1.Thegardener stands in his bower-door,With a primrose in his hand,And by there came a leal maiden,As jimp’s a willow wand.And by, etc.2.2.4‘weed,’ dress.‘O lady, can you fancy me,For to be my bride?You’ll get a’ the flowers in my gardenTo be to you a weed.3.‘The lily white shall be your smock,Becomes your body neat;And your head shall be deck’d with jelly-flower,And the primrose in your breast.4.4.2‘camovine,’ camomile.‘Your gown shall be o’ the sweet-william,Your coat o’ camovine,And your apron o’ the salads neat,That taste baith sweet and fine.5.5.3‘coot,’ ankle.5.4‘brawn,’ calf.‘Your stockings shall be o’ the broad kail-blade,That is baith broad and long;And narrow, narrow at the coot,And broad, broad at the brawn.6.‘Your gloves shall be the marygold,All glittering to your hand,Well spread o’er wi’ the blue blaewort,That grows in corn-land.’7.‘O fare you well, young man,’ she says,‘Farewell, and I bid adieu;Since you’ve provided a weed for me,Among the summer flowers,Then I’ll provide another for you,Among the winter showers.8.‘The new-fallen snow to be your smock,Becomes your body neat;And your head shall be deck’d with the eastern wind,And the cold rain on your breast.’
1.
Thegardener stands in his bower-door,
With a primrose in his hand,
And by there came a leal maiden,
As jimp’s a willow wand.
2.
2.4‘weed,’ dress.
‘O lady, can you fancy me,
For to be my bride?
You’ll get a’ the flowers in my garden
To be to you a weed.
3.
‘The lily white shall be your smock,
Becomes your body neat;
And your head shall be deck’d with jelly-flower,
And the primrose in your breast.
4.
4.2‘camovine,’ camomile.
‘Your gown shall be o’ the sweet-william,
Your coat o’ camovine,
And your apron o’ the salads neat,
That taste baith sweet and fine.
5.
5.3‘coot,’ ankle.
5.4‘brawn,’ calf.
‘Your stockings shall be o’ the broad kail-blade,
That is baith broad and long;
And narrow, narrow at the coot,
And broad, broad at the brawn.
6.
‘Your gloves shall be the marygold,
All glittering to your hand,
Well spread o’er wi’ the blue blaewort,
That grows in corn-land.’
7.
‘O fare you well, young man,’ she says,
‘Farewell, and I bid adieu;
Since you’ve provided a weed for me,
Among the summer flowers,
Then I’ll provide another for you,
Among the winter showers.
8.
‘The new-fallen snow to be your smock,
Becomes your body neat;
And your head shall be deck’d with the eastern wind,
And the cold rain on your breast.’
‘He is weil kend, Johne of the Syde,A greater theif did never ryde.’
‘He is weil kend, Johne of the Syde,
A greater theif did never ryde.’
Sir Richard Maitland.
The Textis from the Percy Folio, but is given in modernised spelling. It lacks the beginning, probably, and one line in st. 3, which can be easily guessed; but as a whole it is an infinitely fresher and better ballad than that inserted in theMinstrelsyof Sir Walter Scott.
The Storyis akin to that ofKinmont Willie(p. 49). John of the Side (on the river Liddel, nearly opposite Mangerton) first appears about 1550 in a list of freebooters against whom complaints were laid before the Bishop of Carlisle. He was, it seems, another of the Armstrong family.
Hobby Noble has a ballad5to himself (as the hero of the present ballad deserves), in which mention is made of Peter of Whitfield. This is doubtless the person mentioned in the first line ofJohn o’ the Sideas having been killed presumably by John himself.
‘Culertun,’ 10.1, is Chollerton on the Tyne. Percy suggests Challerton, and in the ballads upon which Scott founded his version the name is ‘Choler-ford.’ ‘Howbrame wood’ and ‘Lord Clough’ are not identified; and Flanders files, effective as they appear to be, are not otherwise known.
‘The ballad,’ says Professor Child, ‘is one of the best in the world, and enough to make a horse-trooper of any young borderer, had he lacked the impulse.’
5.Child, No. 189, from Caw’sPoetical Museum, but not of sufficient merit to be included here.
1.Petero’ Whifield he hath slain,And John o’ Side, he is ta’en,And John is bound both hand and foot,And to the New-castle he is gone.2.But tidings came to the Sybil o’ the Side,By the water-side as she ran;She took her kirtle by the hem,And fast she run to Mangerton.3......The lord was set down at his meat;When these tidings she did him tell,Never a morsel might he eat.4.But lords they wrung their fingers white,Ladies did pull themselves by the hair,Crying ‘Alas and welladay!For John o’ the Side we shall never see more.5.‘But we’ll go sell our droves of kine,And after them our oxen sell,And after them our troops of sheep,But we will loose him out of the New Castell.’6.But then bespake him Hobby Noble,And spoke these words wondrous high;Says, ‘Give me five men to myself,And I’ll fetch John o’ the Side to thee.’7.‘Yea, thou’st have five, Hobby Noble,Of the best that are in this country;I’ll give thee five thousand, Hobby Noble,That walk in Tyvidale truly.’8.8.4‘badgers,’ corn-dealers or pedlars.‘Nay, I’ll have but five,’ says Hobby Noble,‘That shall walk away with me;We will ride like no men of war,But like poor badgers we will be.’9.9.2‘barefoot,’ unshod.They stuffed up all their bags with straw,And their steeds barefoot must be;‘Come on, my brethren,’ says Hobby Noble,‘Come on your ways, and go with me.’10.And when they came to Culerton ford,The water was up, they could it not go;And then they were ware of a good old man,How his boy and he were at the plough.11.11.4‘gate,’ way.‘But stand you still,’ says Hobby Noble,‘Stand you still here at this shore,And I will ride to yonder old man,And see where the gate it lies o’er.12.12.2‘see,’ protect.‘But Christ you save, father!’ quoth he,‘Christ both you save and see!Where is the way over this ford?For Christ’s sake tell it me.’13.13.4‘tree,’ wood. The Folio gives ‘3’; Percy suggested the emendation.‘But I have dwelled here three score year,So have I done three score and three;I never saw man nor horse go o’er,Except it were a horse of tree.’14.‘But fare thou well, thou good old man!The devil in hell I leave with thee,No better comfort here this nightThou gives my brethren here and me.’15.But when he came to his brether again,And told this tidings full of woe,And then they found a well good gateThey might ride o’er by two and two.16.And when they were come over the ford,All safe gotten at the last,‘Thanks be to God!’ says Hobby Noble,‘The worst of our peril is past.’17.And then they came into Howbrame wood,And there then they found a tree,And cut it down then by the root.The length was thirty foot and three.18.And four of them did take the plank,As light as it had been a flea,And carried it to the New Castle,Where as John o’ Side did lie.19.And some did climb up by the walls,And some did climb up by the tree,Until they came up to the top of the castle,Where John made his moan truly.20.He said, ‘God be with thee, Sybil o’ the Side!My own mother thou art,’ quoth he;‘If thou knew this night I were here,A woe woman then wouldst thou be.21.‘And fare you well, Lord Mangerton!And ever I say God be with thee!For if you knew this night I were here,You would sell your land for to loose me.22.‘And fare thou well, Much, Miller’s son!Much, Miller’s son, I say;Thou has been better at mirk midnightThan ever thou was at noon o’ the day.23.23.3‘him’ = man, which is suggested by Furnivall.‘And fare thou well, my good lord Clough!Thou art thy father’s son and heir;Thou never saw him in all thy lifeBut with him durst thou break a spear.24.‘We are brothers childer nine or ten,And sisters children ten or eleven;We never came to the field to fight,But the worst of us was counted a man.’25.But then bespake him Hobby Noble,And spake these words unto him;Says ‘Sleepest thou, wakest thou, John o’ the Side,Or art thou this castle within?’26.‘But who is there,’ quoth John o’ the Side,‘That knows my name so right and free?’‘I am a bastard-brother of thine;This night I am comen for to loose thee.’27.‘Now nay, now nay,’ quoth John o’ the Side,‘It fears me sore that will not be,For a peck of gold and silver,’ John said,‘In faith this night will not loose me.’28.28.4‘tent,’ guard.But then bespake him Hobby Noble,And till his brother thus said he;Says ‘Four shall take this matter in hand,And two shall tent our geldings free.’29.Four did break one door without,Then John brake five himsel’;But when they came to the iron door,It smote twelve upon the bell.30.‘It fears me sore,’ said Much, the Miller,‘That here taken we all shall be;’‘But go away, brethren,’ said John o’ the Side,‘For ever alas! this will not be.’31.‘But fie upon thee!’ said Hobby Noble;‘Much, the Miller, fie upon thee!It sore fears me,’ said Hobby Noble,‘Man that thou wilt never be.’32.But then he had Flanders files two or thee,And he filed down that iron door,And took John out of the New Castle,And said ‘Look thou never come here more!’33.When he had him forth of the New Castle,‘Away with me, John, thou shalt ride.’But ever alas! it could not be,For John could neither sit nor stride.34.But then he had sheets two or three,And bound John’s bolts fast to his feet,And set him on a well good steed,Himself on another by him set.35.35.1‘lough,’ laughed.Then Hobby Noble smiled and lough,And spoke these words in mickle pride;‘Thou sits so finely on thy geldingThat, John, thou rides like a bride.’36.And when they came thorough Howbrame town,John’s horse there stumbled at a stone;‘Out and alas!’ cried Much, the Miller,‘John, thou’ll make us all be ta’en.’37.‘But fie upon thee!’ says Hobby Noble,‘Much, the Miller, fie on thee!I know full well,’ says Hobby Noble,‘Man that thou wilt never be.’38.And when they came into Howbrame wood,He had Flanders files two or threeTo file John’s bolts beside his feet,That he might ride more easily.39.39.2‘lope,’ leapt.Says ‘John, now leap over a steed!’And John then he lope over five.‘I know well,’ says Hobby Noble,‘John, thy fellow is not alive.’40.Then he brought him home to Mangerton;The lord then he was at his meat;But when John o’ the Side he there did see,For fain he could no more eat.41.He says ‘Blest be thou, Hobby Noble,That ever thou wast man born!Thou hast fetched us home good John o’ the Side,That was now clean from us gone.’
