No. 34: Kemp Owyne
[There are no known US or Canadian versions of this ballad.]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (moved to the end of Child's Narrative)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A- B. (Another version in Additions and Corrections is similar to A. I'll call this Version C, which is taken from a manuscript collection of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe's, p. 2)
5. End Notes
6. Appendix: 'The Laidley Worm of Spindleston Heughs'
7. Additions and Corrections: 'The Hagg Worm,' a version of 'The Laidley Worm'
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: Kemp Owyne
A. Roud number 3912 Kemp Owyne (15 Listings)
2. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-B with additional notes)]
3. Sheet Music: Kemp Owyne (Bronson's texts and some music examples)
Child's Narrative
A. 'Kemp Owyne.' Buchan's Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 78; Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 373; 'Kemp Owayne,' Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 448.
B. 'Kempion.'
a. Jamieson-Brown Manuscript, fol. 29.
b. Scott's Minstrelsy, 1802, II, 93, from William Tytler's Brown Manuscript, No 9, "with corrections from a recited fragment."
It is not, perhaps, material to explain how Owain, "the king's son Urien," happens to be awarded the adventure which here follows. It is enough that his right is as good as that of other knights to whom the same achievement has been assigned, though the romance, or, as the phrase used to be, "the book," says nothing upon the subject. Owain's slaying the fire-drake who was getting the better of the lion may have led to his name becoming associated with the still more gallant exploit of thrice kissing a fire-drake to effect a disenchantment. The ring in A 9 might more plausibly be regarded as being a repetition of that which Owain's lady gave him on leaving her for a twelvemonth's outing, a ring which would keep him from loss of blood, and also from prison, sickness, and defeat in battle — in short, preserve him against all the accidents which the knight suggested might prevent his holding his day — provided that he had it by him and thought on her. Ritson, Ywaine and Gawin, vv 1514-38.
But an Icelandic saga comes near enough to the story of the ballad as given in A to show where its connections lie. Álsól and a brother and sister are all transformed by a stepmother, a handsome woman, much younger than her husband. Álsól's heavy weird is to he a nondescript monster with a horse's tail, hoofs, and mane, white eyes, big mouth, and huge hands, and never to be released from the spell till a king's son shall consent to kiss her. One night when Hjálmtèr had landed on a woody island, and it had fallen to him to keep watch, he heard a great din and crashing in the woods, so that the oaks trembled. Presently this monster came out of the thicket with a fine sword in her hand, such as he had not seen the like of. They had a colloquy, and he asked her to let him have the sword. She said he should not have it unless he would kiss her. "I will not kiss thy snout," said Hjálmtèr, "for mayhap I should stick to it." But something came into his mind which made him think better of her offer, and he said he was ready. "You must leap upon my neck, then," she said, "when I throw up the sword, and if you then hesitate, it will be your death." She threw up the sword, he leaped on her neck and kissed her, and she gave him the sword, with an augury of victory and good luck for him all his days. The retransformation does not occur on the spot, but further on Hjálmtèr meets Álsól as a young lady at the court of her brother, who has also been restored to his proper form and station; everything is explained; Hjálmtèr marries her, and his foster-brother her sister. Hjálmtèrs ok Ölvers Saga, cc 10, 22, Rafn, Fornaldar Sögur, III, 473 ff, 514 ff.
In many tales of the sort a single kiss suffices to undo the spell and reverse the transformation; in others, as in the ballad, three are required. The triplication of the kiss has led in A to a triplication of the talisman against wounds. The popular genius was inventive enough to vary the properties of the several gifts, and we may believe that belt, ring, and sword had originally each its peculiar quality. The peril of touching fin or tail in A seems to correspond to that in the saga of hesitating when the sword is thrown up.
The Danish ballad, 'Jomfruen i Ormeham,' from manuscripts of the sixteenth and the seventeenth century, Grundtvig, No 59, II, 177, resembles both the first version of the Scottish ballad and the Icelandic saga in the points that the maid offers gifts and is rehabilitated by a kiss. The maid in her proper shape, which, it appears, she may resume for a portion of the day, stands at Sir Jenus's bedside and offers him gifts — five silver-bowls, all the gold in her kist, twelve foals, twelve boats — and ends with saying, "Were I a swain, as you are, I would betroth a maid." It is now close upon midnight, and she hints that he must be quick. But Jenus is fast asleep the while; twelve strikes, and the maid instantly turns into a little snake. The page, however, has been awake, and he repeats to his master all that has occurred.[1] Sir Jenus orders his horse, rides along a hillside, and sees the little snake in the grass. He bends over and kisses it, and it turns to a courteous maid, who thanks him, and offers him any boon he may ask. He asks her to be his, and as she has loved him before this, she has no difficulty in plighting him her troth.
A maid transformed by a stepmother into a tree is freed by being kissed by a man, in 'Jomfruen i Linden,' Grundtvig, II, 214, No 66, Kristensen, II, 90, No 31; 'Linden,' Afzelius, III, 114, 118, No 87. In 'Linden,' Kristensen, I, 13, No 5, a combination of two ballads, a prince cuts down the linden, which changes to a linden-worm; he kisses the worm, and a young maid stands before him.
