3 ns3
ooitosaa
^
3ttl>rarp of £)ltj Znt^ovs,
We redeth oft and findeth y write* and this clerkes wele it wite* Layes that ben in harping* ben y founde of ferlying* sum bethe of wer and sum of wo* and sum of ioie and merthe al so* and sum of trecherie and of gile* of old auentours that fel while* and sum of bourdes and ribaudry' and mani ther beth of fairy* of all thinges that mtn seth* mest o loue for southe thai beth*
Anch. MS., fol. 261.
I
atlg Popular Poettg of ©cotlanO anti
Plains 3l!l*2r>* in 1822 auD 1826 Ke^arranget) anD Ketjtou toitti ^ ^tiDtttons; ani3 a ^lo^s^arp
^^a^Iitt
IN TWO VOLUMES VOL. II
LONDON REEVES AND TURNER
WELLINGTON STREET, STRAND
1895
[Ai/ Rights reserved]
9jlL OfoL
^■Z
CONTENTS
OF VOL. II
PAGE
lichtoun's dreme ...... I
SYMMIE AND HIS BRUTHER 5
THE MANER OF THE CRYING OF ANE PLAYE . II
THE GYRE-CARLING l8
KING BERDOK ■.21
THE WOWING OF JOK AND JYNNY ... 24 A BALLET SHEWING HOW A DUMB WYFF WAS
MAID TO SPEIK 28
THE MURNING MAIDIN 34
WELCUM TO MAY 44
THE WYF OF AUCHTERMUCHTY .... 47
ANE BALLAT OF ALLANE-A'-MAUT . . . 6o
SIR JOHN BARLEYCORN 64
ANE DESCRIPTIOUN OF PEDDER COFFEIS . . 67
A.NE BALLAT OF MATRYMONIE .... 74
KING ESTMERE 80
ADAM BEL, CLYM OF THE CLEUGH, AND WILLIAM
OF CLOWDESLfe 90
THE HISTORY OF SIR EGER, SIR GRYME, AND SIR
GRAY STEILL II9
vii
\
viii CONTENTS
P^GE
THE HISTORY OF A LORD AND HIS THREE SONS 211
ROSWALL AND LILLIAN 239
THE PROMINE TO KING JAMES THE SEXT . . 268
ANE GODLIE DREAME, COMPYLIT IN SCOTISH
METER 279
THE LOVERS QUARREL ; OR ROSAMOND OF SCOT- LAND 302
INDEX OF PRINCIPAL MATTERS AND GLOSSARY . 32I
iLirijtoinVs Dreme.
THIS very whimsical production, which contains some curious allusions, is contained in Bannatyne's MS., 1568, and is also preserved in Sir R. Maitland's MS., where it is anonymous. Of the author nothing is known, except that from the signature attached to it he appears to have been of the priesthood. The only other poem attributed to him is a religious poem, of six eight-line stanzas, beginning,
" O mortall man remembir nycht and day,"
the burden of each, — Meme7ito homo quod chiis es.
In an old English poera.i full "of mervells," hke this Dream, at an entertainment which is described, we are told—
" The sowe sat on hye benke, and harpyd Robyn Howd, The fox fydylyd, the raton rybybyd, the larke noty
with all. The hombull bee hendyld the home pype, for ham fyngers
wer small."
j(L id; to tin' SI Dreme.
UHA douttis Dremis ar bot phan- tasye ? — My spreit was reft, and had in extasye, My heid lay laich into this Dreme but dout; At my foirtop my five wittis flew out,
1 MS. Advocates' Library, Jac. V. 7. 27. VOL. II. A
2 Lie HTO UN'S DREME
I niurnir, and I maid a felloun mane : 5
Me thocht the King of Farye had me tane,
And band me in ane presoun, fute and hand,
Withoutin rewth, in ane lang raip of sand :
To perss the presoun wall it wes nocht eith,
For it was mingit, and maid with mussill teithj lo
And in the middis of it ane myne of flynt ;
I sank thairin, quhill I was neir hand tynt,
And quhen I saw thair was none uthair remeid,
I flychterit up with ane feddrem of leid ;
For that I thocht me ferys of my youth, is
I tuke my lytill tae into my mouth,
And kest my self rycht with ane mychtie bend
Out thruch the volt, and percit nocht the pend ;
And thus, I thocht into my dullie Dreme,
I brak my heid upoun ane know of reme ; 20
That I suld hurt my self, I had dispyte.
And in all tene I turnit up full ty:e,
Drank of ane well that wes gane drye sevin yeir,
Syne lap thre lowpis, and I was haill and feir. —
Syne eftir that I had eschapit this cace, 25
Me thocht I wes in monye divers place, Ouhill wer to lang to have in perfyte mynd ; In Egipt, Ireland, Arragone, and Ynd ; In Burgonye, Burdcaux, and in Bethleem, In Jurye land, and in Jerusalem ; so
In France, in Freisland, and in Cowpland fellis, Quhair clokkis clekkis crawburdis in cokill schellis ; In Poill, Pertik, Peblis, and Portjafe, And thair I schippit into ane barge of drafe ; We pullit up sailis, and ciild our ankeris wey ; 3.> And suddanelye out thruch the throsin sey We sailit in storme but steir, gyde, or glass To Paradice, the place quhair Adame was. Be we approchit into that port, in hye We ware weill ware of Enoch and Elye, 4o
L/C HTO UN'S DREME
3
Sittand, on Yule evin, in ane fresch grene schaw, Rostand straberries at ane fyre of snaw ; I thocht I vvald nocht skar them in that place, Quhill thai had drawin the burd,and said the grace : Than suddanelie I wolk, out throw the plane 45 To see mae farleis, that I mycht tell agane.
Me thocht I happinnit on ane montane sone, I wanderit up, and was wer of the Mone, And had nocht bene I lowtit in the steid, I had strukkin ane lump out of my held. so
Quhen I was weill, me thocht I culd nocht lief, Bot than I tuke the Sone heme in my neif, And wald half clumin, bot at was in ane clipss ; SchortHe I slaid, and fell upon my hipss Doun in ane medow, besyde ane busk of mynt; 65 I socht my self, and I was sevin yeir tynt, Yit in ane mist I fand me on the morne. I hard ane Pundler blaw ane elrich home ; And syne besyde me, in ane medow grene, I saw thre quhyte quhailis, semelie to be sene ; eo Thair tedderis wes of grene greshopperis hair, Off mige schankis baith clene, quhyte, and fair ; Thair tedderis wer maid weill grit to graip With silkin schakillis, and sowlis of quhyte saip. This Pundler ran fast, faynand for to find 65
Thir quhailis thr^ upoun his gerss to pind ; He had ane cloik weill maid, and wounder meit, Off ganand graith, of gude gray girdill feit ; Ane cleirly coit maid, in courtly wyiss Of emmot skynis, with mony sketh and plyiss. ro Ane pair of hoiss meid of ane auld myll hopper, Ane pair of courtly schone of gude reid copper, Ane heklit hud maid of the wyld wode sege : Trest v/eill this Pundlar thocht him no manis pege ; He bure ane clube, made mony ane carle coy, 75 Maid of ane auld burd of the ark of Noy;
4 LICHTOUN'S DREME
He draif thir thre quhailis unto ane lie, Ane him swelleit, and bare him to the sie, And thair he levit on lempettis in her wame, Quhill harvist tyme, that hirdis draif thame hame. so Be this wes done, the tuder twa returnit To suallow me : grit dule I maid, and murnit : Me thocht I fled, and throcht a park cowd pass And walknit syne, quhair trow ye that I was ? Doun in ane henslaik, and gate ane fellon fall, 85 And lay betuix ane picher and the wall !
As wyffis commandis, this Dreme I will con- clude, God and the Rude mot turn it all to gud ! Gar fill the cop, for thir auld Carlingis clames That gentill Aill is oft the causs of Dremes. oo
(!B;:pIicic auoti ilic!?toutt i^lonicu^*
gjpminfe an5 Ijfe ^Brutljer^
IN a satirical poemi included in the present collection, the ' ' fwingeour coife " (a character in which the lewd and inordinate lives of the secular clergy is drawn from existing manners) at times is spoken of as
" Peipand peurly with petous granis Like fen^eit Symmie and his bruder."
These persons are no doubt the heroes of the following poem, which, as Lord Hailes has observed, seems to inti- mate that they were what is termed in the Canons of the Scotish Church, A.D. 1242 and 1296, qusestionarii, or persons sent out by the Church upon a begging mission. Kennedy, in order to throw ridicule upon Dunbar, repre- sents him as one of these quaestionarii, or begging friars, and says to him, with " cloutit cloke, skyrp, burdoun, and clam-schelhs,"
" Fra Ettrick forest furthward to Dumfrese, Thow beggit with a pardon in all kirkis, Collapis, cruddis, meil, grotis, gryce, and geis, And undernicht quhyle stall thow staigs and stirkis." ^
The poem itself is certainly obscure, and perhaps not quite entire, but possesses a considerable share of humour in its descriptions, even although it falls very far short of " Peblis to the Play " or " Christis Kirk on the Grene," of one or other of which it may be considered as an imitation. The stanza in which it is written, however, was popular during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries ; and amidst the
1 Ane Descriptioun of Pedder Coffeis. 2 Fly ting. ^
6 ST MM IE AND
contrariety of opinions that have been expressed respecting the age of these compositions, it might be difficult to assign the present poem, with any degree of certainty, to a particular date. The seven opening stanzas appeared in Sibbald's " Chronicle of Scotish Poetry." ^
HAIR is no story that I of heir, Of Johnne nor Robene Hude, Nor git of Wallace wicht but weir, That me think^ half so gude, As of thir Palmary twa but peir, To heir how thay conclude ; In to begging I trow fyve geir In Sanct Andro^ thay stude togidder, Bayth Sym and his bruder.
Tho*^ thay war wicht, I warrand gow, Thay had no will to wirk ; Thay maid them burdownis no^' to bow, Twa bewis of the birk, Weill stobbit w* steill, I trow To stik in to J)e mirk ; Bot sen pair baird^ grew on ]•>'' mow They saw nevir ]:»e kirk w*' in, Nowthir Syme nor his bruder.
Syne schupe thame vp to lowp o'^ leiss, Twa tabartis of the tartane ; Thay compt no*^ quhat Y clowtis weis Wes sewit J^ai" on incertane ;
1 Vol. i. p. 360.
HIS BRUTHER 7
Syne clapit vp sanct Peter^ keiss, 25
Bot of ane auld reid gartane : Sanct James fchell^ on ]?e lo]?^ syd sleuis As pretty as ony pertane ta, On Sym and his bmder. 30
Thus quhe thai had reddit Y ragis, To rome they war inspyrit \ Tuk vp thair joupis and all thair jaggis, Fiire fur* as thay war hyrit ; And ay pe eldest bure j)e baggis 35
Q" that ];e gungest tyrit ; Tuk counfall at Kinkell^ craggis, Come hame as thay war hyrit agane, Baith Sym and his bru]?er. 40
Than held thay houfs, as men me tellf,
And spendit of thair feis ;
Quhen meit wes went, thay flew our fell^
Als bissy as ony beis ;
Syne clengit sanct Jameis schell^ 45
And pecis of palme treis ;
To se quha best the pardone spell ^,
I schrew }:)ame ]:>at ay leiss
but lauchter, a Sym to his bruder. so
Quhen thay wer wel^full in ];air wyning,
Thay puft thame vp in pryd ;
Bot quhair that Symy levit in synyng,
His bruder wald haif ane bryd ;
Hir wedoheid fra the begyning 55
Wes neir ane moneth tyd ;
ST MM IE AND
Gif scho wes spedy ay in spjning Tak witness of thame besyd ilk ane, Baith Sym and his bruder. co
The carHs they thikkit fast in clude^
Agane j^e ma wes mareit,
W* breid & beif, and v]?^' bud(>,
Syne to the kirk thay kareit ;
But or thay twynd him % his dudis, 65
The tyme of none wes tareit :
Wa worth this wedding, for be this wid^
The meit is all miskareit
to day ! g, Sym and his bruder. ro
Our all the houss be lyne and levall, The ladis came to luk him ; To tak a justing of ]?at javell, The bryd wount no*^ to bruk him ; Thay maneist him w*- mony nevell 75
Tha Syme raiss and schuk him, I cleme to clery q, the cavell How dar thow cum to luk him gondir ? ^ Sym and his bruder. so
W*^ that ]^e carle begow^ to crak,
Glowrit vp and gaif a glufe ;
His beird it wes als lang T; blak,
That it hang our his mvif ;
He wes als lang vpoun the bak, 85
As evir wes Angus Dufe ;
He sayis, this justing I vndirtak,
My coit is of gud stuffe,
call to, cj Sym and his bruder. »o
HIS BRUT HER 9
He hoppit sa mycbt na ma hald him, Said blame me bot I bind him ; I sail ourtak him, and ]?at I tald him, In gone feild gife I fynd him, On his gray meir fast fur* they cald him 95 The flok^ flew fur* behind him, Thay daschit him doun, ]?e dirt ourhaild him, Tha start thay to and tind him ty*, Baith Sym and his bruder. 100
Tha brak he lowss, the horss ];at bair him Ran startling to Stratyrum, And he gat vp, and Syme swair him ge meit no* bot ge myr him ; Off ];at fowll courss for to declair him los
The cairlis come to requyr him. Than all ];e ladd^ cryd w* a lairru To flud him & to Ayr him bayth, g, Syme and his bruder. no
This was no bourdone to brown hill
That gatt betwene }?e browis,
And had no thing ado Y ^^^^
As mony vder trewis
Bot come fur* on his awin gud will ns
To Squyar Johne of Mowis,
He gratt and sit up in ]>q schill,
And ]?* the ladd^ allowis
ilk ane, To Sym and his bruder, 120
gob Symer was the stirrepman. Was nolt hird of ]?e toun, He said : I will just as I can, Sen he is strickin doun :
lo ST MM IE AND HIS BRUTHER
He gatt twa plaitis of aiie awld pan, 125
Ane breist plait made him boun, The first lynk raif his mow*^ a span, And Y ^^^ ^^11 ^^ swoune
almaist, Bay*^ Sym and his bruder. iso
Doun fra j^e leggis quhe he wes laist He maid a peteouss panting, He svvovvnit '^ he swelt almaist For gaping % for ganting ; Abyd g. the leich I se a waist, 135
His wrang twch is in wanting, God saif him & the Haly Gaist And keip ]?e ma fra mating mekle, g Sym and his bruder. 140
His mowth was schent, and sa forschorne. Held nowdir wind nor watter ; Fair weill all blast of blawing home, He mycht no* do bot blatter : He end^ ]?e story w* harme foilorne, 145
The nolt begow* till shatter, The ky ra startling to };e come, Wa worth the tyme thow gat hir now ! q Symmie till his bruder, loo
©jcpliciti
Cf)e iManer of tlje Crping of ane IPlape.
IN the following curious Interlude, the Genius of Wealth is represented under the character of a blind pigmy, or one of a distinct race of lesser divinities, peculiar to the mythology of the Northern nations. They were supposed to inhabit the rocks in the wildest recesses, and to be pos- sessed of immense riches in gold and precious stones. As expressive of their dwarfish size, they were called Duerghar, or Droichs. Accordingly, in Bannatyne's manuscript it is entitled ' ' Ane little interlude of the Droichis part of the play," — although we are unable to say whether it actually formed a part of any dramatic poem, as assuredly no com- position of the same period now exists that can be dignified with the title of the Play. The earliest drama that belongs exclusively to our country is "The Satire of the thrie Estaits," which it is certain was not written before the year 1535, and therefore, to connect this Interlude with that most singular production, or assign them both to the same author, as have repeatedly been done, is very erroneous. The present poem evidently belongs to the reign of James IV. , and not of his successor ; and instead of being the work of Sir David Lyndsay, it seems to bear sufficient evidence of the hand of his contemporary Blind Harry, author of the " Wallace." The volume that has furnished the present copy (written by John Asloan, apparently in or before the year 1515) was formerly in the possession of Sir Alexander Boswellof Auchin- leck, Bart. Besides presenting the text in a more genuine state, it contains several stanzas of a local nature, and of no inconsiderable interest, that do not occur in Bannatyne's later manuscript, from which it has hitherto been printed.
12 THK MANER OF THE
t^tit foHoijjiss tlje matter of t!)c crptnjj of atte Plap,
ARRY, harry, hobillschowe ! Se quha is cummyn novve, Bot I wait nevir howe,
With the quhorle wynd ? A Soldane owt of Seriand/ 5
A gyand Strang for to stand, Tliat with the strength of my hand Beres may bynd.
git I trowe that I wary,
I am the nakit blynd Harry, lo
That lang has bene in the fary,
Farleis to fynd ; And git gif this be nocht I, I wait I am the spreit of Gy, Or ellis go by the sky, 16
Licht as the lynd.
The God of most magnificence, Conserf this fair presens, And saif this amyable audiens,
Grete of renovne ; 20
Prowest, baillies, officeris, And honerable induellaris, Marchandis, and familiaris,
Of all this fair towne.
Ouha is cummyn heir, bot I, 25
A bauld bustuoss bellamy, At goiir corss to mak a cry, With a hie sowne ?
[n Bann. MS. reads ' A sargeand out of Sosvdoun land.'
CRTING 0,F ANE PLATE 13
Quhilk generit am of gyandis kynd,
Fra Strang Hercules be strynd, so
Off all the Occident of Ynd
My eldaris bair the crovne.
My fore grantschir hecht Fyn M^Kowle, That dang the devill, and gart him gowle, The skyis ranyd quhen he wald scowle, 35
And trublit all the air : He gat my grantschir Gog Magog ; Ay quhen he dansit, the warld wald schog ; Five thousand ellis geid in his frog,
Of Hieland pladdis of hair. 40
git he was bot of tendir gouth ; Bot eftir he grewe mekle at fouth, Ellevyne ell ^ wyde met was his mouth,
His teith was ten myle sqwair. He wald apon his tais stand, 45
And tak the sternis dovne with his hand, And set tham in a gold garland
Aboue his wyfis hair.
He had a wyf was lang of clift ;
Hir hed was hiear than the Hft ; so
The hevyne rerdit quhen scho wald rift ;
The lass was no thing sklender : Scho spittit Loch-Lomond with hir lippis ; Thunner and fyre-flaucht flewe fra hir hippis ; Quhen scho was crabit, the son thoht clippis ;
The fende durst nocht offend hir. 56
For cald scho tuke the fevir cartane ; For all the claith of Fraunce and Bertane, Wald nocht be till hir leg a gartane,
Thocht scho was gung and tendir ; 60
1 ' Ellevyne mylle ' in Bann. MS.
14 THE MANER OF THE
Apon a nycht heir in the North, Scho tuke the grawell, and stalit Cragorth, Scho pischit the mekle watter of Forth ; Sic tyde ran efter hendir.
A thing writtin of hir I fynd 65
In Irland quhen scho blewe behynd, At Noroway costis scho rasit the wynd,
And gret schippis drownit thar. Scho fischit all the Spange seis, With hir sark lape befor hir theis ; ro
Sevyne dayis saling ^ betuix hir kneis
Was estymit and mair.
The hyngand brayis on aithir syde,
Scho poltit with hir lymmis wide
Lassis mycht leir at hir to stryd, 76
Wald ga to lufis lair. Scho merkit syne to land with myrth ; And pischit fyf quhalis in the Firth, That cropyn war in hir geig for girth, ^
Welterand amang the wair. so
My fader, mekle Gow Makmorne, Out of that wyfis wame was schorne ; For litilness scho was forlorne,
Sic a kempe to beir : Or he of eld was geris thre, S5
He wald stepe ovr the Occeane se ; The mone sprang neuer aboiie his kne ;
The hevyn had of him feir.
1 ' Thrd dayis sailing.' Bann. MS.
2 A word or two in this line has been supplied from Bann. MS.
CRTING OF ANE PLATE 15
Ane thousand ger is past fra mynd,
Sen I was generit of his kynd, 90
Full far amang the desertis of Ynde,
Amang lyoun and beir : Baith the King Arthour and Gawane, And mony bald berne in Brettane, Ar deid, and in the weris slane, 95
Sen I couth weild a speir.
I haue bone forthwart euer in feild, And now so lang I haf borne scheld, That I am all crynd in for eld
This litill, as ge may se. 10a
I haue bene bannist wnder the lynd Full lang, that no man couth me fynd, And now with this last southin wynd,
I am cummyn heir pard^.
My name is Welth, thairfor be blyth, 105 I am come heir comfort gow to kyth ; Supposs that wretchis wryng and wryth,
All darth I sail gar de ; For sekerly, the trueth to tell, I come amang gow heir to duell, no
Fra sound of sanct Gelis bell,
Nevir think I to fle.
Sophea and the Soldane Strang, With weris that has lestit lang, Furth of thar boundis maid me to gang, ii5
And turn to Turky tyte. The King of Frauncis gret army. Has brocht in darth in Lombardy ; And in ane cuntre he and I
May nocht baith stand perfyte. 120
1 6 THE MANER OF THE
In Denmark, Swetherik, and Noroway, Na in the Steidis I dar nocht ga ; Amang thaim is bot tak and sla,
Cut thropillis, and mak quyte. Irland for evir I haue refusit, 125
All wichtis suld hald me excusit, For neuer in land quhar Erische was vsit
To duell had I delyte.
Quharfor in Scotland come I heir,
With 50 w to byde and preseveir, iso
In Edinburgh, quhar is meriast cheir,
Plesans, disport and play ; Quhilk is the lampe, and A per se. Of this regioun, in all degre, Of welefair, and of honeste, 135
Renovne, and riche aray.
Sen I am Welth, cummyn to this wane, ge noble merchandis euerilkane, Address gow furth with bow and flane,
In lusty grene lufraye ; uo
And follow furth on Robyn Hude, With hartis coragiouss and gud, And thocht that wretchis wald ga wod,
Of worschipe hald the way.
For I, and my thre feres aye, h5
Weilfair, Wantoness, and Play, Sail byde with 30 w, in all affray,
And cair put clene to flicht : And we sail dredless ws address, To banniss derth, and all distress ; i50
And with all sportis, and meryness,
^our hartis hald euer on hicht.
CRTING OF ANE PLATE 17
Sen 1 I am of mekle quantite,
Of gyand kynd, as ge may se,
Quhar sail be gotten a wyf to me 155
Sicklyke of breid and hicht? I dreid that thair be nocht a bryde, In all this towne may me abyd, Quha wait gif ony heir besyde,
Micht suffer me all nycht. ico
With gow sen I mon leid my lyf, Gar serss baith Louthiane and Fyf, And vale to me a mekle wyf,
A gret vngraciouss gan ; Sen scho is gane, the Gret FORLORE i65
[Of Babylon, that I full yore Espousit, quhan we tochir store
Fra gud sanct Dawy wan.] 2
Adew ! fairweill ; for now I go,
Bot I will nocht lang byd gow fro ; iro
Chryst gow conserve fra every wo,
Baith madin, wyf, and man. God bliss thame, and the haly rude, Givis me a drink, sa it be gude ; And quha trowis best that I do lude, 175
Skynk first to me the kan.
ifinijS off Hje OfotdjiiS part of tTjc p{ap.
