Gudrune] were sitting together, and Vendelrod wept sorely. Sølverlad
asked her sister the reason, and was told there was cause. Would she be
bride one night? Vendelrod would give her wedding clothes and all her
outfit. But Sølverlad asked for bridegroom too, and Vendelrod would not
give up her bridegroom, happen what might. She went to church and was
married to Samsing. On the way from church they met a spaeman [#B#,
shepherd], who warned Vendelrod that Samsing had some nightingales that
could tell him whether he had married a maid or no. The sisters turned
aside and changed clothes, but could not change cheeks! Sølverlad was
conducted to Samsing's house and placed on the bride bench. An unlucky
jester called out, "Methinks this is not Vendelrod!" but a gold ring
adroitly thrown into his bosom opened his eyes still wider, and made him
pretend he had meant nothing. The supposed bride is put to bed. Samsing
invokes his nightingales: "Have I a maid or no?" They reply, it is a
maid that lies in the bed, but Vendelrod stands on the floor. Samsing
asks Vendelrod why she avoided her bed, and she answers: her father
lived on the strand; her bower was broken into by a large company of
men, and one of them robbed her of her honor. In this case there are no
tokens for evidence. Samsing owns immediately that he and his men had
broken into the bower, and Vendelrod's agony is over.
Some of the usual tokens, gold harp, sark, shoes, and silver-mounted
knife, are found in the later #C#. Danish #D# is but a single initial
stanza.
Besides Sølverlad and Vendelrod, there is a considerable number of
Danish ballads characterized by the feature that a bride is not a maid,
and most or all of these have similarities to 'Gil Brenton.' 'Hr. Find
og Vendelrod,' Grundtvig, No 275, has even the talking blanket
(sometimes misunderstood to be a bed-_board_). In this piece there is no
substitution. Vendelrod gives birth to children, and the news makes Find
jump over the table. Still he puts the question mildly, who is the
father, and recognizes that he is the man, upon hearing the story of the
bower on the strand, and seeing half a gold ring which Vendelrod had
received "for her honor."
In 'Ingelilles Bryllup,' Grundtvig, No 276, Blidelild is induced to take
Ingelild's place by the promise that she shall marry Ingelild's brother.
Hr. Magnus asks her why she is so sad, and says he knows she is not a
maid. Blidelild says, "Since you know so much, I will tell you more,"
and relates Ingelild's adventure,--how she had gone out to the river,
and nine knights came riding by, etc. [so #A#; in #B# and #C# we have
the bower on the strand, as before]. Hr. Magnus avows that he was the
ninth, who stayed when eight rode away. Blidelild begs that he will
allow her to go and look for some lost rings, and uses the opportunity
to send back Ingelild in her stead.
Various other Scandinavian ballads have more or less of the story of
those which have been mentioned. In the Danish 'Brud i Vaande,'
Grundtvig, No 277, a bride is taken with untimely pains while being
"brought home." The question asked in several of the Scottish ballads,
whether the saddle is uncomfortable, occurs in #A#, #B#; the bower that
was forced by eight swains and a knight in #A#, #C#, #D#, #F#; the gifts
in #A#, #B#, #F#; and an express acknowledgment of the act of violence
by the bridegroom in #A#, #B#, #D#. We find all of these traits except
the first in the corresponding Swedish ballad 'Herr Äster och Fröken
Sissa,' Afzelius, No 38, new ed., No 32,^1; the saddle and broken
bower in Swedish #D#, Grundtvig, No 277, Bilag 1; only the saddle in
Swedish #F#, Grundtvig, No. 277, Bilag 3, and #C#, Arwidsson, No 132;
the saddle and gifts in Icelandic #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#, #E#, Grundtvig, No
277, Bilag 5, 6, 7, 8.