A knight bewitched into the shape of a troll is restored by being kissed by a peasant's wife thrice [once], 'Trolden og Bondens Hustru,' Grundtvig, II, 142, No 52, A, B; a prince by a kiss from a maid, 'Lindormen,' Grundtvig, D. g. F., II, 211, No 6.3 A, 'Slangen og den lille Pige,' Danske Folkeminder, 1861, p. 15.
The removal of a spell which compels man or woman to appear continuously or alternately as a monster, commonly a snake, by three kisses or by one, is a regular feature in the numerous German tales of Schlangenjungfrauen, Weissefrauen. Often the man is afraid to venture the third kiss, or even a single one. See Grimm, Deutsche Sagen, No 13, No 222; Dobeneck, Des deutschen Mittelalters Volksglauben, I, 18 = Grimm, No 13; Mone's Anzeiger, III, 89, VII, 476; Panzer, Bayerische Sagen u. Bräuche, I, 196, No 214; Schönhuth, Die Burgen u.s.w. Badens u. der Pfalz, I, 105; Stöber, Die Sagen des Elsasses, p. 346, No 277, p. 248, No 190; Curtze, Volksüberlieferungen aus Waldeck, p. 198; Sommer, Sagen, Märchen u. Gebräuche aus Sachsen u. Thüringen, p. 21, No 16; Schambach u. Müller, p. 104, No 132; Müllenhoff, p. 580, No 597; Wolf, Hessische Sagen, No 46; etc., etc.: also, Kreutzwald, Ehstnische Märchen, by Löwe, No 19, p. 270 f. So in some forms of 'Beauty and the Beast:' Töppen, Aberglauben aus Masuren, p. 142; Mikuličić, Narodne Pripovietke, p. 1, No 1; Afanasief, VII, 153, No 15; Coelho, Contos populares portuguezes, p. 69, No 29.[2]
Rivals or peers of Owain among romantic knights are, first, Lanzelet, in Ulrich von Zatzikhoven's poem, who kisses a serpent on the mouth once, which, after bathing in a spring (see 'Tam Lin'), becomes the finest woman ever seen: vv 7836-7939. Brandimarte, again, in Orlando Innamorato, lib. II., c. XXVI, stanzas 7-15; and Carduino, I Cantari di Carduino, Rajna, stanzas 49, 54 f, 61-64, pp 35-41. Le Bel Inconnu is an involuntary instrument in such a disenchantment, for the snake fascinates him first and kisses him without his knowledge; he afterwards goes to sleep, and finds a beautiful woman standing at his head when he wakes: ed. Hippeau, p. 110 ff, v. 3101 ff. The English Libius Disconius is kist or he it wist, and the dragon at once turns to a beautiful woman: Percy Manuscript, Hales & Furnivall, II, 493f; Ritson, Romances, II, 84 f. Espertius, in Tiran le Blanc, is so overcome with fear that he cannot kiss the dragon, — a daughter of Hippocrates, transformed by Diana, in the island of Lango, — but Espertius not running away, as two men before him had done, the dragon kisses him with equally good effect: Caylus, Tiran le Blanc, II, 334-39. This particular disenchantment had not been accomplished down to Sir John Mandeville's time, for he mentions only the failures: Voyage and Travel, c. iv, pp 28-31, ed. 1725. Amadis d'Astra touches two dragons on the face and breast, and restores them to young-ladyhood: Historia del Principe Sferamundi, the 13th book of Amadis of Gaul, P. II, c. xcvii, pp 458-462, Venice, 1610. This feat is shown by the details to be only a variation of the story in Tiran le Blanc.[3]
The Rev. Mr. Lamb, of Norham, communicated to Hutchinson, author of 'A View of Northumberland,' a ballad entitled' The Laidley Worm of Spindleston Heughs,' with this harmless preamble: "A song 500 years old, made by the old Mountain Bard, Duncan Frasier, living on Cheviot, A. D. 1270. From an ancient manuscript." This composition of Mr. Lamb's — for nearly every line of it is his — is not only based on popular tradition, but evidently preserves some small fragments of a popular ballad, and for this reason is given in an Appendix. There is a copy deviating but very little from the print in Kinloch's Manusctipts, I, 187. It was obtained from the recitation of an old woman in Berwickshire.[4] In this recited version the Child of Wynd, or Childy Wynd (Child O-wyne), has become Child o Wane (Child O-wayn).
Mr. R. H. Evans, in his preface to this ballad, Old Ballads, 1810, IV, 241, says that Mr. Turner had informed him "that a lady upwards of seventy had heard her mother repeat an older and nearly similar ballad."
A is translated by Rosa Warrens, Schottische Volkslieder, p. 19; B b by Gerhard, p. 171, by Schubart, p. 110, by Knortz, Lieder u. Romanzen Alt-Englands, p. 201. 'Jomfruen i Onneham' by Prior, III, 135.