1 ' Sen ' in 1. 153, and ' bryde ' in 1, 157, are supplied from Bann. MS.
^ This Interlude in Asloane's MS. is incomplete, the leaf which had the conclusion being lost. As Bannatyne's MS. , from which the subsequent stanza is given, does not contain the former, these three lines were kindly supplied by a friend, who has given the public more ample specimens of the success with which he has cultivated the ancient ballad- style of our poetry.
VOL. IL B
Clje ©pre^Carltng.
GYRE-CARLING is the name of the Hecate, or Mother Witch, of the Scotish peasantry, who is sometimes identified with the Queen of the Fairies. Carhng, Dr. Leyden explains as being the feminine of carl, and as used ' ' to denote an old hag or witch ; hence compounded with the Isl. gier ; R. gier ; Al. geyr ; the Gyre-Carling, the Queen of Fairies, the Great Hag, Hecate, or Mother Witch of the peasants, concerning whom many popular stories were formerly current, and rude burlesque verses are still repeated." i Frequent allusions in our early writers occur respecting these superstitions. Sir David Lyndsay, "who feinzeit many fabillis " for the amusement of his royal pupil, James V., reminds him how, in his tender years, he was accustomed with
" mony plesand storye.
Of the Reid Etin, and the Gyer Carling, Confortand tli^, quhen that I saw th6 sorye." -
And Montgomery, with great minuteness, in the " Flyting," describes the array of Nicnevin (another of her popular appellations), and her "clrich" company in their procession on All-hallow-evin.3
After the Editor had transcribed the following burlesque fragment from Bannatyne's manuscript,^ he found that it
1 Glossary to Complaynt of Scotland, 8vo, 1801, p. 318, See also Dr. Jamieson's Diet, sub v. ; and Mr. Chalmers' Glossary in his edition of Lyndsay.
2 Lyndsay's Works, vol. i, p. 189.
3 Montgomery's Poetical Wcrks.'edit. 8vo, 1821, p. 113.
4 Fol. 136 b.
18
THE GTRE'CARLING 19
had been introduced into the " Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border," 1 in the interesting and valuable dissertation "On the Fairies of Popular Superstition." Leyden had previously remarked the peculiarity of its commencing in the same manner as " The Warris of the Jewis," an alliterative poem preserved in the British Museum,^ which is cited by Warton.^
N Tiberius tyme, the trew Imperiour, Quhen Tinto hillis fra skraiping of
toun-henis was keipit, Thair dwelt ane grit Gyre-Carling in awld Betokf hour, That levit vpoun Christiane menis flesche, and
re\v%eid^ vnleipit ; Thair wynit ane her by, on the west syd, caUit Blasour, 6
For luve of hir lawchane hppis, he waUt and he
weipit ; He gadderit ane mengie of modwartc to warp
doun the tour : The carhng w*^ ane yrne club, quhen \2X Blasour sleipit, Behind the heill scho hatt him sic ane blaw, Quhill Blasour bled ane quart 10
Of milk pottage inwart, The CarUng luche, and lut fart North Berwik Law.
The king of Fary than come, w^ elffis mony ane,.
And sett ane sege, and ane salt, w* grit pensallf
of pryd ; 15
1 Vol. ii. p. 174, edit. i3o3.
2 MSS. Cotton, Calig. A n. 109.
3 Warton's Hist, of Poetry, vol, i. p. 311,
20 THE GTRE'CARLING
And all the doggis fra Dumbar wes tliair to
Dumblane, W*- all the tykis of Tervey, come to thame that
tyd ; Thay gnew doun w*^ thair gomes mony grit stane, The Carling schup hir in ane sow, and is hir
gaitis gane, Gruntlyng our the Greik sie and durst na langer
byd, 20
For bruklyng of bargane, & breking of browis :
The Carling now for dispyte
Is mareit w* Mahomyte,
And will the doggis interdyte, For scho is quene of Jowis. 25
Sensyne the cokkis of Crawmound crew nevir a
day, For dule of ]?at devillisch deme was w* Mahoun
mareit, And the henis of Haddingtoun sensyne wald no*^
lay,
For this wyld wilroun wich thame widlit sa &
wareit ; And ]?e same North Berwick Law, as I heir wyvis
say, 30
This Carling, w*- a fals cast, wald away carreit : For to luk on quha sa lykis, na langer scho tareit. All this lango"" for luve bcfoir tymes fell,
Lang or Betok was born,
Scho bred of ane accorne ; 36
To 30W I sail tell.
The laif of the story to morne
iking aSetUolu
THIS singular fragment, preserved in George Bannatyne's Manuscript, 1 was overlooked by the earlier editors of Scotish Poetry, except by John Leyden, who alludes to it in his interesting and learned introduction to the " Com- playnt of Scotland." 2 Although it may now be impossible to ascertain the individual work, the ludicrous nature of this fairy tale plainly intimates that it was intended as a burlesque of some "geste" or romantic story, which may have been popular at the time of its composition.
Eing; "Bertiofe*
YM of Lyntoun be ])e ramis horn, Quhe Phebus rang in signe ^ of Capri- corn And the mvne wes past the gusft cro, Thair fell in France ane jeperdie forlo, Be ])e grit king of Babilon, Berdok, 6
That dwelt in sjmer in till ane bowkaill stok ; And into winter, quhe ]?e frostis ar fell. He dwelt for cauld in till a cokkil schell : Kingis vsit no^ to weir clathis in tha dayis, Bot geid naikit, as myne auctor sayis ; 10
1 Fol. 142 b.
3 The manuscript reads in 1. ' kin.'
2 P. 152. ^ 2, ' sing,' and in 1.
22 KING BERDOK
Weill cowd he play in clarschot and on lute,
And bend ane aiprin bow, and nipschot schiite ;
He wes ane stalwart ma of hairt and hand ;
He wowit the golk seven geir of Maryland,
Mayiola, and scho wes bot geiris thre, 15
Ane bony bird, and had bot ane e ;
Neuirtheless king Berdok luvit hir weill,
For hir foirfute wes langar tha hir heill.
The king Berdok he fure our se and land,
To reveiss Mayok the golk of Maryland, 20
And nane w* him bot ane bow and ane bowlt ;
Syne hapnit him to cum amang ]?e nowlt,
And as this Berdok about him cowd espy
He saw Mayola milkand hir mvder€ ky,
And in ane creill vpoun his bak hir kest : 25
Quhe he come hame it wes ane howlat nest,
Full of skait bird-C, and tha this Berdok grett,
And ran agane Meyola for to gett.
The king of Fary hir fadir than blew out,
And socht Berdok all the land abowt, 30
And Berdok fled in till a killogy ;
Thair wes no grace bot gett him or ell€ die ;
Thair wes the kingis of Pechtis and Portingaill,
The king of Naippillis and Navern alhaill,
W^ bowis & brandis \v*^ segis thay vmbeset
him, 35
Sum bad tak, sum slay, sum bad byd quhill thay
get him ; Thay stellit gunis to the killogy laith, And proppit gunnis w*- bulettis of rawdaich : Than Jupiter pray it to god Saturn, In liknes of ane tod he wald him turn ; 40
Bot sone j^e graciouf^ god Mercurius Turnit Berdok in till ane braikane buf^ ; And quhen thay saw the buf^ wag to % fra, Thay trowd it wes ane gaist, and thay to ga :
KING BERDOK 2^
Thir fell kingis thus Berdok wald haif slane. 45 All this for lufe : hiveris siiffeiis pane, Boece said, of poyeitis ]'>^ wes flour. The* lufe be sweit, oft syii^ it is full sour.
©jcplicit*
C!)e axaotomg cf S^olfe anli fpnnp.
THE " Wowing of Jok and Jynny " is the most ancient, and not the least humorous, of many similar songs and ballads which still retain their popularity in this country. Lord Hailes observed — and his words are quite applicable at the present time — that " this well-known poem, by frequent publication, has been much corrupted. Every publisher took the liberty of adding or altering just as his fancy led him. It is now given faithfully from the manuscript,^ and exhibits a ludicrous picture of the curta supellex of the Scottish commons in the sixteenth century." ^
Even since the time that Lord Hailes presented the text in a genuine state, the interpolated copies have been gene- rally adopted by its different editors. But the original poem has too much merit, and possesses too close a resemblance to the nature of the present collection, to justify its exclusion, merely because it has been already published.
We possess no information with respect to the author, unless it be worth observing that the signature " q Clerk," attached to this poem in the manuscript, has, at an early period, been intentionally obliterated. The name, appar- ently, is written in the same hand (not that of the transcriber) which attributes "The Brash of Wowing," and two other poems in the same collection, to a writer of this name, — supposed to have been Maister Johne Clerk, the poet mentioned by Dunbar as having been taken by Death
' Fra balat making and trigidti.' ^
1 Bann. MS. fol. 137.
2 Ancient Scottish Poems, Edin. 1770, 12°, p. 292.
3 Lament for the deth of the Makars, Edin. 1508.
24
JOK AND JTNNT 25
'tlTlbe ©aotoitto; of 3(0^ anti I^ttttp.'
OBEYNS Jok come to wow our Jynny, On our feist-evin when we were fow ; Scho brankit fast, and maid hir bony, And said, Jok, come ge for to wow ? Scho birneist hir baith briest and brow, And maid hir cleir as ony clok ; 6
Than spake her dime, and said, I trow, ge come to wow our Jynny, Jok.
Jok said, forsuth I gern full fane.
To luk my held, and sit doun by gow. 10
Than spak hir modir, and said agane,
My bairne hes tocher-gud annwch.^
Te he ! quoth Jynny, keik, keik ! I se gow,
Muder, ^one man makis gow a mok.
I schro the, lyar ! full leis me 50W, 15
I come to WOW your Jynny, quoth Jok.
My berne, scho sayis, hes of hir awin, Ane guss, ane gryce, ane cok, ane hen Ane calf, ane hog, ane fute-braid sawin, Ane kirk, ane pin, and ge weill ken, 20
Ane pig, ane pot, ane raip thair ben, Ane fork, ane flaik, ane reill, ane rok, Dischis and dublaris nyne or ten : Come ^e to wow our Jynny, Jok ?
Ane blanket, and ane wecht also, 25
Ane schule, ane scheit, ane lang flail, 2 Ane ark, ane almry, and laidillis two, Ane milk-syth, with ane swine-taill,
1 • annwch ' is inserted after ' tocher-gud,' but has been scored through in the MS. by the transcriber, who has added ' to ge 5o\v. '
2 Originally ' four lang flailis.'
40
26 THE WOWING OF
Ane rowsty quhittill to scheir the kaill, Ane quheill, ane mell the beir to knok, so Ane coig, ane caird wantand ane naill ; Come ^e * to wow our Jynny, Jok ? '
Ane furme, ane furlet, ane pot, ane pek,
Ane tub, ane barrow, with ane quheilband,
Ane turs, ane troch, and ane nieil-sek, 35
Ane spurtill braid, and ane elwand.
Jok tuk Jynny be the hand,
And cryd, Ane feist ; and slew ane cok,
And maid a brydell vp alland ;
Now haif I gotdn gour Jynny, quoth Jok,
Now, deme, I haif gour bairne mareit ;
Suppoiss ge mak it nevir sa twche,
I lat gow wit schoft nocht miskareit,
It is Weill kend I haif annwch ;
Ane crukit gleyd fell our ane huch, 45
Ane spaid, ane speit, ane spur, ane sok,
Withouttin oxin I haif a plnche
To gang to gidder Jynny and Jok.
I haif ane helter, ane eik, ane hek,
Ane coird, ane creill, and als ane cradill, nc
Fyve fidder of raggis to stuff ane jak,
Ane auld pannell of ane laid sadill,
Ane pepper-polk maid of a padill,
Ane spounge, ane spindill wantand ane nok,
Tvva lusty lippis to lik ane laiddill, 65
To gang to gidder Jynny and Jok.
Ane brechamc, and twa brochis fyne Weill buklit with a brydill renge, Ane sark maid of the linkome twyne, Ane gay grene cloke that will nocht sten^e ;
JOK AND JTNNT 27
And ^it for mister I will nocht fenge, ei
Fyive hundreth fleis now in a flok. Call ge nocht that ane joly menge, To go to giddir, Jynny and Jok ?
Ane trene truncheour, ane ramehorne spone, 65
Twa buttis of barkit blasnit ledder,
All graith that ganis to hobbill schone,
Ane thrawcruk to twyne ane tedder,
Ane brydill, ane girth, and ane sywne bledder,
Ane maskene-fatt, ane fetterit lok, ro
Ane scheip weill keipit fra ill wedder.
To gang to giddir, Jynny and Jok.
Tak thair for my parte of the feist ;
It is weill knawin I am weill bodin ;
ge may nocht say my parte is leist. 75
The vvyfe said, Speid, the kaill ar soddin,
And als the laverok is fust and loddin ;
Quhen ge haif done tak hame the brok.
The rost wes twche, sa wer thay bodin ;
Syne gaid to giddir bayth Jynny and Jok. so
©jcplicit*
* g 3Sallet sljetomg ijoVo a Dumb axapff teas matlr to speife.'
THE Maitland MS. contains a fragment of the following humorous tale, and a less imperfect copy occurs in one of Bishop More's MSS. in the University Library, Cam- bridge. The stanzas in the latter MS, having been awk- wardly transposed by the writer, both copies are made use of in order that this ballad might be given in its most per- fect state. The only deficiency which we are left to regret is that of the first four lines.
The incident on which this story is founded might be traced back through a long series of writers of various nations, both in prose and verse. The original of the pre- sent tale may perhaps be found in one of the numerous French fabliaux, which doubtless were well known at an early period in Scotland, owing to the great intercourse which subsisted between the two nations ; but the earliest form in which it appears in print is in one of the " Hun- dred Merry Tales," folio, 1526, or the undated edition, where it is No. 60, and is entitled " Of the man that had the dome wyfe." The idea is copied in the " Scholehouse of Women," 1541, and by Rabelais, who substitutes a physician for the Devil.
Part of a vulgar Scotish ballad of a similar kind, which never seems to have been printed, is still remembered. The husband takes his wife to a surgeon "to cure her of the dumb, dumb, duniVj," who, by cutting the strings of her tongue, brings her faculties of speech to " a pretty tolerable consistency;" or rather, enables her "to rattle with her tongue, tongue, tongue," at such a rate, that the poor man is fain to apply a second time for assistance, and beg of the
THE DUMB WTFF 29
doctor to make her dumb again. Instead of pointing out some remedy, or even answering him as we might suppose him to do, Hke Sganarelle, in the admirable comedy of the " Le Medecin malgr6 lui," on a similar application,
" That's impossible ; Sir : all that I can do to serve you, is, I can make you deaf, if you please," —
he is so malicious as to say, like the Devil in the following tale, that though it is an easy matter to make a woman speak, it is beyond the skill of all the doctors in the land afterwards to silence her.
The opening passage of the prose narrative cited above may be given, to enable the reader to judge how the present one probably commenced. ' ' There was a man that maryed a woman whiche hath \_sic\ grete ryches & bewte, how be it she had suche an impedyment of nature that she was dome and coude not speke, whiche thynge made hym full ofte to be ryght pesyfye & sad. ..."
€|)e Duml) Smpff»
UHAN wihair wyfes war glaid To mak thair husbandis blyth, Scho satt, and nothing said ; And comfort none culd kyth. Than, to be brief, He tuik sic grieff, That deiplie he did sweir, 10
That he for thoucht, That he had brocht Ane dum wyfif hame for geir.
And so wppone ane day.
He went alone to pance \
So mett he in his way 15
Ane grit grim man be chance :
30 THE DUMB JVTFF
Ouhilk fast at him did fraine
Quhy he sadlie went ?
Quhat angwische, greiff, or paine,
Perturbit his intent
He bad him schaw, And latt him knavv
Off all his grieff the ground —
He sould remeid, Haue he na dreid,
Gif remeid micht be found.
Than he declairis cleir The mater all and fum ; How he had tane for geir Ane woman deiff and dum. For hir riches and rentes He weddit hir to his wyff; Bot now he fair repentes, And irkis sair of his lyff. His earthlie joy Is tuinit to noy ; He wist him selff war deid. Quoth he agane, Tak no disdane, And I sail find remeid.
Gif thow will counsell keip,
And learne well quhat I say,
This nicht in hir tirst sleip
Vndir hir towng thow lay
Off quaiken aspein leiff,
The quhilk betaiknis wound;
And scho sail half releiff
Of speiking thow sail find ;
Quhat kind of taill, With outtin faill
That thow of hir requyreis,
Scho sail speik out, Haif thow na doutt,
And mair than thow desyreis.
THE DUMB WTFF 31
Than was he glaid of this,
And thocht him self weill chewin : 60
And hame he com with bhss ;
Thocht lang quhill it was ewin.
Quhill scho was fallin on sleip
Ay warrhe watchit he ;
And than he tuik guid keip, 66
And laid in leifes thrie ;
Thinkand his cuir To wirk moist suir. —
He lay vvaikand quhill day ;
Quhill scho awoik Guid tent he tuik,
To heir quhat scho suld say. 00
Na rest than cauld he tak
Bot tumbillis heir and thair :
The first word that scho spak,
Scho said. 111 mot ge fair !
That wald nocht latt me rest, C6
And I lay seik this nycht ! —
— For joy he hir imbraift,
His hairt was hie on hicht.
Than furth scho schew, All that scho knew,
Quhen that scho could nocht speik. ro
Fra scho began, Scho spairit nocht than,
And litill till ane seik. —
And quhan I did hir pray
In silence for to sitt,
That is the neirest way rs
To putt hir by hir witt :
God knawis the drerie lyff
I had sen scho was dum ;
Off ane gud quyet wyff
Is now ane fiend becuni ; ^ so
1 ' bes:un,' MS,
32 THE DUMB WYFF
Hir speiche but sessioun, But ryme or ressoun, Now deiffis vp all the hous ; Allace ! this day, That, I may say, That euer scho spak sa crous.
Blame thy selft* quod he, 85
That gaif hir superflew ; Thow laid in leifis thrie, Quhair ane mycht bene enew ; Had thow don as I bad,
Or now thow sould haue seine, 90
1 .
Weill temperet toung betwene ;
Bot quha may latt ^ Ane wyfe to clatter,
Syne no man can conuert hir ;
The mimest wyff That euer tuik lyff, as
Will warie sum wordis, and start hir.
Quod he, tak quhat I haiff,
And leif hir as ge fand hir. —
Allace ! quod he, ge raiff,
I dar nocht cum neir hand hir ; loo
I am [a] Devill but doutt ;
First langage learnit hir till,
I dar nocht be so stoutt,
To bid hir hald hir still ;
Fra scho delyte To fecht and flytt, loa
I dar nocht with hir mell ;
Scho will speik out, Haue ge na doutt,
Off all the deuillis in hell.
The leist deuill that is in hell
Can gif ane wyff hir toung ; no
The gritest, I ^ow tell,
Cannot do mak hir dum.
1 1. 91 omitted in MS. - ' latter,' MS.
THE DUMB WTFF
33
Fra scho begin to clatter,
Scho will claver quhair scho pleis
We deuillis can na wayis latt hir ; iis
Giue man tak gow the waneis :
Thocht nighbouris aboutt wis hir toung outt,
It dois thame nocht availl,
I say for me Scho will chyde till ^ scho die,
Scho is best with littill daill. 120
Quod he, than tell me plane,
Quhat counsall best ge calU —
Quod he, gang hame agane,
For it is ill over all :
Latt thy wyfif speik hir fill, 123
Sen scho thairto was borne ;
For wyffis will haue thair will
Thocht ge and I had sworne.
Quliat euer hir happin, Hir toung is hir wapin,
To speik than quha may latt hir, 130
Quha may ganestand Or contramand J
Ane crabit wyff to clatter %
Thus thai depairtit plane :
The feind flew ( uir ane hill ;
The guidman hame agane, 133
And with his wyff baid still :
Quod he, now I perseaue
Thair is na leid in land
That has, as I wald haiiT,
His wyff at his command. uo
Fra thine furth ay, He leit hir say,
And neuer was offendit,
But at hir vvourdis Maid quyet bourdis,
Quhill daith thair dayis endit.
1 ' will/ MS. VOL. II.
rac^ 3B0CH
THE MIRSISG M.ilDIS 5$
ortbograpbr of Ae
is, in pan.
^gJMf ^erc uacooch^.
'Orjctm'ao
•Q«* •A'l Som
For
My kirdll «cs of Weill ^adi vilfa Godgif Ih»d For £adit b nj
God gif fDj bar had been ak b'i^ As ever ves mjr hart 6x1 of cak. It »-ald ooc pal OK to Bc lak. For fadit is mj jdiam hak.
Qahen I vasfoaBf I fai Weill cfaerisfail bwlh wsh kaa For sbane nov Mefl I oC^tte For &dit is wkj jdkm kaic
' Of wardbe joys I take ay A Bat smhesaocte bai aarxov i And fadit is oij ydkm faak.
•ait*
Godgiftbedaitofktf That I micfat die. and hd aa To Jesu Christ I mak my ma And fadit is mj yeBow hak.
Sen all this foOj is bjr^weaC. Out of this warld I I pray to God Omnipoteal, To tak me, anner, fiitl of cak ! Finis. — J
Cl)e iWunnng iWaiUin.
THE first verse of this beautiful poem, " Still under the leyvis grene," is cited in the " Complaynt of Scotland " (1549), and was first printed from Sir R. Maitland's MS. by Mr. Pinkerton. He speaks of it " as a capital piece, being a kind of rival of the Ephesian Matron, narrated with exquisite simplicity and beauty ; " and elsewhere he says that "this piece, for the age [in which] it was written, is almost miraculous. The tender pathos is finely recom- mended by an excellent cadence. An age that produced this might produce almost any perfection in poetry," It was indeed written in the Augustan age of Scotish Poetry ; and after such a high encomium, there needs no apology for its re-publication. Dr. Irving is equally enthusiastic in its praise. 1
There are several other poems still extant of a similar kind, but for various reasons are less fit for publication. From one of these, which was lately discovered in a muti- lated state (with various other fragments in verse and prose, pasted together in the boards of an old book of little value), a few stanzas may be here introduced. Some portions of this Lament are very pathetick, but unfortunately, from parts of the lines being cut away, it is not easy to guess at the exact words to supply all the deficiencies ; although much has been done for it by a gentleman to whom the Editor has already made his acknowledgments. The
^ History of Scotish Poetry, 1861, p. 207. He adds: "The plan of the poem is, however, superior to its execu- tion."