'Peder og Malfred,' Grundtvig, No 278, in four versions, the oldest from
a manuscript of 1630, represents Sir Peter as riding away from home
about a month after his marriage, and meeting a woman who informs him
that there is a birth in his house. He returns, and asks who is the
father. Sir Peter satisfies himself that he is the man by identifying
the gifts, in #A#, #B#, #C#, #D#; and in #A#, #B# we have also the bower
by the strand.
In 'Oluf og Ellinsborg,' Grundtvig, No 279, #A#, #B#, #C#, one of the
queen's ladies is habitually sad, and is pressed by her lover to account
for this. She endeavors to put him off with fictitious reasons, but
finally nerves herself to tell the truth: she was walking by herself in
her orchard, when five knights came riding by, and one was the cause of
her grief. Oluf owns it was all his doing. A Swedish ballad, remarkably
close to the Danish, from a manuscript of the date 1572 (the oldest
Danish version is also from a manuscript of the 16th century), is
'Riddar Lage och Stolts Elensborg,' Arwidsson, No 56.
'Iver Hr. Jonsøn,' Grundtvig, No 280, in five versions, the oldest of
the 16th century, exhibits a lady as fearing the arrival of her lover's
ship, and sending her mother to meet him, while she takes to her bed.
Immediately upon her betrothed's entering her chamber, she abruptly
discloses the cause of her trouble. Eight men had broken into her bower
on the strand, and the ninth deprived her of her honor. Iver Hr. Jonsøn,
with as little delay, confesses that he was the culprit, and makes
prompt arrangements for the wedding.
There is another series of ballads, represented by 'Leesome Brand' in
English, and by 'Redselille og Medelvold' in Danish, which describe a
young woman, who is on the point of becoming a mother, as compelled to
go off on horseback with her lover, and suffering from the ride. We find
the question, whether the saddle is too narrow or the way too long, in
the Danish 'Bolde Hr. Nilaus' Løn,' Grundtvig, 270, 'Redselille og
Medelvold,' Grundtvig, 271 #C#, #D#, #E#, #I#, #K#, #L#, #M#, #P#, #Q#,
#V#, #Y#, and the Norwegian versions, #A#, #D#, #E#, #F#, of 'Sønnens
Sorg,' Grundtvig, 272, Bilag 1, 4, 5, 6.[98] The gifts also occur in
Grundtvig's 271 #A#, #Z#, and Norwegian #D#, Bilag 9.
Perhaps no set of incidents is repeated so often in northern ballads as
the forcing of the bower on the strand, the giving of keepsakes, the
self-identification of the ravisher through these, and his full and
hearty reparation. All or some of these traits are found in many ballads
besides those belonging to the groups here spoken of: as 'Hildebrand og
Hilde,' #E#, #I#, Grundtvig, No 83, and Norwegian #A#, III, 857;
'Guldsmedens Datter,' Grundtvig, 245, and its Swedish counterpart at p.
481 of the preface to the same, and in Eva Wigström's Folkdiktning, p.
37, No 18; 'Liden Kirstins Dans,' Grundtvig, 263 (translated by Prior,
112), and Norwegian #B#, #C#, Bilag 2, 3; 'Jomfruens Harpeslæt,'
Grundtvig, 265 (translated by Jamieson, 'Illustrations,' p. 382, Prior,
123, Buchanan, p. 6), and Swedish #D#, Bilag 2, Swedish #A#, Afzelius,
81. So Landstad, 42, 45; Arwidsson, 141; Grundtvig, 37 #G#; 38 #A#, #D#;
Kristensen, I, No 95, II, No 28 #A#, #C#.