Footnotes:
1. The incident of a woman trying to move a man who, all the while is in a deep sleep, and of his servant reporting what has been going on, can hardly have belonged to this ballad from the beginning. It is exceedingly common in popular tales: see 'The Red Bull of Norroway,' in Chambers's Popular Rhymes of Scotland, 3d ed., p. 99; Grimms, 'Das singende springende Löwenwckerchwn,' No 88, (Der Eisenhofen,' No 127, and the notes in vol. iii; Leskien u. Brugman, Litauische V. l. u. Märchen, 'Vom weissen Wolf,' No 23, p. 438, and Wollner's note, p. 571.
2. But not in Mme. Villeneuve's or in Mme. de Beaumont's 'La Belle et la Bête.'
3. Lanzelet is cited by J. Grimm; Brandimarte by Walter Scott; Carduino by G. Paris; Espertius by Dunlop; Amadis d'Astra by Valentin Schmidt. Dunlop refers to a similar story in the sixth tale of the Contes Amoureux de Jean Flore, written towards the end of the fifteenth century.
4. "The Childe of Wane, as a protector of disconsolate damsels, is still remembered by young girls at school in the neighborhood of Bamborough, who apply the title to any boy who protects them from the assaults or their school-fellows." (Kinloch.)
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
The Icelandic saga of 'Hjálmter and Qlver' comes near enough to the story of the ballad to show where its connections lie (Rafn, Fornaldar Sögur. in, 473 ff., 514 ff.). In many tales of the sort a single kiss suffices to undo the spell and reverse the transformation; in others, as in the ballad, three are required. The incidents have been carefully studied by Schofield in his investigation of the romance of Li Beaus Descoueüs (Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature, IV, 199 ff.).
Child's Ballad Texts A-B
'Kemp Owyne'- Version A Child 34
Buchan, Ballads of the North of Scotland, II, 78, from Mr. Nicol Strichen, as learned in his youth from old people; Motherwell's Minstrelsy, p. 374; Motherwell's Manuscript, p. 448.
1 Her mother died when she was young,
Which gave her cause to make great moan;
Her father married the warst woman
That ever lived in Christendom.
2 She served her with foot and hand,
In every thing that she could dee,
Till once, in an unlucky time,
She threw her in ower Craigy's sea.
3 Says, 'Lie you there, dove Isabel,
And all my sorrows lie with thee;
Till Kemp Owyne come ower the sea,
And borrow you with kisses three,
Let all the warld do what they will,
Oh borrowed shall you never be!'
4 Her breath grew strang, her hair grew lang,
And twisted thrice about the tree,
And all the people, far and near,
Thought that a savage beast was she.
5 These news did come to Kemp Owyne,
Where he lived, far beyond the sea;
He hasted him to Craigy's sea,
And on the savage beast lookd he.
6 Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,
And twisted was about the tree,
And with a swing she came about:
'Come to Craigy's sea, and kiss with me.
7 'Here is a royal belt,' she cried,
'That I have found in the green sea;
And while your body it is on,
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow my belt your death shall be.'
8 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal belt he brought him wi;
Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,
And twisted twice about the tree,
And with a swing she came about:
'Come to Craigy's sea, and kiss with me.
9 'Here is a royal ring,' she said,
'That I have found in the green sea;
And while your finger it is on,
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I swear my ring your death shall be.'
10 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal ring he brought him wi;
Her breath was strang, her hair was lang,
And twisted ance about the tree,
And with a swing she came about:
'Come to Craigy's sea, and kiss with me.
11 'Here is a royal brand,' she said,
'That I have found in the green sea;
And while your body it is on,
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I swear my brand your death shall be.'
12 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal brand he brought him wi;
Her breath was sweet, her hair grew short,
And twisted nane about the tree,
And smilingly she came about,
As fair a woman as fair could be.
------------------
'Kempion'- Version B; Child 34
a. Jamieson-brown Manuscript, fol. 29.
b. Scott's Minstrelsy, II, 93, 1802, from William Tytler's Brown Manuscript, Np. 9, "with corrections from a recited fragment."
1 Come here, come here, you freely feed,
An lay your head low on my knee;
The hardest weird I will you read
That eer war read to a lady.
2 'O meikle dollour sall you dree,
An ay the sat seas oer ye['s] swim;
An far mair dollour sall ye dree
On Eastmuir craigs, or ye them clim.
3 'I wot ye's be a weary wight,
An releived sall ye never be
Till Kempion, the kingis son,
Come to the craig and thrice kiss thee.'
4 O meickle dollour did she dree,
An ay the sat seas oer she swam;
An far mair dollour did she dree
On Eastmuir craigs, or them she clam;
An ay she cried for Kempion,
Gin he would come till her han.
5 Now word has gane to Kempion
That sich a beast was in his lan,
An ay be sure she would gae mad
Gin she gat nae help frae his han.
6 'Now by my sooth,' says Kempion,
'This fiery beast I['ll] gang to see;'
'An by my sooth,' says Segramour,
'My ae brother, I'll gang you wi.'
7 O biggit ha they a bonny boat,
An they hae set her to the sea,
An Kempion an Segramour
The fiery beast he gane to see:
A mile afore they reachd the shore,
I wot she gard the red fire flee.