1.
Petero’ Whifield he hath slain,
And John o’ Side, he is ta’en,
And John is bound both hand and foot,
And to the New-castle he is gone.
2.
But tidings came to the Sybil o’ the Side,
By the water-side as she ran;
She took her kirtle by the hem,
And fast she run to Mangerton.
3.
.....
The lord was set down at his meat;
When these tidings she did him tell,
Never a morsel might he eat.
4.
But lords they wrung their fingers white,
Ladies did pull themselves by the hair,
Crying ‘Alas and welladay!
For John o’ the Side we shall never see more.
5.
‘But we’ll go sell our droves of kine,
And after them our oxen sell,
And after them our troops of sheep,
But we will loose him out of the New Castell.’
6.
But then bespake him Hobby Noble,
And spoke these words wondrous high;
Says, ‘Give me five men to myself,
And I’ll fetch John o’ the Side to thee.’
7.
‘Yea, thou’st have five, Hobby Noble,
Of the best that are in this country;
I’ll give thee five thousand, Hobby Noble,
That walk in Tyvidale truly.’
8.
8.4‘badgers,’ corn-dealers or pedlars.
‘Nay, I’ll have but five,’ says Hobby Noble,
‘That shall walk away with me;
We will ride like no men of war,
But like poor badgers we will be.’
9.
9.2‘barefoot,’ unshod.
They stuffed up all their bags with straw,
And their steeds barefoot must be;
‘Come on, my brethren,’ says Hobby Noble,
‘Come on your ways, and go with me.’
10.
And when they came to Culerton ford,
The water was up, they could it not go;
And then they were ware of a good old man,
How his boy and he were at the plough.
11.
11.4‘gate,’ way.
‘But stand you still,’ says Hobby Noble,
‘Stand you still here at this shore,
And I will ride to yonder old man,
And see where the gate it lies o’er.
12.
12.2‘see,’ protect.
‘But Christ you save, father!’ quoth he,
‘Christ both you save and see!
Where is the way over this ford?
For Christ’s sake tell it me.’
13.
13.4‘tree,’ wood. The Folio gives ‘3’; Percy suggested the emendation.
‘But I have dwelled here three score year,
So have I done three score and three;
I never saw man nor horse go o’er,
Except it were a horse of tree.’
14.
‘But fare thou well, thou good old man!
The devil in hell I leave with thee,
No better comfort here this night
Thou gives my brethren here and me.’
15.
But when he came to his brether again,
And told this tidings full of woe,
And then they found a well good gate
They might ride o’er by two and two.
16.
And when they were come over the ford,
All safe gotten at the last,
‘Thanks be to God!’ says Hobby Noble,
‘The worst of our peril is past.’
17.
And then they came into Howbrame wood,
And there then they found a tree,
And cut it down then by the root.
The length was thirty foot and three.
18.
And four of them did take the plank,
As light as it had been a flea,
And carried it to the New Castle,
Where as John o’ Side did lie.
19.
And some did climb up by the walls,
And some did climb up by the tree,
Until they came up to the top of the castle,
Where John made his moan truly.
20.
He said, ‘God be with thee, Sybil o’ the Side!
My own mother thou art,’ quoth he;
‘If thou knew this night I were here,
A woe woman then wouldst thou be.
21.
‘And fare you well, Lord Mangerton!
And ever I say God be with thee!
For if you knew this night I were here,
You would sell your land for to loose me.
22.
‘And fare thou well, Much, Miller’s son!
Much, Miller’s son, I say;
Thou has been better at mirk midnight
Than ever thou was at noon o’ the day.
23.
23.3‘him’ = man, which is suggested by Furnivall.
‘And fare thou well, my good lord Clough!
Thou art thy father’s son and heir;
Thou never saw him in all thy life
But with him durst thou break a spear.
24.
‘We are brothers childer nine or ten,
And sisters children ten or eleven;
We never came to the field to fight,
But the worst of us was counted a man.’
25.
But then bespake him Hobby Noble,
And spake these words unto him;
Says ‘Sleepest thou, wakest thou, John o’ the Side,
Or art thou this castle within?’
26.
‘But who is there,’ quoth John o’ the Side,
‘That knows my name so right and free?’
‘I am a bastard-brother of thine;
This night I am comen for to loose thee.’
27.
‘Now nay, now nay,’ quoth John o’ the Side,
‘It fears me sore that will not be,
For a peck of gold and silver,’ John said,
‘In faith this night will not loose me.’
28.
28.4‘tent,’ guard.
But then bespake him Hobby Noble,
And till his brother thus said he;
Says ‘Four shall take this matter in hand,
And two shall tent our geldings free.’
29.
Four did break one door without,
Then John brake five himsel’;
But when they came to the iron door,
It smote twelve upon the bell.
30.
‘It fears me sore,’ said Much, the Miller,
‘That here taken we all shall be;’
‘But go away, brethren,’ said John o’ the Side,
‘For ever alas! this will not be.’
31.
‘But fie upon thee!’ said Hobby Noble;
‘Much, the Miller, fie upon thee!
It sore fears me,’ said Hobby Noble,
‘Man that thou wilt never be.’
32.
But then he had Flanders files two or thee,
And he filed down that iron door,
And took John out of the New Castle,
And said ‘Look thou never come here more!’
33.
When he had him forth of the New Castle,
‘Away with me, John, thou shalt ride.’
But ever alas! it could not be,
For John could neither sit nor stride.
34.
But then he had sheets two or three,
And bound John’s bolts fast to his feet,
And set him on a well good steed,
Himself on another by him set.
35.
35.1‘lough,’ laughed.
Then Hobby Noble smiled and lough,
And spoke these words in mickle pride;
‘Thou sits so finely on thy gelding
That, John, thou rides like a bride.’
36.
And when they came thorough Howbrame town,
John’s horse there stumbled at a stone;
‘Out and alas!’ cried Much, the Miller,
‘John, thou’ll make us all be ta’en.’
