Chapter IV: Robin Hood the Myth (4)

+The Story+, lively and admirably told, contains little extrinsic interest, except in William's feat of shooting the apple from his son's head. This is inevitably associated with the legend of William Tell, which is told in the White Book of Obwalden, written about 1470; but similar stories can be found in the Icelandic Saga of Dietrich of Bern (about 1250) and in Saxo Grammaticus, who wrote his Danish History about the year 1200. Three or four other versions of the story are to be found in German and Scandinavian literature before the date of our ballad; but they all agree in two points which are missing in the English ballad--the shot is compulsory, and the archer reserves another arrow for purposes of revenge in case he misses his mark. William of Cloudesly volunteers a difficult and risky feat out of bravado.

The rescue of Cloudesly by Adam Bell and Clym of the Clough may be compared with the rescue of Robin Hood by Little John and Much in _Robin Hood and the Monk_, stt. 61-81 (see pp. 107-110).

ADAM BELL, CLYM OF THE CLOUGH AND WILLIAM OF CLOUDESLY

1.
Mery it was in grene forest
Among the levës grene,
Wher that men walke both east and west
Wyth bowes and arrowes kene;

2.
To ryse the dere out of theyr denne;
Suche sightes as hath ofte bene sene,
As by thre yemen of the north countrey,
By them it is as I meane.

3.
The one of them hight Adam Bel,
The other Clym of the Clough,
The thyrd was William of Cloudesly,
An archer good ynough.

4.
They were outlawed for venyson,
These thre yemen everychone;
They swore them brethren upon a day,
To Englyshe-wood for to gone.

5.
Now lith and lysten, gentylmen,
And that of myrthes loveth to here;
Two of them were single men,
The third had a wedded fere.

6.
Wyllyam was the wedded man,
Muche more then was hys care:
He sayde to hys brethren upon a day,
To Carlile he would fare,

7.
For to speke with fayre Alyce his wife,
And with hys chyldren thre:
'By my trouth,' sayde Adam Bel,
'Not by the counsell of me:

8.
'For if ye go to Carlile, brother,
And from thys wylde wode wende,
If that the justice may you take,
Your lyfe were at an ende.'

9.
'If that I come not to-morrowe, brother,
By pryme to you agayne,
Truste not els but that I am take,
Or else that I am slayne.'

10.
He toke hys leave of hys brethren two,
And to Carlel he is gone;
There he knocked at his owne windowe
Shortlye and anone.

11.
'Wher be you, fayre Alyce, my wyfe,
And my chyldren three?
Lyghtly let in thyne husbande,
Wyllyam of Cloudeslee.'

12.
'Alas!' then sayde fayre Alyce,
And syghed wonderous sore,
'Thys place hath ben besette for you
Thys halfe yere and more.'

13.
'Now am I here,' sayde Cloudeslee,
'I would that in I were.
Now feche us meate and drynke ynough,
And let us make good chere.'

14.
She feched hym meate and drynke plenty,
Lyke a true wedded wyfe;
And pleased hym with that she had,
Whome she loved as her lyfe.

15.
There lay an old wyfe in that place,
A lytle besyde the fyre,
Whych Wyllyam had found of cherytye
More then seven yere.

16.
Up she rose, and walked full still,
Evel mote shee spede therfore!
For she had not set no fote on ground
In seven yere before.

17.
She went unto the justice hall,
As fast as she could hye:
'Thys night is come unto this town
Wyllyam of Cloudesle.'

18.
Thereof the justice was full fayne,
And so was the shirife also:
'Thou shalt not travaile hither, dame, for nought,
Thy meed thou shalt have er thou go.'

19.
They gave to her a ryght good goune,
Of scarlat it was, as I heard sayne;
She toke the gyft, and home she wente,
And couched her doune agayne.

20.
They rysed the towne of mery Carlel,
In all the hast that they can;
And came thronging to Wyllyames house,
As fast as they might gone.

21.
There they besette that good yeman
Round about on every syde:
Wyllyam hearde great noyse of folkes,
That heyther-ward they hyed.

22.
Alyce opened a shot-windowe,
And lokëd all aboute,
She was ware of the justice and the shirife bothe,
Wyth a full great route.

23.
'Alas! treason,' cryed Alyce,
'Ever wo may thou be!
Goe into my chamber, my husband,' she sayd,
'Swete Wyllyam of Cloudesle.'

24.
He toke his sweard and hys bucler,
Hys bow and hys chyldren thre,
And wente into hys strongest chamber,
Where he thought surest to be.

25.
Fayre Alyce followed him as a lover true,
With a pollaxe in her hande:
'He shall be deade that here cometh in
Thys dore, while I may stand.'

26.
Cloudeslee bente a wel good bowe,
That was of trusty tre,
He smot the justise on the brest,
That hys arowe brest in thre.

27.
'God's curse on his hart,' saide William,
'Thys day thy cote dyd on!
If it had ben no better then myne,
It had gone nere thy bone.'

28.
'Yelde thee, Cloudesle,' sayd the justise,
'And thy bowe and thy arrowes the fro.'
'God's curse on hys hart,' sayd fair Alyce,
'That my husband councelleth so.'

29.
'Set fyre on the house,' saide the sherife,
'Syth it wyll no better be,
And brenne we therin William,' he saide,
'Hys wyfe and chyldren thre.'

30.
They fyred the house in many a place,
The fyre flew up on hye:
'Alas!' than cryed fayr Alice.
'I se we shall here dye.'

31.
William openyd hys backe wyndow,
That was in hys chamber on hie,
And with sheetes let hys wyfe downe
And hys children three.

32.
'Have here my treasure,' sayde William,
'My wyfe and my chyldren thre:
For Christës love do them no harme,
But wreke you all on me.'

33.
Wyllyam shot so wonderous well,
Tyll hys arrowes were all go,
And the fyre so fast upon hym fell,
That hys bowstryng brent in two.

34.
The spercles brent and fell hym on,
Good Wyllyam of Cloudesle;
But than was he a wofull man, and sayde,
'Thys is a cowardes death to me.

35.
'Lever I had,' sayde Wyllyam,
'With my sworde in the route to renne,
Then here among myne enemyes wode
Thus cruelly to bren.'

36.
He toke hys sweard and hys buckler,
And among them all he ran,
Where the people were most in prece
He smote downe many a man.