8 'O Segramour, keep my boat afloat,
An lat her no the lan so near;
For the wicked beast she'll sure gae mad,
An set fire to the land an mair.'
9 'O out o my stye I winna rise
An it is na for the fear o thee
Till Kempion, the kingis son,
Come to the craig an thrice kiss me.'
10 He's louted him oer the Eastmuir craig,
An he has gien her kisses ane;
Awa she gid, an again she came,
The fieryest beast that ever was seen.
11 'O out o my stye I winna rise
An it is na for fear o thee
Till Kempion, the kingis son,
Come to the craig an thrice kiss me.'
12 He louted him oer the Eastmuir craig,
An he has gien her kisses twa;
Awa she gid, an again she came,
The fieryest beast that ever you saw.
13 'O out o my stye I winna rise
An it is na for fear o ye
Till Kempion, the kingis son,
Come to the craig an thrice kiss me.'
14 He's louted him oer the Eastmuir craig,
An he has gien her kisses three;
Awa she gid, an again she came,
The fairest lady that ever coud be.
15 'An by my sooth,' say[s] Kempion,
'My ain true love for this is she
O was it wolf into the wood,
Or was it fish intill the sea,
Or was it man, or wile woman,
My true love, that misshapit thee?'
16 'It was na wolf into the wood,
Nor was it fish into the sea,
But it was my stepmother,
An wae an weary mot she be.
17 'O a heavier weird light her upon
Than ever fell on wile woman;
Her hair's grow rough, an her teeth's grow lang,
An on her four feet sal she gang.
18 'Nane sall tack pitty her upon,
But in Wormie's Wood she sall ay won,
An relieved sall she never be,
Till St Mungo come oer the sea.'
[Version C] From a manuscript collection of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe's, p. 2; "Second Collection," see Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. 1880, p. 144. This copy closely resembles A.
1 Her mother died when she was young,
And was laid in the silent tomb;
The father weded the weel worst woman
This day that lives in Christiendom.
2 She served her with hands and feet,
In every way that well could be,
Yet she did once upon a day
Throw her in over a craig of sea.
3 Says, Ly you there, you dove Isabeal,
And let you never borrowed be
Till Kempenwine come ower the sea
And borrow you with kisses three;
Whatever any may do or say,
borrowed may you never be!
4 Her breath grew strong, and her hair grew long,
And twisted thrice about a tree,
And so hideous-like she did apear
That all who saw her from her did flee.
5 Now Kempenwine gat word of this
Where he was living beyond the sea;
He hied him straight unto that shoar,
The monstrous creature for to se.
6 Her breath was strong, and her hair was long,
And twisted was around the tree,
And with a swing she cried aloud,
Come to craig of sea and kiss with me.
7 'Here is a royal ring, ' she cried,
'That I have found in the green sea,
And while your finger it is on
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow this brand your death shall be.'
8 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal ring he brought him wi;
Her breath was strong, and [her] hair was long,
Yet twisted twice about the tree,
And with a swing she came about,
' Come to craig of sea and kiss with me.
9 'Here is a royal belt,' she cried,
'That I have found in the green sea,
And while your body it is on
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow this brand your death shall be.'
10 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal belt he brought him wee;
Her breath yet strong, her hair yet long,
Yet twisted once about the tree,
And with a swing she came about,
'Come to craig of sea and kiss with me.
11 'Here is a royal brand,' she cried,
'That I have found in the green sea,
And while your body it is on
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow my brand your death shall be.'
12 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal brand he brought him wee;
Her breath now soft, her hair now short,
And disengaged from the tree,
She fell into his arms two,
As fair a woman as ever could be.
End-Notes
A. Buchan gives 4-6 in two six-line stanzas. There are a few trivial diversities between Motherwell's manuscript, or my copy of it, and his printed text, which conforms to Buchan's.
B. a. Written in long or double lines in the manuscript.
22, 42. or.
53. a besure.
84. landy mair.
114. twice.
163. wicked is inserted before stepmother, seemingly by Jamieson.
B b. The first stanza, as given by Anderson, Nichols, Literary Illustrations, VII, 177, is:
'Come here, come here, ye freely feed,
And lay your head low on my knee;
The heaviest weird I will you read
That ever was read till a lady.'
13. heaviest.
14. gaye ladye.
22. ye'se.
24. when ye.
31. I weird ye to a fiery beast.
5 = a 45,6 + a 51,2: a 53,4 omitted:
And aye she cried for Kempion,
Gin he would but cum to her hand;
Now word has gane to Kempion
That sicken a beast was in his land.
64. wi thee.
7 omits a 3,4.
75. But a mile before.
76. Around them she.
82. oer near.
83. will sure.
84. to a' the land and mair.
After 8 is inserted:
Syne has he bent an arblast bow,
And aimd an arrow at her head,
And swore if she didna quit the land,
Wi that same shaft to shoot her dead.
91. sty the.
92. awe o thee.
101. dizzy crag.
102. gien the monster.
111. stythe.
112. And not for a' thy bow nor thee.
121. Estmere craigs.
131. my den.
