APPENDIX

The first two stanzas of the MS. have been omitted, as belonging to another ballad.12. ouer all does beare the bell.14. men call him Sir Cawline.24. her peere.34. this mayd.55.Only half the secondnofnoonein the MS. Furnivall.72. wringinge his hands.84. and eene on:MS.edne? Furnivall. I feel no confidence in the emendation.85. no daytinesse.86. teene.102. lye soe cowardlye here.115.MS.now? Furnivall.121, 132, 3, 4make a stanza in the MS.181. they Moone.223, 5. 2.234. him ffrom.236.There may be a bold ellipsis ofIt.248. for they... most meed:cf.53.251. heest.273. 5.282. they hand... they sword.291. serrett buffett.293. 34.303. 5.326. in or.326. mee appeare.374. 5.391. you too.463. 15.

The first two stanzas of the MS. have been omitted, as belonging to another ballad.

12. ouer all does beare the bell.

14. men call him Sir Cawline.

24. her peere.

34. this mayd.

55.Only half the secondnofnoonein the MS. Furnivall.

72. wringinge his hands.

84. and eene on:MS.edne? Furnivall. I feel no confidence in the emendation.

85. no daytinesse.

86. teene.

102. lye soe cowardlye here.

115.MS.now? Furnivall.

121, 132, 3, 4make a stanza in the MS.

181. they Moone.

223, 5. 2.

234. him ffrom.

236.There may be a bold ellipsis ofIt.

248. for they... most meed:cf.53.

251. heest.

273. 5.

282. they hand... they sword.

291. serrett buffett.

293. 34.

303. 5.

326. in or.

326. mee appeare.

374. 5.

391. you too.

463. 15.

The first of the following pieces is described as having been learned by Mrs Harris, in Perthshire, about 1790, transmitted by recitation to her daughter, and written down from recollection in 1859. No account is given of the derivation of the other. Both make the princess marry Sir Colvin after his victory on the elritch hill, rejecting Percy's pathetic conclusion. Neither retains much of the phraseology of Percy's manuscript, and neither shows those traces of Percy's phraseology which would demonstrate its parentage. The first, though the style is stale enough, has not the decidedly stall-copy stamp of the other. It undoubtedly has passed through a succession of mouths (as is shown by the change of leech to match in 32), but we may doubt whether the other was ever sung or said. 84, in the Harris version,

Sin the first nicht that I was born,

is close to the Percy manuscript, 174,

Since the day that I was borne,

where Percy's Reliques has,

But he did him scath and scorne.

In the old manuscript, when Sir Cawline cuts off the elritch knight's hand, the hand flies over the knight's head and falls down on that lay land; in Buchan, 25, 26, the hand also flies into the sky and lights on the ground; but Percy says merely that the knight fell on that lay land. So that there is one case in each of agreement with the Percy manuscript where the Reliques depart from it. It may also he urged that Buchan, 221, 2,

To trouble any Christian oneLives in the righteous law,

is nearer to what we find in the manuscript, st. 25,

And to meete noe man of middle-earthAnd that liues (='lieves) on Christs his lay,

than Percy's,

That thou wilt believe on Christ his laye,And thereto plight thy hand;And that thou never on Eldridge come.

That thou wilt believe on Christ his laye,And thereto plight thy hand;

And that thou never on Eldridge come.

Were there anything characteristic or otherwise remarkable in the passages where there is agreement with the Percy manuscript and divergence from the Reliques, even one case of such agreement could not be lightly set aside.[71]But such agreements as these are not significant enough to offset the general character of the Scottish ballads, which is not that of a traditional waif, but of a fabrication of recent times. It is most likely that the Harris ballad was put together by some one who was imperfectly acquainted with the copy in the Reliques. Whether Buchan's ballad was formed upon some copy of the Harris version it is not worth the while to ask.

Harris MS., fol. 5b.

1The king luikit owre his castle wa,To his nobles ane an a';Says, Whare it is him Sir Colin,I dinna see him amang you a'?2Up it spak an eldern knicht,Aye an even up spak he:'Sir Colin's sick for your dochter Janet,He's very sick, an like to dee.'3'Win up, win up, my dochter Janet,I wat ye are a match most fine;Tak the baken bread an wine sae ried,An to Sir Colin ye maun gieng.'4Up she rase, that fair Janet,An I wat weel she was na sweer,An up they rase, her merrie maries,An they said a' they wad gae wi her.5'No, no,' said fair Janet,'No, no such thing can be;For a thrang to gae to a sick man's bour,I think it wald be great folie.6'How is my knicht, all last nicht?''Very sick an like to dee;But if I had a kiss o your sweet lips,I wald lie nae langer here.'7She leant her doon on his bed-side,I wat she gae him kisses three;But wi sighen said that fair Janet,'As for your bride, I daurna be.8'Unless you watch the Orlange hill,An at that hill there grows a thorn;There neer cam a liven man frae it,Sin the first nicht that I was born.'9'Oh I will watch the Orlange hill,Though I waur thinkin to be slain;But I will gie you some love tokens,In case we never meet again.'10He gae her rings to her fingers,Sae did he ribbons to her hair;He gae her a broach to her briest-bane,For fear that they sud neer meet mair.11She put her hand in her pocket,An she took out a lang, lang wand;'As lang's ony man this wand sall keep,There sall not a drap o his blude be drawn.'12Whan een was come, an een-bells rung,An a' man boun for bed,There beheld him Sir Colin,Fast to the Orlange hill he rade.13The wind blew trees oot at the rutes,Sae did it auld castles doon;'T was eneuch to fricht ony Christian knicht,To be sae far frae ony toon.14He rade up, sae did he doon,He rade even through the loan,Till he spied a knicht, wi a ladie bricht,Wi a bent bow intil his han.15She cried afar, ere she cam naur,I warn ye, kind sir, I rede ye flee;That for the love you bear to me,I warn ye, kind sir, that ye flee.16They faucht up, sae did they doon,They faucht even through the loan,Till he cut aff the king's richt han,Was set aboot wi chains a' goud.17'Haud your hand now, Sir Colin,I wat you've dung my love richt sair;Noo for the love ye bear to me,See that ye ding my love nae mair.'18He wooed, he wooed that fair Janet,He wooed her and he brocht her hame;He wooed, he wooed that fair Janet,An ca'd her Dear-Coft till her name.