34
THE MURNING MAID IN 35
orthography of the original fragment being very uncouth, is, in part, corrected : —
* Fareweill, fare ' weill, my yellow hair, ' That curlit cleir ' into my neck ! ' Allace ! ' that ever it grew sae fair, ' Or yet in ' to ane snood was knet.
' Qu ' har I was wont to dance and sing ; ' A ' mang my marrows mak repair — Now am I put furth of the ring, For fadit is my yellow hair.
My kirtill wes of lincu'm green,' Weill lacit with silk 'en passments rair ; ' God gif I had never pridefull ' been,' For fadit is my yellow hair.
God gif my hair had been als b'lak ' As ever wes my hart full of cair. It wald not put me to sic lak, For fadit is my yellow hair.
Quhen I was young I had great sta'it,' Weill cherishit baith with less and ma'ir, For shame now steill I off the gait, For fadit is my yellow hair.
I wes our wanton of intent ' Of wardlie joys I tuke my share ; But sin hes nocht but sorrow sent," And fadit is my yellow hair.
God gif the dait of luf were gane. That I micht die, and luf na mair ! To Jesu Christ I mak my mane. And fadit is my yellow hair.
Sen all this folly is by- went, Out of this warld I maun repair ; I pray to God Omnipotent, To tak me, sinner, full of cair ! Finis, — Amen.
36 THE MURNING MAIDIN
The admiration of yellow hair was not peculiar to the old Scotish poets, one of whom compares the tresses of their ladies " to the wire of gold that has been fined." According to the ingenious author of the "Anatomy of Melancholy," " a flexen haire, golden haire was ever in great account ; " and after naming those in ancient times ("gods and god- desses," as well as heroes) whom the poets have commended for their "yellow hair,", i he, adds, "Which belike makes our Venetian ladies at this day to counterfeit yellow hair so much, great women to calamistrate and curie it up, to adorne their heads with spangles, pearles, and made flowres, and all courtiers to affect a pleasing grace in this kinde."2 In reference to this custom of the Venetian ladies, ^ a quaint English writer 4 exclaims: — " What a curious accommoda- tion to those people had some fountain been that had a harmelesse property to colour their haire according to their mindes, — such a one as the River Crathis, mentioned by Plinie, whose nature was to make Haire yellow, which efficacy Ovid attributes to another."
" Crathis, et hinc Sybaris nostris conterminus oris, Electro similes faciunt Aui-cque Capillos."
Among the other fragments were two or three love poems in the style of Alexander Scott, or of his contemporary, Montgomery. The one least mutilated is here inserted ; the words within the inverted commas being supplied, as in the former instance, by Charles Sharpe, Esq.
1 Jeremy Taylor takes notice that " Menander in the Comedy brings in a man turning his wife from his house because she staijid her hair yellcnv, which was then the beauty." — Sermofis, 1653, p. 242. But the words imply that this practice was not adopted by any modest woman.
NOj' S' ^p7r' dTf' oiKWv Twp8e. tt]v yvvaiKa ydp Hrji/ (rw0poj/' ov Set ras rpixas ^avdas iroulv.
Mena7idri Fragtnenta 199, edit. 1709, p. 295.
2 Burton's Anat. of Melanch. , edit. 1632, fol. p. 469.
' See Coryate's Crudities, &c., i6n, fol. 260-1. Lassel's Italy, &c.
*■ Bulwer's Artificiall Changeling, 1652, 410, p. 65.
THE MURNING MAIDIN 37
"QUHEN we to Ladies lufe inclyne, Our guerdon still growis less and less,"
Bot quha sould press to suffer pyne, Or for thair plessour thoil distres ?
Sen thai regard to treuth lies none ;
Nor yit reward for lufe allonc,
Bot pane expres !
Bot pane expres ! I sd rycht nocht ;
The moir I serve the less sett by ! The moir I luff the les in thocht !
The moir I weip the war am I ! My hart is sett, but variance Quhair I can get no recompans,
This is the quhy !
This is the quhy ! I plainjie foir
My Lady, on your excellence ; Ye sould support my panis soir,
' That ' woundis me, without offence ; ' Quhen ' every day I am bot deid, ' Allace ! nor can I find remeid '
' Bot patience.'
But patience ! remeid is none, This langsum liff I leid, allace !
Subject I am to you allone, As bond and thral to byid your grace :
This gret annoye quha may resist ?
Cupide convoy me as thow list, —
Hard is my case.
Hard is my case ! without confort,
Bot gif ye help, my Lady free, Quha sould me succour, or support,
Quha sould me saiff, or yit supplee. But ye sueit hart and soverane ? Thairfor reward my liff agane,
Yit or I dee !
38 THE MURNING MAIDIN
TILL undir the levis grene,
This hindir day, I went alone ; I hard ane May sair mwrne and meyne, To the King of Luif scho maid hir mone. Scho sychit sely soir ; s
Said, " Lord, I luif thi lore ; Mair wo dreit nevir woman one ! O langsum lyfe, and thow war gone, Than suld I mwrne no moir ! "
II.
As rid gold-wyir schynit hir hair ; lo
And all in grene the May scho glaid. Ane bent bow in hir hand scho bair ; Undir hir belt war arrowis braid.
I followit on that fre,
That semelie wes to se : i5
With still mwrning hir mone scho maid. That bird undir a bank scho baid,
And lenit to ane tre.
III.
"Wan weird," scho said,"Ouhat have I wroch. That on me kytht hes all this cair ? 20
Trew luif so deir I have the bocht ! Certis so sail I do na mair : Sen that I go begyld With ane that faythe has syld : That gars me oftsyis sich full sair ; 20
And walk amang the holtis hair Within the woddis wyld.
THE MURNING MAIDIN 39
IV.
" This grit disese for luif I dre — Thair is no toung can tell the wo !— I lufe the luif, that lufes not me ; I may not mend — but murning mo.
Quhill God send sum remeid,
Throw destany, or deid : I am his freind — and he my fo. My sueit, alace ! quhy dois he so ?
I wrocht him nevir na feid !
V.
*'\Vithoutin feyn I wes his freynd, In word and wark, grit God it wait ! Quhair he wes placit, thair list I leynd, Doand him service ayr and late.
He kepand eftir syne
Till his honour and myne : Bot now he gais ane uther gait ; And hes no € to my estait ;
Quhilk dois me all this pyne.
VI.
"It dois me pyne that I may prufe, That makis me thus murning mo : My luif he lufes ane uther lufe — Alas, sweithart ! Quhy does he so ?
Quhy sould he me forsaik ?
Have mercie on his maik ! — Thairfoir my hart will birst in two. And thus, walking with da and ro,
My leif now heir I taik."
m--^
•I
n
i
I
I
I
30 THE DUMB JVTFF
Quhilk fast at him did fraine
Quhy he sadlie went ?
Quhat angwische, greiff, or paine,
Perturbit his intent
He bad him schaw, And latt him knavv
Off all his grieff the ground —
He sould remeid, Haue he na dreid,
Gif remeid micht be found.
Than he declairis cleir The mater all and fum ; How he had tane for geir Ane woman deiff and dum. For hir riches and rentes He weddit hir to his wyff; Bot now he fair repentes, And irkis sair of his lyff. His earthlie joy Is tuinit to noy ; He wist him selff war deid. Quoth he agane, Tak no disdane, And I sail find remeid.
Gif thow will counsell keip,
And leaine well quhat I say,
This nicht in hir tirst sleip
Vndir hir towng thow lay
Off quaiken aspein leiff,
7'he quhilk betaiknis wound;
And scho sail haif relciff
Of speiking thow sail find ;
Quhat kind of taill, With outlin faill
Tiiat thow of hir requyreis,
Scho sail speik out, Haif thow na doutt,
And mair than thow desyreis.
THE DUMB WTFF
31
Than was he glaid of this,
And thocht him self weill chewin :
And hame he com with bliss ;
Thocht lang quhill it was ewin.
Quhill scho was fallin on skip
Ay warrlie watchit he ;
And than he tuik guid keip,
And laid in leifes thrie ;
Thinkand his cuir To wirk moist suir.-
He lay waikand quhill day j
Quhill scho awoik Guid tent he tuik,
To heir quhat scho suld say.
66
Na rest than cauld he tak
Bot tumbillis heir and thair :
The first word that scho spak,
Scho said, 111 mot ge fair !
That wald nocht latt me rest, 66
And I lay seik this nycht ! —
— For joy he hir imbraift,
His hairt was hie on hicht.
Than furth scho schew, All that scho knew,
Quhen that scho could nocht speik. I'i
Fra scho began, Scho spairit nocht than,
And litill till ane seik. —
And quhan I did hir pray In silence for to sitt. That is the neirest way To putt hir by hir witt : God knawis the drerie lyff I had sen scho was dum ; Off ane gud quyet wyff Is now ane fiend becum ; 1
I ' begun,' MS,
h
32
THE DUMB WTFF
Hir speiche but sessioun, But ryme or ressoun, Now deiffis vp all the hous ; Allace ! this day, That, I may say, That euer scho spak sa crous.
Blame thy selfl. quod he, That gaif hir superflew ; Thow laid in leifis thrie, Quhair ane mycht bene enew ; Had thow don as I bad, Or now thow sould haue seine.
83
M
Weill temperet toung betvvene ;
Bot quha may latt 2 Ane wyfe to clatter,
Syne no man can conuert hir ;
The mimest wyff That euer tuik lyft,
Will warie sum wordis, and start hir.
Quod he, tak quhat I haiff,
And leif hir as ^e fand hir. —
Allace ! quod he, ^e raiff,
I dar nocht cum neir hand hir ;
I am [a] Devill but doutt ;
First langage learnit hir till,
I dar nocht be so stoutt,
To bid hir hald hir still ;
Fra scho delyte To fecht and flytt,
I dar nocht with hir mell ;
Scho will speik out, Haue ge na doutt,
Off all the deuillis in hell.
The leist deuill that is in hell Can gif ane wyff hir toung ; The gritest, I 50W tell. Cannot do mak hir dum.
1 1. 91 omitted in MS.
' latter," MS.
THE DUMB IVTFF
33
Fra scho begin to clatter,
Scho will claver quhair scho pleis
We deuillis can na wayis latt hir ; ii5
Giue man tak ^ow the waneis :
Thocht nighbouris aboutt wis hir toung outt,
It dois thame nocht availl,
I say for me Scho will chyde till ^ scho die,
Scho is best with littill daill. 120
Quod he, than tell me plane,
Quhat counsall best ;5e call? —
Quod he, gang hame agane,
For it is ill over all :
Latt thy wyff speik hir fill, 125
Sen scho thairto was borne ;
For wyffis will haue thair will
Thocht ;5e and I had sworne.
Quliat euer hir happin, Hir toung is hir wapin,
To speik than quha may latt hir, 130
Quha may ganestand Or contramandj
Ane crabit wyff to clatter ?
Thus thai depairtit plane :
The feind flew > uir ane hill ;
The guidman hame agane, 13:
And with his wyff baid still :
Quod he, now I perseaue
Thair is na leid in land
That has, as I wald haiff,
His wyff at his command. lio
Fra ti;ine furth ay, He leit hir say,
And neuer was offendit,
But at hir wourdis Maid quyet bourdis,
Quhill daiih thair dayis endit.
jFini0 f)uju0»
1 ' will,' MS.
I
I'
C{)e jHunung iWaiBui.
THE first verse of this beautiful poem, " Still under the leyvis grene," is cited in the " Complaynt of Scotland " (1549), and was first printed from Sir R. Maitland's MS. by Mr. Pinkerton. He speaks of it " as a capital piece, being a kind of rival of the Ephesian Matron, narrated with exquisite simplicity and beauty;" and elsewhere he says that "this piece, for the age [in which] it was written, is almost miraculous. The tender pathos is finely recom- mended by an excellent cadence. An age that produced this might produce almost any perfection in poetry," It was indeed written in the Augustan age of Scotish Poetry ; and after such a high encomium, there needs no apology for its re-publication. Dr. Irving is equally enthusiastic in its praise. 1
There are several other poems still extant of a similar kind, but for various reasons are less fit for publication. From one of these, which was lately discovered in a muti- lated state (with various other fragments in verse and prose, pasted together in the boards of an old book of little value), a few stanzas may be here introduced. Some portions of this Lament are very pathetick, but unfortunately, from parts of the lines being cut away, it is not easy to guess at the exact words to supply all the deficiencies ; although much has been done for it by a gentleman to whom the Editor has already made his acknowledgments. The
1 History of Scotish Poetry, 1861, p. 207. He adds: "The plan of the poem is, however, superior to its execu- tion."
34
THE MURNING MAIDIN
35
orthography of the original fragment being very uncouth, is, in part, corrected : —
' Fareweill, fare ' weill, my yellow hair, ' That curlit cleir ' into my neck ! ' Allace ! ' that ever it grew sae fair, ' Or yet in ' to ane snood was knet.
' Qu ' har I was wont to dance and sing ; ' A ' roang my marrows mak repair — Now am I put furth of the ring, For fadit is my yellow hair.
My kirtill wes of lincu'm green,' Weill lacit with silk'en passments rair ; ' God gif I had never pridefuU ' been,' For fadit is my yellow hair.
God gif my hair had been als b'lak ' As ever wes my hart full of cair. It wald not put me to sic lak, For fadit is my yellow hair.
Quhen I was young I had great sta'it,' Weill cherishit baith with less and ma'ir. For shame now steill I off the gait, For fadit is my yellow hair.
I wes our wanton of intent ' Of wardlie joys I tuke my share ; But sin hes nocht but sorrow sent,' And fadit is my yellow hair.
God gif the dait of luf were gane. That I micht die, and luf na mair ! To Jesu Christ I mak my mane. And fadit is my yellow hair.
Sen all this folly is by- went, Out of this warld I maun repair ; I pray to God Omnipotent, To tak me, sinner, full of cair ! Finis. — Amen.
36 THE MURNING MAIDIN
The admiration of yellow hair was not peculiar to the old Scotish poets, one of whom compares the tresses of their ladies " to the wire of gold that has been fined." According to the ingenious author of the "Anatomy of Melancholy," " a flexen haire, golden haire was ever in great account;" and after naming those in ancient times ("gods and god- desses," as well as heroes) whom the poets have commended for their "yellow ^lair,",! he, adds., "Which belike makes our Venetian ladies at this day to counterfeit yellow hair so much, great women to calamistrate and curie it up, to adorne their heads with spangles, pearles, and made flowres, and all courtiers to affect a pleasing grace in this kinde."2 In reference to this custom of the Venetian ladies, ^ a quaint English writer^ exclaims: — " What a curious accommoda- tion to those people had some fountain been that had a harmelesse property to colour their haire according to their mindes, — such a one as the River Crathis, mentioned by Plinie, whose nature was to make Haire yellow, which efficacy Ovid attributes to another."
" Crathis, et hinc Sybaris nostris conterminus oris, Electro similes faciunt Auroque Capillos."
Among the other fragments were two or three love poems in the style of Alexander Scott, or of his contemporary, Montgomery. The one least mutilated is here inserted ; the words within the inverted commas being supplied, as in the former instance, by Charles Sharpe, Esq.
1 Jeremy Taylor takes notice that " Menander in the Comedy brings in a man turning his wife from his house because she stai?id her hair yellmv, which was then the beauty." — Sermons, 1653, P- 242. But the words imply that this practice was not adopted by anj' modest woman.
NOy 5' ^p7r' ttTr' olVwi' ruipde. t7]v yvvacKa ydp Ttjv (xwcppov^ ou dec ras rpixas ^avOas iroieiv.
Menaftdri Fragnienta 199, edit. 1709, p. 295.
2 Burton's Anat. of Melanch. , edit. 1632, fol. p. 469.
' See Coryate's Crudities, &c., 1611, fol. 260-1. Lassel's Italy, &c. * Bulwer's Artificiall Changeling, 1652, 4to, p. 65.
THE MURNING MA ID IN
37
" QUHEN we to Ladies lufe inclyne, Our guerdon still growis less and less,"
Bot quha sould press to suffer pyne, Or for thair plessour thoil distres ?
Sen thai regard to treuth hes none ;
Nor yit reward for lufe allone,
Bot pane expres !
Bot pane expres ! I s^ rycht nocht ;
The moir I serve the less sett by ! The moir I luff the les in thocht !
The moir I weip the war am I ! My hart is sett, but variance Quhair I can get no recompans,
This is the quhy !
This is the quhy ! I plainjie foir
My Lady, on your excellence ; Ye sould support my panis soir,
' That' woundis me, without offence ; ' Quhen ' every day I am bot deid, ' Allace ! nor can I find i-emeid '
' Bot patience.'
But patience ! remeid is none. This langsum liff I leid, allace !
Subject I am to you allone, As bond and thral to byid your grace :
This gret annoye quha may resist ?
Cupide convoy me as thow list, —
Hard is my case.
Hard is my case ! without confort, Bot gif ye help, my Lady free,
Quha sould me succour, or support, Quha sould me saiff, or yit supplee,
But ye sueit hart and soverane ?
Thairfor reward my liff agane,
Yit or I dee
38 THE MURNING MAI DIN
TILL undir the levis grene,
This hindir day, I went alone ; I hard ane May sair mwrne and meyne, To the King of Liiif scho maid hir mone. Scho sychit sely soir ; «
Said, " Lord, I luif thi lore ; Mair wo dreit nevir woman one ! O langsum lyfe, and thow war gone, Than suld I mwrne no moir ! "
As rid gold-wyir schynit hir hair ; lo
And all in grene the May scho glaid. Ane bent bow in hir hand scho bair ; Undir hir belt war arrowis braid.
I followit on that fre,
That semelie wes to se : lo
With still mwrning hir mone scho maid. That bird undir a bank scho baid,
And lenit to ane tre.
III.
"Wanweird," scho said,"Ouhat have I wroch.
That on me kytht hes all this cair ? 20
Trew luif so deir I have the bocht !
Certis so sail I do na mair : Sen that I go begyld With ane that faythe has syld :
That gars me oftsyis sich full sair ; 23
And walk amang the holtis hair Within the woddis wyld.
^
THE MURNING MA ID IN
39
IV.
" This grit disese for luif I dre — Thair is no toiing can tell the wo !- I lufe the luif, that lufes not me ; I may not mend — but murning mo. Quhill God send sum remeid, Throw destany, or deid : I am his freind — and he my fo. My sueitj alace ! quhy dois he so ? I wrocht him nevir na feid !
"Withoutin feyn I wes his freynd, In word and vvark, grit God it wait ! Quhair he wes placit, thair list I leynd, Doand him service ayr and late.
He kepand eftir syne
Till his honour and myne : Bot now he gais ane uther gait ; And hes no e to my estait ;
Quhilk dois me all this pyne.
VI.
"It dois me pyne that I may prufe, That makis me thus murning mo : My luif he lufes ane uther lufe — Alas, sweithart ! Quhy does he so ?
Quhy sould he me forsaik ?
Have mercie on his maik ! — Thairfoir my hart will birst in two. And thus, walking with da and ro,
My leif now heir I taik."
40
THE MURXIXG MAIDIN
VII,
Than wepit scho, lustie in weyd, And on hir wayis can scho went. In hy eftir that heynd I ^eyd, And in my armis cud hir Kent ;
And said, " Fayr lady, at this tyde,
With leif ye man abyde ; And tell me quho yow hidder sent ? Or quhy ye beir your bow so bent
To sla our deir of pryde ?
VIII.
" In waithman weid sen I yow find In this wod, walkand you alone, Your mylk-quhyte handis we sail bind Quhill that the blude birst fra the bone. Chairgeand yow to preisoun, To the king's deip dungeoun. Thai may ken be your fedderit flane Ye have bene mony beistis bane, Uoon thir bentis br^un."
That fre answerd with fayr afeir. And said, " Schir, mercie for your mycht ! Thus man I bow and arrowis beir, Becaus I am ane baneist wycht :
So will I be full lang.
For God's luif lat me gang ; And heir to yow my treuth I plycht, That I sail, nowdir day nor nycht,
No wyld beist wait with wrang I
THE MURNING MAIDIN 41
X.
" Thoch I walk in this forest fre, With bow and eik with fedderit flane, It is Weill mair than dayis thre, And meit or drink yit saw I nane.
Thoch I had nevir sic neid
My selfe to wyn my breid, Your deir may walk, schir, thair alane. Yit wes I nevir na beistis bane.
I may not se thame bleid.
XI.
*' Sen that I nevir did yow ill, It wer no skill ye did me skayth. Your deir may walk quhairevir thai will I wyn my meit with na sic waithe.
I do bot litil wrang,
Bot gif I flouris fang. Gif that ye trow not in my aythe, Tak heir my bow and arrowis baylhe
And lat my a win selfe gang."
XII.
" I say your bow and arrowis bricht ! I bid not have thame, be Sanct Bryd. Bot ye man rest with me all nycht, All nakit sleipand be my syd."
" I will not do that syn !
Leif yow this warld to wyn ! " " Ye ar so haill of hew and hyd, Luif hes me fangit in this tyd :
I may not fra yow twyn."
40 THE MURNING MAIDIN
VII.
Than wepit scho, lustie in weyd, And on hir wayis can scho went. In hy eftir that heynd I geyd, And in my armis culd hir hent ;
And said, " Fayr lady, at this tyde,
With leif ye man abyde ; And tell me quho yow hidder sent ? Or quhy ye beir your bow so bent
To sla our deir of pryde ?
VIII.
'' In waithman weid sen I yow find In this wod, walkand you alone, Your mylk-quhyte handis we sail bind Quhill that the blude birst fra the bone. Chairgeand yow to preisoun, To the king's deip dungeoun. Thai may ken be your fedderit flane Ye have bene mony beistis bane, Upon thir bentis brvjun."
IX.
That fre answerd with fayr afeir, And said, " Schir, mercie for your mycht ! Thus man I bow and arrowis beir, Becaus I am ane baneist wycht :
So will I be full lang.
For God's luif lat me gang ; And heir to yow my treuth I plycht, That I sail, nowdir day nor nycht.
No wvld beist wait with wrang !
THE MURNING MAIDIN 41
" Thoch I walk in this forest fre, With bow and eik with fedderit flane, It is Weill mail" than dayis thre, And meit or drink yit saw I nane.
Thoch I had nevir sic neid
My selfe to wyn my breid, Your deir may walk, schir, thair alane. Yit wes I nevir na beistis bane.
I may not se thame bleid.
XI.
" Sen that I nevir did yow ill, It wer no skill ye did me skayth. Your deir may walk quhairevir thai will I wyn my meit with na sic waithe.
I do bot litil wrang,
Bot gif I flouris fang. Gif that ye trow not in my aythe, Tak heir my bow and arrowis baythe
And lat my awin selfe gang."