132. Nor flee it for the feir o thee.
133. Kempion, that courteous knight.
141. lofty craig.
144. loveliest lady eer.
151,2. After this is inserted:
They surely had a heart o stane,
Could put thee to such misery.
153-6 make a separate stanza.
153, 161. warwolf in the wood.
154, 162. mermaid in the sea.
156. my ain true.
171. weird shall light her on.
173. Her hair shall grow ... teeth grow.
182. In Wormeswood she aye shall won.
185,6. And sighing said that weary wight,
I doubt that day I'll never see.
Appendix
The Laidley Worm of Spindleston Heughs.
A View of Northumberland, by W. Hutchinson, Anno 1776, Newcastle, 1778, II, 162-64. Communicated by the Rev. Mr. Lamb, of Norham.
Kinloch's account of the tradition in relation to the queen, as it maintains itself in Berwickshire, is quite in accord with German sagen about enchanted ladies, innocent or guilty, and as such may be worth giving: Kinloch Manuscripts, I, 187.
"Though the ballad mentions that the queen was transformed into 'a spiteful toad of monstrous size,' and was doomed in that form to wend on the earth until the end of the world, yet the tradition of the country gives another account of the endurance of her enchantment. It is said that in form of a toad as big as a 'clockin hen' she is doomed to expiate her guilt by confinement in a cavern in Bamborough castle, in which she is to remain in her enchanted shape until some one shall have the hardihood to break the spell by penetrating the cavern, whose 'invisible' door only opens every seven years, on Christmas eve. The adventurer, after entering the cavern, must take the sword and horn of the Childe of Wane, which hang on the wall, and having unsheathed and resheathed the sword thrice, and wound three blasts on the horn, he must kiss the toad three times; upon which the enchantment will be dissolved, and the queen will recover her human form.
"Many adventurers, it is said, have attempted to disenchant the queen, but have all failed, having immediately fallen into a trance, something similar to the princes in the Arabian tale who went in search of the Talking Bird, Singing Tree, and Yellow Water. The last one, it is said, who made the attempt was a countryman, about sixty years ago, who, having watched on Christmas eve the opening of the door, entered the cavern, took the sword and horn from the wall, unsheathed and resheathed the sword thrice, blew three blasts on the horn, and was proceeding to the final disenchantment by kissing the toad, which he had saluted twice, when, perceiving the various strange sleepers to arise from the floor, his courage failed, and he fled from the cavern, having just attained the outside of the door when it suddenly shut with a loud clap, catching hold of the skirt of his coat, which was torn off and left in the door.
And none since that time
To enter the cavern presume."
1 The king is gone from Bambrough castle,
Long may the princess mourn;
Long may she stand on the castle wall,
Looking for his return.
2 She has knotted the keys upon a string,
And with her she has them taen,
She has cast them oer her left shoulder,
And to the gate she is gane.
3 She tripped out, she tripped in,
She tript into the yard;
But it was more for the king's sake,
Than for the queen's regard.
4 It fell out on a day the king
Brought the queen with him home,
And all the lords in our country
To welcome them did come.
5 'O welcome, father,' the lady cries,
Unto your halls and bowers;
And so are you, my stepmother,
For all that is here is yours.'
6 A lord said, wondering while she spake,
This princess of the North
Surpasses all of female kind
In heauty and in worth.
7 The envious queen replied: At least,
You might have excepted me;
In a few hours I will her bring
Down to a low degree.
8 I will her liken to a laidley worm,
That warps about the stone,
And not till Childy Wynd comes back
Shall she again be won.
9 The princess stood at the bower door,
Laughing, who could her blame?
But eer the next day's sun went down,
A long worm she became.
10 For seven miles east, and seven miles west,
And seven miles north and south,
No blade of grass or corn could grow,
So venomous was her mouth.
11 The milk of seven stately cows —
It was costly her to keep —
Was hrought her daily, which she drank
Before she went to sleep.
12 At this day may be seen the cave
Which held her folded up,
And the stone trough, the very same
Out of which she did sup.
13 Word went east, and word went west,
And word is gone over the sea,
That a laidley worm in Spindleston Heughs
Would ruin the north country.
14 Word went east, and word went west,
And over the sea did go;
The Child of Wynd got wit of it,
Which filled his heart with woe.
15 He called straight his merry men all,
They thirty were and three:
'I wish I were at Spindleston,
This desperate worm to see.
16 'We have no time now here to waste,
Hence quickly let us sail;
My only sister Margaret,
Something, I fear, doth ail.'
17 They built a ship without delay,
With masts of the rown tree,
With fluttering sails of silk so fine,
And set her on the sea.
18 They went aboard; the wind with speed
Blew them along the deep;
At length they spied an huge square tower,
On a rock high and steep.
19 The sea was smooth, the weather clear;
When they approached nigher,
King Ida's castle they well knew,
And the banks of Bamhroughshire.
20 The queen looked out at her bower-window,
To see what she could see;
There she espied a gallant ship,
Sailing upon the sea.
21 When she beheld the silken sails,
Full glancing in the sun,
To sink the ship she sent away
Her witch-wives everyone.
