A. a.'Gil Brenton,' Jamieson Brown MS., fol. 34.b.'Chil Brenton,' William Tytler Brown MS., No 3.B.'Cospatrick,' Scott's Minstrelsy,II, 117 (1802).C.'We were sisters, we were seven,' Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 207.D.'Lord Dingwall,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland,I, 204.E.Elizabeth Cochrane's song-book, No 112.F. a.'Lord Brangwill,' Motherwell's MSS, p. 219.b.'Lord Bengwill,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xvi.G.'Bothwell,' Herd's Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, p. 244.H.Kinloch MSS,V, 335.
A. a.'Gil Brenton,' Jamieson Brown MS., fol. 34.b.'Chil Brenton,' William Tytler Brown MS., No 3.
B.'Cospatrick,' Scott's Minstrelsy,II, 117 (1802).
C.'We were sisters, we were seven,' Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 207.
D.'Lord Dingwall,' Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland,I, 204.
E.Elizabeth Cochrane's song-book, No 112.
F. a.'Lord Brangwill,' Motherwell's MSS, p. 219.b.'Lord Bengwill,' Motherwell's Minstrelsy, Appendix, p. xvi.
G.'Bothwell,' Herd's Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, p. 244.
H.Kinloch MSS,V, 335.
Eight copies of this ballad are extant, four of them hitherto unpublished.A a, No 16 in the Jamieson-Brown MS., is one of twenty ballads written down from the recitation of Mrs. Brown of Falkland, by her nephew, Robert Scott, in 1783, or shortly before. From these twenty thirteen were selected, and, having first been revised by Mrs. Brown, were sent, with two others, to William Tytler in the year just mentioned. William Tytler's MS. has disappeared, but a list of the ballads which it contained, with the first stanza of each, is given by Dr Anderson, in Nichols's Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century,VII, 176.Bis the 'Cospatrick' of the Border Minstrelsy, described by Scott as taken down from the recitation of a lady (known to be Miss Christian Rutherford, his mother's sister) "with some stanzas transferred from Herd's copy, and some readings adopted from a copy in Mrs Brown's manuscript under the title of Child Brenton," that is, fromA b.Cpurports to be one of a considerable number of pieces, "copied from the recital of a peasant-woman of Galloway, upwards of ninety years of age." Though overlaid with verses of Cunningham's making (of which forty or fifty may be excided in one mass) and though retouched almost everywhere, both the groundwork of the story and some genuine lines remain unimpaired. The omission of most of the passage referred to, and the restoration of the stanza form, will give us, perhaps, a thing of shreds and patches, but still a ballad as near to genuine as some in Percy's Reliques or even Scott's Minstrelsy.DandFare (the former presumably, the second certainly) from recitation of the first quarter of thiscentury.Eis one of the few ballads in Elizabeth Cochrane's song-book, and probably of the first half of the last century.G, the earliest printed form of the ballad, appeared in Herd's first collection, in the year 1769.Hwas taken down from recitation by the late Dr Hill Burton in his youth.
A,B, andCagree in these points: A bride, not being a maid, looks forward with alarm to her wedding night, and induces her bower-woman to take her place for the nonce. The imposture is detected by the bridegroom, through the agency of magical blankets, sheets, and pillows,A; or of blankets, bed, sheet, and sword,B; or simply of the Billie Blin,C. (The sword is probably an editorial insertion; and Jamieson, Illustrations of Northern Antiquities, p. 343, doubts, but without sufficient reason, the Billie Blin.) The bridegroom has recourse to his mother, who demands an explanation of the bride, and elicits a confession that she had once upon a time encountered a young man in a wood, who subjected her to violence. Before they parted, he gave her certain tokens, which he enjoined her to be very careful of, a lock of his hair, a string of beads, a gold ring, and a knife.Bomits the knife, andCthe beads. The mother goes back to her son, and asks what he had done with the tokens she had charged him never to part with. He owns that he had presented them to a lady, one whom he would now give all his possessions to have for his wife. The lady of the greenwood is identified by the tokens.
A,C, andDmake the mother set a golden chair for the bride, in which none but a maid can sit,D[no leal maid will sit till bidden,C]. InDthe chair is declined; inC, taken without bidding; inAthe significance of the chair has been lost.E,F,Gemploy no kind of test of maidenhood,—the bride frankly avows that she is with child to another man; andD, as well asE,F,G, omits the substitution of the chambermaid. The tokens inDare a chain, a ring, and three locks of hair; inE, gloves and a ring; inF,G, green gloves, a ring, and three locks [plaits] of hair. Only the ring remains inH.
"This ballad," says Motherwell (1827), "is very popular, and is known to reciters under a variety of names. I have heard it called Lord Bangwell, Bengwill, Dingwall, Brengwill, etc., and The Seven Sisters, or the Leaves of Lind." He adds: "There is an unedited ballad in Scotland, which is a nearer approximation to the Danish song, inasmuch as the substitution of the maiden sister for the real bride constitutes a prominent feature of the tale."[94](Minstrelsy, Introduction, lxix21and xc.)