37.
There myght no man stand hys stroke,
So fersly on them he ran:
Then they threw wyndowes and dores on him
And so toke that good yeman.

38.
There they hym bounde both hand and fote,
And in a deepe dongeon him cast:
'Now, Cloudesle,' sayd the hye justice,
'Thou shalt be hanged in hast.'

39.
'One vow shal I make,' sayde the sherife,
'A payre of new gallowes shal I for thee make;
And all the gates of Carlile shal be shutte:
There shall no man come in therat.

40.
'Then shall not helpe Clym of the Cloughe,
Nor yet Adam Bell,
Though they came with a thousand mo,
Nor all the devels in hell.'

41.
Early in the mornyng the justice uprose,
To the gates fast gan he gon,
And commaunded to be shut full close
Lightile everychone.

42.
Then went he to the markett place,
As fast as he coulde hye;
A payre of new gallowes there dyd he up set,
Besyde the pyllorye.

43.
A lytle boy stood them among,
And asked what meaned that gallow-tre?
They sayde, 'To hange a good yeman,
Called Wyllyam of Cloudesle.'

44.
That lytle boye was the towne swyne-heard,
And kept fayre Alyce swyne;
Full oft he had seene Cloudesle in the wodde,
And geven hym there to dyne.

45.
He went out of a crevis in the wall,
And lightly to the woode dyd gone;
There met he with these wight yonge men
Shortly and anone.

46.
'Alas!' then sayde that lytle boye,
'Ye tary here all too longe;
Cloudeslee is taken, and dampned to death,
All readye for to honge.'

47.
'Alas!' then sayd good Adam Bell,
'That ever we see thys daye!
He might here with us have dwelled,
So ofte as we dyd him praye.

48.
'He myght have taryed in grene foreste,
Under the shadowes sheene,
And have kepte both hym and us in reste,
Out of trouble and teene.'

49.
Adam bent a ryght good bow,
A great hart sone had he slayne:
'Take that, chylde,' he sayde, 'to thy dynner,
And bryng me myne arrowe agayne.'

50.
'Now go we hence,' sayed these wight yong men,
'Tarry we no longer here;
We shall hym borowe, by God's grace,
Though we buy itt full dere.'

51.
To Caerlel wente these good yemen,
In a mery mornyng of Maye.
Here is a fyt of Cloudesly,
And another is for to saye.

52.
And when they came to mery Caerlell,
In a fayre mornyng-tyde,
They founde the gates shut them untyll
Round about on every syde.

53.
'Alas!' than sayd good Adam Bell,
'That ever we were made men!
These gates be shut so wonderly well,
That we may not come herein.'

54.
Than spake Clym of the Clough,
'Wyth a wyle we wyl us in bryng;
Let us saye we be messengers,
Streyght comen from our king.'

55.
Adam said, 'I have a letter written wele,
Now let us wysely werke,
We wyl saye we have the kyngës seale;
I holde the porter no clerke.'

56.
Than Adam Bell bete on the gate
With strokës great and stronge:
The porter herde suche a noyse therat,
And to the gate faste he thronge.

57.
'Who is there now,' sayde the porter,
'That maketh all this knockinge?'
'We be two messengers,' sayd Clim of the Clough,
'Be comen streyght from our kyng.'

58.
'We have a letter,' sayd Adam Bell,
'To the justice we must it bryng;
Let us in our message to do,
That we were agayne to our kyng.'

59.
'Here commeth no man in,' sayd the porter,
'By hym that dyed on a tre,
Tyll a false thefe be hanged
Called Wyllyam of Cloudesle.'

60.
Than spake that good yeman Clym of the Clough,
And swore by Mary fre,
'If that we stande long wythout,
Lyke a thefe hanged shalt thou be.

61.
'Lo! here we have got the kyngës seale:
What, lordane, art thou wode?'
The porter had wende it had ben so,
And lyghtly dyd off hys hode.

62.
'Welcome be my lordes seale,' saide he;
'For that ye shall come in.'
He opened the gate right shortly:
An evyl openyng for him!

63.
'Now we are in,' sayde Adam Bell,
'Therof we are full faine;
But Christ knoweth, that harowed hell,
How we shall com out agayne.'

64.
'Had we the keys,' said Clim of the Clough,
'Ryght wel than shoulde we spede,
Than might we come out wel ynough
Whan we se tyme and nede.'

65.
They called the porter to a councell,
And wrong his necke in two,
And caste hym in a depe dongeon,
And toke the keys hym fro.

66.
'Now am I porter,' sayd Adam Bel,
'Se, brother, the keys have we here,
The worst porter to mery Carlile
That ye had thys hondreth yere.

67.
'Now wyll we our bowës bend,
Into the towne wyll we go,
For to delyver our dere brother,
Where he lyeth in care and wo.'

68.
Then they bent theyr good yew bowes,
And loked theyr stringes were round;
The markett place of mery Carlile
They beset in that stound.

69.
And, as they loked them besyde,
A paire of new galowes there they see,
And the justice with a quest of squyers,
That judged William hanged to be.

70.
And Cloudesle hymselfe lay ready in a cart
Fast bound both fote and hand;
And a stronge rope about hys necke,
All readye for to be hangde.

71.
The justice called to him a ladde,
Cloudesles clothes shold he have,
To take the measure of that good yoman,
And thereafter to make hys grave.

72.
'I have sene as great a mervaile,' said Cloudesle,
'As betweyne thys and pryme,
He that maketh thys grave for me,
Hymselfe may lye therin.'

73.
'Thou speakest proudlye,' said the justice,
'I shall hange thee with my hande.'
Full wel that herd his brethren two
There styl as they dyd stande.

74.
Then Cloudesle cast his eyen asyde,
And saw hys brethren stande
At a corner of the market place,
With theyr good bowes bent in theyr hand,
Redy the justyce for to chase.

75.
'I se good comfort,' sayd Cloudesle,
'Yet hope I well to fare,
If I might have my handes at wyll
Ryght lytel wold I care.'

76.
Than bespake good Adam Bell
To Clym of the Clough so free,
'Brother, se ye marke the justyce wel;
Lo! yonder ye may him se:

77.
'And at the shyrife shote I wyll
Strongly wyth an arrowe kene;
A better shote in mery Carlile
Thys seven yere was not sene.'

78.
They loosed their arrowes both at once,
Of no man had they drede;
The one hyt the justice, the other the sheryfe,
That both theyr sides gan blede.