22 Their spells were vain; the hags returned
To the queen in sorrowful mood,
Crying that witches have no power
Where there is rown-tree wood.
23 Her last effort, she sent a boat,
Which in the haven lay,
With armed men to board the ship,
But they were driven away.
24 The worm leapt up, the worm leapt down,
She plaited round the stane;
And ay as the ship came to the land
She banged it off again.
25 The Child then ran out of her reach
The ship on Budle sand,
And jumping into the shallow sea,
Securely got to land.
26 And now he drew his berry-brown sword,
And laid it on her head,
And swore, if she did harm to him,
That he would strike her dead.
27 'O quit thy sword, and bend thy bow,
And give me kisses three;
For though I am a poisonous worm,
No hurt I will do to thee.
28 'O quit thy sword, and bend thy bow,
And give me kisses three;
If I am not won eer the sun go down,
'Won I shall never be.'
29 He quitted his sword, he bent his bow,
He gave her kisses three;
She crept into a hole a worm,
But stept out a lady.
30 No cloathing had this lady fine,
To keep her from the cold;
He took his mantle from him about,
And round her did it fold.
31 He has taken his mantle from him about,
And it be wrapt her in,
And they are up to Bambrough castle,
As fast as they can win.
32 His absence and her serpent shape
The king had long deplored;
He now rejoiced to see them both
Again to him restored.
33 The queen they wanted, whom they found
All pale, and sore afraid,
Because she knew her power must yield
To Childy Wynd's, who said:
34 'Woe be to thee, thou wicked witch,
An ill death mayest thou dee;
As thou my sister hast likened,
So likened shalt thou be.
35 'I will turn you into a toad,
That on the ground doth wend,
And won, won shalt thou never be,
Till this world hath an end.'
36 Now on the sand near Ida's tower,
She crawls a loathsome toad,
And venom spits on every maid
She meets upon her road.
37 The virgins all of Bambrough town
Will swear that they have seen
This spiteful toad, of monstrous size,
Whilst walking they have been.
38 All folks believe within the shire
This story to be true,
And they all run to Spindleston,
The cave and trough to view.
39 This fact now Duncan Frasier,
Of Cheviot, sings in rhime,
Lest Bambroughshire men should forget
Some part of it in time.
283. son.
Additions and Corrections
P. 307 f. Caspar Decurtius, Marchen aus dem Bündner Oberlande, nach dem Räto-Romanischen erzählt, Jecklin, Volksthümliches aus Graubünden, Zürich, 1874, p. 126, has a tale of a Schlangenjungfrau who is a maid by day and a serpent by night, and is disenchanted by three kisses. G.L.K.
311. The Rev. Robert Lambe sent Percy, under date of January 29, 1768, "the best copy of 'The Laidley Worm' that he could procure from many incorrect, imperfect, and nonsensical ones." There are differences between this and the copy printed in Hutchinson,[1, see bottom of page] but one is about as good as the other. In this earlier copy 2 follows 3 and 37 is wanting. 6 and 7 read:
O up then spake the queen herself:
Who 's this that welcoms me?
A lord replied, The king's daughter,
The flower of the North Country.
'Wo be to thee, thou gray-haird man,
Thou mightst have excepted me;
Before the morn at this same time
I'll bring her to low degree.'
And 17, 22:
He straightway built a bonny ship,
And set her on the sea;
Her sails were made of silk so fine,
Her masts of rowan-tree.
The hags came back, finding their charms
Most powerfully withstood;
For warlocks, witches, cannot work
Where there is rowan-tree wood.
Duncan Frasier does not appear in the last stanza:
Now this fact, as it happened, is
For their good sung in rhime,
Lest they should some important part
Forget of it in time.
Along with this earlier copy of Lambe's is found an other, undescribed, which shows both agreements and variations: 2 follows 3, and 6, 7 and the final stanza are the same. 17 and 22 are wanting, and there are, therefore, no witches and no rowan-tree. Instead of 21-23, we have this very bad stanza:
'Run, run, my men, my sailors send
Aboard yon ship so tall.
And bid them drown the Child of Wind;
But he soon slew them all.'
In the same parcel there is a copy of 'The Laidley Worm' which is somewhat more in the popular tone than the one already printed. It was sent in an undated letter [1775?] to J. Bulman, Esq., of Sheepwash, Morpeth, by E. G., that is, Captain E. Grow. "The above," says E. G., "is the Haggworm as I collected it from an old woman. I wrote to the Revrd Mr. Lamb for his ballad, and directed him to send to you. ... I think the inclosed more original then his, for Mr. Lamb, tho a good antiquarian, is but a bad poet, and above the one half is his own composing." Mr. J. Bulman appears to have transmitted this version to Percy, to whom, upon another occasion, May 25, 1775, he sends "a bold imitation of the song, now lost, of the Laidler Worm (written by Duncan Frazier, the monk on Cheviot, in 1270), by a lady, Miss Graham of Gloriorum, in Northumberland;" of which nothing need be said.
'The Hagg Worm,' obtained from an old woman by Captain E. Grow.