Scott remarks that Cospatrick[95]"was the designation of the Earl of Dunbar, in the days of Wallace and Bruce." Mr Macmath informs me that it is in use at the present day in the families of the Earl of Home and of Dunbar of Mochrum, Bart, who, among others, claim descent from the ancient earls of Dunbar and March. The story of the ballad might, of course, attach itself to any person prominent in the region where the ballad was known.
Swedish.Three Swedish versions of this ballad were given by Afzelius:A, 'Riddar Olle' in 50 two-line stanzas,II, 217;B, 19 two-line stanzas,II, 59;C, 19 two-line stanzas,II, 56: No 33,I, 175-182 of Bergström's edition. Besides these, there are two fragments in Cavallius and Stephens's unprinted collection:D, 6 stanzas;E, 7 stanzas, the latter printed in Grundtvig,V, 307.[96]Allthese were obtained from recitation in the present century.Acomes nearest to ourA,B. Like ScottishB, it seems to have been compounded from several copies. Sir Olof betrothed Ingalilla, and carried her home for the spousal, wearing a red gold crown and a wan cheek. Ingalilla gave birth to twin-boys. Olof had a maid who resembled Ingalilla completely, and who, upon Ingalilla's entreaty, consented to play the part of bride on the morrow. Dressed in Ingalilla's clothes, blue kirtle, green jacket, etc., and wearing five gold rings and a gold crown, the maid rode to church, with Ingalilla at her back, and her beauty was admired by all as she came and went. But outside of the church were a good many musicians; and one of these piped out, "God-a-mercy, Ingalilla, no maid art thou!" Ingalilla threw into the piper's hand something which made him change his tune. He was an old drunken fellow, and no one need mind what he sang. After five days of drinking, they took the bride to her chamber, not without force. Ingalilla bore the light before her, and helped put her to bed; then lay down herself. Olof had over him a fur rug, which could talk as well as he, and it called out,
'Hear me, Sir Olof, hear what I say;Thou hast taken a strumpet, and missed a may.'
'Hear me, Sir Olof, hear what I say;Thou hast taken a strumpet, and missed a may.'
And Olof,
'Hear, little Inga, sweetheart,' he said;'What didst thou get for thy maidenhead?'[97]
'Hear, little Inga, sweetheart,' he said;'What didst thou get for thy maidenhead?'[97]
Inga explained. Her father was a strange sort of man, and built her bower by the sea-strand, where all the king's courtiers took ship. Nine had broken in, and one had robbed her of her honor. He had given her an embroidered sark, a blue kirtle, green jacket, black mantle, gloves, five gold rings, a red gold crown, a golden harp, and a silver-mounted knife, which she now wishes in the youngster's body. The conclusion is abruptly told in two stanzas. Olof bids Inga not to talk so, for he is father of her children. He embraces her and gives her a queen's crown and name.Bhas the same story, omitting the incident of the musician.Chas preserved this circumstance, but has lost both the substitution of the waiting-woman for the bride and the magical coverlet.Dhas also lost these important features of the original story;Ehas retained them.
Danish.'Brud ikke Mø,' Grundtvig, No 274,V, 304. There are two old versions (more properly only one, so close is the agreement), and a third from recent tradition. This last, Grundtvig'sC, from Jutland, 1856, seems to be of Swedish origin, and, like SwedishC,D, wants the talking coverlet, though it has kept the other material feature, that of the substitution.Ais found in two manuscripts, one of the sixteenth and the other of the seventeenth century.Bis the well-known 'Ingefred og Gudrune,' or 'Herr Samsings Nattergale,' Syv,IV, No 62, Danske Viser, No 194, translated in Jamieson's Illustrations, p. 340, and by Prior,III, 347. A later form ofB, from recent recitation, 1868, is given in Kristensen's Jydske Folkeviser,I, No 53.
The story inAruns thus: Sølverlad and Vendelrod [Ingefred and Gudrune] were sitting together, and Vendelrod wept sorely. Sølverlad asked her sister the reason, and was told there was cause. Would she be bride one night? Vendelrod would give her wedding clothes and all her outfit. But Sølverlad asked for bridegroom too, and Vendelrod would not give up her bridegroom, happen what might. She went to church and was married to Samsing. On the way from church they met a spaeman [B, shepherd], who warned Vendelrod that Samsing had some nightingales that could tell him whether he had married a maid or no. The sisters turned asideand changed clothes, but could not change cheeks! Sølverlad was conducted to Samsing's house and placed on the bride bench. An unlucky jester called out, "Methinks this is not Vendelrod!" but a gold ring adroitly thrown into his bosom opened his eyes still wider, and made him pretend he had meant nothing. The supposed bride is put to bed. Samsing invokes his nightingales: "Have I a maid or no?" They reply, it is a maid that lies in the bed, but Vendelrod stands on the floor. Samsing asks Vendelrod why she avoided her bed, and she answers: her father lived on the strand; her bower was broken into by a large company of men, and one of them robbed her of her honor. In this case there are no tokens for evidence. Samsing owns immediately that he and his men had broken into the bower, and Vendelrod's agony is over.
Some of the usual tokens, gold harp, sark, shoes, and silver-mounted knife, are found in the laterC. DanishDis but a single initial stanza.
