+The Text+ is from Thomas Deloney's _Pleasant History of John
Winchcomb_,[1] the eighth edition of which, in 1619, is the earliest
known. 'In disgrace of the Soots,' says Deloney, 'and in remembrance of
the famous atchieved historie, the commons of England made this song,
which to this day is not forgotten of many.' I suspect it was Deloney
himself rather than the commons of England who made this song. A variant
is found in Additional MS. 32,380 in the British Museum--a statement
which might be of interest if it were not qualified by the addition
'formerly in the possession of J. Payne Collier.' That egregious
antiquary took the pains to fill the blank leaves of a sixteenth-century
manuscript with ballads either copied from their original sources,
as this from Deloney, or forged by Collier himself; he then made a
transcript in his own handwriting (Add. MS. 32,381), and finally printed
selections. In the present ballad he has inserted two or three verses of
his own; otherwise the changes from Deloney's ballad are slight.
[Footnote 1: Reprinted from the ninth edition of 1633 by J. O.
Halliwell [-Phillipps], 1859, where the ballad appears on pp. 48-9.
Deloney's book was licensed in 1597.]
A very long ballad on the same subject is in the Percy Folio, and
similar copies in Harleian MSS. 293 and 367. Another is 'Scotish Field,'
also in the Percy Folio.
+The Story.+--Lesley says in his History, 'This battle was called the
Field of Flodden by the Scotsmen and Brankston [Bramstone, 8.3] by the
Englishmen, because it was stricken on the hills of Flodden beside a
town called Brankston; and was stricken the ninth day of September,
1513.'
The ballad follows history closely. 'Lord Thomas Howard' (6.1), uncle to
the queen, escorted her to Scotland in 1503: 'This is ground enough,'
says Child, 'for the ballad's making him her chamberlain ten years
later.'
'Jack with a feather' (12.1) is a contemptuous phrase directed at King
James's rashness.