37.
‘But fie upon thee!’ says Hobby Noble,
‘Much, the Miller, fie on thee!
I know full well,’ says Hobby Noble,
‘Man that thou wilt never be.’
38.
And when they came into Howbrame wood,
He had Flanders files two or three
To file John’s bolts beside his feet,
That he might ride more easily.
39.
39.2‘lope,’ leapt.
Says ‘John, now leap over a steed!’
And John then he lope over five.
‘I know well,’ says Hobby Noble,
‘John, thy fellow is not alive.’
40.
Then he brought him home to Mangerton;
The lord then he was at his meat;
But when John o’ the Side he there did see,
For fain he could no more eat.
41.
He says ‘Blest be thou, Hobby Noble,
That ever thou wast man born!
Thou hast fetched us home good John o’ the Side,
That was now clean from us gone.’
The Textof the ballad is here given from Kinloch’sMSS., where it is in the handwriting of John Hill Burton when a youth. The text of the songWaly, waly, I take from Ramsay’sTea-Table Miscellany. The song and the ballad have become inextricably confused, and the many variants of the former contain a greater or a smaller proportion of verses apparently taken from the latter.
The Storyof the ballad as here told is nevertheless quite simple and straightforward. It is spoken in the first person by the daughter of the Earl of Mar. (She also says she is sister to the Duke of York, 7.4, a person often introduced into ballads.) Blacklaywood, the lady complains, has spoken calumniously of her to her lord, and she leaves him, saying farewell to her children, and taking her youngest son with her.
The ballad is historical in so far as that Lady Barbara Erskine, daughter of the Earl of Mar, was married in 1670 to James, second Marquis of Douglas, and was formally separated from him in 1681. Further, tradition puts the blame of the separation on William Lawrie, factor to the Marquis, often styled the laird of Blackwood (‘Blacklaywood,’ 2.3), from his wife’s family estate.
The non-historical points in the ballad are minorones. The couple had only one child; and the lady’s father could not have come to fetch her away (9.2), as the Earl of Mar died in 1668, before his daughter’s wedding.
I have printed the songWaly, walynot because it can be considered a ballad, but simply because it is so closely interwoven withJamie Douglas. Stanza 6 is reminiscent of the beautiful English quatrain beginning:
‘Westron wind, when will thou blow.’
‘Westron wind, when will thou blow.’
See Chappell’sPopular Music of the Olden Time, i. 57.
1.1.1‘Waly’ = alas!1.4‘wunt’ = were wont.Waly, waly up the bank,And waly, waly down the brae!And waly, waly to yon burn-side,Where me and my love wunt to gae!2.As I lay sick, and very sick,And sick was I, and like to die,And Blacklaywood put in my love’s earsThat he staid in bower too lang wi’ me.3.3.4‘lichtlie,’ make light of.As I lay sick, and very sick,And sick was I, and like to die,And walking into my garden green,I heard my good lord lichtlie me.4.Now woe betide ye, Blacklaywood!I’m sure an ill death you must die;Ye’ll part me and my ain good lord,And his face again I’ll never see.5.‘Come down stairs now, Jamie Douglas,Come down stairs and drink wine wi’ me;I’ll set thee into a chair of gold,And not one farthing shall it cost thee.’6.6.3‘baas,’ balls.‘When cockle-shells turn silver bells,And muscles grow on every tree,When frost and snow turn fiery baas,I’ll come down the stair and drink wine wi’ thee.’7.‘What’s needs me value you, Jamie Douglas,More than you do value me?The Earl of Mar is my father,The Duke of York is my brother gay.8.‘But when my father gets word o’ this,I trow a sorry man he’ll be;He’ll send four score o’ his soldiers brave,To tak me hame to mine ain countrie.’9.As I lay owre my castell-wa’,I beheld my father comin’ for me,Wi’ trumpets sounding on every side;But they werena music at a’ for me.10.‘And fare ye weel now, Jamie Douglas!And fare ye weel, my children three!And fare ye weel, my own good lord!For my face again ye shall never see.11.‘And fare ye weel now, Jamie Douglas!And fare ye weel, my children three!And fare ye weel now, Jamie Douglas,But my youngest son shall gae wi’ me.’12.‘What ails ye at your youngest son,Sits smilin’ at the nurse’s knee?I’m sure he never knew any harm,Except it was from his nurse or thee.’13...........And when I was into my coaches set,He made his trumpets a’ to soun.’14.I’ve heard it said, and it’s oft times seen,The hawk that flies far frae her nest;And a’ the world shall plainly seeIt’s Jamie Douglas that I love best.15.I’ve heard it said, and it’s oft times seen,The hawk that flies from tree to tree;And a’ the world shall plainly seeIt’s for Jamie Douglas I maun die.
1.
1.1‘Waly’ = alas!
1.4‘wunt’ = were wont.
Waly, waly up the bank,
And waly, waly down the brae!
And waly, waly to yon burn-side,
Where me and my love wunt to gae!
2.
As I lay sick, and very sick,
And sick was I, and like to die,
And Blacklaywood put in my love’s ears
That he staid in bower too lang wi’ me.
3.
3.4‘lichtlie,’ make light of.
As I lay sick, and very sick,
And sick was I, and like to die,
And walking into my garden green,
I heard my good lord lichtlie me.
4.
Now woe betide ye, Blacklaywood!
I’m sure an ill death you must die;
Ye’ll part me and my ain good lord,
And his face again I’ll never see.
5.
‘Come down stairs now, Jamie Douglas,
Come down stairs and drink wine wi’ me;
I’ll set thee into a chair of gold,
And not one farthing shall it cost thee.’
6.
6.3‘baas,’ balls.
‘When cockle-shells turn silver bells,
And muscles grow on every tree,
When frost and snow turn fiery baas,
I’ll come down the stair and drink wine wi’ thee.’
7.
‘What’s needs me value you, Jamie Douglas,
More than you do value me?
The Earl of Mar is my father,
The Duke of York is my brother gay.
8.
‘But when my father gets word o’ this,
I trow a sorry man he’ll be;
He’ll send four score o’ his soldiers brave,
To tak me hame to mine ain countrie.’
9.
As I lay owre my castell-wa’,
I beheld my father comin’ for me,
Wi’ trumpets sounding on every side;
But they werena music at a’ for me.
10.
‘And fare ye weel now, Jamie Douglas!
And fare ye weel, my children three!
And fare ye weel, my own good lord!
For my face again ye shall never see.
11.
‘And fare ye weel now, Jamie Douglas!
And fare ye weel, my children three!
And fare ye weel now, Jamie Douglas,
But my youngest son shall gae wi’ me.’
12.
‘What ails ye at your youngest son,
Sits smilin’ at the nurse’s knee?
I’m sure he never knew any harm,
Except it was from his nurse or thee.’
13.
.....
.....
And when I was into my coaches set,
He made his trumpets a’ to soun.’
14.
I’ve heard it said, and it’s oft times seen,
The hawk that flies far frae her nest;
And a’ the world shall plainly see
It’s Jamie Douglas that I love best.
15.
I’ve heard it said, and it’s oft times seen,
The hawk that flies from tree to tree;
And a’ the world shall plainly see
It’s for Jamie Douglas I maun die.
1.O waly, waly up the bank!And waly, waly, down the brae!And waly, waly yon burn-side,Where I and my love wont to gae!2.I lean’d my back unto an aik,I thought it was a trusty tree;But first it bow’d, and syne it brak,Sae my true-love did lightly me.3.O waly, waly! but love be bonnyA little time, while it is new;But when it is auld, it waxeth cauld,And fades away like morning dew.4.O wherefore shoud I busk my head?Or wherefore shoud I kame my hair?For my true-love has me forsook,And says he’ll never love me mair.5.Now Arthur-Seat shall be my bed,The sheets shall ne’er be fyl’d by me;Saint Anton’s well shall be my drink,Since my true-love has forsaken me.6.Martinmas wind, when wilt thou blaw,And shake the green leaves off the tree?O gentle death, when wilt thou come?For of my life I am weary.7.‘Tis not the frost that freezes fell,Nor blawing snaw’s inclemency;’Tis not sic cauld that makes me cry,But my love’s heart grown cauld to me.8.When we came in by Glasgow town,We were a comely sight to see;My love was cled in the black velvet,And I mysell in cramasie.9.But had I wist, before I kiss’d,That love had been sae ill to win,I’d lock’d my heart in a case of gold,And pin’d it with a silver pin.10.Oh, oh, if my young babe were born,And set upon the nurse’s knee,And I mysell were dead and gane!For a maid again I’ll never be.