Besides Sølverlad and Vendelrod, there is a considerable number of Danish ballads characterized by the feature that a bride is not a maid, and most or all of these have similarities to 'Gil Brenton.' 'Hr. Find og Vendelrod,' Grundtvig, No 275, has even the talking blanket (sometimes misunderstood to be a bed-board). In this piece there is no substitution. Vendelrod gives birth to children, and the news makes Find jump over the table. Still he puts the question mildly, who is the father, and recognizes that he is the man, upon hearing the story of the bower on the strand, and seeing half a gold ring which Vendelrod had received "for her honor."
In 'Ingelilles Bryllup,' Grundtvig, No 276, Blidelild is induced to take Ingelild's place by the promise that she shall marry Ingelild's brother. Hr. Magnus asks her why she is so sad, and says he knows she is not a maid. Blidelild says, "Since you know so much, I will tell you more," and relates Ingelild's adventure,—how she had gone out to the river, and nine knights came riding by, etc. [soA; inBandCwe have the bower on the strand, as before]. Hr. Magnus avows that he was the ninth, who stayed when eight rode away. Blidelild begs that he will allow her to go and look for some lost rings, and uses the opportunity to send back Ingelild in her stead.
Various other Scandinavian ballads have more or less of the story of those which have been mentioned. In the Danish 'Brud i Vaande,' Grundtvig, No 277, a bride is taken with untimely pains while being "brought home." The question asked in several of the Scottish ballads, whether the saddle is uncomfortable, occurs inA,B; the bower that was forced by eight swains and a knight inA,C,D,F; the gifts inA,B,F; and an express acknowledgment of the act of violence by the bridegroom inA,B,D. We find all of these traits except the first in the corresponding Swedish ballad 'Herr Äster och Fröken Sissa,' Afzelius, No 38, new ed., No 32,1; the saddle and broken bower in SwedishD, Grundtvig, No 277, Bilag 1; only the saddle in SwedishF, Grundtvig, No. 277, Bilag 3, andC, Arwidsson, No 132; the saddle and gifts in IcelandicA,B,C,D,E, Grundtvig, No 277, Bilag 5, 6, 7, 8.
'Peder og Malfred,' Grundtvig, No 278, in four versions, the oldest from a manuscript of 1630, represents Sir Peter as riding away from home about a month after his marriage, and meeting a woman who informs him that there is a birth in his house. He returns, and asks who is the father. Sir Peter satisfies himself that he is the man by identifying the gifts, inA,B,C,D; and inA,Bwe have also the bower by the strand.
In 'Oluf og Ellinsborg,' Grundtvig, No 279,A,B,C, one of the queen's ladies is habitually sad, and is pressed by her lover to account for this. She endeavors to put him off with fictitious reasons, but finally nerves herself to tell the truth: she was walking by herself in her orchard, when five knights came riding by, and one was the cause of her grief. Oluf owns it was all his doing. A Swedish ballad, remarkably close to the Danish, from a manuscript of the date 1572 (the oldest Danish version is also from a manuscript ofthe 16th century), is 'Riddar Lage och Stolts Elensborg,' Arwidsson, No 56.
'Iver Hr. Jonsøn,' Grundtvig, No 280, in five versions, the oldest of the 16th century, exhibits a lady as fearing the arrival of her lover's ship, and sending her mother to meet him, while she takes to her bed. Immediately upon her betrothed's entering her chamber, she abruptly discloses the cause of her trouble. Eight men had broken into her bower on the strand, and the ninth deprived her of her honor. Iver Hr. Jonsøn, with as little delay, confesses that he was the culprit, and makes prompt arrangements for the wedding.
There is another series of ballads, represented by 'Leesome Brand' in English, and by 'Redselille og Medelvold' in Danish, which describe a young woman, who is on the point of becoming a mother, as compelled to go off on horseback with her lover, and suffering from the ride. We find the question, whether the saddle is too narrow or the way too long, in the Danish 'Bolde Hr. Nilaus' Løn,' Grundtvig, 270, 'Redselille og Medelvold,' Grundtvig, 271C,D,E,I,K,L,M,P,Q,V,Y, and the Norwegian versions,A,D,E,F, of 'Sønnens Sorg,' Grundtvig, 272, Bilag 1, 4, 5, 6.[98]The gifts also occur in Grundtvig's 271A,Z, and NorwegianD, Bilag 9.
Perhaps no set of incidents is repeated so often in northern ballads as the forcing of the bower on the strand, the giving of keepsakes, the self-identification of the ravisher through these, and his full and hearty reparation. All or some of these traits are found in many ballads besides those belonging to the groups here spoken of: as 'Hildebrand og Hilde,'E,I, Grundtvig, No 83, and NorwegianA,III, 857; 'Guldsmedens Datter,' Grundtvig, 245, and its Swedish counterpart at p. 481 of the preface to the same, and in Eva Wigström's Folkdiktning, p. 37, No 18; 'Liden Kirstins Dans,' Grundtvig, 263 (translated by Prior, 112), and NorwegianB,C, Bilag 2, 3; 'Jomfruens Harpeslæt,' Grundtvig, 265 (translated by Jamieson, 'Illustrations,' p. 382, Prior, 123, Buchanan, p. 6), and SwedishD, Bilag 2, SwedishA, Afzelius, 81. So Landstad, 42, 45; Arwidsson, 141; Grundtvig, 37G; 38A,D; Kristensen,I, No 95,II, No 28A,C.