1The king luikit owre his castle wa,To his nobles ane an a';Says, Whare it is him Sir Colin,I dinna see him amang you a'?

2Up it spak an eldern knicht,Aye an even up spak he:'Sir Colin's sick for your dochter Janet,He's very sick, an like to dee.'

3'Win up, win up, my dochter Janet,I wat ye are a match most fine;Tak the baken bread an wine sae ried,An to Sir Colin ye maun gieng.'

4Up she rase, that fair Janet,An I wat weel she was na sweer,An up they rase, her merrie maries,An they said a' they wad gae wi her.

5'No, no,' said fair Janet,'No, no such thing can be;For a thrang to gae to a sick man's bour,I think it wald be great folie.

6'How is my knicht, all last nicht?''Very sick an like to dee;But if I had a kiss o your sweet lips,I wald lie nae langer here.'

7She leant her doon on his bed-side,I wat she gae him kisses three;But wi sighen said that fair Janet,'As for your bride, I daurna be.

8'Unless you watch the Orlange hill,An at that hill there grows a thorn;There neer cam a liven man frae it,Sin the first nicht that I was born.'

9'Oh I will watch the Orlange hill,Though I waur thinkin to be slain;But I will gie you some love tokens,In case we never meet again.'

10He gae her rings to her fingers,Sae did he ribbons to her hair;He gae her a broach to her briest-bane,For fear that they sud neer meet mair.

11She put her hand in her pocket,An she took out a lang, lang wand;'As lang's ony man this wand sall keep,There sall not a drap o his blude be drawn.'

12Whan een was come, an een-bells rung,An a' man boun for bed,There beheld him Sir Colin,Fast to the Orlange hill he rade.

13The wind blew trees oot at the rutes,Sae did it auld castles doon;'T was eneuch to fricht ony Christian knicht,To be sae far frae ony toon.

14He rade up, sae did he doon,He rade even through the loan,Till he spied a knicht, wi a ladie bricht,Wi a bent bow intil his han.

15She cried afar, ere she cam naur,I warn ye, kind sir, I rede ye flee;That for the love you bear to me,I warn ye, kind sir, that ye flee.

16They faucht up, sae did they doon,They faucht even through the loan,Till he cut aff the king's richt han,Was set aboot wi chains a' goud.

17'Haud your hand now, Sir Colin,I wat you've dung my love richt sair;Noo for the love ye bear to me,See that ye ding my love nae mair.'

18He wooed, he wooed that fair Janet,He wooed her and he brocht her hame;He wooed, he wooed that fair Janet,An ca'd her Dear-Coft till her name.

Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 6; Motherwell's MS., p. 581.

1There ance livd a king in fair Scotland,King Malcolm called by name,Whom ancient history gives recordFor valour, worth, and fame.2And it fell ance upon a day,The king sat down to dine,And then he missd a favourite knight,Whose name was Sir Colvin.3But out it speaks another knight,Ane o Sir Colvin's kin:'He's lyin in bed, right sick in love,All for your daughter Jean.'4'O wae's me,' said the royal king,'I'm sorry for the same;She maun take bread and wine sae red,Give it to Sir Colvin.'5Then gently did she bear the bread,Her page did carry the wine,And set a table at his bed:'Sir Colvin, rise and dine.'6'O well love I the wine, lady,Come frae your lovely hand,But better love I your fair body,Than all fair Scotland's strand.'7'O hold your tongue now, Sir Colvin,Let all your folly be;My love must be by honour won,Or nane shall enjoy me.8'But on the head o Elrick's hill,Near by yon sharp hawthorn,Where never a man with life eer came,Sin our sweet Christ was born;9'O ye'll gang there and walk a' night,And boldly blaw your horn;With honour that ye do return,Ye'll marry me the morn.'10Then up it raise him Sir Colvin,And dressd in armour keen,And he is on to Elrick's hill,Without light of the meen.11At midnight mark the meen upstarts;The knight walkd up and down,While loudest cracks o thunder roardOut ower the bent sae brown.12Then by the twinkling of an eeHe spied an armed knight,A fair lady bearing his brand,Wi torches burning bright.13Then he cried high, as he came nigh,'Coward thief, I bid you flee!There is not ane comes to this hill,But must engage wi me.14'Ye'll best take road before I come,And best take foot and flee;Here is a sword, baith sharp and broadWill quarter you in three.'15Sir Colvin said, I'm not afraidOf any here I see;You hae not taen your God before;Less dread hae I o thee.16Sir Colvin then he drew his sword,His foe he drew his brand,And they fought there on Elrick's hillTill they were bluidy men.17The first an stroke the knight he strake,Gae Colvin a slight wound;The next an stroke Lord Colvin strake,Brought's foe unto the ground.18'I yield, I yield,' the knight he said,'I fairly yield to thee;Nae ane came eer to Elrick-hillEer gaind such victorie.19'I and my forbears here did hauntThree hundred years and more;I'm safe to swear a solemn oathWe were never beat before.'20'An asking,' said the lady gay,'An asking ye'll grant me;''Ask on, ask on,' said Sir Colvin,'What may your asking be?'21'Ye'll gie me hame my wounded knight,Let me fare on my way;And I'se neer be seen on Elrick's hill,By night, nor yet by day;And to this place we'll come nae mair,Coud we win safe away.22'To trouble any Christian one,Lives in the righteous law,We'll come nae mair unto this place,Coud we win safe awa.'23'O yese get hame your wounded knight,Ye shall not gang alane;But I maun hae a wad o him,Before that we twa twine.'24Sir Colvin being a book-learnd man,Sae gude in fencing tee,He's drawn a stroke behind his hand,And followed in speedilie.25Sae fierce a stroke Sir Colvin's drawn,And followed in speedilie,The knight's brand and sword handIn the air he gard them flee.26It flew sae high into the sky,And lighted on the ground;The rings that were on these fingersWere worth five hundred pound.27Up he has taen that bluidy hand,Set it before the king,And the morn it was Wednesday,When he married his daughter Jean.