XII.
" I say your bow and arrowis bricht ! I bid not have thame, be Sanct Bryd. Bot ye man rest with me all nycht, All nakit sleipand be my syd."
" I will not do that syn !
Leif yow this warld to wyn ! " " Ye ar so haill of hew and hyd, Luif hes me fangit in this tyd :
I may not fra yow twyn."
4 I
•1
1
THE MURNING MAIDIN
XIII.
Than lukit scho to me, and leuch ; And said, " Sic luf I rid yow layne ; Albeid ye makit nevir sa teuch, To me your labour is in vane : Wer I out of your sycht, The space of halfe a nycht, Suppois ye saw me nevir agane — Luif hes yow streinyeit with little paine Thairto my treuth I plycht."
XIV.
I said, " My sueit, forsuythe I sail For ever luif yow, and no mo ; Thoch uthers luif, and leif, with all Maist certanlie I do not so.
I do yow trew luif hecht,
Be all thi bewis bricht ! Ye ar so fair, be not my fo ! Ye sail have syn and ye me slo
Thus throw ane suddan sycht."
XV.
'' That I yow sla, that God forscheild !
Quhat have I done or said yow till }
I wes not wont wapyns to weild ;
Bot am ane woman — gif ye will, i3o
That suirlie feiris yow,
And ye not me, I trow. Thairfoir, gude schir, tak in none ill : Sail never berne gar breif the bill
At bidding me to bow. 135
THE MURNING MAIDIN 43
XVI.
** Into this wode ay walk I sail, Ledand my lyf as woful wycht \ — Heir I forsaik bayth bour and hall, And all thir bygings that are brycht !
My bed is maid full cauld, ho
With beistis bryme and bauld. — That gars me say, bayth day and nycht, Alice that ever the toung sould hecht That hart thocht not to hauld ! "
XVII.
Thir words out throw my hart so went H5 That neir I wepit for hir wo. But thairto wald I not consent ; And said that it sould not be so j
Into my armis swythe
Embrasit I that blythe. 150
Sayand, " Sweit hart, of harmis ho ! Found sail I never this forest fro,
Quhill ye me comfort kyth.
XVIII.
Than knelit I befoir that cleir ;
And meiklie could hir mercie craif ; 155
That semelie than, with sobir cheir,
Me of hir gudlines forgaif.
It wes no neid, I wys.
To bid us uther kys ; Thair mycht no hairts mair joy resaif, 160 Nor ather culd of uther half :
Thus brocht wer we to blys.
aXHelcum to jHap.
THE finest poetical descriptions of external nature not unusually are found referable to the month of May — " fair May" (in the words of the gentle Spenser i) —
" the fairest maid on ground, who comes
" Deckt all with dainties of her Season's pride, And throwing flow'rs out of her lap around."
The present poem, which has something of a lyi'ical char- acter, is a pleasing specimen, to show how attentive our ancient poetical writers were in celebrating the praises
•' Of lusty May, that mudder is of flouris,"
It is given from Bannatyne's Manuscript, 2 which likewise contains the earliest copy of the well-known song " O lusty Maye, of Flora Queue," mentioned in the " Complaynt of Scotland," and supposed to have been written by Alexander Scott.
It is rather singular that in the following poem no allu- sions should be found to the games and pastimes peculiar
" to the mery moneth of May
Whan loue lads masken in fresh aray."
This circumstance might warrant us in fixing the date of its composition between the year 1555, when all such recreations were forbidden by an Act of Parliament ^ (which
1 Faerie Queue, B. vii. , vii. 34. ^ MS. fol. 229b.
3 Acts of Pari. vol. ii. p. 500.
44
IVELCUM TO MAT 45
enjoined, that " gif ony wemen or vthers about simmer treis singand makis perturbatioun to the Quenis liegis in the passage throw Burrowis and vtheris landwart townis the wemen perturbatouris for skafrie of money or vtherwise salbe takin handellit and put vpone the Cukstulis of euerie Burgh or towne,") — and the year 1568, when the manu- script from which the poem is given was compiled.
'mctcum to ^ap.'
E glaid all ge that luvaris bene, For now hes May depaynt with grene The hillis, valis, and the medis And flouris lustely vpspreidis. Awalk out of gour sluggairdy, i
To heir the birdis melody ;
Quhois suggourit nottis loud & cleir
Is now ane parradice to heir.
Go walk vpoun sum rever fair ;
Go tak the fresch and holsum air ; i;
Go luke vpoun the flurist fell \
Go feill the herbis plesand smell ;
Quhilk will govir comfort gar incres,
And all avoyd gour havines.
The new cled purpo'' hevin espy, !■
Behald the lark now in the sky,
With besy wyng scho clymis on hicht,
For grit joy of the dayis licht.
Behald the verdo^ fresch of hew,
Powdderit with grene, quhyt, and blew, 21
Quhairwith dame Flora, in this May,
Dois richely all the field array ;
And how Aurora, with visage pale,
Inbalmes with hir cristal hale,
The grene and tendir pylis ging, %
Of every gress that dois vpspryng ;
46 JVELCUM TO MAT
And with hir beriall droppis bricht, Makis the gresys gleme of licht. Luke on the ausir firmament, And on the anammellit orient ; Luke or Phebus put vp his heid, As he dois raiss his baneris reid, He dois the eist so bricht attyre, That all semis birnyng in a fyre ; Quhilk comfort dois to every thing, Man, bird, beist, and flurissing. Qiihairfoir luvaris be glaid and lycht. For schort [it] is gour havy nycht. And lenthit is ^our myrry day, Thairfoir ge velcum now this May : And birdis do gour haill plesance With mirry song and observance. This May to velcum at gour mycht, At fresch Phebus vprysing bricht : And all the flouris that dois spreid, Lay fur^ gour levis vpoun breid, And welcum May with benyng cheir, The quene of euery moneth cleir. And euery man thank in his mynd The God of natur and of kynd, Quhilk ordanit all for our behufe. The erd vndir, the air abufe, Bird, beist, flour, tyme, day and nycht. The planeitis haill to gif ws licht.
JTinisi.
Ci)e ffiHpf of aucljtermucf)tp.
THE " Wyf of Auchtermuchty " has long continued to be a favourite among all classes of the people of Scotland ; and few poems of the same nature have oftener been printed, though seldom, it must be added, with a due regard to accu- racy. Having been preserved by tradition, as well as by writing, there is no cause for surprise at finding the different copies vary considerably from each other. Of these, the one contained in Bannatyne's manuscript " Ballat Buik," is the most ancient. Lord Hailes indeed was inclined to think that it "had been transcribed at some later period than 1568, when most of the MS. was written." But there is no reason for entertaining such an opinion, since it occurs in the middle of the volume, and, as appears from the original series of paging, could not possibly have been inserted at a later period than the rest of the collection. From this copy the text is carefully given, and the most important variations of other editions are pointed out at the foot of the page. The only one, however, which requires particular notice is written in a hand not much later than the year 1600, and is distinguished as MS. A.
For genuine humour, and as a faithful picture of rustic manners, "The Wyf of Auchtermuchty" has seldom or ever been equalled. Ritson, who republished it in his ' ' Cale- donian Muse," 1821, says, in a note, "The subject of this poem seems to be borrowed from the first part of a story in the ' Silva Sermonum jucundissimorum,' 1568," of v/hich the scene is laid at some village near Widdersdorf, in Prussia. It has been very popular (he adds), and given rise to several imitations. The story referred to is quoted at full length
47
48 THE WTF OF
below 1 (the volume from which it is taken being of rare occurrence), so that the reader may be enabled to draw his own conclusion respecting its originality. There is indeed
1 Coynieniimt uir et zixor, ut quisque eorum exoxeret offichim alterius, quo posset alter eorum in paste rum exercere utrumque.
Rvsticus quidam non potuit conuenire cu sua coniuge, sed semper improbabant sibi mutuo officia sua. Vno dierii Laurentius (sic enim uocabatur ille, & ilia Adelheidis) cogi- tabat penes se, quid agendum esset, quo possent tot inimi- citias, rixas ac tumultus sedari inter eos : dicit uxori, in posterum se oportere agere partes suas, ipse uero uxoris acturus est. Oportere earn arare, triturare, serere, ac similia opera uirilia facere : ipse domi uellet exercere quas muliebria sunt : utpote curare prolem, nutrire ac prouidere gallinis, anseribus, anatibus, porcis, pullo equino, coquere & uerrere pauimentu, &c, per qd. quisq ; posset alterius munus ac officiu scire. Arrisit consiliu mulieri, quae ahoqui cupietes sunt freni ac dominij. Accessit stabulu, parat equos ac aratrum, adit campu, iubet marito (qui iam uxor erat) niittat sibi prandiii in campu, curet prolem, & uideat ne excidat ex cunis, aut inuertatur cunse, ac coquat diligeter. Curabo omnia diligtter, ait uir, simulq ; satagit in domo, catillat argute, ut uideatur mulier in domo esse satagendo inuerit magna ollam lactis, quo butyrum debuit cotudisse & coxisse pultem pro puero. Hasc erant primordia eius oeconomioe, quibus tantum horruit, meminitq ; eius quod dixerat donii- nus : curam gereret pueri ac cunarum, ne inuertantur, quare capit magnu ac latum lapidem, superponit puero atq ; ita sistit cunas. Subit etiam Laurentio se debere coquere, iam instabat tepus pradij, quare capit duodenam ouonim, dif- fringit ea in sartagine cum butyro, ad coquenduni aut frix- endum : abit interim in penum, ad promendu uinum, & ibide meminit ouorum, recurrit cito supcrius, detinens spinam epistomij in manu. Quu uenit in coquinam, decidit coctura in ignem, cui assidet felis ac deuorat oua. Meminit & prolis, uisit num dormiat, & amoto lapide, reperit eam mortuam. Bone Deus ! quam tristatur, ac cogitat quid incoeptet? con- cutit ac costringit manus : quod faciedo, excidit ex eius manibus spina epistomij, quam oblitus erat in manu: quare
AUCHTERMUCHTT 49
a striking similarity in many of the incidents ; but the poem has too much of a natural character and propriety to make us think of depriving the old Scotish author of the merit of its invention.
currit actutu in penum, & reperit uinum penitus effluxum esse. Volens rapide amouere poculum, in quo prompserat uinum, coUidens illud uasi, excidit ex manibus eius, atq ; ita uniuersum uinu perditii est. Quis bono hoc Laurentio niagis perplexus ? uoluit subinde apud se : Tu uis esse hera, & effudisti lac, no potes iam contudere butyrum, proles ex- tincta est, oua ac butyrum arserut, ac comesta sunt a felibus, uinum natat in penu, poculu uini effusum est. Quid fiet cum redierit uir famelicus & sitibudus, uideritq ; hanc bellam oeconomiam ? Ex quo ego me interposui rebus domesticis, & ilia uirilibus, ob hoc baculo mea latera cotunderet, & me oneraret ictibus, mihi aecquum fieret, ita uolui, cur non mansi uir? Interim cogitat bonus Laiu"entius quomodo agat. Venit illi in mente equulus oblitus in stabulo, capit seculam, & exit. Veniens secundum uiuarium, uidet lupum in margine, lastatur, proijcit seculam post lupum, putans se nacturum eundem, natando aufugit ille, & falcula manet in limo. Exuit se Laurentius, & intrat aquam, quserit secula, uerrens diu in limo : interim uenit quida qui furatus est eius uestes. Post diutina quaesitione in uanum, erigit se, & quaerens indusium in ripa, uidet uniuersas uestes ablatas. Exit aquas nudus, & digitis uellit tot herbas, ut fasciculu collegerit : simul uelles pugillu graminis, quo contegat ea, quae natura tegenda suadet. Deinde currit celeriter domum, retro per hortu (ne quis eum posset ita animaduertere nudu) ad stabulu, uolens equulo dare grame seu herbas, Ille ualde esuriens inuadit herbas ac gramina, simul & quod natura tegendum suadet, & amordet omnia simul. Quis posset esse in maiori anxietate, qua hie pauper Laurentius? Nesciuit introitum nee exitu, nee quo posset confugere, nisi in furno, ubi se retro locat, expectans misericordiam. Interim uenit uxor, uel tunc temporis arator ex agro, putans coniugem bene obijsse sua munia. Videns ante quid actum esset de puero, in penu, coquina ac lacte, attonita erat, & uocat circumquaque, Lentzo, Lentzo. Is absconditus in furno nolebat primo respondere, tiuiebat enim sibi. Post paulu- lum uocat iterum, Lentzo. Respondet ille in furno : Heho. VOL. II. D
50 THE WTF OF
Allan Ramsay, who, so far as we learn, was its earliest publisher, has, as Lord Hailes observed, altered six lines, and added no fewer than twenty. "It must be admitted
Vocat iterum arator ; Vbi es ? Respondet Laurentius : Hie in furno. Quid agis ibi, procede. Nequaquam, here, ait alter, male exercui rem domesticam. Quid actum est, ait ilia? Prolem ego necaui, uolens sistere cunas. Eia bone Laurenti, nil refert (inquit ilia) nos satagemus aUas proles progignere, exi saltern ex furno, nihil fiet tibi. Sed plus feci, bone here. Quid fecisti prasterea ? Laurentius dixit : Vinum siui effluere ex uase in penu, & poculum uini effudi etiam. Nil nocet, mi Laurenti (inquit ilia) : exi, biberaus aquam. Sed plura feci, 6 here. Quid sit, rogat ilia ? Dis- persi butyrum & oua, & feles comederunt ilia. Non adeo magnum est hoc damnum, prodi satiabimur pane ac caseo. Plus adhuc perpetraui. Quid est illud rogat ilia ? Volebam prasbere equulo nostro gramen, & seculam amisi in limo uiuarij : interim quod quasro earn, ablatee sunt mihi uestes. Nil refert nee hoc, gramen demetemus cultro, & uestes alias curabimus resarciri Widersdorfij, prodi saltem. Sed aliud adhuc perpatraui quod omnium est maximum & pessimum. Quasrit ilia : Quidnam est hoc mali? Volui ait inijcere gra- men nostro equulo, ille importunus ac famehcus, ex quo eram nudus uolens rapere gramen, quo supellectilem mea conabar tegere, abmordit una cum gramine meu compositore discordiaru, uentre tenus, Hsec est causa cur non audeo prodire. Audies hoc Adelheidis, capit ilico furcam fur- nariam, ac ait : Videbatur mihi aliud in hoc negocio quim oua, lac, uinum, uestes & proles. Vis tu curare rem domes- ticam, & destruere omnia, perdere ac deuastare : quin & sinis auferri tibi (quod omniu maximii est) nostrum compositorem discordiaru? Siste, pro tua hac oeconomia te remunerabo. Cotrudit eum furca furnaria ita, ut necessario cofregerit furnu superne, & effugeret nudus in domu : & ita nudus ac san- gulinolentus exiliuit per fenestra. Ilia insequitur furca ilia furnaria, clamat ille, imprecatur ilia. Vicina audies hunc tumultu, miratur, prospicit, uidet uicinum suum Laurentium currentem, uxorem insequentem, ac mal6 se habentem. Mota autem uicinali misericordia, di.xit : Eia commatcr Adelheidis, quid ita cOmota es erga compatrem Laur- entium, qui semper bonus ac probus cxtitit? desine parum-
AUCHTERMUCHTT 51
(Lord Hailes adds) that his alterations and additions are in the style of the original. They prove him to have been a better poet than a publisher of other men's works." After such an encomium by one every way so well qualified to estimate their merit, it would have been improper to have withheld these additions.
Respecting the author of this poem, it may be observed that in Bannatyne's manuscript^ " q Mofat" is subjoined, in a different, if not in a more modern hand. Accordingly it has been attributed to a Sir John Moffat ("one of the Pope's knights"), the only Scotish poet of the name, who is conjectured to have lived in the earlier part of the i6th century. All we know concerning him is, that he was author of the fine moral poem beginning
" Bruthir be wyift I reid gow now,"
that has been printed in Lord Hailes's collection. "The Wyf of Auchtermuchty " may therefore be supposed to have
per ab ira hac, & da ei saltem indusium. Ego dedero illi fel potius (ait ilia) omnia deuastauit in domo, prolem op- pressit magno lapide. Omnia condonanda forent, sed unum & prascipuum designauit, quod celandum esset ; k nostro equulo in stabulo, siuit amorderi praecipuam supellectilem nostram, uentre tenus. Ccetera condonanda forent, sed hoc unum nullo modo potest expiari nee condonari, Audiens hoc uicina, quod deprasdatus esset eo, quod prascipue ex- petitur, fit and ipsa infesta suo compatri, ac conitat canicu- lum que habuit complosis manib. in eum, dicens : Hurss, hurss, cape eum, ad nihil enim utihs est. Miser hie Lauren- tius penitus abdicatur, nullus restat ei locus ulterius, sed aufugit nudus quaqua uersum. Vicina aut dixit : Age comater Adelheidis, copone mente tua, habeo ego seruu bonu, forte ac uigile, qui erit in rem tua. scio enim ualere : nam ego sum usa eo his sex aut septem annis. Hoc pacto perdidit Laurentius optimu suu pugione, & cogebatur deleri omnino ex libro uiuentiu. Suadeo ergo uiris obire sua munia, mulierib. similiter sua : sic poterit neuter imprope rare alteri. Ita fiet, ut uiro maneat sua uigil ales salua ac uegeta, & uxor reddetur pacatior, nee cogatur diffringere furnu, & tandem aufugere nudus & mutilatus. ^ Fol. 120 b.
52 THE IVTF OF
been written about the year 1520, Should the solitarj' evi- dence, just referred to, respecting its author, be relied on, there is but too much cause to justify our regret in not possessing more considerable remains of a poet whose claims to original genius, it is presumed, will not be disputed.
die 2B?f of aijjdjtirmtjjcldtp.
N Awchtirmwchty thair dwelt ane man,i An husband, 2 as I hard it tawld Quha Weill cowld tippill owt a can,^ And'^ nai])ir luvit hungir nor cawld Quhill anis it fell vpoun a day, s
He gokkit his plwch vpoun the plane ; Gif it be trew, as I hard say, The day was fowll ^ for wind and rane.
He lowsit the pluche at the landis end, And draif his oxin hame at e'in ; 10
Quhen he come in he lukit bend, And saw the wyf baith dry and clene, And sittand at ane fyre, beik and bawld, V/*^ ane fat sowp, as I hard say : The man being verry weit and cawld, is
Betwene thay twa it was na play.^
1 ' thair wind an honest man,'
2 ' a rach husband,"
3 ' Sa Weill can tipple vpon a good can,' ^ ' this man.'
s ' It came on a foull day.'
6 L, 9-16. This stanza in MS. A. has only four lines :
' He loosed the pleuch hame as he came,
He saw the goodwife sitting baith fair and clene, Sitting before a good bcikman bald, A good fat sowp his hand^^ betucne.'
AUCHTERMUCHTT 53
Quoth he,i quhair is my horsis come ?
My ox 2 hes naipir hay nor stray ;
Dame, ^e mon to the pUich to morne,^
I salbe hussy, gif I may.^ 20
Husband,^ quoih scho, content am I
To tak pe pluche ^ by day abov. t,
Sa ^e will rewll baith knavis ^ ky,
And all the houft" baith in and owt.
But sen that ge will husyskep ken,^ 25
First ge sail sift, ^ syne sail kned ;
And ay as ge gang but % ben,
Luk that the bairnis dryt not the bed.^
geis lay ane soft wisp to Jie kill.
We haif ane deir ferme on or held ; so
And ay as ge gang furth and in,
Keip Weill the gaislingis fra the gled.^*^
The wyf was vp richt late at e'in,
I pray God gif hir eviil to fair,
Scho kyrnd the kyrne, and skwmd it clene, ss
And left the gudema bot the bledoch bair ;
1 'Quho*.' MS. Bannat.
' My cattell.
3 ' Ye shall go to the pluch the morne.
^ ' Ift gyde the hous als well as I may.'
5 ' Goodman.'
6 ' To gang to the pleuch.'
7 ' Gyde my hous well."
^ ' A gude husband if ye will be.'
" ' Misvse not the bed.'
''^ L. 29-31, ' And a good husband as ye wold be,
Some spott ^ in the hous ye man outspy ; We have a deare ken [q, kane] to the ladie,
See that the calfes swk not the ky.'
54 THE WTF OF
Than in the mornyng vp scho gatt
And on hir hairt laid hir disjwne.
Scho put als mekle in hir lap,
As micht half serd them baith at nwne.^ 4o
Sayis, Jok, will thow be maister of wark,^
And thow sail had, and I sail kail :
Ift promift the ane gude new sark,
Athir of round claith or of small.
Scho lowsit oxin aucht or nyne, 43
And hynt ane gad-staff in hir hand ;
And the gudman raiss efter syne,
And saw the wyf had done comand.
And cawd the gaislingis fvvrth to feid, Thair wes bot sevensum of thame all ; 50
And by thair cumis the gredy gled, And likkit vp five, left him bot twa : Then owt he ran in all his mane,^ How svne he^ hard the gaislingis cry ; Bot than or he come in agane, ^ 55
The calfis brak lowss and sowkit the ky.
The calvis and ky being met in the lone,
The man ran w* ane rung to red ;
Than by thair cuis ane ill-willy cow,
And brodit his buttok quhill j^at it bled.^ go
1 L. 37-40. These lines in MS. A. read thus :
' The goodwife gat up soone in the morning,
Vpon hir heart laid a fine disjune, Scho preind mair to Jock in hir lap Nor wold have serued three honest men at noone. '
2 This address to Jock, the servant, is not in MS. A.; nor indeed are several other lines.
3 ' The gudman ran forth in a great anger,' ** ' Soon as ever he. '
5 L, 59, 60. ' Ere he came in what thought ye of yt.*
6 ' And wold he haue jumblit while the dumsday,
Sorrow a bit butter ])at ever he gat.'
AUCHTERMUCHTT 55
Than hame he ran to an rok of tow,i Ane he satt doun to say the spyning ; I trow he lowtit our neir the low, Quoth he, this wark hes ill begyning.
Than to ]?e kyrn that he did stoure, 65
And jwmlit at it quhill he swatt :
Ouhen he had jwmlit a full lang houre,
The sorrow crap of butter he gatt.
Albeit na butter he cowld gett,
git he wes cijmerit w^ the kyrne, ro
And syne he het the milk o^ hett,
And sorrow a spark of it wald gyrne.
Than ben thair come ^ ane gredy sow,
I trow he cund hir littil thank ;
For in scho schot hir mekle mow,^ 75
And ay scho winkit and scho drank.
He cleikit vp ane crukit club,
And thocht to hitt the sow ane rowt.
