.):
Baabie ‘the deemie', who in her capacity as ‘scudgel' or ‘scudlert' supplemented the exertions of her mistress.

2. The leader or chief personage of a band of masqueraders who performed at weddings, Halloween, and other festivities in Sh. and Ork. (Sh. 1821 Scott Pirate ii., 1866 Edm. Gl., 1908 Jak. (1928), 1914 Angus Gl.).Sh. 1822 S. Hibbert Descr. Sh. 560:
The whole are under the controul of a director named a scudler, who is distinguished from his comrades by a very high straw cap, the top of which is ornamented with ribbon. He is the proper arbiter elegantiarum of his party, regulating their movements, and the order in which they should alternately dance with the females assembled.Sh. 1869 J. T. Reid Art Rambles 62:
The fiddler is told to “play up the guisers' spring”, when in walks a tall, slender-looking man, called the “scuddler”, his face closely veiled with a white cambric napkin, and on his head a cap of straw . . . with three loops at the upper extremity, filled with ribbons of every conceivable hue.Ork. 1884 R. M. Fergusson Rambles 161:
The leader of the gang is known by the name of Scuddler, while the one with the Satanic appearance is called Judas.Sh. 1934 W. Moffatt Shetland 181:
Quaint wedding customs of the islands. In the old days, these were most elaborate and included visits from the guisers, who played a sort of mask, in pantomime, without words — in short, a kind of dance with significant action. The conductor, who gives them their cues for the various movements, was called the Skudler, and the dresses were all quaintly made of straw, bedecked with a quantity of ribbons.