1 Bambrough Castle 's a bonny place,
Built on a marble stone,
But long, long did the lady look
Eer her father came home.
2 She knotted the keys upon a string,
And with her she has them taen;
She cast them oer her left shoulder,
And to the gates she is gaen.
3 It fell out on a day the king
Brought his new lady home,
And all the lordlings in his realm
To welcome them did come.
4 'You'r welcome, father,' the lady cries,
'To your halls and your towers,
And so are you, good queen,' said she,
'For all that 's here is yours.'
5 'O who is this,' said the queen,
'That welcomes me so high?'
Up then spake a greyhaird man,
An ill dead may he dee!
'T is the kinges aie daughter,
The flower of the North Country.
6 'O woe betyde the[e], greyhaired man,
An ill dead may thou dee!
Had she been fairer then she is,
You might have excepted me.
7 'I'll liken her to a laidley worm,
That warps about the stone,
And not till Child of Wynd comes back
Shall she again be wonne.'
8 The lady stood at her bower-door,
A loud laughter took she:
'I hope your prayers will have no pith;
You took not God with ye.'
9 She calld on her waiting-maid
They calld her Dorothy
'The coffer that my gold lies in,
I leave to thee the key.
10 'Her hellish spells seize on my heart,
And quick will alter me;
For eer the seting sun is down
A laidler worm I'll be.'
11 Word 's gone east, and word 's gone west,
And word 's gone oer the sea,
There 's a laidler worm in Spindlestone Heughs
Will destroy the North Countree.
12 For seven miles east and seven miles west,
And seven miles north and south,
Nea blade of grass or corn will grow,
For the venom of her mouth.
13 To this day may be seen the cave
This monsterous worm embowered,
And the stone trough where seven cows' milk
She every day devoured.
14 Word 's gone east and word 's gone west,
Word oer the sea did go;
The Child of Wynd got wit of it,
Which filld his heart with woe.
15 'I have no sister but barely one,
I fear fair Margery!
I wish I was at Spindlestone Heughs,
This laidler worm to see.'
16 Up then spoke his eldest brother,
An angry man was he:
O thou art young, far over young,
To sail the stormy sea.
17 Peace, brother,' said the Child of Wynd,
'Dear brother, let me be;
For when we come to danger dire,
I must fight when you will flee.
18 'O let us build a bonny ship,
And set her in the sea;
The sails shall be of silken twine,
The masts of rowon-tree.'
19 They built a ship, the wind and tyde
Drave them along the deep;
At last they saw a stately tower,
On the rock high and steep.
20 The sea was smooth, the sky was clear;
As they approached nigher,
King Ida's castle well they knew,
And the banks of Balmburghshire.
21 The queen lookd thro her bower-window,
To see what she coud see,
And she espied a gallant ship
Come sailing along the sea.
22 She calld on her witch-women
To sink them in the main;
They hoisted up their silken sails,
And to Warren bridge they gane.
23 The worm lept up, the worm lept down,
She plaited round the stane,
And as the ship came to the land
She banged them off again.
24 The Child leapd in the shallow water
That flows oer Budle sand,
And when he drew his berry-brown sword
She suffered them to land.
25 When they came to Bamburg castle
They tirled at the ring;
'Who's that,' said the proud porter,
'That woud so fain be in?'
26 ' 'T is the king's son and Child of Wynd,
Who have long been oer the sea;
We come to see our sister dear,
The peirless Margery.'
27 'Heigh a ween, and Oh a ween!
A ween, a woe-ses me!
She 's a laidler worm at Spindlestone Heughs,
These seven years and three.'
28 They highed them stright to Spindleston Heughs
Grief added to their speed
Where out she came a laidler worm,
And strack their hearts with dread.
29 The Child drew out his berry-brown sword,
And waved it oer her head,
And cried, If thou . . .
. . .
30 'O quit thy sword, and bend thy bow,
And give me kisses three;
For if I am not wonne eer the sun goes down,
Wonne will I never be.'
31 He quit his sword, he bent his bow,
He gave her kisses three;
She threw out her fireballs,
And fiercely made them flee.
32 In she went, and out she came,
A laidley ask was she:
'Oh, tho I am a laidley ask,
No harm I'll do to thee.
33 'Oh quit thy sword, and bend thy bow,
And give me kisses three;
For if I am not wonne eer the sun goes down,
Wonne will I never be.'
34 He quit his sword, he bent his bow,
And gave her kisses three;
But she threw out her fireballs,
And fiercely made them flee.
35 In she went, and out she came,
A laidley adder was she;
['Oh, tho I am a laidley adder,
No harm I'll do to thee.]
36 'Oh quit thy sword, and bend thy bow,
And give me kisses three;
[For if I am not wonne eer the sun goes down,
Wonne will I never be.']
37 He quit his sword, he bent his bow,
He gave her kisses three;
She crept into the cave a snake,
But slept out a lady.
38 'O quit thy sword, unbend thy bow,
And give me kisses three;
For tho I am a lady fair,
I am ... to modesty.'
39 He took his mantle from his back,
And wrapd his sister in,
And thei 'r away to Hamburg Castle,
As fast as they coud winne.