A very pretty Norwegian tale has for the talisman a stepping-stone at
the side of the bed: Asbjørnsen og Moe, No 29, 'Vesle Aase Gaasepige,'
Dasent, 2d ed., p. 478. An English prince had pictures taken of all the
handsomest princesses, to pick his bride by. When the chosen one
arrived, Aase the goose-girl informed her that the stone at the bedside
knew everything and told the prince; so if she felt uneasy on any
account, she must not step on it. The princess begged Aase to take her
place till the prince was fast asleep, and then they would change. When
Aase came and put her foot on the stone, the prince asked, "Who is it
that is stepping into my bed?" "A maid clean and pure," answered the
stone. By and by the princess came and took Aase's place. When they were
getting up in the morning, the prince asked again, "Who is it stepping
out of my bed?" "One that has had three children," said the stone. The
prince sent his first choice away, and tried a second. Aase faithfully
warned her, and she had cause for heeding the advice. When Aase stepped
in, the stone said it was a maid clean and pure; when the princess
stepped out, the stone said it was one that had had six children. The
prince was longer in hitting on a third choice. Aase took the bride's
place once more, but this time the prince put a ring on her finger,
which was so tight that she could not get it off, for he saw that all
was not right. In the morning, when he asked, "Who is stepping out of my
bed?" the stone answered, "One that has had nine children." Then the
prince asked the stone to clear up the mystery, and it revealed how the
princesses had put little Aase in their place. The prince went straight
to Aase to see if she had the ring. She had tied a rag over her finger,
pretending she had cut it; but the prince soon had the rag off,
recognized his ring, and Aase got the prince, for the good reason that
so it was to be.
The artifice of substituting waiting-woman for bride has been thought
to be derived from the romance of Tristan, in which Brangwain [Brengain,
Brangaene] sacrifices herself for Isold: Scott's 'Sir Tristrem,' ii, 54;
Gottfried V. Strassburg, xviii, ed. Bechstein. Grundtvig truly remarks
that a borrowing by the romance from the popular ballad is as probable a
supposition as the converse; and that, even should we grant the name of
the hero of the ballad to be a reminiscence of that of Isold's attendant
(e. g. Brangwill of Brangwain), nothing follows as to the priority of
the romance in respect to this passage. A similar artifice is employed
in the ballad of 'Torkild Trundeson,' Danske Viser, 200 (translated by
Prior, 100); Afzelius, II, 86, from the Danish; Arwidsson, 36. The
resemblance is close to 'Ingelilles Bryllup,' #C#, Grundtvig, 276. See
also, further on, 'The Twa Knights.'
The Billie Blin presents himself in at least four Scottish ballads: 'Gil
Brenton,' #C#; 'Willie's Lady;' one version of 'Young Beichan;' two of
'The Knight and Shepherd's Daughter;' and also in the English ballad of
'King Arthur and the King of Cornwall,' here under the slightly
disfigured name of Burlow Beanie.[99] In all he is a serviceable
household demon; of a decidedly benignant disposition in the first four,
and, though a loathly fiend with seven heads in the last, very obedient
and useful when once thoroughly subdued. He is clearly of the same
nature as the Dutch _belewitte_ and German _bilwiz_, characterized by
Grimm as a friendly domestic genius, _penas_, _guote holde_; and the
names are actually associated in a passage cited by Grimm from Voet: "De
illis quos nostrates appellant _beeldwit et blinde belien_, a quibus
nocturna visa videri atque ex iis arcana revelari putant."[100] Though
the etymology of these words is not unencumbered with difficulty, _bil_
seems to point to a just and kindly-tempered being. Bilvís, in the
seventh book of Saxo Grammaticus, is an aged counsellor whose bent is to
make peace, while his brother Bölvís, a blind man, is a strife-breeder
and mischief-maker.[101] The same opposition of Bil and Böl apparently
occurs in the Edda, Grímnismál, 47^4, where Bil-eygr and Böl-eygr
(Bal-eygr) are appellatives of Odin, which may signify mild-eyed and
evil-eyed. Bölvís is found again in the Hrômund's saga, under the
description of 'Blind the Bad,' and 'the Carl Blind whose name was
Bavís.' But much of this saga is taken from the story of Helgi
Hundingslayer; and Blind the Bad in the saga is only Sæmund's Blindr inn
bölvísi,--the blind man whose baleful wit sees through the disguise of
Helgi, and all but betrays the rash hero to his enemies; that is, Odin
in his malicious mood (Bölverkr), who will presently be seen in the
ballad of 'Earl Brand' masking as Old Carl Hood, "aye for ill and never
for good." Originally and properly, perhaps, only the bad member of this
mythical pair is blind; but it would not be at all strange that later
tradition, which confuses and degrades so much in the old mythology,
should transfer blindness to the good-natured one, and give rise to the
anomalous Billie Blind. See Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, 1879, I, 391 ff;
Uhland, Zur Geschichte der Dichtung u. Sage, III, 132 ff, VII, 229;
Schmeller, Bayerisches Wörterbuch, II, 1037 ff, ed. 1877; Van den Bergh,
Woordenboek der nederlandsche Mythologie, 12.