The twa gaislingis the gled ^ had left,
That straik dang ^ baith thair harnis out. 80
He gat his foot vpon the spyre,^
To haue gotten the flesch doune to the pat,
He fell backward into the fyre,
And brack his head on the kerning stack :
1 L. 61. ' He gat the rock soone in his bosome,
He thought well to have begun his spinning ; But alace ! he leand our neir the low ; Alace ! (quo) this work hes a hard beginning.'
2 ' And in there came.'
3 ' Hir ill fard mow.'
* ' The glaid^ had chaped.'
5 ' He chanced to ding.'
6 L. 81-88. This stanza, which does not occur in MS. Bann. , nor in the ordinary printed copies, is given from MS. A.
56 THE WTF OF
Yit he gat the mekle pat vpon the fyre, 85 And gat twa Cannes and ran to the spout, Er he came it, q*' thought ^e of y^ ? The fyre burnt aw the pat arft out.
Than he beur kendling to the kiil, But scho start all vp in ane low, Ouhat evir lie hard, quhat evir he saw, That day he had na will to mow. Than he ^eid to tak vp the bairnis, Thocht to half fund thame fair % clene The first j^at he gat in his armis Was all bedirtin to the ene.
The first that he gat in his armis,
It was all dirt vp to the eine ;
The deuill cut of thair hand^, q'^ he.
That fild gow all sa fow this strene. igd
He trailit fowU scheitis doun the gait,
Tho*^ to half wescht thame on ane stane ;
The burne wes rissin grit of spait.
Away fra him the scheitis hes tane.
Then vp he gat on ane know heid, loa
On hir to cry,l on hir to schowt,^ Scho hard him, and scho hard him not, But st3\vtly steird the stottis abowt. Scho draif the day vnto ]:'e night, Scholowisit the plwch and syne come hame ; Scho fand all wrang that sowld bene richt, m I trow the man tho* richt e:rit schame.
' Cray,' MS. Bann.
' Vpon the goodwifo lie crycd mony good shout.'
AUCHTERMUCHTT 57
Quoth he, my office I forsaik/
For all the dayis of my lyf,^
For I wald put ane howft to wraik, 115
Had I bene twety dayis gudwyf.
Quoth scho, Weill mot ge bruke go^ place,
For trewlie I will never accep' it ;
Quoth he, feind fall the lyaris face,
Bot ^it ^e may be blyth to get it.
lliO
Than vp scho gat ane mekle rung,^
And the gudman maid to the doir :*
Quoth he, Deme, I sail hald my tung,
For and we fecht I'll gett the woir.
Quoth he, quhen I forsuk my plwche, 123
I trow I bot forsuk my seill,
And I will to my plwch agane,
For I and this howft will nevir do weill.^
1 ' Dame Tie ge ouer my hussies skep.'
2 ' Forsooth of my hfe.' 2 'Dun' MS. Bann.
•* L. 121-124 are not in the MS. A,
6 ' Goodwife your houfs and I will nere doe well,' MS. A.
ifiitfjs.
58 THE WTF OF
ADDITIONAL VERSES AND EMENDATIONS BY ALLAN RAMSAY IN HIS ''EVER- GREEN,'' 1724.
L. 7, 8. But schort the storm wald let him stay, Sair blew the day with wind and rain.
L. 12. He blinkit ben.
L. 13. Set beikand by a fire full bauld.
L. 14. Suppand fat sowp.
L. 15. Being weary.
L. 18. My owsen has nae.
L. 20. After this line are added :
This seid-time it proves cauld and bad,
And ge sit warm, nae troubles se ; The morn ^e sail gae with the lad,
And syne ^eil ken what drinkers drie.
L. 21. Gudeman, quod scho. L. 24. After this line are added :
And now sen ge haif made the Law, Than gyde all richt and do not break ;
They sicker raid that neir did faw, Therefore let naithing be neglect.
L. 49. He draif the gaislingis.
L. 59. Than by come an ill-willy roan.
L. 61, Syne up he tuk an rok of tow.
L. 63. He loutit doun,
L. 65. Before this line the following stanza is inserted :
The leam up throw the lum did flow.
The sute tuke fyre it flyed him than, Sum lumps did fall and burn his pow ;
I wat he was a dirty man : git he gat water in a pan,
Quherwith he slokend out the fyre ; To soup the House he syne began ;
To had all richt was his desyre.
L. 77. He tuke the kirnstaff be the shank.
AUCHTERMUCBTT 59
L. 79. The two left gaislings got a clank.
L. 97-100. These lines Ramsay has altered thus :
The first it smelt sae sappylie,
To touch the lave he did not grein :
The Deil cut aff thair hands, quoth he, That cramd ^our kytes sae strute gestrein.
3[ne 38allat of 9[llaue=a^=iMaut
THIS ballad, transcribed from Bannatyne's Manuscript, 1568, is doubtless the most ancient which we now have of a numerous class of compositions that still preserve no ordinary share of popularity among the peasantry both of Scotland and England, respecting this celebrated personage, " Allane-a'-Maut," or, as he is more frequently styled, Sir John Barleycorn. It has never been printed, except by Mr. Jamieson, in his valuable collection of "Popular Ballads and Songs," ^ where it is accompanied with five or six oiher curious pieces of a similar kind, taken from tradition, or English copies of a more recent period. Among the later productions of the same class, the Editor cannot help alluding to a wild and romantic story by his friend Mr, Allan Cunningham, lately published in his two volumes of " Traditional Tales." ^
A curious mistake has arisen from the jocular signature affixed to the poem in the Manuscript, as, instead of read- ing "quoth Allane Matsonis suddartis,"^ or soldiers, the name of Allan Watson has found a place in the different lists and lives of the early Scotish Poets as its author. In the same manner has the name of John Blyth been registered among the Scotish Poets as author of a " Ballat of Gude Fallowis." Surely it requires very little discernment to ascertain that such names were assumed for tlie " nones," and suggested by the nature of the verses. The only poet to whom the following ballad can with any degree of likeli-
1 Edln. 1806, vol. ii. p. 231-260.
2 Lond. 1822, i2mo, vol. i.
3 The signature is not affixed to the copy in Mr. Jamieson's collection.
60
ALLANE-A'-MAUT 6i
hood be attributed is Dunbar, among whose works will be found a few unpublished pieces of a like kind, and who, perhaps, assumed no feigned character when he so christened himself.
The following stanzas, copied from the same MS., may here be added as a further illustration of the subject. They are by an anonymous writer, who likewise designates him- self one of " Allan's soldiers " : —
Quha hes gud malt, and makis ill drynk,
Wa mot be hir werd ! — I pray to God scho rott and stynk
Sevin yheir aboue th^ erd ; About hir beir na bell to clynk,
Nor clerk sing, lewid nor lerd ; Bot quytt to hell that scho may sink
The tap-tr^ quhill scho steird ; This beis my prayer Fro that man slayar
Quhill Christ in Hevin sail heird !
Quha brewis, and giwis me of the best,
Sa it be stark and staill, [Baith] quhyt and cleir, weill to degest.
In Hevin meit hir that Aill ! Lang mot scho leif, lang mot scho lest,
In lyking, and gude saill ; In hevin or erd that wyfe be blest With out barrett or baill : Quhen scho is deid With outtin pleid, Scho pass to Hevin all haill Quod Allanis Subdert.
flitit)? sfotolB ttot aillane liottorit tie.
UHEN he was gung, and cled in grene, Haifand his air abowt his ene, Baith men and wemen did him mene, Ouhen he grew on gon hilHs he ; — Ouhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? s
62 ANE BALLAT OF
His foster faider fure of the toun,
To vissy AUane he maid him boun ;
He saw him lyane, allace ! in swoun,
For fait of help, and lyk to de ; —
Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? lo
Thay saw his heid begin to ryse ;
Syne for ane nureiss thay send belyfe,
Quha brocht with hir fyfty-and fyve
Of men of war full prevely ; —
Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? lo
Thay ruschit furth lyk hellis rukis And euery ane of thame had hukis ; Thay cawcht him schortly in thair clukis Syne band him in ane creddill of tre ; — Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? 29
Thay brocht him inuart in the land,
Syne euery freynd maid him his band,
Quhill they micht owdir gang or stand,
Neuer ane fute fra him to fle ; —
Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? 25
The grittest cowart in this land,
Fra he with Allane entir in band,
Thocht he may nowdir gang nor stand,
git fourty sail nocht gar him fle ; —
Ouhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? 33
Sir AUanis hewmond is ane cop, With ane sege feddir in his top : Fra hand to hand so dois he hop, Quhill sum may nowdir speik nor se ; — Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? 35
ALLANE-A'-MAUT 63
In gule, quhen ilk man singis his carrell
Gude AUane lyis in to ane barrell
Quhen he is thair, he dowtis no parrell
To cum on him be land or se, —
Quhy sowld nocht AUane honorit be ? 40
git was thair neuir sa gay gallane,
Fra he meit with our maistir Sir Allane,
Bot gif he hald him by the hallane,
Bak wart on the flure fallis he ; —
Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? 15
My maistir Allane grew so stark,
Quhill he maid mony cunning clerk,
Vpoun thair faiss he settis his mark,
A blud reid noiss besyd thair E ; —
Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? sc
My maistir Allane I may fair curl^,
He levis no mony in my purft,
At his command I mon disburft
Moir nor the twa pert of my fe ; —
Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? hi
And last, of Allane to conclude ;
He is bening, courtaft and gude,
And servis ws of our daly fude,
And that with liberalitie ; —
Quhy sowld nocht Allane honorit be ? 6i
jTiniis a? ^Hattc ^atsiouijs smtmartisi*
B>i\: 3?oI)u asarlepcom
THIS more modern version of a very popular ballad, on the same topic as the last, is given from a common stall-copy, printed in the year 1781, with a few con-ections, on the authority of two others of later date. One of these occurs in the "Collection of Popular Ballads" by Mr. Jamieson, who is inclined to think it is derived from an Enghsh ballad on the same subject, which he has printed from a black-letter copy preserved in Pepys' Library.
Burns has given us an altered version of "Sir John Barleycorn," founded on the present ballad ; and although his good taste led him to preserve all that freshness of description which constitutes its principal charm, he cannot be said to have greatly improved it. But the more ancient appellation of our hero was (as we see) Allan-a-Maut ; and various songs or ballads in his praise are still in circulation.
%)it 3Iot)n 'Batlepcorn.
HERE came three merry men from the east, and three merry men were they, And they did swear a solemn oath, that Sir John Barleycorn they would slay.
They took a plough and ploughed him down,
and laid clods upon his head ; And then they swore a solemn oath,
that Sir John Barleycorn was dead :
64
SIR JOHN BJRLETCORN 65
But the Spring-time it came on amain,"
and rain towards the earth did fall : 10
John Barleycorn sprung up again, and so surpriz'd them all.
The Summer heat on him did beat,
and John grew pale and wan ; John Barleycorn he got a beard, 15
and so became a man.
They took a scythe that was full sharp,
and cut him down at the knee ; And then they tied him in a cart,
like a rogue for perjury. 20
They took two sticks that were full hard and sore they thresh'd his bones ;
The Miller serv'd him worst of all, for he crushed him 'twixt two stones.
The Brewster-wife we'll not forget, 25
she well her tale can tell, She has ta'en the sap out of his bodie,
and made of it good Ale.
And they have filled it in a cup,
and drank it round and round ; 30
And aye the more they drank of it
the more did joy abound.
Sir John Barleycorn is the Avichtest man
that ever throve in the land, He will do more than many merry men 35
by the turning of his hand.
Put Brandy in a brimming glass
Put Rum into a can. Put Sir John Barleycorn in a stout brown mug,
He'll prove the stoutest man. 40
VOL. II, E
66 SIR JOHN BARLETCORN
He'll change a boy into a man,
a man into an ass ; He'll change your gold into silver,
and your silver into brass.
He'll make the huntsman shoot his dog, 45
and never blow his horn ; He'll make a maid stark naked dance,
my pretty little Barleycorn. *•
And if you'll to yon village go
ye need not fear no scorn, 50
I swear he will make you twice as strong, before this time the morn.^
1 The following etching was from the hand of the well- known Edinburgh artist, W. Geikie.
ane Descciptiaun of ^tVQtt Coffets.
THIS satirical poem was originally published by Lord Hailes among his selections from the MS. " Ballat Bulk" of George Bannatyne.i "What the author meant by Coffeis," says Lord Hailes (and we cannot use better words than his own to describe the poem), " he explains in 1. 3, where he speaks of ' Pedder Knavis.' Coffe, in the modern Scottish language, means rustic. The sense here is peddling merchants. The seven sorts are, i. An higgler and forestaller ; 2. A lewd parish priest ; 3. A merchant who traffics in company upon too small a stock ; 4. Though obscurely expressed, is a low-born fellow, who intrudes him- self into the magistracy of a royal burgh ; 5. A fraudulent bankrupt ; 6. A miser ; 7. A dignified churchman : the char- acter of each is drawn from the living manners of that age."
The Notes 2 subjoined by Lord Hailes, in explanation of this satirical description, and which Sibbald,^ with a few slight alterations, adopted without acknowledgment, are too valuable to be withheld. They are therefore annexed with- out either mixture or alteration.
There is one thing, however, that, in this place, ought to be remarked, since the poem has hitherto been published as an anonymous composition. In the same manner that other pieces are attributed to their respective authors, the signature " q. Linsdsay" appears in the manuscript. Al- though the name be written in a different coloured ink, the hand is apparently of the same age with that of the poem
1 i2mo, Edinburgh, 1770, p. 170. 2 i^ p 298.
2 Chronicle of Scottish Poetry, vol. i. p. 368. 67
68 ANE DESCRIPTIOUN OF
to which it is affixed. Nor does internal evidence, in any degree, invalidate the propriety of its being so attributed. This circumstance having been unnoticed, was perhaps the cause why it did not find a place in the elaborate edition by Mr. George Chalmers of the poetical works of Lyon King at Arms.
2,\\z DcjScnptioun of J^eHtier CoffctjJ ^aijing; tta 3£lc3:airti till J^onesstie in t^m Focatioun.
T is my purpois to discryve This holy perfyte genolagie Of pedder knavis superlatyve, Pretendand to awtoretie, That wait of nocht hot beggartie, ge burges sonis prevene their lownis, That wald distroy nobilitie, And baneiss it all borrow townis.
They ar declarit in seven pairtis ; Ane (scroppit cofe) quhen he begynis, Sornand all and sindry airtis, Fo to by henis reid-wod he rynis ; He lokis thame vp in to his innis Vnto ane derth, and sellis thair eggis, Regraitandly on thame he wynis, :
And secondly his meit he beggis.
Ane swyngeor coife, amangis the wyvis, In land-wart dwellis w*^ subteill menis, Exponand thame auld Sanctis lyvis, And sanis thame w* deid menis banis ; : Lyk Rome-rakaris, with awsterne granis, Speikand curlyk ilk ane till vder ; Pcipand peurly with peteouss granis, Lyk fen^eit Symmie and his bruder.
PEDDER COFFEIS 69
Thir cur coffeis that sailis oure sone, 25
And thretty sum abowt ane pak, W*' bair blew bonattis and hobbeld schone, And beir bonnokkis with thame thay tak ; They schamed schrewis, God gif thame lak, At none quhen merchantis makis gud cheir, so Steilis doun, and lyis behind ane pak, Drinkand bot dreggis and barmy beir.
Knaifatica coff misknawis him fell,
Quhen he gettis in a furrit goun ;
Grit Lucifer, maister of hell, 35
Is nocht sa helie as that loun ;
As he ciimis brankand throw the toun,
W* his keis clynkand on his arme,
That calf clovin-futtit fleid custroun,
Will mary nane bot a burgess bairne. 40
Ane dyvour cofife, that wirry hen,
Distroyis the honor of our natioun,
Takis gudis to frist fra fremit men,
And brekis than his obligatioun ;
Quhilk dois the marchand^ defamatioun ; 45
Thay ar reprevit for that regratour.
Thairfoir we gif our declaratioun,
To hang and draw that comon tratour.
Ane curloreouss coffe, that hege-kraper.
He sittis at hame quhen that thay baik, so
That pedder brybour, that scheip-keipar,
He tellis thame ilk ane caik by caik ;
Syne lokkis thame vp, and takis a faik,
Betwix his dowblett and his jackett.
And eitis thame in the buith that smaik ; 55
God that he mort into ane rakkett.
70 ANE DESCRIPTIOUN OF
7. Ane cathedrall coffe, he is ouir riche, And hes na hap his gude to spend, Bot levis lyk ane wareit wretche, And trestis nevir till tak ane end ; so
W*^ falsheid evir dois him defend, Proceeding still in averice, And leivis his saule na gude comend, * Bot walkis ane wilsome wey, I wiss.
I 30W exhort all that is heir, C5
That reidis this bill, ge wald it schaw Vnto the provest, and him requeir, That he will geif thir coffis the law, And baneis thame the burgess raw, And to the scho streit ge thame ken ; ro Syne cutt thair luggis, that ge may knavv, Thir peddir knavis be burges men.
jFinfe*
PEDDER CO FEE IS 71
NOTES ON THE PRECEDING POEM BY LORD HAILES, 1770.
St. 2. 1. II. '^^ Sornmid all and sindry airts." This scroppit or contemptible dealer is represented as going about in every quarter sornand ; a contraction from sojotirnand. Hence sor?iers, or sojourner's, which so often occurs in our more ancient statutes. He is here described as solicitous in purchasing fowls, profiting by the sale of their eggs, forestalling the market, and drawing advantage from a dearth. These are topics of popular discontent, which the Legislature has sometimes sanctified by inextricable statutes.
My reason for imagining that scroppit means contemp- tible is founded on the following passage in Knox, p. 93 : " Thair was presentit to the Quein Regent a calfe having two heidis ; whairat she scorppit, and said it was bot a common thing."
St. 3. A rascally wencher among the married women, resides in the country, versant in the arts of subtilty ; he interprets to them the legends of the saints, and sanctifies them with dead men's bones or relics. Such persons seem to have raked the streets of Rome for every superstitious foolery. Sometimes they growl hke dogs, in the offices of religion ; sometimes they pitifully whine like the hypocritical Symmye and his brother.
The first part of this description alludes to the lewd and inordinate lives of the secular clergy. The description of their employment in the country resembles that which the younger Vossius profanely gave of a friend of his : " Est sacrificulus in pago quodam, et decipit rusticos." In Lord Hyndford's MS. [the " Ballat Buik of Geo. Banna- tyne "] there is a poem relative to Symmye and his brtider ; it is obsciare, but seems to import that they were what is termed qucestionarii in the ancient Scottish canons, c. 48, that is, persons sent out by the Church upon a begging mission.
St. 4. 1. 25. " Thir cur coffeis that sailis oure sone, And thretty-sum about ane pak."
These lines are unintelligible without the aid of the
72 ANE DESCRIPTIOUN OF
statute-book. By Act 24. Pari. 4. James V. it is provided, " That na merchand saill, without he have ane halfe last of glides of his awi?i, or else in governance, as factour to uthir merchandes." And by Act 25. ' ' That na schip be frauchted out of the realme, with ony staple gudes, fra the feast of Simon's day and Judes [28 Oct.] unto the feast of the purification of our lady, called Candlemas." The reader will now perceive what it was to sail too early, and wherein they offended, who, to the number of thirty, were joint adventurers in one pack of goods.
St. 5. 1. 33. ** Knaifatica coff misknawis himself." The word knaifatica has been invented to describe a pedlar of mean servile original. Every one knows that knave formerly meant a servant. It is probable that this stanza was aimed at some living character, remarkable for the insolence of office.^
1. 38. "With his keis clynkand on his arme."
The keys of a city are considered as the symbols of trust and power, and therefore they may have been borne by magistrates. It is an ancient custom for the chief magis- trate of a city to deliver the keys to the sovereign upon his first entry.
St. 6. 1. 41. " Ane dyvour coffe," This stanza describes, in very emphatical terms, the offence of one who, while unable or unwilling to pay, deals upon credit with foreign merchants.
^t. 7. 1. 55. "And eitis thame in the buith that smaik.'* The word smaik means a pitiful ignominious fellow. It occurs in a curious poem by the Earl of Glencairn, preserved in Knox, p. 25.
"They smaikis dois set their haill intent, To reid the Inglische New Testament." The churl here described, after having carefully numbered his cakes, conveys one of them under his clothes, and eats it in his booth or shop.
1 Those who most frequently held the office of Provost of Edinburgh during the latter part of this reign [Queen Mary's] were Lord Seaton, Douglas of Kilspindie, and Symon Prestoun of Prestoun.— Sibbald.
PEDDER COFFEIS 73
St, 9. 1. 70. "And to the scJio-streit ye thame ken, Syne cut thair luggis," &c.
Shoes are still sold at Edinburgh in the upper part of the Grassinarket, which [formerly was] also the place of execu- tion. It is probable that lesser punishments, such as that of cutting off the ears of delinquents, were anciently inflicted in the same place. It has been suggested to the editor, that by Scho-st?'eit, a street in Perth, still termed the Shoe- gate, is understood : But there seems no reason for supposing that this poem, was composed at Perth, orthat the Shoe-gate in Perth was a place of punishment.
ane 33allat of jaatrpmonie*
THIS humorous poem may serve as a counterpart to "The Wife lapped in Morels skin," and some other well-known pieces of English poetry, which were coeval with it. The original is preserved in a very curious volume ^ of miscellaneous poetry in Cotton MS. Vesp. A. 25, de- scribed as having once been the property of Sir Henry Savile. The text is given on the authority of Ritson,2 whose scrupulous fidelity and correctness have never been called in question, nor were his antiquarian pursuits, with the pre- judices entertained for a length of time by his countrymen, bounded by " the cold river of Tweid." In Ritson's volume this poem is entitled " The Honey Moon," which has here been altered, as there seems to be no authority to show that the period, usually regarded as at least the positive term of matrimonal happiness (but in which the following ludicrous adventure is said to have occurred), had, so early as the latter part of the i6th century, received such an appropriate denomination. 3
1 MSS. Cotton, Vesp. A. 25.
2 From the Caledonian Muse, 1785, and first published 1821, Svo, p. 172.
3 Dr. Laing adds : " This ballad has since been compared with the manuscript in the British Museum, but unneces- sarily, unless in having afforded an instance of the reliance that may be placed on Ritson's accuracy."
74
BALL AT OF MATRTMONIE 75
Y west of late as I dyd walke, In the pryme tyme of the day, Yt was my chaunce to here the talke Of two yonge folks in fay ; They had not bene married at the kyrke 5
Thrd dayes then fully past, The good man bad his wyffe to worke, Nay soft, quod she, no hesste,
For now I \vy\\ quod she. Not worke for the, 10 I make to God a vowe.
And yf thow wylt not worke, quod he,
Thou drab I shall the dryve.
I would to God, thow knave, quod she
Thow durst that matter pryve.