1.
O waly, waly up the bank!
And waly, waly, down the brae!
And waly, waly yon burn-side,
Where I and my love wont to gae!
2.
I lean’d my back unto an aik,
I thought it was a trusty tree;
But first it bow’d, and syne it brak,
Sae my true-love did lightly me.
3.
O waly, waly! but love be bonny
A little time, while it is new;
But when it is auld, it waxeth cauld,
And fades away like morning dew.
4.
O wherefore shoud I busk my head?
Or wherefore shoud I kame my hair?
For my true-love has me forsook,
And says he’ll never love me mair.
5.
Now Arthur-Seat shall be my bed,
The sheets shall ne’er be fyl’d by me;
Saint Anton’s well shall be my drink,
Since my true-love has forsaken me.
6.
Martinmas wind, when wilt thou blaw,
And shake the green leaves off the tree?
O gentle death, when wilt thou come?
For of my life I am weary.
7.
‘Tis not the frost that freezes fell,
Nor blawing snaw’s inclemency;
’Tis not sic cauld that makes me cry,
But my love’s heart grown cauld to me.
8.
When we came in by Glasgow town,
We were a comely sight to see;
My love was cled in the black velvet,
And I mysell in cramasie.
9.
But had I wist, before I kiss’d,
That love had been sae ill to win,
I’d lock’d my heart in a case of gold,
And pin’d it with a silver pin.
10.
Oh, oh, if my young babe were born,
And set upon the nurse’s knee,
And I mysell were dead and gane!
For a maid again I’ll never be.
The Textis taken from the Percy Folio, but I have modernised the spelling. For theReliquesPercy made a ballad out of the Folio version combined with ‘a modern ballad on a similar subject,’ a broadside entitledThe Drunkard’s Legacy, thus producing a very good result which is about thrice the length of the Folio version.
The Scottish variant was noted by Motherwell and Buchan, but previous editors—Herd, Ritson, Chambers, Aytoun—had used Percy’s composition.
The Story.—There are several Oriental stories which resemble the ballad as compounded by Percy fromThe Drunkard’s Legacy. In most of these—Tartar, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, etc.—the climax of the story lies in the fact that the hero in attempting to hang himself by a rope fastened to the ceiling pulls down a hidden treasure. There is, of course, no such episode inThe Heir of Linne, but all the stories have similar circumstances, and the majority present the moral aspect of unthriftiness, and of friends deserting a man who loses his wealth.
‘Linne,’ of course, is the place which is so often mentioned in ballads. See note, First Series, p. 1.
1.Ofall the lords in fair ScotlandA song I will begin;Amongst them all there dwelled a lord,Which was the unthrifty lord of Linne.2.2.3,4Interchanged in manuscript.2.4‘blin,’ stop.His father and mother were dead him fro,And so was the head of all his kin;To the cards and dice that he did runHe did neither cease nor blin.3.To drink the wine that was so clear,With every man he would make merry;And then bespake him John of the Scales,Unto the heir of Linne said he;4.Says ‘How dost thou, lord of Linne?Dost either want gold or fee?Wilt thou not sell thy lands so broadTo such a good fellow as me?5.5.1Deficient in manuscript.5.4‘God’s penny,’ an earnest-penny, to clinch a bargain.‘For...I...,’ he said,‘My land, take it unto thee.’‘I draw you to record, my lordës all.’With that he cast him a God’s penny.6.He told him the gold upon the board,It wanted never a bare penny.‘That gold is thine, the land is mine;The heir of Linne I will be.’7.‘Here’s gold enough,’ saith the heir of Linne,‘Both for me and my company.’He drunk the wine that was so clear,And with every man he made merry.8.Within three-quarters of a yearHis gold and fee it waxed thin,His merry men were from him gone,And left him himself all alone.9.He had never a penny left in his purse,Never a penny left but three,And one was brass, and another was lead,And another was white money.10.‘Now welladay!’ said the heir of Linne,‘Now welladay, and woe is me!For when I was the lord of Linne,I neither wanted gold nor fee.11.11.3‘read,’ advice.‘For I have sold my lands so broad,And have not left me one penny;I must go now and take some readUnto Edinburgh, and beg my bread.’12.He had not been in EdinburghNot three-quarters of a year,But some did give him, and some said nay,And some bid ‘To the deil gang ye!13.13.1‘fere,’ companion.‘For if we should hang any landless fere,The first we would begin with thee.’‘Now welladay!’ said the heir of Linne,‘Now welladay, and woe is me!14.14.2‘irk with,’ weary of.‘For now I have sold my lands so broad,That merry man is irk with me;But when that I was the lord of Linne,Then on my land I lived merrily.15.‘And now I have sold my land so broad,That I have not left me one penny!God be with my father!’ he said,‘On his land he lived merrily.’16.16.2‘unbethought him,’ bethought himself. SeeOld Robin of Portingale, 5.3(First Series, p. 14).Still in a study there as he stood,He unbethought him of a bill—He unbethought him of a billWhich his father had left with him.17.Bade him he should never on it lookTill he was in extreme need;‘And by my faith,’ said the heir of Linne,‘Than now I had never more need.’18.18.4‘in fere,’ together.He took the bill, and looked it on,Good comfort that he found there;It told him of a castle wallWhere there stood three chests in fere.19.19.4? ‘gold and fee.’ Cp. 27.4Two were full of the beaten gold,The third was full of white money.He turned then down his bags of bread,And filled them full of gold so red.20.20.4Ritson said ‘speer’ was a hole in the wall of a house, through which the family received and answered the inquiries of strangers. This is apparently a mere conjecture.Then he did never cease nor blin,Till John of the Scales‘ house he did win.When that he came to John of the Scales,Up at the speer he looked then.21.There sat three lords upon a row,And John o’ the Scales sat at the board’s head,And John o’ the Scales sat at the board’s head,Because he was the lord of Linne.22.22.3‘shot,’ reckoning. Cp. ‘pay the shot.’And then bespake the heir of Linne,To John o’ the Scales’ wife thus said he;Said, ‘Dame, wilt thou not trust me one shotThat I may sit down in this company?’23.‘Now Christ’s curse on my head,’ she said,‘If I do trust thee one penny!’Then bespake a good fellow,Which sat by John o’ the Scales his knee;24.Said, ‘Have thou here, thou heir of Linne,Forty pence I will lend thee;Some time a good fellow thou hast been;And other forty if need be.’25.They drunken wine that was so clear,And every man they made merry;And then bespake him John o’ the Scales,Unto the lord of Linne said he;26.Said, ‘How dost thou, heir of Linne,Since I did buy thy lands of thee?I will sell it to thee twenty pound better cheapNor ever I did buy it of thee.’27.27.4See 19.4and note.‘I draw you to record, lordës all;’With that he cast him a God’s penny;Then he took to his bags of bread,And they were full of the gold so red.28.He told him the gold then over the board,It wanted never a broad penny.‘That gold is thine, the land is mine,And heir of Linne again I will be.’29.‘Now welladay!’ said John o’ the Scales’ wife,‘Welladay, and woe is me!Yesterday I was the lady of Linne,And now I am but John o’ the Scales’ wife!’30.Says ‘Have thou here, thou good fellow,Forty pence thou did lend me,Forty pence thou did lend me,And forty pound I will give thee.31.‘I’ll make thee keeper of my forest,Both of the wild deer and the tame,’..........32.But then bespake the heir of Linne,These were the words, and thus said he,‘Christ’s curse light upon my crown,If e’er my land stand in any jeopardy!’
1.
Ofall the lords in fair Scotland
A song I will begin;
Amongst them all there dwelled a lord,
Which was the unthrifty lord of Linne.
