Playford Edition:                            

Cuckolds All a Row can be located in the 1st edition of the [English] Dancing Master (1651). 

Documentation Between 1603-1662:

“There can be little hesitation in assigning to the Cokwolds Daunce the origin of the old English country dance called “Cuckold’s all a-row,” which was a favorite in the time of Charles II., and which is particularly mentioned by Pepys in his Diary under the date of December 31, 1662.” ⁽¹⁾

Documentation Prior to 1603:

The poem The Cukwolds Dance is from a manuscript written in the late 15th century.  Part of the poem reads:

• “Cokwold no man I wyll repreue,

  Ffor I ame ane, and aske no leue,

  Ffor all my rent and londys.

  Lordyngs, all now may ze know,

  That I may dance the cokwold row,

  And take zow by the hands.”

   

• “Ffor him me helpyd when I was forth,

  To cher my syfe, and make her myrth,

  Ffor women louys wele pley.

  And therefore this haue ze no dowte,

  Bot many schall dance in the cokwold rowte,

  Both by nyght and day" ⁽²⁾

Musical History:

The common misconception about Cuckolds All a Row is that it was written for and about Mary Queen of Scots.  However, words to this tune were not recorded until the late 17th century, with the words being recorded in 1780.