Scottish folk music (also
Scottish traditional music) is music that uses forms that are identified as part of the Scottish musical tradition. There is evidence that there was a flourishing culture of popular music in Scotland the late Middle Ages, but the only song with a melody to survive from this period is the "Pleugh Song". After the
Reformation, the secular popular tradition of music continued, despite attempts by the Kirk, particularly in the Lowlands, to suppress dancing and events like
penny weddings. The first clear reference to the use of the
Highland bagpipes mentions their use at the
Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547. The Highlands in the early seventeenth century saw the development of piping families including the
MacCrimmons, MacArthurs,
MacGregors and the Mackays of
Gairloch. There is also evidence of adoption of the fiddle in the Highlands. Well-known musicians included the fiddler Pattie Birnie and the piper
Habbie Simpson. This tradition continued into the nineteenth century, with major figures such as the fiddlers
Neil and his son
Nathaniel Gow. There is evidence of
ballads from this period. Some may date back to the late Medieval era and deal with events and people that can be traced back as far as the thirteenth century. They remained an oral tradition until they were collected as folk songs in the eighteenth century.