The goodman for to beate his wyffe
In hande a pase he went, —
He caught two blowes vpon his head
For every one he lent,
In dede ; He never blan Beating her than — Tyll both hys eares dyd blede.
He was so stowte and sterne that stoure,
And fearsse with her in fyght.
That even vpon the stony flowre —
She knokt his head full ryght.
The good wyffe was wonderous wake in hande,
FearefuU and nothing bold,
76 ANE BALLAT OF
But he — had never a fott to stande When she of hym caught hold si
By the crage ;
And with her fyst, His mouth she kyst,
As fast as yt myght wagge.
Now then, she cryed lowd, a lake ! ^
I do you well to wytt ; — s
But he lay downe vpon his bake, And she stode on her fett ; Bending her selffe to hym a pace,^ She cryed him mersy then
And pylled the barke even of hys face 4
With her commaundements ten ; And oft
She dyd hym dosse Abowt the nose,
Tyll al his face^ was softe.
Now when the neybowres hard the noyse, 4
So longe betwen them twayne,
They wyst yt was no wanton toyes,
And fast thether they ranne ;
And when they came, in vayne yt was,
The dores was sparred rounde, o
The good wyffe cryed owt alas !
But he — lay on the grounde.
Well beate ; Lying alonge He sayd among That better he would her heate. s
Hys neybowres they were sore afrayde That he would kyll hys wyffe, Then hym full instantly they prayde, To stynt and leave hys stryffe,
1 'pacce.' 2 'at hys facce."
MATRTMONIE 77
And not hys wrath vpon her * wreache,' 1 eo
They dyd hym all exorte ;
Nay, nay, quod he, I shall her teache
How she shall be so shorte
With me ; —
Yet on his face She layd apace, 65
And cryed him styll merse.
Whiche thing to here the neyboures all
Dyd pytty her so sore.
That to the good man they dyd call,
And sayd, for shame, no more :
He bad them then go pyke them home,
And there go medle them now ;
I am, quod he, not such a one,
To leave fighting for yowe,
I trow : Yet for all this, They sayd, I wys, Small neybourehede he dyd showe.
Some prayed hym, in avoyding cryme. That he hys hande would hold ; Let her, quod he, another tyme. Not be with me so bolde ; For suredly, and owght I were To bede her taunt or cheke, — But he could scante the same declare She held so fast hys neke,
In a bande ;
Alas, quod she, Wyll ye kyll me ?
Swete husband, hold youre hande.
1 'wyrke.'
78 ANE BALLAT OF
His neyboures then were sore afrayed, That he would her devoure, The dorres then being fast sparred They threw them on the floure ; ^ The gude wyffe lepte away apace, When shame had put to flyght, And he, well blowen about the face, Began to stand upright,
Nere made \
No wyght of skill, I think, judge vvyll
But he thereoff was glade.
All thoughe his bake was somewhat duste loo
After a folyshe guysse.
Yet was the man hym selffe to lust, —
That scarcely he could rysse.
The good wyffe dyd her chamber take.
Shewing her selff in drede ; 105
To neyboures the goodman myrth dyd make.
To them that sawe that dede.
All and some ; To whom he sware, That he had thare, Slane her had thay not come. no
' Wish ' 2 all yong marryed wyves I wyll
No such masters to preve,
But even obey you husbandes styll,
Lesse they do worke yowe greve;^
And seeing that yt ys not the best na
To leve in debate and stryffe,
1 • In the floure." 2 < With.' MS. ^ < Dryve ' in MS.
MATRTMONIE 79
God send all ' then ' ^ that quiet rest
May be with man and wyffe,
To the end : Grant vs all pray Both night and day, 120 That God suche grace may sende.
1 'them,' MS.
jFittijS.
Cling ©sitmere.
THIS tale.i Doctor Leyden suggested, 2 might probably be the same with the "Tale of the King of Estmure- land's marriage to the King's daughter of Westmureland," mentioned in the " Complaynt of Scotland," 1549. But Mr. Ritson' was inclined to identify that tale with the very ancient " Romance of Kyng Horn," which he has published. However this may be, it would have been desirable to have met with a copy of this interesting legend in its original state. Bishop Percy, from the first edition of whose volumes the present text is printed, tells us that he has given it "from two copies, one of them in his folio MS., which contained great variations."^ The other copy, it is more than probable, was one of his own making, as the Editor, after many fruitless inquiries, cannot hear of the existence of any such, either printed or written.^
This romantic tale is certainly of some antiquity. Bishop Percy says, "As in one of the copies, the King of Spain is represented as a Pagan, this ballad should seem to have been originally written while a part of that kingdom was in the hands of the Saracens or Moors, whose empire there was not fully extinguished before the year 1491." There is no occasion to copy out the interesting illustrations
1 Percy's Reliques, 4th edit. vol. i. p. 62.
2 Complaynt of Scotland, Introd. p, 226.
3 Ancient English Metrical Romances, vol. iii, p. 266.
^ It is impossible to say what sort of text the folio MS. offered, as the owner seems to have torn out the leaves on which " King Estmere" was once to be found.
^ Compare Percy Folio MS., 1867, ii. 200, note. 80
KING EST ME RE 8i
of this tale from so popular a work as the " Reliques," which prove that several of the circumstances described are strictly " conformable to the real manners of the barbarous ages."
Eitto: €s!tmere.
EARKEN to me, gentlemen, Come and you shall heare ; He tell you of two of the boldest brether, That ever born y-were. The tone of them was Adler yonge, 6
The tother was Kyng Estmere ; Th^ were as bolde men in their deedes,
As any were farr and neare. As they were drinking ale and wine
Within King Estmere's halle : lo
When will ye marry a wyfe, brother,
A wyfe to gladd us all ? Then bespake him Kyng Estmere,
And answered him hastilye : I knowe not that ladye in any lande, is
That is able to marrye with mee. Kyng Adland hath a daughter, brother,
Men call her bright and sheene ; If I were kyng here in your stead,
That ladye sholde be queen e. 20
Sayes, Reade me, reade me, deare brother.
Throughout merrye Englknd, Where we might find a messenger
Betweene us two to sende. Sayes, You shal ryde yourselfe, brother, 25
rie beare you companye ; Many a man throughe fals messengers is deceived.
And I feare lest soe shold wee.
VOL. II. F
82 KING ESTMERE
Thus th^ furnisht them to ryde
Of twoe good Renish steedes, And when they came to King Adlands halle,
Of red golde shone their weedes. And whan th^ came to Kyng Adlknds halle
Before the goodlye yate, Ther they found good King Adl^nd ;
Rearing himselfe theratt. Nowe Christ thee save, good Kyng Adl^nd ;
Nowe Christ thee save and see ! Sayd, You be welcome, King Estmere,
Right hartilye unto mee. You have a daughter, sayd Adler yonge,
Men call her bright and sheene, My brother wold marrye her to his wyffe,
Of Englande to be queene. Yesterdaye was at my deare daughter
Sir Bremor the King of Spayne ; And then she nicked him of nave,
And I doubt shee'le do you the same. The Kyng of Spayne is a foule paynim,
And 'leeveth on Mahound ; And pitye it were that fayre lady^
Shold marrye a heathen hound. But grant to me, sayes Kyng Estmere,
For my love I you praye ; That I may see your daughter deare
Before I goe hence awaye. Althoughe itt is seven yeare and more,
Syth my daughter was in halle, She shall come once downe for your sake
To glad my guest^s alle. Downe then came that mayden fayre,
With ladyes lacede in pall. And halfe a hondred of bolde knightes,
To bring; her from bowre to hall :
KING ESTMERE 83
And as manye gentle squieres, 65
To waite upon them all. The talents of golde, were on her head sette,
Hanged lowe downe to her knee ; And everye rynge on her smalle finger,
Shone of the chrystall free. 70
Sayes, Christ you save, my deare madkme ;
Sayes, Christ you save and see ! Sayes, You be welcome, Kyng Estmere,
Right welcome unto mee. And iff you love me, as you saye, 75
So well and hartilee. All that ever you are comen about
Soon sped now itt may bee. Then bespake her father deare :
My daughter, I saye naye ; so
Remember well the King of Spayne,
What he sayd yesterdaye. He wolde pull downe my halles and castles,
And reave me of my lyfe. And ever I feare that paynim kyng, 85
Iff I reave him of his wyfe. Your castles and your towres, father,
Are stronglye built aboute ; And therefore of that foule paynim
Wee neede not stande in doubte. 90
Plyght me your troth, nowe, Kyng Estmere,
By heaven and your righte hand, That you will marrye me to your wyfe.
And make me queene of your land. Then Kyng Estmere he plight his troth 95
By heaven and his righte hand, That he wolde marrye her to his wyfe,
And make her queene of his land. And he tooke leave of that ladye fayre.
To goe to his owne countree. 100
84 KING ESTMERE
To fetche him dukes and lordes and knightes,
That marryed th^ might bee. They had not ridden scant a myle,
A myle forthe of the towne, But in did come the Kyng of Spayne, 105
With kempes many a one. But in did come the Kyng of Spayne,
With manye a grimme baione, Tone daye to marrye Kyng Adlands daughter,
Tother daye to carrye her home. no
Then shee sent after Kyng Estmere
In all the spede might bee, That he must either turne againe and fighte,
Or goe home and lose his ladye. One whyle then the page he went, iis
Another whyle he ranne ; Till he had oretaken Kyng Estmere,
I wis, he never blanne. Tydinges, tydinges, Kyng Estmere !
What tydinges nowe, my boye } 120
O, tydinges I can tell you,
That will you sore annoye. You had not ridden scant a myle,
A myle out of the towne, But in did come the Kyng of Spayne 125
With kempes many a one : But in did come the Kyng of Spayne
With manye a grimme barone, Tone daye to marrye King Adlands daughter,
Tother daye to carrye her home. i3o
That ladye fayre she greetes you well,
And ever-more well by mee : You must either turne againe and fighte,
Or go home and lose your ladye, Sayes, Reade me, reade me, deare brother, 135
My reade shall ryse at thee.
KING ESTMERE 85
Whether it is better to turne and fighte.
Or goe home and lose my ladye. Now hearken to me, sayes Adler yonge,
And your reade must rise at me, uo
I quicklye will devise a waye
To sette thy ladye free. My mother was a westerne woman,
And learned in gramarye, And when I learned at the schole, 145
Something shee taught itt mee. There grows an hearbe within this fielde,
And iff it were but knowne, His color, which is whyte and redd,
It will make blacke and browne : 150
His color, which is browne and blacke,
Itt will make redd and whyte ; 1 That sworde is not in all Englande,
Upon his coate will byte. And you shal be a harper, brother, 155
Out of the North countrye : And rie be your boye, so faine of fighte,
To beare your harpe by your knee. And you shall be the best harper,
That ever tooke harpe in hand ; 160
And I will be the best singer,
That ever sung in this land. Itt shal be written on our forheads
All and in grammarye. That we twoe are the boldest men, 165
That are in all Christentye. And thus they furnisht them to ryde,
Of towe good Renish steedes ;
1 This idea occurs in the story of Fulke Fitzwarin (Hazlitt's "National Tales and Legends," 1892, p. 210-211).
86 KING EST ME RE
And whan the came to King Adlands hall,
Of redd gold shone their vveedes. iro
And whan the came to Kyng Aldlands hall
Untill the fayre hall yate, There the found a proud porter
Rearing himselfe theratt. Sayes, Christ thee save, thou proud porter ! Wo
Sayes, Christ thee save and see ! Nowe you be welcome, sayd the porter,
Of what land soever ye bee, We been harpers, said Adler yonge.
Come out of the Northe countree ; iso
We bene come hither untill this place,
This proud weddinge for to see. Sayd, and your color were whyte and redd,
As it is blacke and browne, I would saye King Estmere and his brother iSo
Were comen untill this towne. Then they pulled out a ryng of gold,
Layd itt on the porters arme : And ever we will thee, proud porter,
Thou wilt saye [of] us no harme. i90
Sore he looked on Kyng Estmere,
And sore he handled the ryng, Then opened to them the fayre hall yates,
He lett for no kind of thyng. Kyng Estmere he stabled his steede i9o
Soe fayre att the halle board ; The frothe, that came from his brydle bitte,
Light on Kyng Bremors sword. Sayes, Stable thy steede, thou proud harper,
Sayes, Stable him in the stalle \ 200
Itt doth not beseeme a proud harper
To stable him in a kyngs halle. My ladd he is so lither, he sayd.
He will do nought that's meete ;
KING ESTMERE 87
And aye that I cold but find the man, 205
Were able him to beate. Thou speakst proud words, sayes the Kyngof Spayne,
Thou harper, here to mee ; There is a man within this halle,
Will beate thy ladd and thee. 210
O lett that man come downe, he sayd,
A sight of him wold I see ; And whan hee hath beaten well my ladd,
Then he shall beate mee. Downe then came the kemperye man, 213
And looked him in the eare ; For all the gold, that was under heaven,
He durst not neigh him neare. And how nowe, kempe, sayd the Kyng of Spayne,
And how what aileth thee ? 220
He sayes, Itt is written in his forhead
All and in gramarye. That for all the gold that is under heaven,
I dare not neigh him nye. Then Kyng Estmere pulled forth his harpe, 22s
And played a pretty thinge : The ladye upsterte from the boarde,
And wold have gone from the King. Stay thy harpe, thou proud harper,
For God's love I pray thee ; 230
For and thou playes as thou beginns,
Thou'lt till my bryde from mee. He stroake upon his harpe againe,
And playd a pretty thinge ; The ladye lough a loud laughter, 235
As shee sate by the king. Sales, sell me thy harpe, thou proud harper,
And thy string^s all. And as many gold nobles thou shalt have,
As heere be ringes in the hall. 240
88 KING ESTMERE
What wold ye doe with my harpe, ' he sayd,'
If I did sell itt yee ? To playe my wiffe and me a fitt,
When abed together wee bee. Now sell me, quoth hee, thy bryde see gay 245
As shee sitts by thy knee, And as many gold nobles I will give,
As leaves been on a tree. And what wold ye doe with my bryde soe gay,
Iff I did sell her thee ? 250
More semelye it is for her fayre bodye
To lye by mee than thee. Hee played agayne both loud and shrille,
And Adler he did syng : " O ladye, this is thy owne true love ; 255
Noe harper, but a kyng. O ladye, this is thy owne true love ;
As playnlye thou mayest see ; And rie rid thee of that foule paynim,
Who partes thy love and thee." 260
The ladye looked, the ladye blushte,
And blushte and lookt agayne, While Adler he hath drawne his brande,
And hath the Sowdan slayne. Up then rose the kemperye men, 260
And loud they gan to crye : Ah ! traytors, yee have slayne our kyng,
And therefore yee shall dye. Kyng Estmere threwe the harpe asyde,
And swith he drew his brand ; 270
And Estmere and Adler yonge
Right stiffe in stour can stand. And aye their swordes soe sore can byte,
Through help of gramarye, That soone they have slayne the kempery men, 2r»
Or forst them forth to flee.
KING EST ME RE 89
King Estmere tooke that fayre ladye,
And marryed her to his wiffe, And brought her home to merry England
With her to leade his life. 2so
JFttti^.
^Dam Bel, CIgm of tlje Cleuffl), anti Mlilliam of Clo\xitiej3lh
ALTHOUGH this charming Border tale, which is con- - nected with the same district as the " Awntyrs of Arthur," printed above, is already printed in the "Early Popular Poetry of England," 1864-6, in the present series, it seemed almost desirable to let it form part of the volumes ; but in doing so we have not reproduced the whole of the long and elaborate introduction, contenting ourselves with rendering the text from a collation of all the known early copies or fragments of copies, including the two mutilated leaves, C 1 and C 4, of the impression by John Byddell, 4to, 1536, discovered some years ago in the binding of a volume sent from the Continent, The variations from Copland's edition are chiefly literal, but here and there an important emendation or notable change is observable, more especially in such a passage as that where, in the 4to of 1536, we find the outlaws preparing to go to Rome to be absolved, whereas in Copland's undated and post- Reformation one they are sent to a bishop. The dropped words and other inaccu- racies in the latter show how soon our popular and fugi- tive literature began to suffer in passing from one printer to another.
This charming story, which owed its rise perhaps to the Cook's Tale of Gamelyn in Chaucer, and which, in one of its leading features, bears a close resemblance to the tradi- tional account of an adventure which befell the Swiss patriot William Tell about the commencement of the fourteenth century, was printed, not at all accurately, by Ritson in his " Pieces of Ancient Popular Poetry," 1791, from the only 90
ADAM BEL, ETC, 91
known copy of Copland's edition, preserved among Garrick's books in the National Library. The present republication has been formed from a careful collation of the original edition from Copland's press, with a few readings, as has been already observed, taken from an imperfect exemplar of a possibly still older impression formerly in the library of Mr. Collier. It is proper to apprise the reader that, in Copland's edition, there is no punctuation.
The late Mr. Hunter, in his " New Illustrations of Shake- speare," i. 245,' has shown that an annuity of £/\, los., issuing out of the fee-farm of Clipston, in Sherwood, Notts, was granted to one Adam Bel, temp. Henry IV. The great Scotish poet Dunbar (Poems, i. 126), who probably died about
1 Mr. Hunter's own words are as follow : — " King Henry the Fourth, by letters enrolled in the Exchequer in Trinity term, in the seventh year of his reign, and bearing date, the 14th day of April, granted to one Adam Bell an annuity of ;^4, los., issuing out of the fee-farm of Clipston, in the forest of Sherwood, together with the profits and advan- tages of the vesture and herbage of the garden called the Halgarth, in which the manor house of Clipston is situated.
' ' Now, as Sherwood is noted for its connection with archery, and may be regarded also as \hepatria of much of the ballad poetry of England, and the name Adam Bell is a peculiar one, this might be almost of itself sufficient to show that the ballad had a foundation in veritable history. But we further find that this Adam Bell violated his allegiance by adhering to the Scots, the King's enemies ; whereupon this grant was virtually resumed, and the Sheriff of Notting- hamshire accounted for the rents which would have been his. In the third year of King Henry the Fifth the account was rendered by Thomas Hercy, and in the fourth year by Simon Leak. The mention of his adhesion to the Scots leads us to the Scotish border, and will not leave a doubt in the mind of the most sceptical that we have here one of the persons some of whose deeds (with some poetical license, perhaps) are come down to us in the words of one of our popular ballads." — New Illustrations of Shake- speare, i. 245-6. Compare Gutch's " Lytell Geste," &c., i. 318.
92 ADAM BEL, ETC.
1515, must allude to our outlaw in the following passage from his poem of " Sir Thomas Norray : " —
" Was never weild Robeine under Bewch, Nor yit Roger of Clekkinsklewch,
So bauld a bairne as he ; Gy of Gysburne, na Allane Bell, Na Simones sonnes of Quhynsell,
At schot war nevir so slie."
M. Thierry ("Conquest of England by the Normans," transl. by W. Hazlitt, ii. 229), most assuredly errs in sup- posing that the poem was composed in the eleventh century. It is not older than the " Lytell Geste of Robyn hode," which may perhaps be assigned to the fifteenth. But in the later French editions the mistake has been rectified probably.
Dr. Rimbault, in his xMusical Illustrations to Percy's " Reliques," 1850, 8vo, p. 60, has furnished the tune to which "Adam Bel," &c,, seems to have been sung ; and the editor has copied it below. Dr. Rimbault observes : — "The tune to which this ballad was sung the editor was fortunate enough to discover on the fly-leaf to a copy of an old music- book called ' Parthenia Inviolata; or, Mayden Musick for the Virginalls and Bass- Viol, Printed for John Pyper [circa 1620].' Oblong 4to."
It is interesting even to hope that what follows may be the original tunc for "Adam Bel," (S:c. The music-book to which it was found attached appeared nearly a century later than the poem itself, even supposing that there were no earlier editions than the one from Byddell's press.
ADAM BEL, ETC. 93
monge the le - ves grene, Where - as men hunt east,
1 L^- f. -^ y
i^S^
I I—
north and west, With bowes and ar-ro\ves kene.
^
i-^
ERY it was in grene forest,^ Amonge the leues grene, Where that men walke both east and
west, Wyth bowes and arrowes kene,
1 The ballad of "Robin Hood and Guy of Gisborne " opens somewhat similarly : —
" Whan shaws been sheene, and shraddes full fajTC, And leaves both large and longe, Itts merrye walkyng in the fayre forrest To heare the small birdes songe ; "
if at least this piece is genuine, which I doubt — that is to say, as a whole. The story is ancient unquestionably, for Guy of Gisborne is cited by Dunbar, who died about 1515, an old man. The con-uptions in the Robin Hood ballads, as they are printed by Ritson and others, are innumerable.
94 ADAM BEL, ETC,
To ryse the dere out of theyr denne,
Such sightes as hath ofte bene sene j
As by th[r]e yemen of the north countrey ;
By them is as I meane.
The one of them hight Adam bel,
The other Clym of the Clogh,i
The thryd was william of Cloudesly,
An archer good ynough.
They were outlawed for Venyson,
These thre yemen evere chone ;
They swore them breth[r]en upon a day,
To Englysshe wood ^ for to gone.
Now Uth and lysten, gentylmen,
And that of myrthes loveth to here :
Two of them were singele men,
The third had a wedded fere.
Wyllyam was the wedded man,
Muche more then was hys care ;
He sayde to his breth[rjen upon a day,
To Carelel he would fare,
For to speke with fayre Alse hys wife,
And with hys chyldren thre.
By my trouth, sayde Adam bel,
Not by the counsell of me :
For if ye go to Caerlel, brother.
And from thys wylde wode wende,
1 i.e., Clement of the valley or ravine. Cloughe is no doubt cleugh, from cleave, cleft. To clexve is given in Halliwell's " Archaic Dictionary " as an old form of to cleave.
2 The "Englysshe wood" mentioned in v. i6, &c. , is Englewood or Inglewood, an extensive forest in Cumber- land, which was sixteen miles in length, and reached from Carlisle to Penrith. — JRitson. Perhaps Engwood, Co. Durham, is a corruption of Efigle-zvood, which may have anciently extended thus far. Compare the tale of the " Awntyi-s of Arthur," supra.
ADAM BEL, ETC, 95
If the justice mai you take,
Your lyfe were at an ende.
If that I come not to morowe, brother,
By pryme ^ to you agayne,
Trust not els but that I am take, 35
Or else that I am slayne.
He toke hys leaue of hys breth[r]en two,
And to Carlel he is gon,
There he knocked at hys owne windowe,
Shortlye and a none. 4o
Where be you,2 fayre Alyce my wyfe ?
And my chyldren three ?
Lyghtly let in thyne husbande,
Wyllyam of Cloudesle.
Alas, then sayde fayre Alyce, «
And syghed wonderous sore,
Thys place hath ben besette for you,
Thys halfe yere and more.
Now am I here, sayde Cloudesle,
I 3 woulde that I in were ; — oo
Now feche us meate and drynke ynoughe.