A very pretty Norwegian tale has for the talisman a stepping-stone at the side of the bed: Asbjørnsen og Moe, No 29, 'Vesle Aase Gaasepige,' Dasent, 2d ed., p. 478. An English prince had pictures taken of all the handsomest princesses, to pick his bride by. When the chosen one arrived, Aase the goose-girl informed her that the stone at the bedside knew everything and told the prince; so if she felt uneasy on any account, she must not step on it. The princess begged Aase to take her place till the prince was fast asleep, and then they would change. When Aase came and put her foot on the stone, the prince asked, "Who is it that is stepping into my bed?" "A maid clean and pure," answered the stone. By and by the princess came and took Aase's place. When they were getting up in the morning, the prince asked again, "Who is it stepping out of my bed?" "One that has had three children," said the stone. The prince sent his first choice away, and tried a second. Aase faithfully warned her, and she had cause for heeding the advice. When Aase stepped in, the stone said it was a maid clean and pure; when the princess stepped out, the stone said it was one that had had six children. The prince was longer in hitting on a third choice. Aase took the bride's place once more, but this time the prince put a ring on her finger, which was so tight that she could not get it off, for he saw that all was not right. In the morning, when he asked, "Who is stepping out of my bed?" the stone answered, "One that has had nine children." Then the prince asked the stone to clear up the mystery, and it revealed how the princesses had put little Aase in their place. The prince went straight to Aase to see if she had the ring. She had tied a rag over her finger, pretending she had cut it; but the prince soon had the rag off, recognized his ring, and Aase got the prince, for the good reason that so it was to be.
The artifice of substituting waiting-womanfor bride has been thought to be derived from the romance of Tristan, in which Brangwain [Brengain, Brangaene] sacrifices herself for Isold: Scott's 'Sir Tristrem,' ii, 54; GottfriedV. Strassburg, xviii, ed. Bechstein. Grundtvig truly remarks that a borrowing by the romance from the popular ballad is as probable a supposition as the converse; and that, even should we grant the name of the hero of the ballad to be a reminiscence of that of Isold's attendant (e. g. Brangwill of Brangwain), nothing follows as to the priority of the romance in respect to this passage. A similar artifice is employed in the ballad of 'Torkild Trundeson,' Danske Viser, 200 (translated by Prior, 100); Afzelius,II, 86, from the Danish; Arwidsson, 36. The resemblance is close to 'Ingelilles Bryllup,'C, Grundtvig, 276. See also, further on, 'The Twa Knights.'
The Billie Blin presents himself in at least four Scottish ballads:'Gil Brenton,'C;'Willie's Lady;'one version of'Young Beichan;'two of 'The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter;' and also in the English ballad of 'King Arthur and the King of Cornwall,' here under the slightly disfigured name of Burlow Beanie.[99]In all he is a serviceable household demon; of a decidedly benignant disposition in the first four, and, though a loathly fiend with seven heads in the last, very obedient and useful when once thoroughly subdued. He is clearly of the same nature as the Dutchbelewitteand Germanbilwiz, characterized by Grimm as a friendly domestic genius,penas,guote holde; and the names are actually associated in a passage cited by Grimm from Voet: "De illis quos nostrates appellantbeeldwit et blinde belien, a quibus nocturna visa videri atque ex iis arcana revelari putant."[100]Though the etymology of these words is not unencumbered with difficulty,bilseems to point to a just and kindly-tempered being. Bilvís, in the seventh book of Saxo Grammaticus, is an aged counsellor whose bent is to make peace, while his brother Bölvís, a blind man, is a strife-breeder and mischief-maker.[101]The same opposition of Bil and Böl apparently occurs in the Edda, Grímnismál, 474, where Bil-eygr and Böl-eygr (Bal-eygr) are appellatives of Odin, which may signify mild-eyed and evil-eyed. Bölvís is found again in the Hrômund's saga, under the description of 'Blind the Bad,' and 'the Carl Blind whose name was Bavís.' But much of this saga is taken from the story of Helgi Hundingslayer; and Blind the Bad in the saga is only Sæmund's Blindr inn bölvísi,—the blind man whose baleful wit sees through the disguise of Helgi, and all but betrays the rash hero to his enemies; that is, Odin in his malicious mood (Bölverkr), who will presently be seen in the ballad of'Earl Brand'masking as Old Carl Hood, "aye for ill and never for good." Originally and properly, perhaps, only the bad member of this mythical pair is blind; but it would not be at all strange that later tradition, which confuses and degrades so much in the old mythology, should transfer blindness to the good-natured one, and give rise to the anomalous Billie Blind. See Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, 1879,I, 391 ff; Uhland, Zur Geschichte der Dichtung u. Sage,III, 132 ff,VII, 229; Schmeller, Bayerisches Wörterbuch,II, 1037 ff, ed. 1877; Van den Bergh, Woordenboek der nederlandsche Mythologie, 12.