1There ance livd a king in fair Scotland,King Malcolm called by name,Whom ancient history gives recordFor valour, worth, and fame.

2And it fell ance upon a day,The king sat down to dine,And then he missd a favourite knight,Whose name was Sir Colvin.

3But out it speaks another knight,Ane o Sir Colvin's kin:'He's lyin in bed, right sick in love,All for your daughter Jean.'

4'O wae's me,' said the royal king,'I'm sorry for the same;She maun take bread and wine sae red,Give it to Sir Colvin.'

5Then gently did she bear the bread,Her page did carry the wine,And set a table at his bed:'Sir Colvin, rise and dine.'

6'O well love I the wine, lady,Come frae your lovely hand,But better love I your fair body,Than all fair Scotland's strand.'

7'O hold your tongue now, Sir Colvin,Let all your folly be;My love must be by honour won,Or nane shall enjoy me.

8'But on the head o Elrick's hill,Near by yon sharp hawthorn,Where never a man with life eer came,Sin our sweet Christ was born;

9'O ye'll gang there and walk a' night,And boldly blaw your horn;With honour that ye do return,Ye'll marry me the morn.'

10Then up it raise him Sir Colvin,And dressd in armour keen,And he is on to Elrick's hill,Without light of the meen.

11At midnight mark the meen upstarts;The knight walkd up and down,While loudest cracks o thunder roardOut ower the bent sae brown.

12Then by the twinkling of an eeHe spied an armed knight,A fair lady bearing his brand,Wi torches burning bright.

13Then he cried high, as he came nigh,'Coward thief, I bid you flee!There is not ane comes to this hill,But must engage wi me.

14'Ye'll best take road before I come,And best take foot and flee;Here is a sword, baith sharp and broadWill quarter you in three.'

15Sir Colvin said, I'm not afraidOf any here I see;You hae not taen your God before;Less dread hae I o thee.

16Sir Colvin then he drew his sword,His foe he drew his brand,And they fought there on Elrick's hillTill they were bluidy men.

17The first an stroke the knight he strake,Gae Colvin a slight wound;The next an stroke Lord Colvin strake,Brought's foe unto the ground.

18'I yield, I yield,' the knight he said,'I fairly yield to thee;Nae ane came eer to Elrick-hillEer gaind such victorie.

19'I and my forbears here did hauntThree hundred years and more;I'm safe to swear a solemn oathWe were never beat before.'

20'An asking,' said the lady gay,'An asking ye'll grant me;''Ask on, ask on,' said Sir Colvin,'What may your asking be?'

21'Ye'll gie me hame my wounded knight,Let me fare on my way;And I'se neer be seen on Elrick's hill,By night, nor yet by day;And to this place we'll come nae mair,Coud we win safe away.

22'To trouble any Christian one,Lives in the righteous law,We'll come nae mair unto this place,Coud we win safe awa.'

23'O yese get hame your wounded knight,Ye shall not gang alane;But I maun hae a wad o him,Before that we twa twine.'

24Sir Colvin being a book-learnd man,Sae gude in fencing tee,He's drawn a stroke behind his hand,And followed in speedilie.

25Sae fierce a stroke Sir Colvin's drawn,And followed in speedilie,The knight's brand and sword handIn the air he gard them flee.

26It flew sae high into the sky,And lighted on the ground;The rings that were on these fingersWere worth five hundred pound.

27Up he has taen that bluidy hand,Set it before the king,And the morn it was Wednesday,When he married his daughter Jean.

Motherwell, who cites a manuscript of Buchan, prints the first three stanzas and the last with some variations: Introduction, p. lxvi, note **. The ballad is not in Buchan's two manuscript volumes.

FOOTNOTES:[65]So maintaine vs all in our right?[66]To this suggestion the actual form of stanzas 8, 11 lends a faint plausibility.[67]Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, I, 367, 372 f, 389, 391. For the name of the sword see Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 500.[68]Cited by Scott, Minstrelsy, II, 273, ed. 1833; Otia Imperialia, ed. Liebrecht, LIX, p. 26.[69]Grundtvig'sA,Bare translated by Dr Prior, I, 276. The story is found also in Icelandic rímur of the 15th century printed in Björner's Kämpedater, 1737. Björner was acquainted with an old Swedish ballad on the subject, but this ballad has not been found. The story of these rímur is given by Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, II, 312, ed. 1787, and in Percy's translation, Northern Antiquities, II, 248.[70]So, as toand, the German 'Ulinger,' Mittler, p. 68, sts 21, 22, 23; den ersten schreyundden sie thet, etc.[71]The Percy manuscript was inspected by many persons near the time of the first publication of the Reliques, and again while the fourth edition was going through the press, but it is not for a moment to be suggested or supposed that anything in the Scottish 'Sir Colvin' is to be accounted for in that way.