It has been suggested to me that "the Haleigh throw" in #E# 6 is a
corruption of the High Leith Row, a street in Edinburgh. I have not as
yet been able to obtain information of such a street.
#D# is translated by Grundtvig, Engelske og skotske Folkeviser, No 40,
p. 262.
A
#a.# Jamieson-Brown MS., No 16, fol. 34. #b.# William
Tytler's Brown MS., No 3. From the recitation of Mrs Brown
of Falkland, 1783, Aberdeenshire.
1
Gil Brenton has sent oer the fame,
He's woo'd a wife an brought her hame.
2
Full sevenscore o ships came her wi,
The lady by the greenwood tree.
3
There was twal an twal wi beer an wine,
An twal an twal wi muskadine:
4
An twall an twall wi bouted flowr,
An twall an twall wi paramour:
5
An twall an twall wi baken bread,
An twall an twall wi the goud sae red.
6
Sweet Willy was a widow's son,
An at her stirrup-foot he did run.
7
An she was dressd i the finest pa,
But ay she loot the tears down fa.
8
An she was deckd wi the fairest flowrs,
But ay she loot the tears down pour.
9
'O is there water i your shee?
Or does the win blaw i your glee?
10
'Or are you mourning i your meed
That eer you left your mither gueede?
11
'Or are ye mourning i your tide
That ever ye was Gil Brenton's bride?'
12
'The[re] is nae water i my shee,
Nor does the win blaw i my glee:
13
'Nor am I mourning i my tide
That eer I was Gil Brenton's bride:
14
'But I am mourning i my meed
That ever I left my mither gueede.
15
'But, bonny boy, tell to me
What is the customs o your country.'
16
'The customs o't, my dame,' he says,
'Will ill a gentle lady please.
17
'Seven king's daughters has our king wedded,
An seven king's daughters has our king bedded.
18
'But he's cutted the paps frae their breast-bane,
An sent them mourning hame again.
19
'But whan you come to the palace yate,
His mither a golden chair will set.
20
'An be you maid or be you nane,
O sit you there till the day be dane.
21
'An gin you're sure that you are a maid,
Ye may gang safely to his bed.
22
'But gin o that you be na sure,
Then hire some woman o youre bowr.'
23
O whan she came to the palace yate,
His mither a golden chair did set.
24
An was she maid or was she nane,
She sat in it till the day was dane.
25
An she's calld on her bowr woman,
That waiting was her bowr within.
26
'Five hundred pound, maid, I'll gi to the,
An sleep this night wi the king for me.'
27
Whan bells was rung, an mass was sung,
An a' man unto bed was gone,
28
Gil Brenton an the bonny maid
Intill ae chamber they were laid.
29
'O speak to me, blankets, an speak to me, sheets,
An speak to me, cods, that under me sleeps;
30
'Is this a maid that I ha wedded?
Is this a maid that I ha bedded?'
31
'It's nae a maid that you ha wedded,
But it's a maid that you ha bedded.
32
'Your lady's in her bigly bowr,
An for you she drees mony sharp showr.'