It has been suggested to me that "the Haleigh throw" inE6 is a corruption of the High Leith Row, a street in Edinburgh. I have not as yet been able to obtain information of such a street.
Dis translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 40, p. 262.
a.Jamieson-Brown MS., No 16, fol. 34.b.William Tytler's Brown MS., No 3. From the recitation of Mrs Brown of Falkland, 1783, Aberdeenshire.
a.Jamieson-Brown MS., No 16, fol. 34.b.William Tytler's Brown MS., No 3. From the recitation of Mrs Brown of Falkland, 1783, Aberdeenshire.
1Gil Brenton has sent oer the fame,He's woo'd a wife an brought her hame.2Full sevenscore o ships came her wi,The lady by the greenwood tree.3There was twal an twal wi beer an wine,An twal an twal wi muskadine:4An twall an twall wi bouted flowr,An twall an twall wi paramour:5An twall an twall wi baken bread,An twall an twall wi the goud sae red.6Sweet Willy was a widow's son,An at her stirrup-foot he did run.7An she was dressd i the finest pa,But ay she loot the tears down fa.8An she was deckd wi the fairest flowrs,But ay she loot the tears down pour.9'O is there water i your shee?Or does the win blaw i your glee?10'Or are you mourning i your meedThat eer you left your mither gueede?11'Or are ye mourning i your tideThat ever ye was Gil Brenton's bride?'12'The[re] is nae water i my shee,Nor does the win blaw i my glee:13'Nor am I mourning i my tideThat eer I was Gil Brenton's bride:14'But I am mourning i my meedThat ever I left my mither gueede.15'But, bonny boy, tell to meWhat is the customs o your country.'16'The customs o't, my dame,' he says,'Will ill a gentle lady please.17'Seven king's daughters has our king wedded,An seven king's daughters has our king bedded.18'But he's cutted the paps frae their breast-bane,An sent them mourning hame again.19'But whan you come to the palace yate,His mither a golden chair will set.20'An be you maid or be you nane,O sit you there till the day be dane.21'An gin you're sure that you are a maid,Ye may gang safely to his bed.22'But gin o that you be na sure,Then hire some woman o youre bowr.'23O whan she came to the palace yate,His mither a golden chair did set.24An was she maid or was she nane,She sat in it till the day was dane.25An she's calld on her bowr woman,That waiting was her bowr within.26'Five hundred pound, maid, I'll gi to the,An sleep this night wi the king for me.'27Whan bells was rung, an mass was sung,An a' man unto bed was gone,28Gil Brenton an the bonny maidIntill ae chamber they were laid.29'O speak to me, blankets, an speak to me, sheets,An speak to me, cods, that under me sleeps;30'Is this a maid that I ha wedded?Is this a maid that I ha bedded?'31'It's nae a maid that you ha wedded,But it's a maid that you ha bedded.32'Your lady's in her bigly bowr,An for you she drees mony sharp showr.'33O he has taen him thro the ha,And on his mither he did ca.34'I am the most unhappy manThat ever was in christend lan.35'I woo'd a maiden meek an mild,An I've marryed a woman great wi child.'36'O stay, my son, intill this ha,An sport you wi your merry men a'.37'An I'll gang to yon painted bowr,An see how't fares wi yon base whore.'38The auld queen she was stark an strang;She gard the door flee aff the ban.39The auld queen she was stark an steer;She gard the door lye i the fleer.40'O is your bairn to laird or loon?Or is it to your father's groom?'41'My bairn's na to laird or loon,Nor is it to my father's groom.42'But hear me, mither, on my knee,An my hard wierd I'll tell to thee.43'O we were sisters, sisters seven,We was the fairest under heaven.44'We had nae mair for our seven years warkBut to shape an suc the king's son a sark.45'O it fell on a Saturday's afternoon,Whan a' our langsome wark was dane,46'We keist the cavils us amang,To see which shoud to the greenwood gang.47'Ohone, alas! for I was youngest,An ay my wierd it was the hardest.48'The cavil it did on me fa,Which was the cause of a' my wae.49'For to the greenwood I must gae,To pu the nut but an the slae;50'To pu the red rose an the thyme,To strew my mother's bowr and mine.51'I had na pu'd a flowr but ane,Till by there came a jelly hind greeme,52'Wi high-colld hose an laigh-colld shoone,An he 'peard to be some kingis son.53'An be I maid or be I nane,He kept me there till the day was dane.54'An be I maid or be I nae,He kept me there till the close of day.55'He gae me a lock of yallow hair,An bade me keep it for ever mair.56'He gae me a carket o gude black beads,An bade me keep them against my needs.57'He gae to me a gay gold ring,An bade me ke[e]p it aboon a' thing.58'He gae to me a little pen-kniffe,An bade me keep it as my life.'59'What did you wi these tokens rareThat ye got frae that young man there?'60'O bring that coffer hear to me,And a' the tokens ye sal see.'61An ay she ranked, an ay she flang,Till a' the tokens came till her han.62'O stay here, daughter, your bowr within,Till I gae parley wi my son.'63O she has taen her thro the ha,An on her son began to ca.64'What did you wi that gay gold ringI bade you keep aboon a' thing?65'What did you wi that little pen-kniffeI bade you keep while you had life?66'What did you wi that yallow hairI bade you keep for ever mair?67'What did you wi that good black beedsI bade you keep against your needs?'68'I gae them to a lady gayI met i the greenwood on a day.69'An I would gi a' my father's lan,I had that lady my yates within.70'I would gi a' my ha's an towrs,I had that bright burd i my bowrs.'71'O son, keep still your father's lan;You hae that lady your yates within.72'An keep you still your ha's an towrs;You hae that bright burd i your bowrs.'73Now or a month was come an gone,This lady bare a bonny young son.74An it was well written on his breast-bane'Gil Brenton is my father's name.'