And let us make good chere.
She feched hym meat and drynke plenty,
Lyke a true wedded wyfe.
And pleased hym wyth that she had, ss
Whome she loued as her lyfe.
There lay an old wyfe in that place,
A lytle besyde the fyre,
Whych Wyllyam had found of cherytye
More then seuen yere ; eo
1 i.e., noon. It is commonly used by early writers in this sense. In the " Four P.P.," by John Heywood, circa 1540, the apothecary says : —
" If he taste this boxe nye aboute the pryme, By the masse, he is in heven or even songe tyme."
2 Old ed. has your. ' Old ed. has In.
96 ADAM BEL, ETC,
Up she rose, and walked full styll,
Euel mote she sped ^ therefoore :
For she had not set no fote on ground
In seuen yere before.
She went vnto the justice hall, C5
As fast as she could hye :
Thys nyght is come vnto this town
Wyllyam of Cloudesle.
Thereof the Justice was full fayne,
And so was the shirife also ; 7o
Thou shalt not trauaile hether, dame, for nought.
Thy meed thou shalt haue, or thou go.
They gaue to her a rycht good goune,
Of scarlet it was as I herde say[n]e,
She toke the gyft and home she wente, 75
And couched her downe agayne.
They rysed the towne of mery Carlel,
In all the hast that they can,
And came thronging to Wyllyames house,
As fast [as] they myght gone. so
Theyr they besette that good yeman,
Round a bout on euery syde,
Wyllyam hearde great noyse of folkes,
That heyther ward [they] hyed.
Alyce opened a shot ^ wyndow, 85
And loked all a bout,
She was ware of the Justice and the Shrife,
Wyth a full great route.
Alas, treason, cryd Alyce,
Euer wo may thow be ! 90
Gy into my chambre, my husband, she sayd,
Swete Wyllyam of Cloudesle.
He toke hys sweard and hys bucler, \
Hys bow and hy[s] chyldren thre,
1 Old ed. has spende. 2 Old ed. has shop.
ADAM BEL, ETC, 97
And wente into hys strongest chamber, 95
Where he thought surest to be.
Fayre Alice folowed him ^ as a lover true,
With a pollaxe in her hande :
He shal be dead that here cometh in
Thys dore, whyle I may stand. 100
Cloudesle bent a welgood bowe,
That was of trusty tre,
He smot the Justise on the brest,
That hys arrowe brest in thre.
Gods curse on hys hartt, saide William, 1^5
Thys day thy cote dyd on,
If it had ben no better then myne,
It had gone nere thy bone.
Yelde the, Cloudesle, sayd the Justise,
And thy bowe and thy arrowes the fro. no
Gods curse on hys hart, sayde fair Alee,
That my husband councelleth so.
Set fyre on the house, saide y® Sherife,
Syth it wyll no better be,
And brenne we therin William, he saide, 115
Hys wyfe and chyldren thre.
They fyred the house in many a place,
The fyre flew vp on 2 hye ;
Alas, than cryed fayr Alece,
I se we shall here dy. 120
William openyd hys backe wyndow,
That was in hys chambre on hye.
And wyth shetes let hys wyfe downe,
And hys chyldren thre.
Have here my treasure, sayde William, 12.5
My wyfe and my chyldren thre ;
For Christes loue do them no harme.
But wreke you all on me.
1 Old ed. has he. 2 Old ed. has vpen.
VOL. II. G
98 ADAM BEL, ETC.
Wyllyam shot so wonderous well,
Tyll hys arrowes were all gon, iso
And the fyre so fast vpon hym fell,
That hys bo stryng brent in two.
The spercles brent, and fell hym on,
Good Wyllyam of Cloudesle !
But than was he a wofuU man, 135
And sayde, thys is a cowardes death to me,
Leuer I had, sayde Wyllyam,
With my sworde in the route to renne.
Then here among myne enemyes wode,
Thus cruelly to bran. uo
He toke hys sweard and hys buckler,
And among them all he ran,
Where the people were most in prece.
He smot downe many a man.
There myght no man stand hys stroke, i45
So fersly on them he ran ;
Then they threw wyndowes and dores on him.
And so toke that good yeman.
There they hym bounde both hand and fote,
And in dope dongeon hym cast : i5o
Now, Cloudesle, sayd the hye Justice,
Thou shalt be hanged in hast.
One vow shal I make, sayde the sherife,
A payre of new galowes shall I for the make,
And the gates of Caerlel shalbe shutte, 155
There shall no man come in therat.
Then shall not helpe [thee] Clim of the cloughe,
Nor yet [shall] Adam bell,
Though they came with a thousand mo,
Nor all the deuels in hell. ico i\
Early in the mornyng the Justice vprose, ' 1
To the gates fast gan he gon,
And commaunded to be shut full cloce
Lightile everychone.
ADAM BEL, ETC. 99
Then went he to the market place, i65
As fast as he coulde hye,
A payre of new gallous there dyd he vp set,
Besyde the pyllory.
A lytle boy stod them among-e.
And asked what meaned that gallow tre ; i70
They sayde : to hange a good yeaman.
Called Wyllyam of cloudesle.
That lytle boye was the towne svvyne heard,
And kept there Alyce swyne,
Full oft he had sene Cloudesle in the wodde, ir5
[Who] had geuen hym there to dyne.
He went out att a creues in the wall,
And lightly to the wood dyd gone.
There met he with these wight yonge men,
Shortly and a none. 18O
Alas, then sayde that lytle boye.
Ye tary here all to longe ;
Cloudesle is taken and dampned to death,
AUreadye for to honge.
Alas, then sayde good Adam bell, iss
That ever we see thys daye ;
He myght her with vs have dwelled.
So ofte as we dyd him praye.
He myght have taryed in grene foreste.
Under the shadowes sheene, 190
And have kepte both hym and vs in reaste,
Out of trouble and teene.
Adam bent a ryght good bow,
A great hart sone had he slayne :
Take that, chylde, he sayde, to thy dynner, 195
And bryng me myne arrowe agayne.
Now go we hence, sayed these wight yong
men, Tary we no lenger here ;
loo ADAM BEL, ETC.
We shall hym borowe,^ by gods grace, Though we bye it full dere. 2co
To Caerlel went these good yemen On a mery mornyng of Maye. Here is a fyt of Cloudesli, And another is for to saye.
A ND when they came to mery Carelell, 205 •l\. In a fayre mornyng tyde, They founde the gates shut them vntyll, Round about on euery syde. Alas, than sayd good Adam bell, That euer we were made men : 210
These gates be shyt so wonderly 2 well, That we may not come here in. Than spake ^ Clym of the Clough : Wyth a wyle we wyl vs in bryng ;
1 To borrow, in the sense of to take, and to guard or to protect, is so common in early English, that it is unnecessary to bring forward any illustration of its use in this way. So the word lend formerly stood for give, and was very rarely employed in its modern acceptation. Udall, in his play of "Ralph Roister Doistcr," not unfrequently uses to borrow as a synonym for to giiai'd, or shield. Thus in act iiij. sc. 7 :
" M. Mery. Now, sainct George to borow. Drum dubbe a dubbe afore." And in the next scene, Merygreek again exclaims : "What then? sainct George to borow, our Ladies knight."
2 Copland's ed, reads wondero. I have followed Mr. Collier's fragment of four leaves, which commences at this line ; but it may be observed that xvonderous, wonderly, wonderful, and wonder (as adjectives) are used almost in- discriminately in early texts.
^ Spake him, Copland's ed.
ADAM BEL, ETC. loi
Let vs saye we be messengers, 215
Streyght comen ^ from oure kynge.
Adam said : I haue a lettre vvritte wel,
Now let us wysely werke,
We wyl saye we haue the klges scales,
I holde the portter no clerke.^ 220
Than Adam bell bete on the gate.
With strokes greate and stronge,
The porter herde suche noyse therate,
And to the gate faste ^ he throng.
Who is there nowe, sayde the porter, 225
That maketh all thys knockynge ?
We be two messengers, sayde clymme of y^clough,
Be comen streyght frome our kynge.
We haue a letter, sayd adam bel.
To the Justyce we must it bryng ; 220
1 So Mr. Collier's copy ; Copland's ed. has come nowe.
2 Porters do not seem to have enjoyed, at any period, a character for the possession of superfluous intelligence. Chaucer alludes to their stupidity in ' ' Troylus and Cres- seide : " —
" Come forth, I wol unto the yate go ; Thise portours ben unkonnynge everemo."
3 Not in Copland's ed. It is here inserted from Mr. Collier's ed. Throng is the preterite of the ob3olete word thring, which was formerly in use both as a verb and a noun. It is here put iox pressed or hastened Jonvard ; but, like many old words, its signification is elastic. We still describe a number of persons as a throng, and where they are con- centrating themselves on any given point, they are said to throng. But thring is no longer found. Lyndsay, in his " Complaynt of the Papingo" (Works, by Chalmers, i. 305) introduces thringis [thrings] as a synonym for thrusts : —
" Bot maist redoutit daylie scho dou7i thringis Not sparing paipis conquerouris nor kingis."
But Lyndsay also has throng in its modern acceptation.
102 ADAM BEL, ETC,
Let vs in our message to do,
That we were agayne to our kynge.
Here commeth no man ^ in, sayd y® porter,
By him that dyed on a tre,
Tyll a false thefe be hanged, 235
Called Wyllyam of Cloudesle.
Then spake y® good yeman Clym of y^ clough,
And swore by Mary fre,
If that we stande longe wythout,
Lyke a thefe hanged shalt thou be. 240
Lo here we haue the kynges scale ;
What, lordeyne, art thou wode ?
The porter had wende it had ben so.
And lyghtly dyd of hys hode.
Welcome be my lordes scale, sayd he,^ 245
For that shall ye ^ come in.
He opened the gate ryght •* shortlye,
An euyl openynge for hym.
Now are we in, sayde adam bell,
Thereof we are full faine, 250
But Christ knoweth, that herowed hell,
How we shall come oute agayne.
Had we y^ keys, sayd clym of y'^ clough,
Ryght wel then sholde we spede ;
Then might we coe out wel ynough, 255
When we se tyme and nede.
1 Copland's ed. has no/ie. I follow Mr. Collier's text.
2 So in Mr. Collier's ed. Copland's ed. has he saide. Fox, in his "Book of Martyrs," gives the scene where Cranmer before the Council, seeing that they will not listen to him, shews them the signet which Henry had given him, and they at once rise to go to the King, understanding the token. In the " Blind Beggar of Bednal Green," 1659, Old Strowd desires ;^iooo to be sent him, and forwai'ds his seal-ring to the holder of the money as a guarantee.
2 So Mr. Collier's copy. Copland's ed. \v3iS ye shalh * So Mr. Collier's copy. Copland's ed. hOiS/Hll.
ADAM BEL, ETC, 103
They called the porter to a councell,
And wronge hys necke in two,
And keste him in a depe dongeon,
And toke the keys hym fro. 200
Now am I porter, sayde adam bel,
Se, broder, the keys haue we here,
The worste porter to mery Carlell,
That they had thys hondreth yere :
And now ^ wyll we our bowes bend, 266
Into the towne wyll we go,
For to delyuer our dere broder,
Where he lyueth in care and wo.
They bent theyr bowes [then full wel,]
And loked theyr strTges were round, aro
The market place of mery Carlyll
They beset in that stound ;
And as they loked them besyde,
A paire of new galowes there they se,
And the ^ Justice with a quest of swerers,^ 275
That had juged Cloudesle there haged to be.
And Cloudesle himselfe lay redy in a carte,
Fast bounde * both fote and hand,
And a stronge rope aboute hys necke.
All redy for to be hangde.^ 280
The Justice called to hym a ladde,
Cloudesles clothes should he haue,
To take the mesure of that yeman,
And therafter to make hys graue.
I have sene as great a merveyll, said Cloudesli, 286
1 So Mr. Collier's copy. Copland's ed. has Now, &c.
2 Old ed. has they.
3 So in Mr. Collier's copy. Copland's ed. has squyers. A swerer is a juryman. This is only one of the important readings of the Collier text. In line 272, Copland's ed. omits the word i?i. •* Copland's ed. omits this word.
5 Copland's ed. has to hatige.
104 ADAM BEL, ETC,
As betwyene thys and pryme,
He that maketh thys graue for me,
Hymselfe may lye therin.
Thou spekest proudli, sayd y® Justyce,
I shall hange the with my hande. 290
Full wel that herde hys bretheien two,
There styll as they dyd stande.
Than Cloudesle cast hys eyen asyde,
And saw hys two breth[r]en stande^
At a corner of the market ^ place, 295
With theyr good bowes bente in ther hand,
Redy the Justice for to chace.^
I se good * comforte, sayd Cloudesle,
Yet hope I well ^ to fare ;
If I might haue my handes at vvyll,
Ryght lytle wolde I care. 300
Then spake good adam bell
To clyme of the clough so fre : ^
Brother, se ye marke the Justyce wel,
Lo yonder ye may him see ;
And at the sheryf shote I wyll sos
Strongly with arowe kene,
A better shotte in mery Carlyll
Thys seuen yere was not sene.
^ This, word, which is necessary to complete the sense and metre, is supphed from Mr. Collier's copy. It has dropped out of Copland's edition.
- Old eds. have marked. s Copland's ed. has cliaioice.
^ This word seems to have dropped out of Copland's ed. It is here given from Mr. Collier's copy.
5 Old cd. has 7vill.
c Free is here used in a not uncommon signification. It means to S'a.y good or brave. In " Ludus Coventrice" the Saviour is, rather oddly, made to speak of Lazarus as * ' my frende so fre ; " and in the ' ' Chester Plays " (ed. Wright, i. 17), Lucifer addresses Lightborne as " my frinde fayer and freey."
ADAM BEL, ETC. 105
They lowsed ^ theyr ^ arovves bothe at ones, Of no man had they drede, 310
The one hyt the Justice, the other the sheryf, That both theyr sydes gan blede. All men voyded, that them stode nye, When the Justece fell to the grounde, And the sherife fell nyghe hym by, 315
Eyther had his dethes wounde. All the Citezeyns fast gan fie, They durst no lenger abyde. Than lyghtly they loused Cloudesle, Where he with ropes lay tyde. 32J
Wyllyam sterte to an offycer of y® towne, Hys axe out of hys hande he wronge, On eche syde he smote them downe, Hym thought he taryed to long.^ Wyllyam sayd to hys bretheren two : 325
Let us togyder lyue and deye,^ If euer you have nede, as I haue now, . The same shall ye fynde by me. They shot so well in that tyde, For theyr strynges were of sylke ful sure, 330 That they kepte y® stretes on euery syde,^ That batayll dyd longe endure. They^ fought togyder as bretheren true, Lyke hardy men and bolde, Many a man to the grounde they threwe, 333 And made many an herte colde. But whan theyr arowes were all gon,
1 Discharged.
2 Copland's ed. has the. I follow Mr. Collier's valuable text.
3 Copland's ed. has all to long.
4 Copland's ed. has : —
' ' Thys daye let us lyue and dye, " follow Mr. Collier's ed. s Copland's ed. has sede. ^ Copland's ed. has the.
io6 ADAM BEL, ETC,
Men presyd to them full fast,
They drewe theyr swerdes than anone,
And theyr bowes from them caste. 340
They wente lyghtlye on theyr waye,
Wyth swerdes and buckelers rounde,
By that it was the myddes ^ of the daye,
They had made mani a wound. 344
There was many an oute home in Carlyll blowen,
And the belles bacewarde did they rynge,^
Many a woman sayd, alas,
And many theyr handes dyd wrynge.
The mayre of Carlyll forth come was,
And with hym a full grete route, 350
These thre yomen dradde hym full sore,
For theyr lyues stode in doubte.^
The mayre came armed a full greate pace,
Copland's ed. has mas, and Ritson altered it to ?3iyd. I follow the Collier text.
2 " Ringing the bells backward " was anciently a practice to which the authorities of towns, &.c. , resorted as a sign of distress, or as an alarm to the people. In Burton's "Ana- tomy of Melancholy," 1621, p. 371, there is a odd anecdote illustrating the phrase and custom. Cleveland (Poems, ed. 1669, p. 50) employs the term metaphorically. It was also the practice in some parts of Italy, and in other Continental countries, to ring the church bells backward when a fire broke out, in order to summon assistance, as every one on such an occasion was formerly, and is still in the majority of foreign towns, bound to lend his aid. In the English " Gesta Romanorum " there is a story (No, 18 of Madden's edit.), shewing how " Antonius was a wise Emperoure regnyng in the cit6 of Rome, the which ordeynede for a law, that what tyme there was any fyre in that cit6, there shulde be a bidelle y-ordeined for to avaite hit, and to make an highe proclamacione in the cit6, seying, ' O ! there is fire in suche a place in the cit6 ; hy thou to ryng your bellis,' &c." 3 So Mr. Collier's ed. Copland's ed. has : —
*' For t>/ theyr lyues i/ic}' stode '\u great doute."
ADAM BEL, ETC. 107
With a polaxe in hys hande, Many a stronge man wyth hym was, 355
There in that stowre to stande. Y® mayre smote at cloudesle w his byll, Hys buckeler he brast in two, Full many a yoman w[an] grete yll, Alas, treason ! they cryed for wo. sco
Kepe ye the gates fast they bad, Y*^ these traytours thereoute not go. But all for nought was that they wrought, For so fast they downe were layde, Tyll they all thie that so manfulli fought, 365 Were goten without at a brayde. Haue here your keys, sayd adam bel, Myne ^ offyce I here forsake, Yf you do by my councell, . A newe porter ye ^ make. 370
He threwe the keys there at theyr heads. And bad them euyll to thryue, And all that letteth ^ ony good yoman To come and comforte hys wyue. Thus be these good yomen gone to the wode, 375 As lyght as lefe ^ on lynde. They laughe and be mery in theyr mode,^ Theyr enemyes were farre behynde. Whan they came to Inglys wode, Under theyr trysty tre, sso
There they founde bowes fulle gode,
1 In Copland's ed. , as pointed out by Ritson, this line and the following are transposed ; but in Mr. Collier's fragment, the text stands as above. In line 366, Copland's ed. omits at.
2 Copland's ed. has do we. ^ i.e. prevents, forbids.
4 Copland's ed. has : —
" And lyghtly as left on lynde."
5 Copland's ed. reads : —
" The lough an," (S:c,
io8 ADAM BEL, ETC.
And arrowes greate plenty.
So helpe me god, sayd adam bell,
And clymme of the clough so fre,
I would we were nowe in mery Carlell, 335
Before that fay re meyne.
They sat them downe and made good chere,
And eate and drynke full well.
Here is a fytte ^ of these wyght yong men,
And another I shall you tell. 390
AS they sat in Inglyswode ■t\. Under theyr trysty tre, They thought they herd a woma wepe, But her they myght not se. Sore syghed there fayre Alyce, 393
And sayde, alas that euer I se thys daye : For now is my dere husbonde slayne : Alas and wel awaye ! ^
Myght I have spoken wyth hys dere breth[r]en, Wyth eyther of them twayne, 400
[To lerne a none what of h\ m hath become] -' My hart were out of payne, Cloudesle walked a lytell besyde, And loked vnder the grenewolde lynde, He was ware of hys wife and his chyldren thre, 405 Full wo in hart and mynde.
1 Copland's ed. has set.
2 A common form of lamentation. In the " Chester Plays," i. 70, the expression is ivayle-a-zvaye, wliich was probably the original phrase, and affords no clue to its etymology.
3 A line appears to have dropped out of the old eds. ; and in " Anc. Pop. Poetry" it was supplied by Ritson from a modern edition to complete the metre. But unluckily this interpolation was made without any I'egard to the sense or context.
ADAM BEL, ETC. 109
Welcome, wife, than sayd wyllyam,
Under this 1 trysty tre ;
I had wende yester daye, by swete saynt John,
Thou sholde me never have ^ se. 410
Now wele is me, she sayde, that ye be here,
My herte is out of wo.
Dame, he sayde, be mery and glad,
And thanke my bretheren two.
Hereof to speke, sayd adam bell, 4i5
I wis it is no bote ;
The meat that we must supp withall
It runneth yet fast on fote.
Then went they down into a launde,^
These noble archares all thre, 420
Eche of them slew a harte of grece,-^
The best they could there se.
Haue here the best, Alyce my wife,
Sayde wyllyam of cloudesle.
By cause ye so bouldly stode me by 425
When I was slayne full nye.
Then whent they to theyr souper
Wyth suche mete as they had,
And thanked god of theyr fortune ;
They were bothe mery and glad. 430
And when they had souped well,
Certayne withouten leace,^
Cloudesle sayd : we will to our kynge,^
To get vs a chartre of peace ;
1 Copland's ed. has thus. Mr. Collier's fragment has this.
2 Copland's ed. has had. ^ Lawn.
•* i.e. a fat hart. The fat of a buck or doe was usually called its grease or grese.
' ' I bequeth my grece to the fermete potte ; Also the remanent, that is past abele."
Wyl Bucke his Testatnettt. 5 i.e. without any falsehood. ^ ? Henry IV.
no ADAM BEL, ETC.
Alyce shal be at soiournynge 435
In a nunry here besyde,
My tow sonnes shall wyth her go,
And ther they shall abyde.
Myne eldest sonne shall go with me,
For hym haue I no care, iio
And he shall you breng worde agayne
How that we do fare.
Thus be these yemen to London gone,
As fast as they maye hye,
Tyll they came to the kynges palays,! 4i5
There they woulde nedes be.
And whan they came to the kynges courte,
Unto the palays gate,^
Of no man wold they aske no leave,
But boldly went in therat. 450
They preced prestly into the hall,
Of no man had they dreade,
The porter came after, and dyd them call,
And 3 with them began to chyde.
The vssher sayd : yemen, what wold ye haue ?
I pray you tell me ; 456
Ye myght thus make offycers shent,
Good syrs, of whens be ye ?
Syr, we be outlawes of the forest,
Certayne withouten lease, 400
And hyther we be come to our kynge,
1 Copland's ed. has pallace. I have adopted the ortho- graphy of Mr. Cohier's older copy.
- Here I am sorry to say that Mr. Collier's fragment breaks off. It has been of very essential service to me in amending the faulty text of Copland's ed. Fortunately the 1536 fragment now comes to our aid.
3 The first of the two odd leaves of Byddcll's ed,, 1536, begins at this line, and has been used to correct Copland's text.
ADAM BEL, ETC. iii
To get vs a charter of peace.
And whan they came before our kyng,
As it was the lawe of the lande,
They kneled down without lettynge, 4G5
And eche helde vp his hande.i
They sayd : lorde, we beseche you here,
That ye wyll graunte vs grace :
For we haue slayne your fatte falowe dere
In mony a sondry place. 470
What be your names ? than sayd our kinge,
Anone that you tell me.