2.
2.3,4Interchanged in manuscript.
2.4‘blin,’ stop.
His father and mother were dead him fro,
And so was the head of all his kin;
To the cards and dice that he did run
He did neither cease nor blin.
3.
To drink the wine that was so clear,
With every man he would make merry;
And then bespake him John of the Scales,
Unto the heir of Linne said he;
4.
Says ‘How dost thou, lord of Linne?
Dost either want gold or fee?
Wilt thou not sell thy lands so broad
To such a good fellow as me?
5.
5.1Deficient in manuscript.
5.4‘God’s penny,’ an earnest-penny, to clinch a bargain.
‘For...I...,’ he said,
‘My land, take it unto thee.’
‘I draw you to record, my lordës all.’
With that he cast him a God’s penny.
6.
He told him the gold upon the board,
It wanted never a bare penny.
‘That gold is thine, the land is mine;
The heir of Linne I will be.’
7.
‘Here’s gold enough,’ saith the heir of Linne,
‘Both for me and my company.’
He drunk the wine that was so clear,
And with every man he made merry.
8.
Within three-quarters of a year
His gold and fee it waxed thin,
His merry men were from him gone,
And left him himself all alone.
9.
He had never a penny left in his purse,
Never a penny left but three,
And one was brass, and another was lead,
And another was white money.
10.
‘Now welladay!’ said the heir of Linne,
‘Now welladay, and woe is me!
For when I was the lord of Linne,
I neither wanted gold nor fee.
11.
11.3‘read,’ advice.
‘For I have sold my lands so broad,
And have not left me one penny;
I must go now and take some read
Unto Edinburgh, and beg my bread.’
12.
He had not been in Edinburgh
Not three-quarters of a year,
But some did give him, and some said nay,
And some bid ‘To the deil gang ye!
13.
13.1‘fere,’ companion.
‘For if we should hang any landless fere,
The first we would begin with thee.’
‘Now welladay!’ said the heir of Linne,
‘Now welladay, and woe is me!
14.
14.2‘irk with,’ weary of.
‘For now I have sold my lands so broad,
That merry man is irk with me;
But when that I was the lord of Linne,
Then on my land I lived merrily.
15.
‘And now I have sold my land so broad,
That I have not left me one penny!
God be with my father!’ he said,
‘On his land he lived merrily.’
16.
16.2‘unbethought him,’ bethought himself. SeeOld Robin of Portingale, 5.3(First Series, p. 14).
Still in a study there as he stood,
He unbethought him of a bill—
He unbethought him of a bill
Which his father had left with him.
17.
Bade him he should never on it look
Till he was in extreme need;
‘And by my faith,’ said the heir of Linne,
‘Than now I had never more need.’
18.
18.4‘in fere,’ together.
He took the bill, and looked it on,
Good comfort that he found there;
It told him of a castle wall
Where there stood three chests in fere.
19.
19.4? ‘gold and fee.’ Cp. 27.4
Two were full of the beaten gold,
The third was full of white money.
He turned then down his bags of bread,
And filled them full of gold so red.
20.
20.4Ritson said ‘speer’ was a hole in the wall of a house, through which the family received and answered the inquiries of strangers. This is apparently a mere conjecture.
Then he did never cease nor blin,
Till John of the Scales‘ house he did win.
When that he came to John of the Scales,
Up at the speer he looked then.
21.
There sat three lords upon a row,
And John o’ the Scales sat at the board’s head,
And John o’ the Scales sat at the board’s head,
Because he was the lord of Linne.
22.
22.3‘shot,’ reckoning. Cp. ‘pay the shot.’
And then bespake the heir of Linne,
To John o’ the Scales’ wife thus said he;
Said, ‘Dame, wilt thou not trust me one shot
That I may sit down in this company?’
23.
‘Now Christ’s curse on my head,’ she said,
‘If I do trust thee one penny!’
Then bespake a good fellow,
Which sat by John o’ the Scales his knee;
24.
Said, ‘Have thou here, thou heir of Linne,
Forty pence I will lend thee;
Some time a good fellow thou hast been;
And other forty if need be.’
25.
They drunken wine that was so clear,
And every man they made merry;
And then bespake him John o’ the Scales,
Unto the lord of Linne said he;
26.
Said, ‘How dost thou, heir of Linne,
Since I did buy thy lands of thee?
I will sell it to thee twenty pound better cheap
Nor ever I did buy it of thee.’
27.
27.4See 19.4and note.
‘I draw you to record, lordës all;’
With that he cast him a God’s penny;
Then he took to his bags of bread,
And they were full of the gold so red.
28.
He told him the gold then over the board,
It wanted never a broad penny.
‘That gold is thine, the land is mine,
And heir of Linne again I will be.’
29.
‘Now welladay!’ said John o’ the Scales’ wife,
‘Welladay, and woe is me!
Yesterday I was the lady of Linne,
And now I am but John o’ the Scales’ wife!’
30.
Says ‘Have thou here, thou good fellow,
Forty pence thou did lend me,
Forty pence thou did lend me,
And forty pound I will give thee.
31.
‘I’ll make thee keeper of my forest,
Both of the wild deer and the tame,’
.....
.....
32.
But then bespake the heir of Linne,
These were the words, and thus said he,
‘Christ’s curse light upon my crown,
If e’er my land stand in any jeopardy!’
The Textis from the Percy Folio, the spelling being modernised. Percy printed it (with alterations) in theReliques.
The Storyof the ballad represents that Darnley was murdered by way of revenge for his participation in the murder of Riccio; that Mary sent for Darnley to come to Scotland, and that she was finally banished by the Regent. All of these statements, and several minor ones, contain as much truth as may be expected in a ballad of this kind.
Mary escaped from Lochleven Castle on May 2, 1568, and found refuge in England on the 16th. The ballad was doubtless written shortly afterwards. On March 24, 1579, a ‘ballad concerninge the murder of the late Kinge of Scottes’ was licensed to Thomas Gosson, a well-known printer of broadsides.
1.1.2‘sleight,’ trick.Woeworth thee, woe worth thee, false Scotland!For thou hast ever wrought by a sleight;For the worthiest prince that ever was bornYou hanged under a cloud by night.2.The Queen of France a letter wrote,And sealed it with heart and ring,And bade him come Scotland within,And she would marry him and crown him king.3.3.3,4A popular proverb; seeThe Lord of Learne, 39.3,4(Second Series, p. 190).To be a king, it is a pleasant thing,To be a prince unto a peer;But you have heard, and so have I too,A man may well buy gold too dear.4.There was an Italian in that placeWas as well beloved as ever was he;Lord David was his name,Chamberlain unto the queen was he.5.For if the king had risen forth of his place,He would have sit him down in the chair,And tho’ it beseemed him not so well,Altho’ the king had been present there.6.Some lords in Scotland waxed wonderous worth,And quarrell’d with him for the nonce;I shall you tell how it befell;Twelve daggers were in him all at once.7.When this queen see the chamberlain was slain,For him her cheeks she did weet,And made a vow for a twelvemonth and a dayThe king and she would not come in one sheet.8.Then some of the lords of Scotland waxed wroth,And made their vow vehemently;‘For death of the queen’s chamberlainThe king himself he shall die.’9.They strowed his chamber over with gun powder,And laid green rushes in his way;For the traitors thought that nightThe worthy king for to betray.10.10.1‘made him boun,’ prepared himself.To bed the worthy king made him boun;To take his rest, that was his desire;He was no sooner cast on sleepBut his chamber was on a blazing fire.11.Up he lope, and a glass window broke,He had thirty foot for to fall;Lord Bodwell kept a privy watchUnderneath his castle wall.‘Who have we here?’ said Lord Bodwell;‘Answer me, now I do call.’12.‘King Henry the Eighth my uncle was;Some pity show for his sweet sake!Ah, Lord Bodwell, I know thee well;Some pity on me I pray thee take!’13.‘I’ll pity thee as much,’ he said,‘And as much favour I’ll show to thee,As thou had on the queen’s chamberlainThat day thou deemedst him to die.’14.Through halls and towers this king they led,Through castles and towers that were high,Through an arbour into an orchard,And there hanged him in a pear tree.15.When the governor of Scotland he heard tellThat the worthy king he was slain,He hath banished the queen so bitterlyThat in Scotland she dare not remain.16.But she is fled into merry England,And Scotland too aside hath lain,And through the Queen of England’s good graceNow in England she doth remain.