1Gil Brenton has sent oer the fame,He's woo'd a wife an brought her hame.
2Full sevenscore o ships came her wi,The lady by the greenwood tree.
3There was twal an twal wi beer an wine,An twal an twal wi muskadine:
4An twall an twall wi bouted flowr,An twall an twall wi paramour:
5An twall an twall wi baken bread,An twall an twall wi the goud sae red.
6Sweet Willy was a widow's son,An at her stirrup-foot he did run.
7An she was dressd i the finest pa,But ay she loot the tears down fa.
8An she was deckd wi the fairest flowrs,But ay she loot the tears down pour.
9'O is there water i your shee?Or does the win blaw i your glee?
10'Or are you mourning i your meedThat eer you left your mither gueede?
11'Or are ye mourning i your tideThat ever ye was Gil Brenton's bride?'
12'The[re] is nae water i my shee,Nor does the win blaw i my glee:
13'Nor am I mourning i my tideThat eer I was Gil Brenton's bride:
14'But I am mourning i my meedThat ever I left my mither gueede.
15'But, bonny boy, tell to meWhat is the customs o your country.'
16'The customs o't, my dame,' he says,'Will ill a gentle lady please.
17'Seven king's daughters has our king wedded,An seven king's daughters has our king bedded.
18'But he's cutted the paps frae their breast-bane,An sent them mourning hame again.
19'But whan you come to the palace yate,His mither a golden chair will set.
20'An be you maid or be you nane,O sit you there till the day be dane.
21'An gin you're sure that you are a maid,Ye may gang safely to his bed.
22'But gin o that you be na sure,Then hire some woman o youre bowr.'
23O whan she came to the palace yate,His mither a golden chair did set.
24An was she maid or was she nane,She sat in it till the day was dane.
25An she's calld on her bowr woman,That waiting was her bowr within.
26'Five hundred pound, maid, I'll gi to the,An sleep this night wi the king for me.'
27Whan bells was rung, an mass was sung,An a' man unto bed was gone,
28Gil Brenton an the bonny maidIntill ae chamber they were laid.
29'O speak to me, blankets, an speak to me, sheets,An speak to me, cods, that under me sleeps;
30'Is this a maid that I ha wedded?Is this a maid that I ha bedded?'
31'It's nae a maid that you ha wedded,But it's a maid that you ha bedded.
32'Your lady's in her bigly bowr,An for you she drees mony sharp showr.'
33O he has taen him thro the ha,And on his mither he did ca.
34'I am the most unhappy manThat ever was in christend lan.
35'I woo'd a maiden meek an mild,An I've marryed a woman great wi child.'
36'O stay, my son, intill this ha,An sport you wi your merry men a'.
37'An I'll gang to yon painted bowr,An see how't fares wi yon base whore.'
38The auld queen she was stark an strang;She gard the door flee aff the ban.
39The auld queen she was stark an steer;She gard the door lye i the fleer.
40'O is your bairn to laird or loon?Or is it to your father's groom?'
41'My bairn's na to laird or loon,Nor is it to my father's groom.
42'But hear me, mither, on my knee,An my hard wierd I'll tell to thee.
43'O we were sisters, sisters seven,We was the fairest under heaven.
44'We had nae mair for our seven years warkBut to shape an suc the king's son a sark.
45'O it fell on a Saturday's afternoon,Whan a' our langsome wark was dane,
46'We keist the cavils us amang,To see which shoud to the greenwood gang.
47'Ohone, alas! for I was youngest,An ay my wierd it was the hardest.
48'The cavil it did on me fa,Which was the cause of a' my wae.
49'For to the greenwood I must gae,To pu the nut but an the slae;
50'To pu the red rose an the thyme,To strew my mother's bowr and mine.
51'I had na pu'd a flowr but ane,Till by there came a jelly hind greeme,
52'Wi high-colld hose an laigh-colld shoone,An he 'peard to be some kingis son.
53'An be I maid or be I nane,He kept me there till the day was dane.
54'An be I maid or be I nae,He kept me there till the close of day.
55'He gae me a lock of yallow hair,An bade me keep it for ever mair.
56'He gae me a carket o gude black beads,An bade me keep them against my needs.
57'He gae to me a gay gold ring,An bade me ke[e]p it aboon a' thing.
58'He gae to me a little pen-kniffe,An bade me keep it as my life.'