79.
All men voyded, that them stode nye,
Whan the justice fell to the grounde,
And the sherife fell nye hym by;
Eyther had his deathës wounde.

80.
All the citezens fast gan fle,
They durst no longer abyde:
There lyghtly they loosed Cloudeslee,
Where he with ropes lay tyde.

81.
Wyllyam stert to an officer of the towne,
Hys axe out hys hand he wronge,
On eche syde he smote them downe,
Hym thought he had taryed too long.

82.
Wyllyam sayde to hys brethren two,
'Thys daye let us lyve and die,
If ever you have nede, as I have now,
The same shall you finde by me.'

83.
They shot so well in that tyde,
For theyr stringes were of silke ful sure,
That they kept the stretes on every side;
That batayle did long endure.

84.
They fought together as brethren true,
Lyke hardy men and bolde,
Many a man to the ground they threw,
And made many an hertë colde.

85.
But whan their arrowes were all gon,
Men presyd on them full fast,
They drew theyr swordës than anone,
And theyr bowës from them cast.

86.
They went lyghtlye on theyr way,
Wyth swordes and buclers round;
By that it was the myddes of the day,
They had made many a wound.

87.
There was many an out-horne in Carleil blowen,
And the belles backward dyd they ryng,
Many a woman sayde 'Alas!'
And many theyr handes dyd wryng.

88.
The mayre of Carlile forth com was,
And wyth hym a full great route:
These three yemen dred hym full sore,
For theyr lyvës stode in doute.

89.
The mayre came armed, a full great pace,
With a polaxe in hys hande;
Many a strong man wyth him was,
There in that stoure to stande.

90.
The mayre smote at Cloudesle with his bil,
Hys bucler he brast in two,
Full many a yoman with great yll,
'Alas! Treason,' they cryed for wo.
'Kepe we the gates fast,' they bad,
'That these traytours therout not go.'

91.
But al for nought was that they wrought,
For so fast they downe were layde,
Tyll they all thre, that so manfully fought,
Were gotten without at a braide.

92.
'Have here your keys,' sayd Adam Bel,
'Myne office I here forsake,
Yf you do by my councell
A newë porter ye make.'

93.
He threw the keys there at theyr heads,
And bad them evil to thryve,
And all that letteth any good yoman
To come and comfort his wyfe.

94.
Thus be these good yomen gon to the wode,
As lyghtly as lefe on lynde;
They laugh and be mery in theyr mode,
Theyr enemyes were farr behynde.

95.
Whan they came to Inglyswode,
Under their trysty-tre,
There they found bowës full good,
And arrowës great plentë.

96.
'So help me God,' sayd Adam Bell,
And Clym of the Clough so fre,
'I would we were nowe in mery Carlile,
Before that fayre meynë.'

97.
They set them downe, and made good chere,
And eate and dranke full well.
Here is a fytte of the wight yongemen:
And another I shall you tell.

98.
As they sat in Inglyswood,
Under theyr trysty-tre,
They thought they herd a woman wepe,
But her they myght not se.

99.
Sore syghed there fayre Alyce, and sayd,
'Alas, that ever I see thys day!
For nowe is my dere husband slayne:
Alas! and wel-a-way!

100.
'Myght I have spoken wyth hys dere brethren,
With eyther of them twayne,
To show to them what him befell,
My hart were out of payne.'

101.
Cloudesle walked a lytle beside,
And looked under the grene wood lynde,
He was ware of his wife and chyldren three,
Full wo in herte and mynde.

102.
'Welcome, wyfe,' than sayde Wyllyam,
'Unto this trysty-tre:
I had wende yesterday, by swete saynt John,
Thou sholde me never have se.'

103.
'Now well is me,' she sayd, 'that ye be here,
My harte is out of wo.'
'Dame,' he sayde, 'be mery and glad,
And thanke my brethren two.'

104.
'Herof to speake,' said Adam Bell,
'I-wis it is no bote:
The meate, that we must supp withall,
It runneth yet fast on fote.'

105.
Then went they downe into a launde,
These noble archares all thre;
Eche of them slew a hart of grece,
The best they cold there se.

106.
'Have here the best, Alyce my wyfe,'
Sayde Wyllyam of Cloudeslye,
'By cause ye so boldly stode me by
Whan I was slayne full nye.'

107.
Than went they to theyr suppere
Wyth suche meate as they had;
And thanked God of ther fortune:
They were both mery and glad.

108.
And when they had supped well,
Certayne withouten lease,
Cloudesle sayd, 'We wyll to our kyng,
To get us a charter of peace.

109.
'Alyce shal be at sojournyng
In a nunnery here besyde;
My two sonnes shall wyth her go,
And there they shall abyde.

110.
'Myne eldest son shall go wyth me;
For hym have I no care:
And he shall bring you worde agayn,
How that we do fare.'

111.
Thus be these wight men to London gone,
As fast as they maye hye,
Tyll they came to the kynges pallace;
There they woulde nedës be.

112.
And whan they came to the kyngës courte,
Unto the pallace gate,
Of no man wold they aske leave,
But boldly went in therat.

113.
They presyd prestly into the hall,
Of no man had they dreade:
The porter came after, and dyd them calle,
And with them began to chyde.

114.
The usher sayde, 'Yemen, what wold ye have?
I pray you tell to me:
You myght thus make offycers shent:
Good syrs, of whence be ye?'

115.
'Syr, we be outlawes of the forest
Certayne withouten lease;
And hyther we be come to our kyng,
To get us a charter of peace.'

116.
And whan they came before the kyng,
As it was the lawe of the lande,
They kneled downe without lettyng,
And eche held up his hand.

117.
They sayed, 'Lord, we beseche you here,
That ye wyll graunt us grace;
For we have slayne your fat falow dere
In many a sondry place.'

118.
'What is your names,' than said our king,
'Anone that you tell me?'
They sayd, 'Adam Bell, Clim of the Clough,
And Wyllyam of Cloudesle.'

119.
'Be ye those theves,' than sayd our kyng,
'That men have tolde of to me?
Here to God I make a vowe,
Ye shal be hanged al thre.

120.
'Ye shal be dead without mercy,
As I am kynge of this lande.'
He commanded his officers everichone,
Fast on them to lay hande.

121.
There they toke these good yemen,
And arested them al thre:
'So may I thryve,' sayd Adam Bell,
'Thys game lyketh not me.