1.
1.2‘sleight,’ trick.
Woeworth thee, woe worth thee, false Scotland!
For thou hast ever wrought by a sleight;
For the worthiest prince that ever was born
You hanged under a cloud by night.
2.
The Queen of France a letter wrote,
And sealed it with heart and ring,
And bade him come Scotland within,
And she would marry him and crown him king.
3.
3.3,4A popular proverb; seeThe Lord of Learne, 39.3,4(Second Series, p. 190).
To be a king, it is a pleasant thing,
To be a prince unto a peer;
But you have heard, and so have I too,
A man may well buy gold too dear.
4.
There was an Italian in that place
Was as well beloved as ever was he;
Lord David was his name,
Chamberlain unto the queen was he.
5.
For if the king had risen forth of his place,
He would have sit him down in the chair,
And tho’ it beseemed him not so well,
Altho’ the king had been present there.
6.
Some lords in Scotland waxed wonderous worth,
And quarrell’d with him for the nonce;
I shall you tell how it befell;
Twelve daggers were in him all at once.
7.
When this queen see the chamberlain was slain,
For him her cheeks she did weet,
And made a vow for a twelvemonth and a day
The king and she would not come in one sheet.
8.
Then some of the lords of Scotland waxed wroth,
And made their vow vehemently;
‘For death of the queen’s chamberlain
The king himself he shall die.’
9.
They strowed his chamber over with gun powder,
And laid green rushes in his way;
For the traitors thought that night
The worthy king for to betray.
10.
10.1‘made him boun,’ prepared himself.
To bed the worthy king made him boun;
To take his rest, that was his desire;
He was no sooner cast on sleep
But his chamber was on a blazing fire.
11.
Up he lope, and a glass window broke,
He had thirty foot for to fall;
Lord Bodwell kept a privy watch
Underneath his castle wall.
‘Who have we here?’ said Lord Bodwell;
‘Answer me, now I do call.’
12.
‘King Henry the Eighth my uncle was;
Some pity show for his sweet sake!
Ah, Lord Bodwell, I know thee well;
Some pity on me I pray thee take!’
13.
‘I’ll pity thee as much,’ he said,
‘And as much favour I’ll show to thee,
As thou had on the queen’s chamberlain
That day thou deemedst him to die.’
14.
Through halls and towers this king they led,
Through castles and towers that were high,
Through an arbour into an orchard,
And there hanged him in a pear tree.
15.
When the governor of Scotland he heard tell
That the worthy king he was slain,
He hath banished the queen so bitterly
That in Scotland she dare not remain.
16.
But she is fled into merry England,
And Scotland too aside hath lain,
And through the Queen of England’s good grace
Now in England she doth remain.
The Textis another of the lively battle-pieces from the Percy Folio, put into modern spelling, and no other version is known or needed. The battle of Durham, which the minstrel says (27.1, 64.2) was fought on a morning of May, and (64.3,4) within a month ofCreçyand Poictiers,6actually took place on October 17, 1346. Stanza 18 makes the king say to Lord Hamilton that they are of ‘kin full nigh’; and this provides an upper limit for the date of the ballad, as James Hamilton was married to Princess Mary, sister of JamesIII., in 1474.
The Story.—We have as authorities for the history of the battle both Scottish and English chronicles, but the ballad, as might be expected, follows neither very closely. Indeed it is not easy to reconcile the Scottish account with the English. David Bruce, the young king of Scotland, seized the opportunity afforded by EdwardIII.’s absence in France at the siege of Calais to invade England with a large army. They were met at Durham by an English force in three divisions, led (according to the English chronicle) by (i) the Earl of Angus, Henry Percy, Ralph Neville, and Henry Scrope, (ii) the Archbishop of York, and (iii) Mowbray, Rokeby, and John of Copland. The Scots were also in three divisions, which were led (says the Scottish version) by KingDavid, the Earl of Murray and William Douglas, and the Steward of Scotland and the Earl of March respectively. The English chronicle puts John of Douglas with the Earl of Murray, and the Earl of Buchan with King David.
The ballad, therefore, that calls Angus ‘Anguish’ (11.1) and puts him on the side of the Scots, as well as Neville (17.1), and apparently confuses the two Douglases (14 and 21), is not more at variance with history than is to be expected, and in the present case is but little more vague than the historical records themselves.
‘Vaughan’ (13.1) may be Baughan or Buchan, though it is doubtful whether there was an Earl of Buchan in 1346. ‘Fluwilliams’ (41.3) is perhaps a form of Llewellyn (Shakespeare spells it Fluellen), but this does not help to identify that lord.
6.Creçy was fought on August 26, 1346; Poictiers on September 19, 1356.
1.1.2‘[spell]’ suggested by Child.Lordings, listen and hold you still;Hearken to me a little [spell];I shall you tell of the fairest battleThat ever in England befell.2.For as it befell in Edward the Third’s days,In England, where he ware the crown,Then all the chief chivalry of EnglandThey busked and made them boun.3.They chosen all the best archersThat in England might be found,And all was to fight with the King of France,Within a little stound.4.And when our king was over the water,And on the salt sea gone,Then tidings into Scotland cameThat all England was gone.5.Bows and arrows they were all forth,At home was not left a manBut shepherds and millers both,And priests with shaven crowns.6.6.3‘leeve,’ pleasant, dear; formerly a regular epithet of London.Then the King of Scots in a study stood,As he was a man of great might;He sware he would hold his Parliament in leeve London,If he could ride there right.7.Then bespake a squire, of Scotland born,And said, ‘My liege, apace,Before you come to leeve London,Full sore you’ll rue that race.8.‘There been bold yeomen in merry England,Husbandmen stiff and strong;Sharp swords they done wear,Bearen bows and arrows long.’9.The King was angry at that word;A long sword out he drew,And there before his royal companyHis own squire he slew.10.10.1‘Hard hansel,’ bad omen.Hard hansel had the Scots that day,That wrought them woe enough,For then durst not a Scot speak a wordFor hanging at a bough.11.‘The Earl of Anguish, where art thou?In my coat-armour thou shalt be,And thou shalt lead the forwardThorough the English country.12.12.2‘stead,’ place.‘Take thee York,’ then said the King,‘In stead whereas it doth stand;I’ll make thy eldest son after theeHeir of all Northumberland.13.‘The Earl of Vaughan, where be ye?In my coat-armour thou shalt be;The high Peak and DerbyshireI give it thee to thy fee.’14.14.1‘famous’ may be a scribe’s error for ‘James.’14.3‘vanward,’ vanguard.Then came in famous Douglas,Says ‘What shall my meed be?And I’ll lead the vanward, lord,Thorough the English country.’15.15.2The manuscript gives ‘Tuxburye, Killingworth.’‘Take thee Worcester,’ said the King,‘Tewkesbury, Kenilworth, Burton upon Trent;Do thou not say another dayBut I have given thee lands and rent.16.‘Sir Richard of Edinburgh, where are ye?A wise man in this war!I’ll give thee Bristow and the shireThe time that we come there.17.‘My lord Nevill, where been ye?You must in these wars be;I’ll give thee Shrewsbury,’ says the King,‘And Coventry fair and free.18.‘My lord of Hamilton, where art thou?Thou art of my kin full nigh;I’ll give thee Lincoln and Lincolnshire,And that’s enough for thee.’19.19.2‘breme,’ fierce.By then came in William Douglas,As breme as any boar;He kneeled him down upon his knees,In his heart he sighed sore.20.Says ‘I have served you, my lovely liege,These thirty winters and four,And in the Marches between England and Scotland,I have been wounded and beaten sore.21.‘For all the good service that I have done,What shall my meed be?And I will lead the vanwardThorough the English country.’22.‘Ask on, Douglas,’ said the King,‘And granted it shall be.’‘Why then, I ask little London,’ says Will Douglas,‘Gotten if that it be.’23.The King was wrath, and rose away;Says ‘Nay, that cannot be!For that I will keep for my chief chamber,Gotten if it be.24.