59'What did you wi these tokens rareThat ye got frae that young man there?'
60'O bring that coffer hear to me,And a' the tokens ye sal see.'
61An ay she ranked, an ay she flang,Till a' the tokens came till her han.
62'O stay here, daughter, your bowr within,Till I gae parley wi my son.'
63O she has taen her thro the ha,An on her son began to ca.
64'What did you wi that gay gold ringI bade you keep aboon a' thing?
65'What did you wi that little pen-kniffeI bade you keep while you had life?
66'What did you wi that yallow hairI bade you keep for ever mair?
67'What did you wi that good black beedsI bade you keep against your needs?'
68'I gae them to a lady gayI met i the greenwood on a day.
69'An I would gi a' my father's lan,I had that lady my yates within.
70'I would gi a' my ha's an towrs,I had that bright burd i my bowrs.'
71'O son, keep still your father's lan;You hae that lady your yates within.
72'An keep you still your ha's an towrs;You hae that bright burd i your bowrs.'
73Now or a month was come an gone,This lady bare a bonny young son.
74An it was well written on his breast-bane'Gil Brenton is my father's name.'
Scott's Minstrelsy,II, 117, ed. 1802. Ed. 1830,III, 263. Partly from the recitation of Miss Christian Rutherford.
Scott's Minstrelsy,II, 117, ed. 1802. Ed. 1830,III, 263. Partly from the recitation of Miss Christian Rutherford.
1Cospatrick has sent oer the faem,Cospatrick brought his ladye hame.2And fourscore ships have come her wi,The ladye by the grenewood tree.3There were twal and twal wi baken bread,And twal and twal wi gowd sae reid:4And twal and twal wi bouted flour,And twal and twal wi the paramour.5Sweet Willy was a widow's son,And at her stirrup he did run.6And she was clad in the finest pall,But aye she let the tears down fall.7'O is your saddle set awrye?Or rides your steed for you owre high?8'Or are you mourning in your tideThat you suld be Cospatrick's bride?'9'I am not mourning at this tideThat I suld be Cospatrick's bride;10'But I am sorrowing in my moodThat I suld leave my mother good.11'But, gentle boy, come tell to me,What is the custom of thy countrye?'12'The custom thereof, my dame,' he says,'Will ill a gentle laydye please.13'Seven king's daughters has our lord wedded,And seven king's daughters has our lord bedded;14'But he's cutted their breasts frae their breast bane,And sent them mourning hame again.15'Yet, gin you're sure that you're a maid,Ye may gae safely to his bed;16'But gif o that ye be na sure,Then hire some damsell o your bour.'17The ladye's calld her bour-maiden,That waiting was into her train;18'Five thousand merks I will gie thee,To sleep this night with my lord for me.'19When bells were rung, and mass was sayne,And a' men unto bed were gane,20Cospatrick and the bonny maid,Into ae chamber they were laid.21'Now, speak to me, blankets, and speak to me, bed,And speak, thou sheet, inchanted web;22'And speak up, my bonny brown sword, that winna lie,Is this a true maiden that lies by me?'23'It is not a maid that you hae wedded,But it is a maid that you hae bedded.24'It is a liel maiden that lies by thee,But not the maiden that it should be.'25O wrathfully he left the bed,And wrathfully his claiths on did.26And he has taen him thro the ha,And on his mother he did ca.27'I am the most unhappy manThat ever was in christen land!28'I courted a maiden meik and mild,And I hae gotten naething but a woman wi child.'29'O stay, my son, into this ha,And sport ye wi your merrymen a';30'And I will to the secret bour,To see how it fares wi your paramour.'31The carline she was stark and sture;She aff the hinges dang the dure.32'O is your bairn to laird or loun?Or is it to your father's groom?'33'O hear me, mother, on my knee,Till my sad story I tell to thee.34'O we were sisters, sisters seven,We were the fairest under heaven.35'It fell on a summer's afternoon,When a' our toilsome task was done,36'We cast the kavils us amang,To see which suld to the grene-wood gang.37'O hon, alas! for I was youngest,And aye my wierd it was the hardest.38'The kavil it on me did fa,Whilk was the cause of a' my woe.39'For to the grene-wood I maun gae,To pu the red rose and the slae;40'To pu the red rose and the thyme,To deck my mother's bour and mine.41'I hadna pu'd a flower but ane,When by there came a gallant hende,42'Wi high-colld hose and laigh-colld shoon,And he seemd to be sum king's son.43'And be I maid or be I nae,He kept me there till the close o day.44'And be I maid or be I nane,He kept me there till the day was done.45'He gae me a lock o his yellow hair,And bade me keep it ever mair.46'He gae me a carknet o bonny beads,And bade me keep it against my needs.47'He gae to me a gay gold ring,And bade me keep it abune a' thing.'48'What did ye wi the tokens rareThat ye gat frae that gallant there?'49'O bring that coffer unto me,And a' the tokens ye sall see.'50'Now stay, daughter, your bour within,While I gae parley wi my son.'51O she has taen her thro the ha,And on her son began to ca.52'What did you wi the bonny beadsI bade ye keep against your needs?53'What did you wi the gay gowd ringI bade ye keep abune a' thing?'54'I gae them a' to a ladye gayI met in grene-wood on a day.55'But I wad gie a' my halls and tours,I had that ladye within my bours.56'But I wad gie my very life,I had that ladye to my wife.'57'Now keep, my son, your ha's and tours;Ye have that bright burd in your bours.58'And keep, my son, your very life;Ye have that ladye to your wife.'59Now or a month was cum and gane,The ladye bore a bonny son.60And 't was weel written on his breast-bane,'Cospatrick is my father's name.'61'O rowe my ladye in satin and silk,And wash my son in the morning milk.'