122.
'But, good lorde, we beseche you now,
That ye wyll graunt us grace,
Insomuche as we be to you comen,
Or elles that we may fro you passe,

123.
'With such weapons, as we have here,
Tyll we be out of your place;
And yf we lyve this hondred yere,
We wyll aske you no grace.'

124.
'Ye speake proudly,' sayd the kynge;
'Ye shall be hanged all thre.'
'That were great pitye,' sayd the quene,
'If any grace myght be.

125.
'My lorde, whan I came fyrst into this lande
To be your wedded wyfe,
The fyrst boone that I would aske,
Ye would graunt me belyfe:

126.
'And I asked you never none tyll now;
Therefore, good lorde, graunt it me.'
'Now aske it, madam,' sayd the kynge,
'And graunted shal it be.'

127.
'Than, good lord, I you beseche,
These yemen graunt you me.'
'Madame, ye myght have asked a boone,
That shuld have been worth them thre.

128.
'Ye myght have asked towres, and townes,
Parkes and forestes plentie.'
'None soe pleasant to my pay,' shee sayd;
'Nor none so lefe to me.'

129.
'Madame, sith it is your desyre,
Your askyng graunted shal be;
But I had lever have given you
Good market townës thre.'

130.
The quene was a glad woman,
And sayde, 'Lord, gramarcy;
I dare undertake for them,
That true men shal they be.

131.
'But, good lord, speke som mery word,
That comfort they may se.'
'I graunt you grace,' than sayd our kyng;
'Washe, felos, and to meate go ye.'

132.
They had not setten but a whyle
Certayne without lesynge,
There came messengers out of the north
With letters to our kyng.

133.
And whan they came before the kynge,
They kneled downe upon theyr kne;
And sayd, 'Lord, your officers grete you well,
Of Carlile in the north cuntre.'

134.
'How fareth my justice,' sayd the kyng,
'And my sherife also?'
'Syr, they be slayne, without lesynge,
And many an officer mo.'

135.
'Who hath them slayne?' sayd the kyng;
'Anone thou tell me.'
'Adam Bell, and Clim of the Clough,
And Wyllyam of Cloudesle.'

136.
'Alas for rewth!' than said our kynge:
'My hart is wonderous sore;
I had lever than a thousande pounde,
I had knowne of thys before;

137.
'For I have y-graunted them grace,
And that forthynketh me:
But had I knowne all thys before,
They had been hanged all thre.'

138.
The kyng opened the letter anone,
Himselfe he red it tho,
And founde how these thre outlawes had slain
Thre hundred men and mo:

139.
Fyrst the justice, and the sheryfe,
And the mayre of Carlile towne;
Of all the constables and catchipolles
Alyve were left not one:

140.
The baylyes, and the bedyls both,
And the sergeauntes of the law,
And forty fosters of the fe,
These outlawes had y-slaw:

141.
And broke his parks, and slayne his dere;
Over all they chose the best;
So perelous out-lawes as they were
Walked not by easte nor west.

142.
When the kynge this letter had red,
In hys harte he syghed sore:
'Take up the table,' anone he bad,
'For I may eat no more.'

143.
The kyng called his best archars
To the buttes wyth hym to go:
'I wyll se these felowes shote,' he sayd,
'That in the north have wrought this wo.'

144.
The kynges bowmen buske them blyve.
And the quenes archers also;
So dyd these thre wyght yemen;
With them they thought to go.

145.
There twyse or thryse they shote about
For to assay theyr hande;
There was no shote these thre yemen shot.
That any prycke myght them stand.

146.
Then spake Wyllyam of Cloudesle;
'By God that for me dyed,
I hold hym never no good archar,
That shoteth at buttes so wyde.'

147.
'Whereat?' than sayd our king,
'I pray thee tell me.'
'At suche a but, syr,' he sayd.
'As men use in my countree.'

148.
Wyllyam wente into a fyeld,
And his two brethren with him:
There they set up two hasell roddes
Twenty score paces betwene.

149.
'I hold him an archar,' said Cloudesle,
'That yonder wande cleveth in two.'
'Here is none suche,' sayd the kyng,
'Nor none that can so do.'

150.
'I shall assaye, syr,' sayd Cloudesle,
'Or that I farther go.'
Cloudesly with a bearyng arowe
Clave the wand in two.

151.
'Thou art the best archer,' then said the king,
'Forsothe that ever I se.'
'And yet for your love,' sayd Wyllyam,
'I wyll do more maystry.

152.
'I have a sonne is seven yere olde,
He is to me full deare;
I wyll hym tye to a stake;
All shall se, that be here;

153.
'And lay an apple upon hys head,
And go syxe score paces hym fro,
And I my selfe with a brode arow
Shall cleve the apple in two.'

154.
'Now haste thee then sayd the kyng,
'By hym that dyed on a tre;
But yf thou do not as thou hest sayde,
Hanged shalt thou be.

155.
'And thou touche his head or gowne,
In syght that men may se,
By all the sayntes that be in heaven,
I shall hange you all thre.'

156.
'That I have promised,' said William,
'I wyll it never forsake.'
And there even before the kynge
In the earth he drove a stake:

157.
And bound therto his eldest sonne,
And bad hym stand styll thereat;
And turned the childes face fro him,
Because he should not stert.

158.
An apple upon his head he set,
And then his bowe he bent:
Syxe score paces they were outmet,
And thether Cloudesle went.

159.
There he drew out fayre brode arrowe,
Hys bowe was great and longe,
He set that arrowe in his bowe,
That was both styffe and stronge.

160.
He prayed the people, that wer there,
That they wold still stand,
For he that shoteth for such a wager
Behoveth a stedfast hand.

161.
Muche people prayed for Cloudesle,
That his lyfe saved myght be,
And whan he made hym redy to shote,
There was many a weeping eye.

162.
Thus Cloudesle clefte the apple in two,
That many a man it se:
'Over Gods forbode,' sayde the kinge,
'That thou sholdest shote at me.

163.
'I geve thee eightene pence a day,
And my bowe shalt thou bere,
And over all the north countre
I make the chyfe rydere.'

164.
'And I give thee twelve pence a day,' said the quene,
'By God and by my fay;
Come feche thy payment whan thou wylt,
No man shall say thee nay.'

165.
'Wyllyam, I make thee gentleman
Of clothyng and of fe:
And thy two brethren yemen of my chambre,
For they are so semely to see.