33
O he has taen him thro the ha,
And on his mither he did ca.
34
'I am the most unhappy man
That ever was in christend lan.
35
'I woo'd a maiden meek an mild,
An I've marryed a woman great wi child.'
36
'O stay, my son, intill this ha,
An sport you wi your merry men a'.
37
'An I'll gang to yon painted bowr,
An see how't fares wi yon base whore.'
38
The auld queen she was stark an strang;
She gard the door flee aff the ban.
39
The auld queen she was stark an steer;
She gard the door lye i the fleer.
40
'O is your bairn to laird or loon?
Or is it to your father's groom?'
41
'My bairn's na to laird or loon,
Nor is it to my father's groom.
42
'But hear me, mither, on my knee,
An my hard wierd I'll tell to thee.
43
'O we were sisters, sisters seven,
We was the fairest under heaven.
44
'We had nae mair for our seven years wark
But to shape an suc the king's son a sark.
45
'O it fell on a Saturday's afternoon,
Whan a' our langsome wark was dane,
46
'We keist the cavils us amang,
To see which shoud to the greenwood gang.
47
'Ohone, alas! for I was youngest,
An ay my wierd it was the hardest.
48
'The cavil it did on me fa,
Which was the cause of a' my wae.
49
'For to the greenwood I must gae,
To pu the nut but an the slae;
50
'To pu the red rose an the thyme,
To strew my mother's bowr and mine.
51
'I had na pu'd a flowr but ane,
Till by there came a jelly hind greeme,
52
'Wi high-colld hose an laigh-colld shoone,
An he 'peard to be some kingis son.
53
'An be I maid or be I nane,
He kept me there till the day was dane.
54
'An be I maid or be I nae,
He kept me there till the close of day.
55
'He gae me a lock of yallow hair,
An bade me keep it for ever mair.
56
'He gae me a carket o gude black beads,
An bade me keep them against my needs.
57
'He gae to me a gay gold ring,
An bade me ke[e]p it aboon a' thing.
58
'He gae to me a little pen-kniffe,
An bade me keep it as my life.'
59
'What did you wi these tokens rare
That ye got frae that young man there?'
60
'O bring that coffer hear to me,
And a' the tokens ye sal see.'
61
An ay she ranked, an ay she flang,
Till a' the tokens came till her han.
62
'O stay here, daughter, your bowr within,
Till I gae parley wi my son.'
63
O she has taen her thro the ha,
An on her son began to ca.
64
'What did you wi that gay gold ring
I bade you keep aboon a' thing?
65
'What did you wi that little pen-kniffe
I bade you keep while you had life?
66
'What did you wi that yallow hair
I bade you keep for ever mair?
67
'What did you wi that good black beeds
I bade you keep against your needs?'
68
'I gae them to a lady gay
I met i the greenwood on a day.
69
'An I would gi a' my father's lan,
I had that lady my yates within.
70
'I would gi a' my ha's an towrs,
I had that bright burd i my bowrs.'
71
'O son, keep still your father's lan;
You hae that lady your yates within.
72
'An keep you still your ha's an towrs;
You hae that bright burd i your bowrs.'
73
Now or a month was come an gone,
This lady bare a bonny young son.
74
An it was well written on his breast-bane
'Gil Brenton is my father's name.'
B
Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 117, ed. 1802. Ed. 1830, III, 263.
Partly from the recitation of Miss Christian Rutherford.
1
Cospatrick has sent oer the faem,
Cospatrick brought his ladye hame.
2
And fourscore ships have come her wi,
The ladye by the grenewood tree.
3
There were twal and twal wi baken bread,
And twal and twal wi gowd sae reid:
4
And twal and twal wi bouted flour,
And twal and twal wi the paramour.
5
Sweet Willy was a widow's son,
And at her stirrup he did run.
6
And she was clad in the finest pall,
But aye she let the tears down fall.
7
'O is your saddle set awrye?
Or rides your steed for you owre high?