40 His absence and her reptile form
The king had long deplored,
But now rejoiced to see them both
Again to him restored.
41 The queen he sought, who when he found
All quailed and sore affraid,
Because she knew her power must yield
To Child of Wynd, who said:
42 'O woe be to the[e], wicked woman,
An ill deed may thou dee!
As thou my sister likened,
So likened thou shalt be.
43 'I change thy body to a toad,
That on the earth doth wend,
And wonne, wonne shalt thou never be
Untill the world doth end!'
44 Now on the ground, near Ida's tower,
She crawls a loathsome toad,
And venom spits on every maid
She meets upon the road.
83. with have.
272. The correction to woe is is obvious, but, not knowing that there may not have been some such popular interjection as woe-ses, I leave it.
324. to three.
35. In she went, and-out she came,
A laidley adder was she:
'Oh quit thy sword, and bend thy bow,
And give me kisses three.'
She t[h]rew out her fire-balls, etc., is written between the second and third lines. There seems to be no occasion for a third discharge of fireballs; but indeed the fireballs should come before the kisses, anyway.
422. deed did thou.
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P. 307 b. Add 'Linden,' Kristensen's Skattegraveren, V, 50, No 455.
A princess in the form of a toad is kissed three times and so disenchanted: Revue des Traditions populaires, III, 475-6. A princess in the form of a black wolf must be kissed thrice to be disenchanted: Vernaleken, Alpensagen, p. 123. A princess persuades a man to attempt her release from enchantment. Three successive kisses are necessary. On the first occasion she appears as a serpent; he can kiss her but once. The second attempt is also unsuccessful; she appears as a salamander and is kissed twice. The third time she takes the form of a toad, and the three kisses are happily given. Luzel, in the Annuaire de la Soc. des Traditions populaires, II, 53. (G. L. K.)
--------------
P. 307 b. Second paragraph. 'Jomfruen i Linden,' Kristensen, Jyske Folkeminder, X, 22, No 10.
---------------
P. 309. From a manuscript collection of Charles Kirkpatrick Sharpe's, p. 2; "Second Collection," see Sharpe's Ballad Book, ed. 1880, p. 144. This copy closely resembles A.
1 Her mother died when she was young,
And was laid in the silent tomb;
The father weded the weel worst woman
This day that lives in Christiendom.
2 She served her with hands and feet,
In every way that well could be,
Yet she did once upon a day
Throw her in over a craig of sea.
3 Says, Ly you there, you dove Isabeal,
And let you never borrowed be
Till Kempenwine come ower the sea
And borrow you with kisses three;
Whatever any may do or say,
borrowed may you never be!
4 Her breath grew strong, and her hair grew long,
And twisted thrice about a tree,
And so hideous-like she did apear
That all who saw her from her did flee.
5 Now Kempenwine gat word of this
Where he was living beyond the sea;
He hied him straight unto that shoar,
The monstrous creature for to se.
6 Her breath was strong, and her hair was long,
And twisted was around the tree,
And with a swing she cried aloud,
Come to craig of sea and kiss with me.
7 'Here is a royal ring, ' she cried,
'That I have found in the green sea,
And while your finger it is on
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow this brand your death shall be.'
8 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal ring he brought him wi;
Her breath was strong, and [her] hair was long,
Yet twisted twice about the tree,
And with a swing she came about,
' Come to craig of sea and kiss with me.
9 'Here is a royal belt,' she cried,
'That I have found in the green sea,
And while your body it is on
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow this brand your death shall be.'
10 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal belt he brought him wee;
Her breath yet strong, her hair yet long,
Yet twisted once about the tree,
And with a swing she came about,
'Come to craig of sea and kiss with me.
11 'Here is a royal brand,' she cried,
'That I have found in the green sea,
And while your body it is on
Drawn shall your blood never be;
But if you touch me, tail or fin,
I vow my brand your death shall be.'
12 He stepped in, gave her a kiss,
The royal brand he brought him wee;
Her breath now soft, her hair now short,
And disengaged from the tree,
She fell into his arms two,
As fair a woman as ever could be.
Written in long lines, and not divided into stanzas.
82. him with.
64, 86, 106. Craig of sea.
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P. 307 f, II, 502 b, III, 504 a. Disenchantment; kissing a serpent. A remarkable case alleged to have occurred at Cesena in 1464: [Angelo de Tummulillis, Notabilia Temporum, ed. Corvisieri, 1890, p. 124 ff.;] Giornale Storico della Letteratura Italiana, XVII, 161. G.L.K. On the whole subject see R. Köhler's notes in Mennung, Der Bel Inconnu, p. 20; S. Prato's notes, Bulletin de Folklore, 1892, p. 333 f. [W.H. Schofield, Studies on the Libeaus Desconus, in Studies and Notes in Philology and Literature published under the direction of the Modern Language Departments of Harvard University, IV, 199 ff.]
Footnote for Additions and Corrections: Not for the first time. A stall-copy among the Percy papers is of the date 1772, and an edition of 1771, from Lambe's manuscript, is transcribed for Percy by Bulman.