166.
'Your sonne, for he is tendre of age,
Of my wyne-seller shall he be;
And whan he commeth to mannës state,
Better avaunced shall he be.'

167.
'And, Wyllyam, bring me your wife,' said the quene,
'Me longeth sore her to see:
She shall be my chefe gentlewoman,
And governe my nursery.'

168.
The yemen thanked them full curteously;
And sayd, 'To Rome streyght wyll we wend,
Of all the synnes that we have done
To be assoyled of his hand.'

169.
So forth be gone these good yemen,
As fast as they might hye;
And after came and dwelled with the kynge,
And dyed good men all thre.

170.
Thus endeth the lives of these good yemen;
God send them eternall blysse,
And all that with hand-bowe shoteth,
That of heven they may never mysse!

[Annotations:
4.4: 'Englyshe-wood,' Inglewood, reaching from Carlisle to Penrith,
in Cumberland.
5.1: 'lith,' hearken.
9.2: 'pryme,' about 9 a.m. Cp. 72.2.
15.3: 'found,' provided for.
18.4: 'meed,' reward.
26.4: 'brest,' burst, was broken.
29.3: 'brenne,' burn.
32.4: 'wreke,' avenge.
35.1: 'Lever,' rather.
35.2: 'renne,' run.
35.3: 'wode,' fierce.
36.3: 'in prece,' in a press, crowded.
45.3: 'wight,' active.
48.4: 'teene,' sorrow.
50.3: 'borowe,' redeem, liberate.
56.4: 'thronge,' pressed, hastened.
61.2: 'lordane,' sluggard: 'wode,' mad.
68.4: 'stound,' time.
69.3: 'squyers': an earlier text gives 'swerers.'
72.2: 'pryme'; see 9.3, note.
87.1: Horns blown to call the citizens to support the civil
authorities.
89.4: 'stoure,' fight, disturbance.
91.4: 'at a braide,' in a moment.
93.3: 'letteth,' hinders.
94.3: 'lynde,' tree: cp. 101.2. Here perhaps it means linden.
96.4: 'meynë,' troop, company.
104.2: 'no bote,' no boot, _i.e._ no advantage.
105.1: 'launde,' lawn, glade, clearing.
105.3: 'a hart of grece,' a fat hart (Fr. graisse).
108.2: 'lease,' falsehood. Cp. 115.2, 132.2, 134.3, _et passim_.
113.1: 'presily,' promptly.
114.3: 'shent,' scolded, blamed.
125.4: 'belyfe,' immediately. The word is spelled in many ways.
128.3: 'pay,' satisfaction.
136.1: 'rewth,' pity.
137.2: 'forthynketh me,' seems serious to me, troubles me.
139.3: 'catchipolles,' sheriff's officers.
140.3: 'fosters of the fe,'--'a person who had for some service
to the crown a perpetual right of hunting in a forest on paying
to the crown a certain rent for the same.' --Halliwell.
144.1: prepared themselves instantly.
150.3: 'bearyng arowe,' ? a very long arrow, such as requires to
be carried in the hand. Cf. _Sir Andrew Barton_, 53.3.
155.1: 'And,' if.
158.3: 'outmet,' measured out.
165.2: 'fe,' money.]

JOHNNY O' COCKLEY'S WELL

+The Text+ is taken almost entirely from a copy which was sent in 1780 to Bishop Percy by a Miss Fisher of Carlisle; in the last half of the first stanza her version gives, unintelligibly:

'But little knew he that his bloody hounds
Were bound in iron bands':

and I have therefore substituted lines from a later text. The correction in 20.1 and 21.1 is also essential.

+The Story+ will be familiar to many as _Johnie of Breadislee_, a title given by Sir Walter Scott to his version, the first that was published, in the _Minstrelsy_ (1802). In the present version, however, Johnny certainly belongs to Cockley's Well, Bradyslee being only the name of his hunting-ground. In other variants, his name is Johnny Cock, Johnny Cox, Johnny o' Cockis, o' Cockerslee, of Cockielaw, of Cocklesmuir, or Johnny Brad. The name of the hunting-ground varies also, though not so widely; and, as usual, the several editors of the ballad have carefully noted that its topography (though the nomenclature is corrupted) connects it with this district or that--Percy's ballad is Northumbrian, Scott's is of Dumfriesshire.

Percy considered that the mention of wolves (17.1) was an indication of the antiquity of the ballad; whereupon Child quotes Holinshed (1577) as saying that 'though the island is void of wolves south of the Tweed, yet the Scots cannot boast the like, since they have grievous wolves.' Yet how can one reconcile the mention of wolves with the reference to 'American leather' (13.3)?

Professor Child calls this a 'precious specimen of the unspoiled traditional ballad,' and Professor Gummere points out that 'it goes with a burden, this sterling old song, and has traces of an incremental repetition that has been reduced to lowest terms by impatient transcribers' (_The Popular Ballad_, p. 268). In his _Old English Ballads_ Gummere gives a text very ingeniously compounded of Percy's and Kinloch's; and Professor Brandl has attempted to restore the original text.

JOHNNY O' COCKLEY'S WELL

1.
Johnny he has risen up i' the morn,
Call'd for water to wash his hands;
And he has called for his good grey-hounds
That lay bound in iron bands, _bands_,
_That lay bound in iron bands_.

2.
Johnny's mother has gotten word o' that,
And care-bed she has taen.
'O Johnny, for my benison,
I beg you'll stay at hame;
For the wine so red, and the well-baken bread,
My Johnny shall want nane.

3.
'There are seven forsters at Pickeram Side,
At Pickeram where they dwell,
And for a drop of thy heart's bluid
They wad ride the fords of hell.'

4.
Johnny he's gotten word of that,
And he's turned wondrous keen;
He's put off the red scarlet,
And he's put on the Lincoln green.

5.
With a sheaf of arrows by his side,
And a bent bow in his hand,
He's mounted on a prancing steed,
And he has ridden fast o'er the strand.

6.
He's up i' Bradyslee, and down i' Bradyslee,
And under a buss o' broom;
And there he found a good dun deer
Feeding in a buss of ling.

7.
Johnny shot, and the dun deer lap,
And she lap wondrous wide,
Until they came to the wan water,
And he stem'd her of her pride.

8.
He has taen out the little pen-knife,
'Twas full three quarters long,
And he has taen out of that dun deer
The liver but and the tongue.