8
'Or are you mourning in your tide
That you suld be Cospatrick's bride?'
9
'I am not mourning at this tide
That I suld be Cospatrick's bride;
10
'But I am sorrowing in my mood
That I suld leave my mother good.
11
'But, gentle boy, come tell to me,
What is the custom of thy countrye?'
12
'The custom thereof, my dame,' he says,
'Will ill a gentle laydye please.
13
'Seven king's daughters has our lord wedded,
And seven king's daughters has our lord bedded;
14
'But he's cutted their breasts frae their breast bane,
And sent them mourning hame again.
15
'Yet, gin you're sure that you're a maid,
Ye may gae safely to his bed;
16
'But gif o that ye be na sure,
Then hire some damsell o your bour.'
17
The ladye's calld her bour-maiden,
That waiting was into her train;
18
'Five thousand merks I will gie thee,
To sleep this night with my lord for me.'
19
When bells were rung, and mass was sayne,
And a' men unto bed were gane,
20
Cospatrick and the bonny maid,
Into ae chamber they were laid.
21
'Now, speak to me, blankets, and speak to me, bed,
And speak, thou sheet, inchanted web;
22
'And speak up, my bonny brown sword, that winna lie,
Is this a true maiden that lies by me?'
23
'It is not a maid that you hae wedded,
But it is a maid that you hae bedded.
24
'It is a liel maiden that lies by thee,
But not the maiden that it should be.'
25
O wrathfully he left the bed,
And wrathfully his claiths on did.
26
And he has taen him thro the ha,
And on his mother he did ca.
27
'I am the most unhappy man
That ever was in christen land!
28
'I courted a maiden meik and mild,
And I hae gotten naething but a woman wi child.'
29
'O stay, my son, into this ha,
And sport ye wi your merrymen a';
30
'And I will to the secret bour,
To see how it fares wi your paramour.'
31
The carline she was stark and sture;
She aff the hinges dang the dure.
32
'O is your bairn to laird or loun?
Or is it to your father's groom?'
33
'O hear me, mother, on my knee,
Till my sad story I tell to thee.
34
'O we were sisters, sisters seven,
We were the fairest under heaven.
35
'It fell on a summer's afternoon,
When a' our toilsome task was done,
36
'We cast the kavils us amang,
To see which suld to the grene-wood gang.
37
'O hon, alas! for I was youngest,
And aye my wierd it was the hardest.
38
'The kavil it on me did fa,
Whilk was the cause of a' my woe.
39
'For to the grene-wood I maun gae,
To pu the red rose and the slae;
40
'To pu the red rose and the thyme,
To deck my mother's bour and mine.
41
'I hadna pu'd a flower but ane,
When by there came a gallant hende,
42
'Wi high-colld hose and laigh-colld shoon,
And he seemd to be sum king's son.
43
'And be I maid or be I nae,
He kept me there till the close o day.
44
'And be I maid or be I nane,
He kept me there till the day was done.
45
'He gae me a lock o his yellow hair,
And bade me keep it ever mair.
46
'He gae me a carknet o bonny beads,
And bade me keep it against my needs.
47
'He gae to me a gay gold ring,
And bade me keep it abune a' thing.'
48
'What did ye wi the tokens rare
That ye gat frae that gallant there?'
49
'O bring that coffer unto me,
And a' the tokens ye sall see.'
50
'Now stay, daughter, your bour within,
While I gae parley wi my son.'
51
O she has taen her thro the ha,
And on her son began to ca.
52
'What did you wi the bonny beads
I bade ye keep against your needs?
53
'What did you wi the gay gowd ring
I bade ye keep abune a' thing?'
54
'I gae them a' to a ladye gay
I met in grene-wood on a day.
55
'But I wad gie a' my halls and tours,
I had that ladye within my bours.
56
'But I wad gie my very life,
I had that ladye to my wife.'