[65]So maintaine vs all in our right?

[66]To this suggestion the actual form of stanzas 8, 11 lends a faint plausibility.

[67]Percy MS., Hales and Furnivall, I, 367, 372 f, 389, 391. For the name of the sword see Liebrecht, Zur Volkskunde, p. 500.

[68]Cited by Scott, Minstrelsy, II, 273, ed. 1833; Otia Imperialia, ed. Liebrecht, LIX, p. 26.

[69]Grundtvig'sA,Bare translated by Dr Prior, I, 276. The story is found also in Icelandic rímur of the 15th century printed in Björner's Kämpedater, 1737. Björner was acquainted with an old Swedish ballad on the subject, but this ballad has not been found. The story of these rímur is given by Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, II, 312, ed. 1787, and in Percy's translation, Northern Antiquities, II, 248.

[70]So, as toand, the German 'Ulinger,' Mittler, p. 68, sts 21, 22, 23; den ersten schreyundden sie thet, etc.

[71]The Percy manuscript was inspected by many persons near the time of the first publication of the Reliques, and again while the fourth edition was going through the press, but it is not for a moment to be suggested or supposed that anything in the Scottish 'Sir Colvin' is to be accounted for in that way.

A.'Lord Thomas and Fair Annie,' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 102, 1802; 31 stanzas.B.'Burd Helen,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 376; 26 stanzas.C.'Fair Annie,' Motherwell's MS., p. 351; 33 stanzas.D.Herd, The Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 307; 8 stanzas.E.'Lady Jane,' Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 20, Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 371; 20 stanzas.F.'Fair Annie,' Motherwell's MS., p. 385, Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 327; 32 stanzas.G.Communicated by Miss Reburn; 5 stanzas.H.Communicated by Dr Thomas Davidson; 2 stanzas.I.'Fair Annie,' Kinloch MSS, I, 155; 45 stanzas.J.'The Fause Lord,' Buchan's MSS, I, 66; 65 stanzas.

A.'Lord Thomas and Fair Annie,' Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 102, 1802; 31 stanzas.

B.'Burd Helen,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 376; 26 stanzas.

C.'Fair Annie,' Motherwell's MS., p. 351; 33 stanzas.

D.Herd, The Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, 1769, p. 307; 8 stanzas.

E.'Lady Jane,' Jamieson-Brown MS., fol. 20, Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 371; 20 stanzas.

F.'Fair Annie,' Motherwell's MS., p. 385, Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 327; 32 stanzas.

G.Communicated by Miss Reburn; 5 stanzas.

H.Communicated by Dr Thomas Davidson; 2 stanzas.

I.'Fair Annie,' Kinloch MSS, I, 155; 45 stanzas.

J.'The Fause Lord,' Buchan's MSS, I, 66; 65 stanzas.

The fragmentD, printed in 1769, antedates the committing to writing of any of the other versions.Ewas taken down as early as 1783.AandBare from the beginning of this century.Awas obtained "chiefly from the recitation of an old woman," but we are notinformed who supplied the rest. Herd's fragment,D, furnished stanzas 2-6, 12, 17, 19. A doubt may be hazarded whether stanzas 8-10 came from the old woman.Iis a combination of three recited versions, andJ, perhaps a transcript of a stall-copy, is, like many of Buchan's ballads, extended to twice the length of genuine versions by tedious, sometimes nauseous, amplification and interpolation.

'Lady Jane,' Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 73, is a combination ofBandE, with a good many bad verses of Jamieson's own. A version in Motherwell's MS., p. 477, "from the recitation of an old maid-servant of Mr Alexander, of Southbar," was, as would be inferred from a memorandum at the end of the transcript, derived from a printed book, and is in fact an imperfect recollection of this compounded ballad of Jamieson's.

Grundtvig has attempted a reconstitution of the ballad from versionsA,B,D,E,F, Danmarks gamle Folkeviser, V, 42.

Annie [Helen,B, Ellen,G, Jane,E] was stolen from home in her childhood,A15,B23,C31,E9,F25,I38,J50, 51, by a knight from over sea, to whom she has borne seven sons, out of wedlock. Her consort bids her prepare to welcome a bride, with whom he shall get gowd and gear; with her he got none. But she must look like a maid, comb down her yellow locks, braid her hair.[72]Annie meekly assents, for love, she says, inC12; inI4,J15, the welcoming goes against her heart; inF9 she is told that she is to do it; inH2 she says the welcome will have to come from him. Annie receives the bride and her train and serves the tables, suppressing her tears and drinking water to keep her cheek from paling. She passes for servant or housekeeper, and inI23,J25, uses the word 'master,' not to anger the bride; inC17 she calls her lord brother, and the knight calls her sister inC18 and (inconsistently) inJ38. What 'n a lady's that? asks the bride,E9,J37, and what means all these bonny boys that follow at her heel?J37.

When the married pair have gone to their bed-chamber, Annie, in a room near by, bewails her sad lot in song; to the harp or her virginals,E,F,J,I. The bride hears the lament: it is that of a woman who will go mad ere day,B20,C26,J44, 48. The bride goes to Fair Annie's chamber,A,C? to see what gars her greet, inquires her parentage, and discovers that they are sisters; or learns this fact from the song itself,B,E; or recognizes her sister's voice,F,I,J. King Henry was their father,B,F,I; King Easter,C;[73]the Earl of Wemyss, of Richmond,A,E. Queen Easter was their mother,F; Queen Catherine, Elinor [Orvis],B,I. The bride, who had come with many well-loaded ships, gives all or most of them to her sister,A,B,C,F,I, and goes virgin home,A,B,F,I,J; expecting, asB,Jadd, to encounter derision for going away wife and coming back maid.

