Ballads of Romance and Chivalry: Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - First SeriesSidgwick, Frank
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Ballads of Romance and Chivalry: Popular Ballads of the Olden Times - First Series
Sidgwick, Frank
Ballads, English -- Texts
29.
Then out it spake the king again,
An’ a scornfu’ laugh laugh he;
‘I have an Italian in my house
Will fight you three by three.’
30.
‘O grant me a boon,’ brave Johney cried;
‘Bring your Italian here;
Then if he fall beneath my sword,
I’ve won your daughter dear.’
31.
Then out it came that Italian,
An’ a gurious ghost was he;
Upo’ the point o’ Johney’s sword
This Italian did die.
32.
Out has he drawn his lang, lang bran’,
Struck it across the plain:
‘Is there any more o’ your English dogs
That you want to be slain?’
33.
‘A clark, a clark,’ the king then cried,
‘To write her tocher free’;
‘A priest, a priest,’ says Love Johney,
‘To marry my love and me.
34.
‘I’m seeking nane o’ your gold,’ he says,
‘Nor of your silver clear;
I only seek your daughter fair,
Whose love has cost her dear.’
[Annotations:
5.2,4: ‘A wot’ = I wis.
6.2: See _Young Bekie_, 16.4; _Brown Adam_, 5.2.
10: See _Lady Maisry_, 21; _Lord Ingram and Chiel Wyet_, 12, etc.:
a stock ballad-phrase.
12.1: ‘sark,’ shift.
12.4: ‘Speer’ (speir), ask.
13.2: ‘gare,’ gore: see _Brown Robin_, 10.4.
18.4: ‘loote,’ let.
22.4: ‘mess,’ mass.
27.3: ‘or,’ ere.
29.2: The second ‘laugh’ is the past tense of the verb.
31.2: ‘gurious,’ grim, ugly.
33.2: ‘tocher,’ dowry.]
LORD INGRAM AND CHIEL WYET
+The Text+ is taken from Motherwell’s _Minstrelsy_, a similar version
being given in Maidment’s _North Countrie Garland_. A few alterations
from the latter version are incorporated.
+The Story+ bears tokens of confusion with _Lady Maisry_ in some of the
variants of either, but here the tragedy is that the bridegroom is
brother to the lover. The end of this ballad in all its forms is highly
unnatural in its style: why should Maisery’s remorse at having been such
an expense to Lord Ingram be three times as great as her grief for the
loss of her lover? It is by no means romantic.
LORD INGRAM AND CHIEL WYET
1.
Lord Ingram and Chiel Wyet
Was baith born in one bower;
Laid baith their hearts on one lady,
The less was their honour.
2.
Chiel Wyet and Lord Ingram
Was baith born in one hall;
Laid baith their hearts on one lady,
The worse did them befall.
3.
Lord Ingram woo’d her Lady Maisery
From father and from mother;
Lord Ingram woo’d her Lady Maisery
From sister and from brother.
4.
Lord Ingram woo’d her Lady Maisery
With leave of a’ her kin;
And every one gave full consent,
But she said no to him.
5.
Lord Ingram woo’d her Lady Maisery
Into her father’s ha’;
Chiel Wyet woo’d her Lady Maisery
Amang the sheets so sma’.
6.
Now it fell out upon a day
She was dressing her head,
That ben did come her father dear,
Wearing the gold so red.
7.
He said, ‘Get up now, Lady Maisery,
Put on your wedding gown;
For Lord Ingram he will be here,
Your wedding must be done.’
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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