‘But take thee North Wales and Westchester,The country all round about,And rewarded thou shalt be,Of that take thou no doubt.’25.Five score knights he made on a day,And dubb’d them with his hands;Rewarded them right worthilyWith the towns in merry England.26.26.2‘they busk them boun,’ they make themselves ready.And when the fresh knights they were made,To battle they busk them boun;James Douglas went before,And he thought to have won him shoon.27.But they were met in a morning of MayWith the communalty of little England;But there scaped never a man away,Through the might of Christës hand.28.But all only James Douglas;In Durham in the fieldAn arrow struck him in the thigh;Fast flings he towards the King.29.The King looked toward little Durham,Says ‘All things is not well!For James Douglas bears an arrow in his thigh,The head of it is of steel.30.‘How now, James?’ then said the King,‘How now, how may this be?And where been all thy merry menThat thou took hence with thee?’31.31.4‘gate,’ way.‘But cease, my King,’ says James Douglas,‘Alive is not left a man!’‘Now by my faith,’ says the King of the Scots,‘That gate was evil gone.32.‘But I’ll revenge thy quarrel well,And of that thou may be fain;For one Scot will beat five Englishmen,If they meeten them on the plain,’33.33.4‘tho,’ then.‘Now hold your tongue,’ says James Douglas,‘For in faith that is not so;For one Englishman is worth five Scots,When they meeten together tho.34.‘For they are as eager men to fightAs a falcon upon a prey;Alas! if ever they win the vanward,There scapes no man away.’35.‘O peace thy talking,’ said the King,‘They be but English knaves,But shepherds and millers both,And priests with their staves.’36.The King sent forth one of his heralds of armesTo view the Englishmen.‘Be of good cheer,’ the herald said,‘For against one we be ten.’37.‘Who leads those lads,’ said the King of Scots,‘Thou herald, tell thou me.’The herald said ‘The Bishop of DurhamIs captain of that company.38.‘For the Bishop hath spread the King’s banner,And to battle he busks him boun.’‘I swear by St. Andrew’s bones,’ says the King,‘I’ll rap that priest on the crown.’39.The King looked towards little Durham,And that he well beheld,That the Earl Percy was well armed,With his battle-axe entered the field.40.40.2‘ancients,’ ensigns.The King looked again towards little Durham,Four ancients there see he;There were two standards, six in a valley,He could not see them with his eye.41.My lord of York was one of them,My lord of Carlisle was the other,And my lord Fluwilliams,The one came with the other.42.The Bishop of Durham commanded his men,And shortly he them bade,That never a man should go to the field to fightTill he had served his God.43.Five hundred priests said mass that dayIn Durham in the field,And afterwards, as I heard say,They bare both spear and shield.44.44.1‘orders,’ prepares.The Bishop of Durham orders himself to fightWith his battle-axe in his hand;He said ‘This day now I will fightAs long as I can stand!’45.45.4‘may,’ = maid; the Virgin.‘And so will I,’ said my lord of Carlisle,‘In this fair morning gay.’‘And so will I,’ said my lord Fluwilliams,‘For Mary, that mild may.’46.46.4‘scantly,’ scarcely.Our English archers bent their bowsShortly and anon;They shot over the Scottish hostAnd scantly touched a man.47.‘Hold down your hands,’ said the Bishop of Durham,‘My archers good and true.’The second shoot that they shot,Full sore the Scots it rue.48.48.4‘cheer,’ face, appearance.The Bishop of Durham spoke on highThat both parties might hear,‘Be of good cheer, my merrymen all,The Scots flien and changen their cheer.’49.49.4‘dree,’ hold out.But as they saiden, so they diden,They fell on heapës high;Our Englishmen laid on with their bowsAs fast as they might dree.50.The King of Scots in a study stoodAmongst his company;An arrow struck him thorough the nose,And thorough his armoury.51.The King went to a marsh-sideAnd light beside his steed;He leaned him down on his sword-hiltsTo let his nose bleed.52.There followed him a yeoman of merry England,His name was John of Copland;‘Yield thee, traitor!’ says Copland then,‘Thy life lies in my hand.’53.53.2‘And,’ if.‘How should I yield me,’ says the King,‘And thou art no gentleman?’‘No, by my troth,’ says Copland there,‘I am but a poor yeoman.54.‘What art thou better than I, sir King?Tell me, if that thou can!What art thou better than I, sir King,Now we be but man to man?’55.The King smote angrily at Copland then,Angrily in that stound;And then Copland was a bold yeoman,And bore the King to the ground.56.He set the King upon a palfrey,Himself upon a steed;He took him by the bridle-rein,Towards London he gan him lead.57.And when to London that he came,The King from France was new come home,And there unto the King of ScotsHe said these words anon.58.‘How like you my shepherds and my millers?My priests with shaven crowns?’‘By my faith, they are the sorest fighting menThat ever I met on the ground.59.‘There was never a yeoman in merry EnglandBut he was worth a Scottish knight.’‘Ay, by my troth,’ said King Edward, and laugh,‘For you fought all against the right.’60.But now the prince of merry EnglandWorthily under his shieldHath taken the King of France,At Poictiers in the field.61.61.1‘food,’ man.The prince did present his father with that food,The lovely King of France,And forward of his journey he is gone.God send us all good chance!62.62.1The last five words are perhaps inserted by the scribe.62.3‘leve,’ grant.‘You are welcome, brother!’ said the King of Scots to the King of France,‘For I am come hither too soon;Christ leve that I had taken my wayUnto the court of Rome!’63.‘And so would I,’ said the King of France,‘When I came over the stream,That I had taken my journeyUnto Jerusalem!’64.Thus ends the battle of fair Durham,In one morning of May,The battle of Creçy, and the battle of Poictiers,All within one monthës day.65.Then was wealth and welfare in merry England,Solaces, game, and glee,And every man loved other well,And the king loved good yeomanry.66.But God that made the grass to grow,And leaves on greenwood tree,Now save and keep our noble King,And maintain good yeomanry!
1.
1.2‘[spell]’ suggested by Child.
Lordings, listen and hold you still;
Hearken to me a little [spell];
I shall you tell of the fairest battle
That ever in England befell.
2.
For as it befell in Edward the Third’s days,
In England, where he ware the crown,
Then all the chief chivalry of England
They busked and made them boun.
3.
They chosen all the best archers
That in England might be found,
And all was to fight with the King of France,
Within a little stound.
4.
And when our king was over the water,
And on the salt sea gone,
Then tidings into Scotland came
That all England was gone.
5.
Bows and arrows they were all forth,
At home was not left a man
But shepherds and millers both,
And priests with shaven crowns.
6.
6.3‘leeve,’ pleasant, dear; formerly a regular epithet of London.
Then the King of Scots in a study stood,
As he was a man of great might;
He sware he would hold his Parliament in leeve London,
If he could ride there right.
7.
Then bespake a squire, of Scotland born,
And said, ‘My liege, apace,
Before you come to leeve London,
Full sore you’ll rue that race.
8.
‘There been bold yeomen in merry England,
Husbandmen stiff and strong;
Sharp swords they done wear,
Bearen bows and arrows long.’
9.
The King was angry at that word;
A long sword out he drew,
And there before his royal company
His own squire he slew.
10.
10.1‘Hard hansel,’ bad omen.
Hard hansel had the Scots that day,
That wrought them woe enough,
For then durst not a Scot speak a word
For hanging at a bough.
11.
‘The Earl of Anguish, where art thou?
In my coat-armour thou shalt be,
And thou shalt lead the forward
Thorough the English country.
12.
12.2‘stead,’ place.
‘Take thee York,’ then said the King,
‘In stead whereas it doth stand;
I’ll make thy eldest son after thee
Heir of all Northumberland.
13.
‘The Earl of Vaughan, where be ye?
In my coat-armour thou shalt be;
The high Peak and Derbyshire
I give it thee to thy fee.’
14.