InC27 the bride suspects that the woman who wails so madly is a leman, and urges her husband to get up and pack her down the stairs, though the woods were ne'er so wild. He refuses. A similar scene is elsewhere put earlier, during the bridal entertainment,I29, 30,J40: see alsoG2, 3, which are partly explained by these passages, and partly byJ36.

There are other variations in the story, and some additional particulars in one or another version: none of these, however, seem to belong to the original ballad. The bride, as soon as she sees Annie, is struck with the resemblance to her lost sister,A14,E9,J29. The bridegroom repents, and rejects the woman he has married,E19,F30,J49. The bridegroom confiscates without ceremony, as tocher for Annie, six of the seven ships which the bride had brought with her,E,J.[74]

The name Lord Thomas inAwas probably suggested by 'Lord Thomas and Fair Annet.'

A Danish ballad of Fair Annie has been known to the English for fourscore years through Jamieson's translation. The Scandinavian versions are the following.

Danish.'Skjön Anna,' Grundtvig, No 258, V, 13, eight versions:A, 39 four-line stanzas,B, 34 sts,C, 45 sts, from manuscripts of the sixteenth century;D, 48 sts,E, 41 sts,G, 32 sts, from seventeenth-century manuscripts;F, 41 sts, from broadsides or stall-copies, the earliest dated 1648, from Peder Syv, 1695, and from copies lately taken down which were derived from printed texts;H, 43 sts, a version recently obtained from tradition in Norway. Of these,A,B,C,Gare independent texts;D,E,Fare derived from some copy ofC, or from a version closely akin toC;His essentially the broadside copyF, but has one stanza of its own.F, Syv, No 17, Danske Viser, IV, 59, No 177, the form through which the Danish ballad has been made known by English translations, is unfortunately an impure and sophisticated text.

Swedish.A, 'Skön Anna,' 19 sts, Arwidsson, I, 291, No 42;B, Afzelius, I, 24, No 5, 32 sts;C, Wigström, Folkdiktning, I, 57, No 28, 37 sts.Cfollows in the main DanishF, but with a variation in st. 31 which is of much importance if traditional. A translation of DanishFhas long circulated in Sweden as a broadside: see, besides Grundtvig, Bergström's Afzelius, II, 30.

The Scandinavian story will, for more brevity, be collected principally from DanishA,B,C, and some variations of the other copies be added.

Fair Annie [Anneck, Annecke,A], a king's daughter, is stolen in her early years, and sold to a man of rank, who is in fact heir to a crown. They have seven sons in eight [seven] years, and he then becomes king. Fair Annie begs the queen-mother to intercede with her son now to make her a lawful wife and legitimate his children. The mother loves Annie, and heartily desires that he may. The son refuses; she has great virtues, but he does not know Annie's friends [her forbears, lineage, DanishF, SwedishC]. He makes suit for a king's daughter in a distant land. Annie's heart all but breaks when the bride comes. The young king asks the bride what gift she will give hisamie,A. I will give her my old shoes, she says,B,D,F. She must give something else if she would get his good will. Then she will give Annie seven mills that lie far over the Rhine and grind nought but cinnamon,B,D,F. Annie is now asked what gift she will make the bride. I will give heryou, whom I can so ill spare, answers Annie. No, that is not enough; she must give another gift to win the bride's good will. I will give her the seven sons I have borne, says Annie. Neither is that enough; she must give the bride her gold brooch. This Annie will not surrender, for it was his morning-gift. Annie now asks her lord to let her go into the bride-house [hall] and see the bride. He refuses emphatically, but his kind mother says, Yes; she will even go with Annie, though it should cost her her life. Annie goes to the bride-house, preceded by her seven sons, who wear her father's color. She pours wine for the bride, with many tears,A,C. The bride asks who this fair woman is that weeps so sore. And who are these that wear her father's color?[75]It is the king's sister's daughter, from a foreign land,C-F,H; his sister, DanishA, SwedishA,B. "It is not your sister's daughter," says the bride; "that I plainly see. I fear it is your leman,"C34,D,E. The king now avows the truth. It is Fair Annie, my leman, DanishA33, SwedishA16 (which adds, "Her father I never knew"); she was stolen from a foreign land in her young days, and has been with me seven years, DanishB31; she was sold to me from a foreign land; these are her seven sons, they will be bastards now, and that is the cause of her grief,C35, 36,D,E; these are my seven sons, FairAnnie is their mother, SwedishB27. I had a sister, says the bride; she was stolen from my father's land; Fair Annie was her name, this must be she,[76]she shall keep her husband. The king sends the new-come bride home with due ceremony, and keeps Fair Annie for his heart's delight,C37-44,D,E.

In DanishG7, the king gives as a reason for not espousing Fair Annie that she has no fortune, ingen rente, which is the objection to her in EnglishA1,C2, etc. The oldest [youngest] son of Fair Annie attends his mother's sister to her father's land in SwedishC, DanishF,K, as in EnglishJ54. The king promises his brother to Annie's sister in DanishA39 (compare also SwedishB33). In EnglishI26,J30, the bride thinksherbrother would be a good match for Annie.

SwedishC, though in itself of little authority, has an advantage over the Danish copies and SwedishBin making Annie refuse to part with the gold brooch, not because it was a morning-gift, but because she had had it ever since she was a child and was kidnapped from her father's court; and again in making this brooch the means of her recognition as sister by the bride.

The Scandinavian ballad is regarded by Grundtvig as transmitted from Low German. The rhymes are frequently not after the Danish manner (see Grundtvig, V, 46, 7), and the heroine's name has a Low German look.