57
'Now keep, my son, your ha's and tours;
Ye have that bright burd in your bours.
58
'And keep, my son, your very life;
Ye have that ladye to your wife.'
59
Now or a month was cum and gane,
The ladye bore a bonny son.
60
And 't was weel written on his breast-bane,
'Cospatrick is my father's name.'
61
'O rowe my ladye in satin and silk,
And wash my son in the morning milk.'
C
Cromek's Remains of Nithsdale and Galloway Song, p. 207.
"From the recital of a peasant-woman of Galloway, upwards
of ninety years of age."
1
We were sisters, we were seven,
We were the fairest under heaven.
2
And it was a' our seven years wark
To sew our father's seven sarks.
3
And whan our seven years wark was done,
We laid it out upo the green.
4
We coost the lotties us amang,
Wha wad to the greenwood gang,
5
To pu the lily but and the rose,
To strew witha' our sisters' bowers.
6
... I was youngest,
... my weer was hardest.
7
And to the greenwood I bud gae,
. . . . . . .
8
There I met a handsome childe,
. . . . . . .
9
High-coled stockings and laigh-coled shoon,
He bore him like a king's son.
10
An was I weel, or was I wae,
He keepit me a' the simmer day.
11
An though I for my hame-gaun sich[t],
He keepit me a' the simmer night.
12
He gae to me a gay gold ring,
And bade me keep it aboon a' thing.
13
He gae to me a cuttie knife,
And bade me keep it as my life:
14
Three lauchters o his yellow hair,
For fear we wad neer meet mair.
* * * * * * *
15
Next there came shippes three,
To carry a' my bridal fee.
16
Gowd were the beaks, the sails were silk,
Wrought wi maids' hands like milk.
17
They came toom and light to me,
But heavie went they waie frae me.
18
They were fu o baken bread,
They were fu of wine sae red.
19
My dowry went a' by the sea,
But I gaed by the grenewode tree.
20
An I sighed and made great mane,
As thro the grenewode we rade our lane.
21
An I ay siched an wiped my ee,
That eer the grenewode I did see.
22
'Is there water in your glove,
Or win into your shoe?
O[r] am I oer low a foot-page
To rin by you, ladie?'
23
'O there's nae water in my glove,
Nor win into my shoe;
But I am maning for my mither
Wha's far awa frae me.'
* * * * * * *
24
'Gin ye be a maiden fair,
Meikle gude ye will get there.
25
'If ye be a maiden but,
Meikle sorrow will ye get.
26
'For seven king's daughters he hath wedded,
But never wi ane o them has bedded.
27
'He cuts the breasts frae their breast-bane,
An sends them back unto their dame.
28
'He sets their backs unto the saddle,
An sends them back unto their father.
29
'But be ye maiden or be ye nane,
To the gowden chair ye draw right soon.
30
'But be ye leman or be ye maiden,
Sit nae down till ye be bidden.'
31
Was she maiden or was she nane,
To the gowden chair she drew right soon.
32
Was she leman or was she maiden,
She sat down ere she was bidden.
33
Out then spake the lord's mother;
Says, 'This is not a maiden fair.
34
'In that chair nae leal maiden
Eer sits down till they be bidden.'
35
The Billie Blin then outspake he,
As he stood by the fair ladie.
36
'The bonnie may is tired wi riding,
Gaurd her sit down ere she was bidden.'
* * * * * * *
37
But on her waiting-maid she ca'd:
'Fair ladie, what 's your will wi me?'
'O ye maun gie yere maidenheid
This night to an unco lord for me.'
38
'I hae been east, I hae been west,
I hae been far beyond the sea,
But ay, by grenewode or by bower,
I hae keepit my virginitie.
39
'But will it for my ladie plead,
I'll gie 't this night to an unco lord.'
* * * * * * *
40
When bells were rung an vespers sung,
An men in sleep were locked soun,
41
Childe Branton and the waiting-maid
Into the bridal bed were laid.