14.1‘famous’ may be a scribe’s error for ‘James.’
14.3‘vanward,’ vanguard.
Then came in famous Douglas,
Says ‘What shall my meed be?
And I’ll lead the vanward, lord,
Thorough the English country.’
15.
15.2The manuscript gives ‘Tuxburye, Killingworth.’
‘Take thee Worcester,’ said the King,
‘Tewkesbury, Kenilworth, Burton upon Trent;
Do thou not say another day
But I have given thee lands and rent.
16.
‘Sir Richard of Edinburgh, where are ye?
A wise man in this war!
I’ll give thee Bristow and the shire
The time that we come there.
17.
‘My lord Nevill, where been ye?
You must in these wars be;
I’ll give thee Shrewsbury,’ says the King,
‘And Coventry fair and free.
18.
‘My lord of Hamilton, where art thou?
Thou art of my kin full nigh;
I’ll give thee Lincoln and Lincolnshire,
And that’s enough for thee.’
19.
19.2‘breme,’ fierce.
By then came in William Douglas,
As breme as any boar;
He kneeled him down upon his knees,
In his heart he sighed sore.
20.
Says ‘I have served you, my lovely liege,
These thirty winters and four,
And in the Marches between England and Scotland,
I have been wounded and beaten sore.
21.
‘For all the good service that I have done,
What shall my meed be?
And I will lead the vanward
Thorough the English country.’
22.
‘Ask on, Douglas,’ said the King,
‘And granted it shall be.’
‘Why then, I ask little London,’ says Will Douglas,
‘Gotten if that it be.’
23.
The King was wrath, and rose away;
Says ‘Nay, that cannot be!
For that I will keep for my chief chamber,
Gotten if it be.
24.
‘But take thee North Wales and Westchester,
The country all round about,
And rewarded thou shalt be,
Of that take thou no doubt.’
25.
Five score knights he made on a day,
And dubb’d them with his hands;
Rewarded them right worthily
With the towns in merry England.
26.
26.2‘they busk them boun,’ they make themselves ready.
And when the fresh knights they were made,
To battle they busk them boun;
James Douglas went before,
And he thought to have won him shoon.
27.
But they were met in a morning of May
With the communalty of little England;
But there scaped never a man away,
Through the might of Christës hand.
28.
But all only James Douglas;
In Durham in the field
An arrow struck him in the thigh;
Fast flings he towards the King.
29.
The King looked toward little Durham,
Says ‘All things is not well!
For James Douglas bears an arrow in his thigh,
The head of it is of steel.
30.
‘How now, James?’ then said the King,
‘How now, how may this be?
And where been all thy merry men
That thou took hence with thee?’
31.
31.4‘gate,’ way.
‘But cease, my King,’ says James Douglas,
‘Alive is not left a man!’
‘Now by my faith,’ says the King of the Scots,
‘That gate was evil gone.
32.
‘But I’ll revenge thy quarrel well,
And of that thou may be fain;
For one Scot will beat five Englishmen,
If they meeten them on the plain,’
33.
33.4‘tho,’ then.
‘Now hold your tongue,’ says James Douglas,
‘For in faith that is not so;
For one Englishman is worth five Scots,
When they meeten together tho.
34.
‘For they are as eager men to fight
As a falcon upon a prey;
Alas! if ever they win the vanward,
There scapes no man away.’
35.
‘O peace thy talking,’ said the King,
‘They be but English knaves,
But shepherds and millers both,
And priests with their staves.’
36.
The King sent forth one of his heralds of armes
To view the Englishmen.
‘Be of good cheer,’ the herald said,
‘For against one we be ten.’
37.
‘Who leads those lads,’ said the King of Scots,
‘Thou herald, tell thou me.’
The herald said ‘The Bishop of Durham
Is captain of that company.
38.
‘For the Bishop hath spread the King’s banner,
And to battle he busks him boun.’
‘I swear by St. Andrew’s bones,’ says the King,
‘I’ll rap that priest on the crown.’
39.
The King looked towards little Durham,
And that he well beheld,
That the Earl Percy was well armed,
With his battle-axe entered the field.
40.
40.2‘ancients,’ ensigns.
The King looked again towards little Durham,
Four ancients there see he;
There were two standards, six in a valley,
He could not see them with his eye.
41.
My lord of York was one of them,
My lord of Carlisle was the other,
And my lord Fluwilliams,
The one came with the other.
42.
The Bishop of Durham commanded his men,
And shortly he them bade,
That never a man should go to the field to fight
Till he had served his God.
43.
Five hundred priests said mass that day
In Durham in the field,
And afterwards, as I heard say,
They bare both spear and shield.
44.
44.1‘orders,’ prepares.
The Bishop of Durham orders himself to fight
With his battle-axe in his hand;
He said ‘This day now I will fight
As long as I can stand!’
45.
45.4‘may,’ = maid; the Virgin.
‘And so will I,’ said my lord of Carlisle,
‘In this fair morning gay.’
‘And so will I,’ said my lord Fluwilliams,
‘For Mary, that mild may.’
46.
46.4‘scantly,’ scarcely.
Our English archers bent their bows
Shortly and anon;
They shot over the Scottish host
And scantly touched a man.
47.
‘Hold down your hands,’ said the Bishop of Durham,
‘My archers good and true.’
The second shoot that they shot,
Full sore the Scots it rue.
48.
48.4‘cheer,’ face, appearance.
The Bishop of Durham spoke on high
That both parties might hear,
‘Be of good cheer, my merrymen all,
The Scots flien and changen their cheer.’
49.
49.4‘dree,’ hold out.
But as they saiden, so they diden,
They fell on heapës high;
Our Englishmen laid on with their bows
As fast as they might dree.
50.
The King of Scots in a study stood
Amongst his company;
An arrow struck him thorough the nose,
And thorough his armoury.
51.
The King went to a marsh-side
And light beside his steed;
He leaned him down on his sword-hilts
To let his nose bleed.
52.
There followed him a yeoman of merry England,
His name was John of Copland;
‘Yield thee, traitor!’ says Copland then,
‘Thy life lies in my hand.’
53.
53.2‘And,’ if.
‘How should I yield me,’ says the King,
‘And thou art no gentleman?’
‘No, by my troth,’ says Copland there,
‘I am but a poor yeoman.
54.
‘What art thou better than I, sir King?
Tell me, if that thou can!
What art thou better than I, sir King,
Now we be but man to man?’
55.
The King smote angrily at Copland then,
Angrily in that stound;
And then Copland was a bold yeoman,
And bore the King to the ground.
56.
He set the King upon a palfrey,
Himself upon a steed;
He took him by the bridle-rein,
Towards London he gan him lead.
57.
And when to London that he came,
The King from France was new come home,
And there unto the King of Scots
He said these words anon.
58.
‘How like you my shepherds and my millers?
My priests with shaven crowns?’
‘By my faith, they are the sorest fighting men
That ever I met on the ground.
59.
‘There was never a yeoman in merry England
But he was worth a Scottish knight.’
‘Ay, by my troth,’ said King Edward, and laugh,
‘For you fought all against the right.’
60.
But now the prince of merry England
Worthily under his shield
Hath taken the King of France,
At Poictiers in the field.
61.
61.1‘food,’ man.
The prince did present his father with that food,
The lovely King of France,
And forward of his journey he is gone.
God send us all good chance!
62.
62.1The last five words are perhaps inserted by the scribe.
62.3‘leve,’ grant.
‘You are welcome, brother!’ said the King of Scots to the King of France,
‘For I am come hither too soon;
Christ leve that I had taken my way
Unto the court of Rome!’
63.
‘And so would I,’ said the King of France,
‘When I came over the stream,
That I had taken my journey
Unto Jerusalem!’
64.
Thus ends the battle of fair Durham,
In one morning of May,
The battle of Creçy, and the battle of Poictiers,
All within one monthës day.
65.
Then was wealth and welfare in merry England,
Solaces, game, and glee,
And every man loved other well,
And the king loved good yeomanry.
66.
But God that made the grass to grow,
And leaves on greenwood tree,
Now save and keep our noble King,
And maintain good yeomanry!