9.
They eat of the flesh, and they drank of the blood,
And the blood it was so sweet,
Which caused Johnny and his bloody hounds
To fall in a deep sleep.

10.
By then came an old palmer,
And an ill death may he die!
For he's away to Pickeram Side,
As fast as he can drie.

11.
'What news, what news?' says the Seven Forsters,
'What news have ye brought to me?'
'I have no news,' the palmer said,
'But what I saw with my eye.

12.
'High up i' Bradyslee, low down i' Bradyslee,
And under a buss of scroggs,
O there I spied a well-wight man
Sleeping among his dogs.

13.
'His coat it was of the light Lincoln,
And his breeches of the same,
His shoes of the American leather,
And gold buckles tying them.'

14.
Up bespake the Seven Forsters,
Up bespake they ane and a':
'O that is Johnny o' Cockley's Well,
And near him we will draw.'

15.
O the first ae stroke that they gae him,
They struck him off by the knee;
Then up bespake his sister's son:
'O the next'll gar him die!'

16.
'O some they count ye well-wight men,
But I do count ye nane;
For you might well ha' waken'd me,
And ask'd gin I wad be taen.

17.
'The wildest wolf in a' this wood
Wad not ha' done so by me;
She'd ha' wet her foot i' th' wan water,
And sprinkled it o'er my bree,
And if that wad not ha' waken'd me,
She wad ha' gone and let me be.

18.
'O bows of yew, if ye be true,
In London, where ye were bought,
Fingers five, get up belive,
Manhuid shall fail me nought.'

19.
He has kill'd the Seven Forsters,
He has kill'd them all but ane,
And that wan scarce to Pickeram Side,
To carry the bode-words hame.

20.
'Is there never a bird in a' this wood
That will tell what I can say;
That will go to Cockley's Well,
Tell my mither to fetch me away?'

21.
There was a bird into that wood,
That carried the tidings away,
And many ae was the well-wight man
At the fetching o' Johnny away.

[Annotations:
1.2-5: From Kinloch's version. The final repetition, here printed
in italics, forms the burden in singing, and is to be repeated,
_mutatis mutandis_, in each verse.
2.2: 'care-bed,' the bed of sickness due to anxiety.
3.1: 'forsters,' foresters, woodmen.
6.1: The MS. reads 'Braidhouplee' for the first 'Bradyslee.'
6.2: 'buss,' bush.
7.1: 'lap,' leapt.
7.4: 'stem'd,' stopped, stayed.
8.4: 'but and,' and.
10.4: 'drie,' hold out, be able.
12.2: 'scroggs,' underwood.
12.3: 'well-wight,' stalwart.
13.3: 'American leather.' A patent for making morocco from American
horsehides was granted c. 1799, but the date of this text is
twenty years earlier than that date.
15.1: 'ae' (y in the MS.), one. Cf. 21.3.
18.3: 'belive,' quickly.
19.3: 'wan,' won, reached.
19.4: The MS. gives 'bord (or bood) words.'
20.1, 21.1: The MS. gives 'boy' for 'bird.']

THE OUTLAW MURRAY

+The Text+ is derived, with trivial alterations, from Herd's MSS. In the first edition of the _Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border_, Scott says the principal copy he employed was one 'apparently of considerable antiquity' among the papers of Mrs. Cockburn; he also made use of Herd's MS. and the Glenriddell MS. In the second edition of the _Minstrelsy_ he made further additions, including one of three stanzas between 52 and 58 of the present version, which makes reference to an earlier Sir Walter Scott.

+The Story+ of this Scots outlaw makes tame reading after those which precede it in this volume. The ballad was inserted at the end of Child's collection only because he preferred 'to err by including rather than excluding.' He adds, 'I am convinced that it did not begin its existence as a popular ballad, and I am not convinced that (as Scott asserts) it has been for ages a popular song in Selkirkshire.' Nevertheless, it undoubtedly gained a place in popular tradition; and this, while entitling it to a place here, renders the elaborate historical investigation, to which it has been submitted since Child's edition, a waste of erudition and ingenuity.

THE OUTLAW MURRAY

1.
Ettrick Forest is a fair forest,
In it grows many a seemly tree;
The hart, the hynd, the doe, the roe,
And of a' wild beastis great plentie.

2.
There's a castell biggit with lime and stane;
O gin it stands not pleasantlie!
In the forefront o' that castell fair,
Twa unicorns are bra' to see.

3.
There's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,
And the grene hollin abune their bree;
There an Outlaw keeps five hundred men;
He keeps a royal companie.

4.
His merry men are in ae liverie clad,
Of the Lincoln grene sae fair to see;
He and his ladie in purple clad,
O gin they live not royallie!

5.
Word is gane to our noble king,
In Edinburgh, where that he lay,
That there was an Outlaw in Ettrick Forest
Counted him nought and all his courtrie gay.

6.
'I mak a vow,' then the gude king said,
'Unto the man that dear bought me,
I'se either be king of Ettrick Forest
Or king of Scotland that Outlaw's be.'

7.
Then spak the earl hight Hamilton,
And to the noble king said he,
'My sovereign prince, some counsel take,
First of your nobles, syne of me.

8.
'I redd ye, send yon bra' Outlaw till,
And see gif your man come will he:
Desire him come and be your man,
And hold of you yon forest free.

9.
'And gif he refuses to do that,
We'll conquer both his lands and he,
Or else we'll throw his castell down,
And mak a widow o' his gay ladye.'

10.
The king called on a gentleman,
James Boyd, Earl of Arran, his brother was he;
When James he came before the king,
He fell before him on his knee.

11.
'Welcome, James Boyd,' said our noble king;
'A message ye maun gang for me;
Ye maun hie to Ettrick Forest,
To yon Outlaw, where dwelleth he;

12.
'Ask him of whom he holds his lands,
Or, man, who may his master be,
Desire him come and be my man,
And hold of me yon forest free.

13.
'To Edinburgh to come and gang,
His safe-warrant I sall be;
And gif he refuses to do that,
We'll conquer baith his lands and he.

14.
'Thou may'st vow I'll cast his castell down,
And mak a widow o' his gay ladye;
I'll hang his merry men pair by pair
In ony frith where I may them see.'

15.
James Boyd took his leave of the noble king,
To Ettrick Forest fair cam he;
Down Birkendale Brae when that he cam,
He saw the fair forest with his ee.