Dutch and German versions, all ill enough preserved, are:

Dutch.A.'Schön Adelheid,' 22 four-line stanzas, Hoffmann, Niederländische Volkslieder, 2d ed., 1856, p. 46, No 11, 'Mooi Aeltje en Koning Alewijn,' Willems, p. 177, No 70; from Den Italiaenschen Quacksalver, Amsterdam, 1708.B.'Madel,' 15 stanzas, Snellaert, Oude en nieuwe Liedjes, p. 70, No 65, 2d ed., 1864.

German.A.Longard, Altrheinländische Mährlein und Liedlein, 1843, p. 23, No 12; Wilhelm von Zuccalmaglio, Deutsche Volkslieder, 1840, p. 74, No 32,=Mittler, No 333: 21 four-line stanzas.B.Montanus (Vincenz von Zuccalmaglio), Die deutschen Volksfeste, 1854, p. 46, 17 stanzas, apparently rewritten.

According to DutchAAaltje, Ethel, Adeline, a king's daughter, is stolen, and sold for a great sum to King Alewijn. She asks the king's mother, who is quite disposed to have her for a daughter, when her son will marry her, and the mother asks her son how long Maid Aaltje is to live under disgrace. The king objects that Aaltje is avondeling, a waif-woman (EnglishC2,I2); Heaven only knows her friends and kin. He adds that he was over the Rhine yesterday, and that Aaltje will break her heart with sorrow. The young woman asks the mother's permission to go to the bride's house, and is told to go in good style, her seven sons before her and fourteen ladies-in-waiting behind. The king meets Aaltje half-way, and says, If you are going to the bride's house, what gift do you mean to make the bride? The bride will have enough, she replies; I will give her my old stockings and shoes. She must give something better to gain her friendship. Then Aaltje will give her "seven sons of yours and mine" to serve her. She will have your seven sons, says the king, but you must give her your brooch.[77]No, that you will not get, says Aaltje. There were two at my father's court; my sister and I each had one. Are you then of royal birth? says the king. Had you told me that, I would have marriedyou. When Aaltje appears at the bride's house, they offer her to drink, and many a tear she drops in the cup. Who is this woman that weeps so piteously? asks the bride. These are some of our nieces and nephews, who have come from foreign partsto bring you presents, is the king's answer. Nieces and nephews! says the bride; it is Maid Aaltje, my youngest sister. She takes the crown from her head: Take it, Aaltje, and keep your husband. Saddle my horse. I came in honor, I must go back in shame. (Cf. EnglishB26,I45.)

B.Madel (M'Adel), the oldest of a king's two daughters, is stolen by a king's son to be his leman, and taken to a far country. They have seven sons, and he forsakes her and betroths himself to her sister. He asks his mother what present she will make his bride; she has seven mills which she will give her. Madel, asked in like manner, replies, My old stockings and shoes. Madel asks the queen-mother if she may go to the bridal, for the king is to marry, and is answered as inA. When she comes to the bride-loft they pour wine for her, and she drops tears in the cup. The bride asks who this is, and the king replies, One of my nieces from a far country, who came to do me honor, but only puts me to shame. You are not telling me the truth, says the bride. The king owns that it is Madel, his leman, with her seven sons. The bride recognizes a brooch[78]stiff with gold and silk. "There are but two such in all Flanders; I and my sister each had one." She tears the crown from her own head and puts it on her sister, saying, King, marry her in my place. The brooch is distinctly made the means of identification, which it by all likelihood was originally in all the Scandinavian ballads, though only SwedishChas retained (or restored) this feature.

TheGermanballad resembles DutchAclosely. The queen-mother gives Adelheid permission to go to the wedding, and her seven sons must walk before her. At the feast the king offers her to drink; she cannot drink for the grief he has caused her. The bride sees her weeping, and orders food and drink to be offered her (cf. EnglishJ36), but she cannot touch them. The king pretends that she is one of his nieces who has lived with him seven years [is fatigued by her journey,B]. The bride exclaims, I see the fore-span (by your fore-span,A), you are driving a pair! InAshe asks the fair woman's name and country. Her country is over the Rhine, and thence she had been stolen. "Then you must be my sister," declares the bride somewhat hastily, gives up her seat and the crown, puts her ring on Adelheid's finger, and bids the news be sent to father and mother.

The lyric beauty of the Scottish version of this ballad, especially conspicuous inA,C,E, has been appreciatingly remarked by Grundtvig.

But Fair Annie's fortunes have not only been charmingly sung, as here; they have also been exquisitelytoldin a favorite lay of Marie de France, 'Le Lai del Freisne.' This tale, of Breton origin, is three hundred years older than any manuscript of the ballad. Comparison will, however, quickly show that it is not the source either of the English or of the Low German and Scandinavian ballad. The tale and the ballads have a common source, which lies further back, and too far for us to find.

The story of the lay is this.[79]There were two knights in Brittany, living on contiguous estates, and both married. The lady of one of the two gave birth to two boys, and the father sent information of the event to his neighbor and friend. His friend's wife was a scoffing, envious woman, "judging always for the worse," and said,

I marvel much, thou messenger,Who was thy lordës counsellor,That did advise him not to spareThis shame to publish everywhere,That his wife hathtwochildren bore:Well may each man know thereforeTwo men have been with her in bower,[80]Which is to both but small honour.