They sayd : Adam bel, Clym of the clough,
And Wylliam of Clowdesle.
Be ye those theues, than sayd our kynge, 475
That men haue tolde of to me ?
Here to god I make a vowe,
1 This is an incident in ' ' John the Reeve," supra. To hold up the hand was formerly a sign of respect or concurrence, or a mode of taking an oath ; and thirdly, as a signal for mercy. In all these senses it has been employed from the most ancient times ; nor is it yet out of practice, as many savage nations still testify their respect to a superior by holding their hand over their head. Touching the hat appears to be a vestige of the same custom. In the present passage the three outlaws may be understood to kneel on approaching the throne, and to hold up each a hand, as a token that they desire to ask the royal clemency or favour. In the lines which are subjoined it implies a solemn assent to an oath : —
" This swore the duke and all his men, And al the lordes that with him lend. And tharto to held thai up thaire hend."
Minot's Poems, ed. 1825, p. g.
In the Anglo-Saxon and Bohemian mediasval coinages there is the well-known hand type, symbolical of the Deity. In the Scotish courts of law the usage is still maintained of swear- ing witnesses by this method, the judge and the person to be sworn both standing, and each holding up his hand.
112 ADAM BEL, ETC.
Ye shall be hanged al three ;
Ye shall be deed withoute mercy,
As I am kynge of this lande. 480
He^ commanded his officers everichone
Fast on them to lay hand.
There they toke these good yemen,
And arested them all thre.
So may I thryue, sayd Adam bell, 4So
Thys game lyketh not me.
But, good lorde, we beseche you nowe,
That ye wyll graunte vs grace,
In so moche as we be to you comen ;
Or elles that we may fro you passe 49o
With suche weapons as we haue here,
Tyll we be out of your place ;
And yf we lyue this hondred yere,
We wyll aske you no grace.
Ye speke proudly, sayd the kynge, 49.5
Ye shall be hanged all thre.
That were great pity, sayd the Quene,^
If any grace myght be.
My lord, whan I came fyrst in to this lande,
To be your wedded vvyfe, oco
The fyrst bone that I wolde aske,
Ye wolde graunte it me belyfe ;
And I asked you neuer none tyll nowe :
Therfore, good lorde, graunte it me.
Nowe aske it, madame, said the kynge, 505
And graunted shall it be.
1 This and the five following lines have been cut off in the fragment.
- Joanna of Navarre we are to presume, if Mr, Hunter's discovery really refers to the Adam Bell of the ballad ; she became Henry's second wife in 1403. See ' ' The Noble Birth, &c. of Robin Hood," p. 23 (Thoms E. P. R., 1828, ii.). It is popularly known as the episode of " Robin Hood and the Golden Arrow."
ADAM BEL, ETC. 113
Than, good lorde, I you beseche,
The yemen giaunte you me.
Madame, ye myght have asked a bone,
That shold have ben worth them thre : 610
Ye myght have asked towre ^ and towne,
Parkes and forestes plentie.
None soe pleasaunt to mi pay,^ she said,^
Nor none so lefe to me.
Madame, sith it is your desyre, 615
Your askyng graunted shalbe ;
But I had leuer have geuen you
Good market townes thre.
The Quene was a glad woman,
And sayd : lord, gramarcy, 620
I dare undertake for them
That true men shal they be.
But, good lord, speke som mery word,
That comfort they may se.
I graunt you grace, then said our kig, 6-25
Wasshe, felos, and to meate go ye.
They had not setten but a whyle,
Certayne, without lesynge,
There came messegers out of the north,
With letters to our kyng. 530
And whan the[y] came before the kynge,
The[y] kneled down vpon theyr kne,
And sayd : lord, your offycers grete you wel
1 Old copies tow res.
2 I have had occasion elsewhere to explain this phrase, which is by no means uncommon in early English poetry. So Gower : —
" And thus what thing unto his pay Was most plesant, he lefte none,"
Confessio Amantis, lib. 6.
3 The leaf C i. of ed. 1536 ends here : C 4 recommences at line 643, and proceeds to the end.
VOL. II, II
[4 ADAM BEL, ETC.
Of Caerlel in the north cuntre.
How fare[s] my Justice, sayd the kyng, 635
And my Sherife also ?
Syr, they be slayne, without leasynge,
And many an officer mo.
Who hath them slayne ? sayd the kynj,
Anone thou tell me. ow
Adam bel, and Clime of the clough.
And wyllyam of Cloudesle.
Alas, for rewth, then sayd our kynge,
My hart is wonderous sore,
I had leuer [th]an a thousand pounde, 645
I had knowne of thys before ;
For I have y-graunted them grace,
And that forthynketh me ;
But [and] I had knowne all thys before.
They had been hanged all thre. 56o
The kyng opened the letter anone,
Hymselfe he red it tho,
And founde how these thre outlawes had slane
Thre hundred men and mo ;
Fyrst the Justice and the Sheryfe, o^s
And the may re of Caerlel towne,
Of all the Costables and catcliipolles
Alyue were left not one ;
The baylyes and the bedyls both,
And the sergeauntes of the law, sco
And forty fosters ^ of the fe,
These outlawes had y-slaw ;
And broke his parks, &: slaine his dere ;
Ouer all they chose the best.
So perelous outlawes, as they were, fies
Walked not by easte nor west.
When the kvns:e this letter had red.
1 Foresters.
ADAM BEL, ETC. 115
In hys harte he syghed sore :
Take vp the table, anone he bad :
For I may eate no more. 570
The kyng called hys best archars
To the buttes wyth hym to go ;
I wyll se these felowes shote, he sayd,
That in the North haue wrought this wo.
The kynges bowmen buske ^ them blyue, srs
And the Ouenes archers also,
So dyd these thre wyght yemen ;
With them they thought to go.
There twyse or thryse they shote about,
For to assay theyr hande, 680
There was no shote these yemen shot,
That any prycke myght them stand.
Then spake wyllyam of Cloudesle :
By god that for me dyed,
I hold hym neuer no good archar, o85
That shuteth at buttes so wyde.
Wher at ? then sayd our kyng,
I pray thee tell me.
At suche a but, syr, he sayd,
As men vse in my couniree. 690
Wyllyam went into a fyeld.
And his to brothren with him,
There they set vp to hasell roddes,
Twenty score paces betwene.
I hold him an archar, said Cloudesle, 595
That yonder wande cleueth in two.
Here is none suche, sayd the kyng,
1 To busk is a very old word for to hie or to betake oneself. It occurs in Minot : —
" Fals wretche and forsworn, whider wiltou fare, Busk the unto brig, and abide thare."
Poems (ed. 1825), p. 7.
ii6 ADAM BEL, ETC.
Nor none that can so do.^
I shall assaye, syr, sayd Cloudesle,
Or that I farther go. coo
Cloudesly with a bearyng arovv ^
Claue the wand in to.
Thou art y® best archer the said y® kig,
Forsothe that euer I se.
And yet for your loue, sayd wylliam, ciyS
I wyll do more maystry.
I haue a sonne is seuen yere olde ;
He is to me full deare ;
I wyll hym tye to a stake,
All shall se, that be here, eio
And lay an apele vpon hys head,
And go syxe score paces hym fro,
And I my selfe with a brode arow
Shall cleue the apple in two.
Now haste the, then sayd the kyng, 6i5
By hym that dyed on a tre,
But yf thou do not as y'^ hest sayde,
Hanged shalt thou be.
And thou touche his head or gowne.
In syght that men may se, 620
By al the sayntes that be in heave,
I shall hange you all thre.
That I haue promised, said william,
I wyl it neuer forsake ;
And there euen, before the kynge, (".25
1 This passage reads like an imitation of a passage in the "Kyng & the Herniyt " (vol. i. p. 31). Of the latter, however, no Q.a.v\y printed edition is known.
2 So in " Robin Hood and Queen Katherine" : —
" Robin Hood hee led about ; Hee shot it underhand ; And Clifton rvith a beaming amav Hee clave the willow wand."
- ADAM BEL, ETC. 117
In the earth he droue a stake,
And bound therto his eldest sonne,
And bad hym stande still therat,
And turned the childes face fro him,
Because he shuld not sterte. <530
An apple vpon his head he set,
And then his bowe he bent,
Syxe score paces they were out met,
And thether Cloudesle went ;
There he drew out a fayr brode arrovve ; C35
Hys bowe was great and longe ;
He set the arrowe in his bowe,
That was both styffe and stronge ;
He prayed the people that was there,
That they would styll stande : 64o
For he that shooteth for such a wager,
Behoueth a stedfast hand,
Muche 1 people prayed for Clowdesle,
That his lyfe saued myght be,
And whan he made hym redy to shote, 645
There was many a wepynge eye.
Than 2 Clowdesle clefte the apple in two,
That many a man it see ; ^
Ouer goddes forbode, sayd the kinge,
That thou sholdest shote at me ; soo
I gyue the xviii. pens a daye,
And my bowe shake thou here,
And ouer all the north couatree
I make the chefe rydere. 654
And I gyue the xii. pens a day, said y® queue,
1 The second remaining leaf (C. 4) of ed. 1536 begins here, and helps us down to the conclusion.
2 Old copies read Thus.
3 This portion of the story follows very closely the romantic legend of William Tell ; but the incident of the child and the apple is older even than Tell's time.
ii8 ADAM BEL, ETC.
By god and by my faye,
Come fetche thy payment, whan thou wylt,
No man shall say the naye.
Wyllyam, I make the gentylman
Of clothynge and of fee, eeo
And thi two brethren yemen of my chambre :
For they are so semely to see ;
Your soiie, for he is tendre of age,
Of my wyne seller shal he be,
And whan he cometh to mannes state, 665
Better auaunced shall he be.
And, Wylliam, brynge me your wyfe, sayd y® quene,
Me longeth sore her to se.
She shall be my chefe gentylwoman.
And gouern my nursery. 67o
The yemen thanketh them full curlysly.
And sayd : to Rome ^ streyght wyll we wende.
Of all the synnes that we have done
To be assoyld at his hand.
So forth be gone these good yemen, 675
As fast as they myght hye,
And after came and dwelled wyth the kynge,-
And dyed good men all thre.
Thus endeth the Hues of these good yemen,
God sende them eternall blysse. eso
And all that with hande bowe shoteth.
That of heauen they may neuer mysse.
1 Copland's ed. some hyssJiop. In line 674 his ought, per- haps, to be the bishop's.
2 The extension of the royal pardon to the offending out- law, or outlaws, is a customary feature in this class of piece. It occurs in " King Henry II. and the Miller of Mansfield," in t le " Lytell Geste of Robyn Hode," " Robin Hood and Queen Catherine," (S:c. •* Copland's cd. Finis,
%iz l^i^torg of ^ir (Bqzv, ^ir (Ki^gme, anti ^ir (Braj ^ttilL
THIS is the Romance of " Eger and Grime," which Bishop Percy says "is a well invented tale of Chivalry, scarce inferior to any of Ariosto's ; " i and of which Mr. George Ellis has given an extended analysis.'^ The fabliau constitutes one of the principal features of interest in the Percy Folio MS. , an ignorant and uncouth transcript in the reign of Charles II., from the popular English and Scotish literature then in print, in the coui't hand of the period. This romance would seem, along with the poems of Sir David Lyndsay, and the histories of Robert the Bruce and of Sir WiUiam Wallace, to have formed the standard productions of the vernacular literature of the country. The author of " The Scots Hudi- bras," originally printed at London, 1681, under the title of a "Mock Poem, or the Whigg's Supphcation," in de- scribing Ralph's library, says : —
"And there lyes books, and here lyes ballads, As Davie Lindsay, and Gray-Steel, Squire Meldrum, Bevis, and Adam Bell ; There Bruce and Wallace." —
To this effect, John Taylor, "the Water Poet," a noted character in the reign of Charles I., speaks of Sir Degre,
1 Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, 4th edit., vol. iii, p. xxxviii. Bishop Percy's Folio MS. , edited by Ftirnivall and Hales, 1867, i. 341 et seqq. All that was really worth preserving and printing in these four volumes might have been contained in one.
2 Specimens of EngHsh Metrical Romances, vol. iii. p.
308-357.
119
I20 THE HISTORT OF
Sir Grime, and Sir Gray Steele, as having the same popu- larity in Scotland that the heroes of other romances en- joyed in their respective countries — " filling (as he quaintly says) whole volumes with the ayrie imaginations of their unknowne and unmatchable worths." i We might readily believe, therefore, that this Romance had been often printed, if we were otherwise ignorant of the fact — and yet it is remarkable enough that every ancient copy should have hitherto eluded the most active and unremitting research.
The earliest printed edition of which we can find any special notice is one presumed to be from the press of Ihornas Bassandyne, who is celebrated in our typographi- cal annals as the first printer of the Sacred Scriptures in Scotland. In an Inventory of his goods and stock in trade, inserted in his "Testament Testamentar," which is dated i8th October 1577, amongst a variety of other works, the following item occurs : — " III^ Gray Steillis," valued at the " pece vi*^. — Summa ;^vii. x. O." It is not the sum total of these three hundred copies which should deprive the writer of this notice from one of the said " Gray-Steillis," were he so fortunate as to meet with it. But alas ! what has become of them?
This edition is evidently the one referred to in a poetical tract of that age, which says —
" Even of Gray Steill, quha hst to luke, Thair is setfivrth A meikle BUKE." ^
It may be inferred that there were many subsequent editions, as we find " Gray Steill " enumerated amongst the books for which Robert Smyth, Printer in Edinburgh, obtained in 1595 a grant, under the Privy Seal, of the privilege and license of printing ; which grant was successively confirmed
1 Argument to the verses in Praise of the Great O'Toole, originally printed 1623, 8vo, and included in Taylor's Works, 1630, folio, sign. Bb. 2,
2 John Davidson's "Memorial of the life and death of Robert Campbel of the Kinyeancleugh, and his Wife Elizabeth Campbel. In English Meter. Edinb\Tgh, 1595," sm. 8vo. The author, who was then a preacher in Edin- burgh, and afterwards one of the ministers at Salt Preston, says in the dedication, that it was written twenty-one years
SIR GRJT-STEEL 121
to the sons and heirs of Smyth in 1602 ; to Thomas Finlayson in 1606 ; and to his son and successor, Walter Finlayson, in 1628.
But the only printed copies which the Editor has yet been able to meet with are very corrupt reprints, dated 1687 and 1711, of which the latter is entitled : —
THE
H I STORY
OF
Sir EGER, Sir GRAHAME,
AiYD
Sir GRAY-STEEL.
Newly Corrected and ameftded.
Printed in the Year 171
before, that is, in 1574. The following lines form the commencement of the poem : —
" Sen Poets in all times before, Set all their care, and end^uore Of worthie persons for to write ; Whan euer thay saw them dehte. In wisdome, justice, or manheid, Or any other vertuous deid : . . . As of those Campions most strong The Trojanes, and the Greeks among Did Homer write, and Seneca, Virgil, Ouid and many ma : Renovvmed Romances to rehearse Wants not their worthies put in verse : So, we finde deeds of vassalage Set foorth by Poets in all age.
122 THE HISTORT OF
This edition! was printed at Aberdeen, by James Nicol, Printer to the Town and University.^ The original is in the Douce Collection, being the identical copy made use of by Mr. Ellis, whose transcripts of this and other old Metrical Romances are now in the Library at Abbotsford, having been presented by Mr. Ellis's relations to Sir Walter Scott. The Editor's best acknowledgments are due to his friend Mr. Douce for the kind manner in which he favom-ed him with the loan of the volume for the purpose of re- publication ; and it is gratifying thus to bear testimony to the kindness and liberality which this gentleman displays in facilitating literary inquiries, and contributing to the revival and preservation of (what Master Spenser has denominated) thinges foregone. ^
We know, however, that the Romance of " Gray Steill " was popular in Scotland long previous to the date of any of the editions which have been alluded to. The following
Euen of Gray-Steill, wha list to luke, Their is set foorth a meikle buke, Yea, for to make it did them gude, Of that rank Rouer Robene Hude : Of Robene Hude and little Johne, With sik like Outlaws many one As Clim of the Clewgh and Cliddislie, Because of their fine archerie : Sen men I say than," &c.
1 That of 16S7, unknown to Laing in 1826, closely follows the later impression. The copy was a legacy to him from his old friend Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe.
2 The place of printing and the printer's name do not appear on the original title-page ; but bound in the same volume is an edition of " Squire Meldrum " and of " Bevis of Southampton," which mention these particulars, and all the three are most unquestionably from the same press.
3 It may be added , that at least one edition of ' ' Gray Steill " was printed in Ireland. In a "Catalogue of Books lately printed by and for Sam. Wilson and Ja. Magee in Belfast," at the end of an edition of Colvill's "Scots Hudibras," printed at Belfast by and for the said Samuel Wilson and James Magee, M.DCC.XLI. i8mo, is " The History of Sir Eger, Sir Grahame, and Sir Gray-Steel."
SIR GRAT-STEEL 123
entries will be found in the Treasurer's Accounts for the year 1497, at the time when our gallant Monarch, James IV. , was resident at Stirling : —
" Item, the xvij day of Aprile giffyn to the King that he tynt [lost, in shooting] at the buttis in Strivelin, vij^"
" Item, that samyn day to twa fithelaris that sang Gray Steil to the King, ix\"
"Sir EgeirandSirGryme" is mentioned in the "Complaynt of Scotland," 1549, in the number of such "stories" and " tajdes " as were common to the people. Sir David Lyndsay, in his "History of Squire Meldrum," written about the same time, says of his hero : —
' ' I wate he faucht that day als weill As did Schir Gryme aganis Gray Steill.^
And again, in the Interlude of "The Auld Man and his Wife," Lyndsay introduces one of the characters, as a brag- gart, saying : —
" Now, is nocht this ane grit dispyte. That nane with me will fecht, nor flyte ! War Golias into this steid, I dowt nocht to stryk off his head ! — This is the sword that slew Gray Steill Nocht half a myle beyond Kinneill." ^
From the extract above given under the date of 1497, it would appear that this Romance had been set to some particular tune, to which it may have been chaunted. In a curious manuscript volume, formerly in the possession of Dr. Burney, entitled "An Playing Booke for the Lute" — "Noted and Collected" at Aberdeen, by Robert Gordon, in the year 1627, is the air of "Gray Steel; " and there is a satirical poem on the Marquis of Argyle, printed in 1686, which is said "to be composed in Scottish rhyme," and is " appointed to be sung according to the time of Old Gray Steel."
Besides these allusions, other evidence of the popularity
1 Lyndsay's Works, by Chalmers, vol. ii. p. 296.
2 Bannatyne's Manuscript, fol. 167.
124 THE HISTORY OF
of this Romance might have been adduced from comsnon sayings and proverbial expressions wliich are current to this day in various parts of the country, although the hero and his exploits have long since ceased to be remembered.
In the present copy of the Romance, as Mr. EUis^ re- marks, " the Printer has evidently followed a very imperfect Manuscript, with which also he seems to have taken great liberties, and the story, as it now stands, is so obscurely told, that the catastrophe is quite unintelligible," ^ and in Mr, Ellis's abstract is supphed by conjecture. The reader indeed cannot fail to perceive that in many places the sense is very obscure and the transitions abrupt, all of which are to be attributed to the corruptions it has under- gone. As an instance of this, it is observable that the name of the actual hero. Sir Gryme, is converted to Sir Grahame. The copy which is contained in the Percy Manuscript, where it is headed " Eger and Grine," is less dilated and prolix than that here used ; but, on the other hand, it has been, in common with the other compositions of Northern origin, reduced to Southern diction ; and, after careful consideration, it seemed better to allov/ the Scotish Chapbook version to rest on its own merits, as, on the whole, it is probably nearer to the more ancient copies than the Bishop's Anglicised transcript, and represents more faithfully the state of the narrative in circulation among the Scotish folk in " auld lang syne," Both of them, it is more than probable, would be found to differ essentially from the original text, if by any chance some of the more ancient copies should ever be brought to light. Of the Percy copy, which is divided into fytts or cantos, and contains only 1473 Hnes, the Editor is enabled to give the following detailed notice, in the words of the learned and worthy Prelate to whom the MS. belonged : ^ —
1 Specimens of Early English Romances, iii. 308-347, where an analysis is given from the copy of 171 1, then be- longing to Douce.
- Ellis's Metrical Romances, vol. iii. p. 308.
3 The substance of this notice is ah-eady before the public in Dr, Leyden's introduction to "The Complaynt of Scotland," iSoi, p. 231.
SIR GRAT-STEEL
125
Account of the Romance " Eger and Grime," co?nmtini- cated to Dr. Robert Anderson by Bishop Percy, Sept. 20th, 1800, for the informatio7i of Walter Scott, Esq.
"The old Metrical Romance, entitled 'Eger and^Grime,' occurs in page 124 of the old folio MS. referred to in the ' Reliques of Ancient English Poetry,' in 3 vols., but was by oversight omitted in some copies of the list of Metrical Romances prefixed to vol. iii. page xxxviii. , where it should be No. 12 ; yet is it one of the best of these ancient epic tales, and little inferior to any in Ariosto, &c. It is in six parts (or cantos) whereof.
Part I. contains 346 lines
|
II. |
- 190 |
|
|
III. |
- - i8s |
N.B.— The unequal extent |
|
IV. |
- 196 |
of the different books is |
|
V. |
- - 364 |
remarkable. |
|
VI. |
- 192 Total 1472 |
"The copy in this old MS. is tolerably correct, yet somewhat modernized in the rhimes, as where it should be hand it is written hand ; for the copyist grew so careless, that it is in this piece occurs the blunder mentioned in the Advertisement to the 4th edition of the ' Reliques,' p. xii. viz. %vaiit and will for wanton will.
"It thus begins, and is all in distichs :
' It ffell sometimes in the land of Beame 1 there dwelled a Lord within y* realme The greatest he was of renowne except the K y* ware the crowne the called him to name Erie Bragas he marryed a ladye was fayre of face they had noe child but a daughter younge in the world was none soe fayre thing
1 " Tiiis is a fac-simile transcript as far as it goes."
126 THE BISTORT OF
They called y* Ladye Winglanye husband wold she never have none Neither for gold nor yett for good Nor ffor no highnesse of his blood W'out he wold with swords dent Win every battle where he went
[/ ojnit a few lines.'] There was in that same time a courtoous K* called S*' Grime & of Garwicke Lo. was hee he was a wise man & a wittye Soe there was in the same place a yomig K* men called Egace But his name was S' Eger ffor he was but a poore bachlour.' —
" These two knights are represented as sworn friends, and perform many acts of chivalry for each other ; and after many curious adventures, Sir Eger marries Winglayne, the rich heiress of Earl Bragas."
THE notices which have been detailed may, perhaps, suggest the inquiry whether or not the present tale be the one actually alluded to. <