16.
Baith doe and roe and hart and hind
And of a' wild beastis great plentie;
He heard the bows that bauldly ring,
And arrows whidderand near him by.

17.
Of that fair castell he got a sight;
The like he nere saw with his ee;
On the forefront o' that castell
Twa unicorns were bra' to see.

18.
The picture of a knight, and a lady bright,
And the green hollin abune their bree;
Thereat he spy'd five hundred men,
Shooting with bows upon the lee.

19.
They a' were in ae livery clad,
O' the Lincoln green sae fair to see;
The knight and his ladye in purple clad;
O gif they lived right royallie!
Therefore he kend he was master-man,
And served him in his ain degree.

20.
'God mot thee save, brave Outlaw Murray,
Thy ladye and a' thy chivalrie!'
'Marry, thou's welcome, gentleman,
Some king's-messenger thou seems to be.'

21.
'The King of Scotland sent me here,
And, gude Outlaw, I'm sent to thee;
I wad wot of whom ye hold your lands,
Or, man, wha may thy master be?'

22.
'Thir landis are mine,' the Outlaw said;
'I own na king in Christentie;
Frae Soudron I this forest wan,
Whan the king nor 's knights were not to see.'

23.
'He desires you'll come to Edinburgh,
And hold of him this forest free;
And gif you refuse to do this,
He'll conquer baith thy landis and thee;
He has vow'd to cast thy castell down,
And mak a widow o' thy gay ladye;

24.
'He'll hang thy merry men pair by pair
In ony frith where he may them find.'
'Aye, by my troth!' the Outlaw said,
'Than wad I think me far behind.

25.
'Ere the king my fair countrie get,
This land that 's nativest to me,
Mony o' his nobles sall be cauld,
Their ladyes sall be right wearie.'

26.
Then spak his ladye, fair of face,
She said, 'Without consent of me,
That an Outlaw shuld come before the king;
I am right rad of treasonrie.

27.
'Bid him be gude to his lordis at hame,
For Edinburgh my lord sail never see.'
James tuke his leave of the Outlaw keen,
To Edinburgh boun is he.

28.
And when he cam before the king,
He fell before him on his knee:
'Welcome, James Boyd!' said the noble king;
'What forest is Ettrick Forest free?'

29.
'Ettrick Forest is the fairest forest
That ever man saw with his ee;
There's the doe, the roe, the hart, the hynde,
And of a' wild beastis great plentie.

30.
'There's a pretty castell of lime and stane,
O gif it stands not pleasauntlie!
There's on the foreside of that castell
Twa unicorns sae bra' to see.

31.
'There's the picture of a knight, and a ladye bright,
And the green hollin abune their bree.
There the Outlaw keepis five hundred men,
O gif they live not royallie!

32.
'His merry men in ae livery clad,
O' the Lincoln green so fair to see;
He and his ladye in purple clad;
O! gif they live not royallie!

33.
'He says yon forest is his ain,
He wan it from the Soudronie;
Sae as he wan it, sae will he keep it,
Contrair all kings in Christentie.'

34.
'Gar ray my horse,' said the noble king,
'To Ettrick Forest hie will I me';
Then he gard graith five thousand men,
And sent them on for the forest free.

35.
Then word is gane the Outlaw till,
In Ettrick Forest, where dwelleth he,
That the king was coming to his cuntrie,
To conquer baith his lands and he.

36.
'I mak a vow,' the Outlaw said,
'I mak a vow, and that trulie,
Were there but three men to take my part
Yon king's coming full dear suld be.'

37.
Then messengers he called forth,
And bade them haste them speedilie:
'Ane of you go to Halliday,
The laird of the Covehead is he.

38.
'He certain is my sister's son;
Bid him come quick and succour me;
Tell Halliday with thee to come,
And show him a' the veritie.'

39.
'What news, what news?' said Halliday,
'Man, frae thy master unto me?'
'Not as ye wad; seeking your aid;
The king's his mortal enemie.'

40.
'Aye, by my troth,' quoth Halliday,
'Even for that it repenteth me;
For gif he lose fair Ettrick Forest,
He'll tak fair Moffatdale frae me.

41.
'I'll meet him wi' five hundred men,
And surely mae, if mae may be.'
The Outlaw call'd a messenger,
And bid him hie him speedily.

42.
'To Andrew Murray of Cockpool,
That man's a dear cousin to me;
Desire him come, and make me aid,
With all the power that he may be.

43.
'The king has vow'd to cast my castle down,
And mak a widow of my gay ladye;
He'll hang my merry men pair by pair
In ony place where he may them see.'

44.
'It stands me hard,' quoth Andrew Murray,
'Judge if it stands not hard with me;
To enter against a king with crown,
And put my lands in jeopardie!

45.
'Yet gif I come not on the day,
Surely at night he sall me see.'
To Sir James Murray, laird of Traquair,
A message came right speedilie.

46.
'What news, what news?' James Murray said,
'Man, frae thy master unto me?'
'What need I tell? for wel ye ken
The king's his mortal enemie.

47.
'He desires ye'll come and make him aid,
With all the powers that ye may be.'
'And, by my troth,' James Murray said,
'With that Outlaw will I live and die;

48.
'The king has gifted my lands lang syne,
It can not be nae war with me.'
... ... ...
... ... ...

49.
The king was coming thro' Caddon Ford,
And fifteen thousand men was he;
They saw the forest them before,
They thought it awsome for to see.

50.
Then spak the earl hight Hamilton,
And to the noble king said he,
'My sovereign prince, some counsel take,
First at your nobles, syne at me.

51.
'Desire him meet thee at Penman's Core,
And bring four in his companie;
Five earls sall gang yoursell before,
Gude cause that you suld honour'd be.

52.
'And, if he refuses to do that,
Wi' fire and sword we'll follow thee;
There sall never a Murray, after him,
Have land in Ettrick Forest free.'

53.
The king then call'd a gentleman,
Royal banner-bearer then was he;
James Hope Pringle of Torsonse, by name:
He came and knelit upon his knee.

54.
'Welcome, James Pringle of Torsonse!
Ye maun a message gae for me;
Ye maun gae to yon Outlaw Murray,
Surely where bauldly bideth he.

55.
'Bid him meet me at Penman's Core,
And bring four of his companie;
Five earls sall come wi' mysel,
Gude reason I suld honour'd be.

56.
'And if he refuses to do that,
Bid him look for nae good o' me;
There sall never a Murray after him
Have land in Ettrick Forest free.'