In the course of the same year the woman that had made this hateful insinuation was brought to bed of twin girls. To save her reputation she was ready even to put one of them to death, but a favorite damsel in her house suggested a better way out of her perplexity, and that was to leave one of the children at the door of a convent. The child, wrapped in a rich pall that had been brought from Constantinople, with a jewelled ring bound to its arm to show that it was well born, was taken away in the night to a considerable distance, and was laid between the branches of a great ash-tree in front of a nunnery. In the morning it was discovered by the porter, who told his adventure to the abbess; and the abbess, having inspected the foundling, resolved to bring it up under the style of her niece. The girl, who received the name La Freisne from the tree in which she had been found, turned out a marvel of beauty and of all good qualities. A gentleman of the vicinity fell in love with her, and made large gifts to the monastery to constitute himself a lay-brother, and so have access to her without exciting suspicion. He obtained her love, and in the end induced her to fly with him to his château. This she did with sufficient deliberation to take with her the robe and ring which were the tokens of her birth; for the abbess had told her how she had been found in the ash, and had committed these objects to her care. She lived a good while with the knight as his mistress, and made herself loved by everybody; but his retainers had repeatedly remonstrated with him for not providing himself with a lawful successor, and at last forced him to marry the daughter and heiress of a gentleman near by. On the day of the nuptials La Freisne let no sign of grief or anger escape her, but devoted herself to the bride so amiably as even to win over the mother, who had accompanied her daughter, and had at first felt much uneasiness at the presence of a possible rival. Finding the marriage bed not decked with sufficient elegance, La Freisne took from a trunk the precious pall from Constantinople, and threw it on for a coverlet. When the bride's mother was about to put her daughter to bed, this robe was of course the first object that met her eyes. Her heart quaked. She sent for the chamberlain, and asked where the cloth came from. The chamberlain explained that "the damsel" had put it on to improve the appearance of the bed. The damsel was summoned, and told what she knew: the abbess who brought her up had given her the robe, and with it a ring, and charged her to take good care of them. A sight of the ring was asked; the lady cried, You are my daughter, and fainted. When she recovered she sent for her husband and confessed everything. The husband was only too happy to find that the damsel tant pruz è sage è bele was his daughter. The story was repeated to La Freisne, and then to the knight and to the archbishop who had performed the marriage ceremony. The marriage was dissolved the next day, and La Freisne formally espoused by the knight, who received with her half her father's heritage. The sister went home and made a rich marriage.

The common ground-work of the ballads and the lay is, that a man who has formed an irregular union with a woman whose family he does not know undertakes matrimony with another person, who is discovered on the day of the nuptials to be sister to his leman. A jewel in the possession of the latter, by itself or together with another token, reveals and proves the kinship in the lay and in the Scandinavian-German ballad, but there is no trace of such an instrumentality in the Scottish.

Single features, or even several features, of the story of Fair Annie or of La Freisne occur in many other ballads and tales, but there is no occasion to go into these resemblances here.A Norse ballad has almost every point in 'Fair Annie' but the sisterly relation of leman and bride: see 'Slegfred og Brud,' Grundtvig, No 255, and 'Thomas o Yonderdale,' an apocryphal ballad of Buchan's, further on. Bare mention may be made of the beautiful Spanish romance 'Las dos Hermanas,' found also in Portuguese, in which the queen of a Moor or Turk discovers her sister in a slave who has been presented to her, or captured at her request.[81]

Translated afterAby Schubart, p. 115; mainly afterE, with stanzas fromAandC, by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 28; afterEby Wolff, Hausschatz, p. 209, Halle der Völker, I, 3; afterDby Gerhard, p. 77; by Knortz, L. u. R. Alt-Englands, No 3, after Allingham.

DanishFby Jamieson, Popular Ballads, II, 103; by Prior, III, 300, No 148. DutchAby Prior, III, 484.

Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, II, 102, 1802, chiefly from the recitation of an old woman residing near Kirkhill, in West Lothian.

1'It's narrow, narrow, make your bed,And learn to lie your lane;For I'm ga'n oer the sea, Fair Annie,A braw bride to bring hame.Wi her I will get gowd and gear;Wi you I neer got nane.2'But wha will bake my bridal bread,Or brew my bridal ale?And wha will welcome my brisk bride,That I bring oer the dale?'3'It's I will bake your bridal bread,And brew your bridal ale,And I will welcome your brisk bride,That you bring oer the dale.'4'But she that welcomes my brisk brideMaun gang like maiden fair;She maun lace on her robe sae jimp,And braid her yellow hair.'5'But how can I gang maiden-like,When maiden I am nane?Have I not born seven sons to thee,And am with child again?'6She's taen her young son in her arms,Another in her hand,And she's up to the highest tower,To see him come to land.7'Come up, come up, my eldest son,And look oer yon sea-strand,And see your father's new-come bride,Before she come to land.'8'Come down, come down, my mother dear,Come frae the castle wa!I fear, if langer ye stand there,Ye'll let yoursell down fa.'9And she gaed down, and farther down,Her love's ship for to see,And the topmast and the mainmastShone like the silver free.10And she's gane down, and farther down,The bride's ship to behold,And the topmast and the mainmastThey shone just like the gold.11She's taen her seven sons in her hand,I wot she didna fail;She met Lord Thomas and his bride,As they came oer the dale.12'You're welcome to your house, Lord Thomas,You're welcome to your land;You're welcome with your fair ladye,That you lead by the hand.13'You're welcome to your ha's, ladye,Your welcome to your bowers;You're welcome to your hame, ladye,For a' that's here is yours.'14'I thank thee, Annie; I thank thee, Annie,Sae dearly as I thank thee;You're the likest to my sister Annie,That ever I did see.15'There came a knight out oer the sea,And steald my sister away;The shame scoup in his company,And land whereer he gae!'16She hang ae napkin at the door,Another in the ha,And a' to wipe the trickling tears,Sae fast as they did fa.17And aye she served the lang tables,With white bread and with wine,And aye she drank the wan water,To had her colour fine.18And aye she served the lang tables,With white bread and with brown;And ay she turned her round about,Sae fast the tears fell down.19And he's taen down the silk napkin,Hung on a silver pin,And aye he wipes the tear tricklingA' down her cheek and chin.20And aye he turn'd him round about,And smiled amang his men;Says, Like ye best the old ladye,Or her that's new come hame?21When bells were rung, and mass was sung,And a' men bound to bed,Lord Thomas and his new-come brideTo their chamber they were gaed.22Annie made her bed a little forbye,To hear what they might say;'And ever alas!' Fair Annie cried,'That I should see this day!23'Gin my seven sons were seven young rats,Running on the castle wa,And I were a grey cat mysell,I soon would worry them a'.24'Gin my seven sons were seven young hares,Running oer yon lilly lee,And I were a grew hound mysell,Soon worried they a' should be.'25And wae and sad Fair Annie sat,And drearie was her sang,And ever, as she sobbd and grat,'Wae to the man that did the wrang!'26'My gown is on,' said the new-come bride,'My shoes are on my feet,And I will to Fair Annie's chamber,And see what gars her greet.27'What ails ye, what ails ye, Fair Annie,That ye make sic a moan?Has your wine barrels cast the girds,Or is your white bread gone?28'O wha was't was your father, Annie,Or wha was't was your mother?And had ye ony sister, Annie,Or had ye ony brother?'29'The Earl of Wemyss was my father,The Countess of Wemyss my mother;And a' the folk about the houseTo me were sister and brother.'30'If the Earl of Wemyss was your father,I wot sae was he mine;And it shall not be for lack o gowdThat ye your love sall tyne.31'For I have seven ships o mine ain,A' loaded to the brim,And I will gie them a' to thee,Wi four to thine eldest son:But thanks to a' the powers in heavenThat I gae maiden hame!'