1Cospatrick has sent oer the faem,Cospatrick brought his ladye hame.
2And fourscore ships have come her wi,The ladye by the grenewood tree.
3There were twal and twal wi baken bread,And twal and twal wi gowd sae reid:
4And twal and twal wi bouted flour,And twal and twal wi the paramour.
5Sweet Willy was a widow's son,And at her stirrup he did run.
6And she was clad in the finest pall,But aye she let the tears down fall.
7'O is your saddle set awrye?Or rides your steed for you owre high?
8'Or are you mourning in your tideThat you suld be Cospatrick's bride?'
9'I am not mourning at this tideThat I suld be Cospatrick's bride;
10'But I am sorrowing in my moodThat I suld leave my mother good.
11'But, gentle boy, come tell to me,What is the custom of thy countrye?'
12'The custom thereof, my dame,' he says,'Will ill a gentle laydye please.
13'Seven king's daughters has our lord wedded,And seven king's daughters has our lord bedded;
14'But he's cutted their breasts frae their breast bane,And sent them mourning hame again.
15'Yet, gin you're sure that you're a maid,Ye may gae safely to his bed;
16'But gif o that ye be na sure,Then hire some damsell o your bour.'
17The ladye's calld her bour-maiden,That waiting was into her train;
18'Five thousand merks I will gie thee,To sleep this night with my lord for me.'
19When bells were rung, and mass was sayne,And a' men unto bed were gane,
20Cospatrick and the bonny maid,Into ae chamber they were laid.
21'Now, speak to me, blankets, and speak to me, bed,And speak, thou sheet, inchanted web;
22'And speak up, my bonny brown sword, that winna lie,Is this a true maiden that lies by me?'
23'It is not a maid that you hae wedded,But it is a maid that you hae bedded.
24'It is a liel maiden that lies by thee,But not the maiden that it should be.'
25O wrathfully he left the bed,And wrathfully his claiths on did.
26And he has taen him thro the ha,And on his mother he did ca.
27'I am the most unhappy manThat ever was in christen land!
28'I courted a maiden meik and mild,And I hae gotten naething but a woman wi child.'
29'O stay, my son, into this ha,And sport ye wi your merrymen a';
30'And I will to the secret bour,To see how it fares wi your paramour.'
31The carline she was stark and sture;She aff the hinges dang the dure.
32'O is your bairn to laird or loun?Or is it to your father's groom?'
33'O hear me, mother, on my knee,Till my sad story I tell to thee.
34'O we were sisters, sisters seven,We were the fairest under heaven.
35'It fell on a summer's afternoon,When a' our toilsome task was done,
36'We cast the kavils us amang,To see which suld to the grene-wood gang.
37'O hon, alas! for I was youngest,And aye my wierd it was the hardest.
38'The kavil it on me did fa,Whilk was the cause of a' my woe.
39'For to the grene-wood I maun gae,To pu the red rose and the slae;
40'To pu the red rose and the thyme,To deck my mother's bour and mine.
41'I hadna pu'd a flower but ane,When by there came a gallant hende,
42'Wi high-colld hose and laigh-colld shoon,And he seemd to be sum king's son.
43'And be I maid or be I nae,He kept me there till the close o day.
44'And be I maid or be I nane,He kept me there till the day was done.
45'He gae me a lock o his yellow hair,And bade me keep it ever mair.
46'He gae me a carknet o bonny beads,And bade me keep it against my needs.
47'He gae to me a gay gold ring,And bade me keep it abune a' thing.'
48'What did ye wi the tokens rareThat ye gat frae that gallant there?'
49'O bring that coffer unto me,And a' the tokens ye sall see.'
50'Now stay, daughter, your bour within,While I gae parley wi my son.'
51O she has taen her thro the ha,And on her son began to ca.
52'What did you wi the bonny beadsI bade ye keep against your needs?
53'What did you wi the gay gowd ringI bade ye keep abune a' thing?'
54'I gae them a' to a ladye gayI met in grene-wood on a day.
55'But I wad gie a' my halls and tours,I had that ladye within my bours.
56'But I wad gie my very life,I had that ladye to my wife.'
57'Now keep, my son, your ha's and tours;Ye have that bright burd in your bours.
58'And keep, my son, your very life;Ye have that ladye to your wife.'
59Now or a month was cum and gane,The ladye bore a bonny son.
60And 't was weel written on his breast-bane,'Cospatrick is my father's name.'
61'O rowe my ladye in satin and silk,And wash my son in the morning milk.'