57.
James came before the Outlaw keen,
And served him in his ain degree;
'Welcome, James Pringle of Torsonse!
What tidings frae the king to me?'

58.
'He bids you meet him at Penman's Core,
And bring four of your companie;
Five earls will come with the king,
Mae mair in number will he be.

59.
'And gif you refuse to do that,
I freely here upgive wi' thee,
There will never a Murray after thee
Have land in Ettrick Forest free.

60.
'He'll cast your bonny castle down,
And make a widow of your gaye ladye,
He'll hang your merry men pair by pair
In ony place where he may them see.'

61.
'It stands me hard,' the Outlaw said;
'Judge if it stands not hard with me;
I reck not of losing of mysell,
But all my offspring after me.

62.
'Auld Halliday, young Halliday,
Ye sall be twa to gang wi' me;
Andrew Murray, and Sir James Murray,
We'll be nae mae in companie.'

63.
When that they came before the king,
They fell befor him on their knee;
'Grant mercy, mercy, royal king!
E'en for His sake who died on tree.'

64.
'Siecan like mercie sall ye have;
On gallows ye sall hangit be!'
'God forbid,' quo' the Outlaw then,
'I hope your grace will better be!'

65.
'These lands of Ettrick Forest fair,
I wan them frae the enemie;
Like as I wan them, sae will I keep them,
Contrair all kings in Christentie.'

66.
All the nobles said, the king about,
Pitie it were to see him die:
'Yet grant me mercy, sovereign prince,
Extend your favour unto me!

67.
'I'll give you the keys of my castell,
With the blessing o' my fair ladye,
Mak me the sheriff of the forest,
And all my offspring after me.'

68.
'Wilt thou give me the keys of thy castell,
With the blessing of thy fair ladye?
I'll mak thee sheriff of the Forest,
Surely while upwards grows the tree;
If you be not traitour to the king,
Forfaulted sall ye never be.'

69.
'But, prince, what sall come o' my men?
When I go back, traitour they'll ca' me.
I had rather lose my life and land,
Ere my merry men rebukëd me.'

70.
'Will your merry men amend their lives?
And all their pardons I grant thee;
Now, name thy landes where'er they be,
And here I render them to thee.'

71.
'Fair Philiphaugh, prince, is my ain,
I biggit it wi' lime and stane;
The Tinnies and the Hangingshaw,
My liege, are native steads of mine.

72.
' ... ... ...
... ... ...
I have mony steads in the forest shaw,
But them by name I dinna knaw.'

73.
The keys of the castle he gave the king,
With the blessing of his fair ladye;
He was made sheriff of Ettrick Forest,
Surely while upward grows the tree;
And if he was not traitour to the king,
Forfaulted he suld never be.

74.
Wha ever heard, in ony times,
Siccan an outlaw in his degree
Sic favour get before a king
As did the Outlaw Murray of the forest free?

[Annotations:
2.1: 'biggit,' built.
5.4: 'courtrie,' courtiers.
8.1: 'redd,' advise.
14.4: 'frith,' wood.
16.4: 'whidderand,' whizzing.
22.3: 'Soudron,' Southron, _i.e._ southern, English.
26.4: 'rad,' afraid.
34.1: 'Gar ray,' cause to be arrayed, _i.e._ saddled.
34.3: 'graith,' equip, prepare.
41.2: 'mae,' more.
49.1: A ford on the Tweed, at the mouth of the Caddon Burn,
near Yair.
64.1: 'Siccan,' such.
71.4: 'steads,' dwelling-places. Cp. farm-stead, home-stead.]

SIR ANDREW BARTON

+The Text+ is taken from the Percy Folio MS., but the spelling is modernised. There is another version, extant in broadsides to be found in nearly all the large collections; this, when set beside the Folio MS. text, provides a remarkable instance of the loss a ballad sustained by falling into the hands of the broadside-printers. The present text, despite the unlucky hiatus after st. 35, is a splendid example of an English ballad, which cannot be earlier than the sixteenth century. There is a fine rhythm throughout, and, as Child says, 'not many better passages are met with in ballad poetry than that which tells of the three gallant attempts on the mainmast tree (stt. 52-66).'

+The Story+ told in the ballad is a piece of history, and belongs originally to the beginning of the sixteenth century. Andrew Barton was one of three sons of John Barton, a Scots trader whose ship had been plundered by the Portuguese in 1476; letters of reprisal were granted to the brothers Barton, and renewed to them in 1506 'as no opportunity had occurred of effectuating a retaliation.' It seems, however, that this privilege was abused, at least by Andrew, who was reported in June 1511 to Henry VIII. as seizing English ships under the pretext that they were Portuguese. The king did not send Lord Charles Howard, as the ballad states--Lord Charles was not born till twenty-five years afterwards--but Sir Thomas and Sir Edward Howard set out against the pirate by Henry's leave. They took two ships, not one, the meeting with Henry Hunt (st. 18) being the ballad-maker's invention. Lord Charles's fraudulent use of the 'white flag' in st. 37 is supported by Bishop Lesley's partisan account of the engagement, written _c._ 1570. The time-scheme of the ballad is unusually vague: it begins 'in midsummer-time,' and the punitive expedition starts on 'the day before midsummer even'--_i.e._ June 19, which agrees with the chronicles. The fight takes place within the week; but Lord Charles does not get home until December 29 (st. 71). Hall's chronicle says that they returned on August 2.

Lord Charles Howard was created Earl of Nottingham in 1596; but the adoption of this into the ballad (st. 78) dates only our text. It is quite probable that it existed in a previous version with names and facts more correctly stated.

SIR ANDREW BARTON

1.
As it befell in midsummer-time,
When birds sing sweetly on every tree,
Our noble king, King Henry the Eighth,
Over the river of Thames passed he.

2.
He was no sooner over the river,
Down in a forest to take the air,
But eighty merchants of London city
Came kneeling before King Henry there.

3.
'O ye are welcome, rich merchants,
Good sailors, welcome unto me!'
They swore by the rood they were sailors good,
But rich merchants they could not be.

4.
'To France nor Flanders dare we not pass,
Nor Bordeaux voyage we dare not fare,
And all for a false robber that lies on the seas,
And robs us of our merchant's-ware.'

5.
King Henry was stout, and he turned him about,
And swore by the Lord that was mickle of might;
'I thought he had not been in the world throughout
That durst have wrought England such unright.'