1'It's narrow, narrow, make your bed,And learn to lie your lane;For I'm ga'n oer the sea, Fair Annie,A braw bride to bring hame.Wi her I will get gowd and gear;Wi you I neer got nane.

2'But wha will bake my bridal bread,Or brew my bridal ale?And wha will welcome my brisk bride,That I bring oer the dale?'

3'It's I will bake your bridal bread,And brew your bridal ale,And I will welcome your brisk bride,That you bring oer the dale.'

4'But she that welcomes my brisk brideMaun gang like maiden fair;She maun lace on her robe sae jimp,And braid her yellow hair.'

5'But how can I gang maiden-like,When maiden I am nane?Have I not born seven sons to thee,And am with child again?'

6She's taen her young son in her arms,Another in her hand,And she's up to the highest tower,To see him come to land.

7'Come up, come up, my eldest son,And look oer yon sea-strand,And see your father's new-come bride,Before she come to land.'

8'Come down, come down, my mother dear,Come frae the castle wa!I fear, if langer ye stand there,Ye'll let yoursell down fa.'

9And she gaed down, and farther down,Her love's ship for to see,And the topmast and the mainmastShone like the silver free.

10And she's gane down, and farther down,The bride's ship to behold,And the topmast and the mainmastThey shone just like the gold.

11She's taen her seven sons in her hand,I wot she didna fail;She met Lord Thomas and his bride,As they came oer the dale.

12'You're welcome to your house, Lord Thomas,You're welcome to your land;You're welcome with your fair ladye,That you lead by the hand.

13'You're welcome to your ha's, ladye,Your welcome to your bowers;You're welcome to your hame, ladye,For a' that's here is yours.'

14'I thank thee, Annie; I thank thee, Annie,Sae dearly as I thank thee;You're the likest to my sister Annie,That ever I did see.

15'There came a knight out oer the sea,And steald my sister away;The shame scoup in his company,And land whereer he gae!'

16She hang ae napkin at the door,Another in the ha,And a' to wipe the trickling tears,Sae fast as they did fa.

17And aye she served the lang tables,With white bread and with wine,And aye she drank the wan water,To had her colour fine.

18And aye she served the lang tables,With white bread and with brown;And ay she turned her round about,Sae fast the tears fell down.

19And he's taen down the silk napkin,Hung on a silver pin,And aye he wipes the tear tricklingA' down her cheek and chin.

20And aye he turn'd him round about,And smiled amang his men;Says, Like ye best the old ladye,Or her that's new come hame?

21When bells were rung, and mass was sung,And a' men bound to bed,Lord Thomas and his new-come brideTo their chamber they were gaed.

22Annie made her bed a little forbye,To hear what they might say;'And ever alas!' Fair Annie cried,'That I should see this day!

23'Gin my seven sons were seven young rats,Running on the castle wa,And I were a grey cat mysell,I soon would worry them a'.

24'Gin my seven sons were seven young hares,Running oer yon lilly lee,And I were a grew hound mysell,Soon worried they a' should be.'

25And wae and sad Fair Annie sat,And drearie was her sang,And ever, as she sobbd and grat,'Wae to the man that did the wrang!'

26'My gown is on,' said the new-come bride,'My shoes are on my feet,And I will to Fair Annie's chamber,And see what gars her greet.

27'What ails ye, what ails ye, Fair Annie,That ye make sic a moan?Has your wine barrels cast the girds,Or is your white bread gone?

28'O wha was't was your father, Annie,Or wha was't was your mother?And had ye ony sister, Annie,Or had ye ony brother?'

29'The Earl of Wemyss was my father,The Countess of Wemyss my mother;And a' the folk about the houseTo me were sister and brother.'

30'If the Earl of Wemyss was your father,I wot sae was he mine;And it shall not be for lack o gowdThat ye your love sall tyne.

31'For I have seven ships o mine ain,A' loaded to the brim,And I will gie them a' to thee,Wi four to thine eldest son:But thanks to a' the powers in heavenThat I gae maiden hame!'

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