No. 45: King John and the Bishop
[I've included the oldest text c. 1550 entitled, A Tale of Henry III and the Archbishop of Canterbury (A Tale of King John and the Archbishop of Canterbury) from the library of Corpus Christi College, Oxford- MS. 255. See: English and Other Versions, see also the attached article to Recordings & Info: A New Text of an Old Ballad by Roberta D. Cornelius.
You may listen to the following US version which was learned by Warde Ford from his mother in Wisconsin. See US and Canada Version for the text. [Listen to Warde Ford: The Bishop of Canterbury]
R. Matteson 2012]
CONTENTS:
1. Child's Narrative
2. Footnotes (added at the end of Child's Narration)
3. Brief (Kittredge)
4. Child's Ballad Texts A-B
5. Endnotes
6. Additions and Corrections
ATTACHED PAGES (see left hand column):
1. Recordings & Info: King John and the Bishop
A. Roud Number King John and the Bishop (Listings)
B. A New Text of an Old Ballad- Cornelius 1931
C. The Egyptian Prototype of King John and the Abbot
2. Sheet Music: (Bronson's texts and some music examples)
3. US & Canadian Versions
4. English and Other Versions (Including Child versions A-B with additional notes)]
Child's Narrative
A. 'Kinge John and Bishoppe,' Percy Manuscript, p. 184; Hales and Furnivall, I, 508.
B. 'King John and the Abbot of Canterbury,' broadside printed for P. Brooksby.
The broadside B was printed, with trifling variations, or corrections, in Pills to purge Melancholy, IV, 29 (1719), and in Old Ballads, II, 49 (1723). It is found in several of the collections: Pepys, II, 128, No 112; Roxburghe, III, 883; Ouvry, No 47; the Bagford; and it was among Heber's ballads. Brooksby published from 1672 to 1695, and B was "allowed" by Roger l'Estrange, who was licenser from 1663 to 1685: Chappell, The Roxburghe Ballads, I, xviii, xxiii. The title of B is A new ballad of King John and the Abbot of Canterbury, to the tune of 'The King and the Lord Abbot.'[1] This older ballad seems not to have come down.
There are at least two other broadsides extant upon the same subject, both mentioned by Percy, and both inferior even to B, and in a far less popular style: 'The King and the Bishop,' Pepys, I, 472, No 243, Roxburghe, III, 170, Douce, fol. 110; and 'The Old Abbot and King Olfrey,' Douce, II, fol. 169, Pepys, II, 127, No 111, printed in Old Ballads, II, 55.[2] In both of these the Shepherd is the Bishop's brother, which he is not in B; in A he is half-brother. Pepys's Penny Merriments contain, I, 14, 'The pleasant History of King Henry the Eighth and the Abbot of Reading.'[3] This last may, without rashness, be assumed to be a variation of 'King John and the Abbot.'
Percy admitted 'King John and the Abbot' to his Reliques, II, 302, introducing many lines from A "worth reviving," and many improvements of his own,[4] and thus making undeniably a very good ballad out of a very poor one.
The story of this ballad was told in Scotland, some fifty years ago, of the Gudeman of Ballengeigh, James the V, the hero of not a few other tales. Once on a time, falling in with the priest of Markinch (near Falkland), and finding him a dullard, he gave the poor man four questions to think of till they next met, with an intimation that his benefice would be lost were they not rightly answered. The questions were those of our ballad, preceded by Where is the middle of the earth? The parson could make nothing of them, and was forced to resort to a miller of the neighborhood, who was reputed a clever fellow. When called to answer the first question, the miller put out his staff, and said, There, as your majesty will find by measuring. The others were dealt with as in the ballad. The king said that the miller should have the parson's place, but the miller begged off from this in favor of the incumbent. Small, Interesting Roman Antiquities recently discovered in Fife, p. 289 ff.
Riddle stories in which a forfeit is to be paid by a vanquished party have incidentally been referred to under No 1 and No 2. They are a very extensive class. The oldest exampIe is that of Samson's riddle, with a stake of thirty sheets (or shirts) and thirty change of garments: Judges, xiv, 12 ff. Another from Semitic tradition is what is related of Solomon and Hiram of Tyre, in Josephus against Apion, I, 17, 18, and Antiquities, viii, 5. After the manner of Amasis and the Æthiopian king in Plutarch (see p. 13), they send one another riddles, with a heavy fine for failure, — in this case a pecuniary one. Solomon at first poses Hiram; then Hiram guesses Solomon's riddles, by the aid of Abdemon (or the son of Abdemon), and in turn poses Solomon with riddles devised by Abdemon.[5]
'Pá grönaliðheiði,' Landstad, p. 369, is a contest in riddles between two brothers (refreshingly original in some parts), introduced by three stanzas, in which it is agreed that the defeated party shall forfeit his share of their inheritance: and this the editor seems to take quite seriously.
Death is the penalty attending defeat in many of these wit-contests. Odin (Vafþruðnismál), jealous of the giant Vafþrúðnir's wisdom, wishes to put it to test. He enters the giant's hall, assuming the name of Gagnráðr, and announces the object of his visit. The giant tells him he shall never go out again unless he prove the wiser, asks a few questions to see whether he be worth contending with, and, finding him so, proposes a decisive trial, with their heads for the stake. Odin now propounds, first, twelve questions, mostly in cosmogony, and then five relating to the future of the universe; and all these the giant is perfectly competent to answer. The very unfair question is then put, What did Odin say in his son's ear ere Balder mounted the funeral pile? Upon this Vafþrûðnir owns himself vanquished, and we may be sure he was not spared by his antagonist.
The Hervarar saga contains a story which, in its outlines, approximates to that of our ballad until we come to the conclusion, where there is no likeness. King Heiðrekr, after a long career of blood, gave up war and took to law-making. He chose his twelve wisest men for judges, and swore, with one hand on the head and the other on the bristles of a huge hog which he had reared, that no man should do such things that he should not get justice from these twelve, while anyone who preferred might clear himself by giving the king riddles which he could not guess. There was a man named Gestr, and surnamed the Blind, a very bad and troublesome fellow, who had withheld from Heiðrekr tribute that was due. The king sent him word to come to him and submit to the judgment of the twelve: if he did not, the case would be tried with arms. Neither of these courses pleased Gestr, who was conscious of being very guilty: he took the resolution of making offerings to Odin for help. One night there was a knock. Gestr went to the door, and saw a man, who announced his name as Gestr. After mutual inquiries about the news, the stranger asked whether Gestr the Blind was not in trouble about something. Gestr the Blind explained his plight fully, and the stranger said, "I will go to the king and try what I can effect: we will exchange looks and clothes." The stranger, in the guise of Gestr, entered the king's hall, and said, Sire, I am come to make my peace. "Will you abide by the judgment of my men of law? " asked the king. "Are there not other ways?" inquired Gestr. "Yes: you shall give me riddles which I cannot guess, and so purchase your peace." Gestr assented, with feigned hesitation; chairs were brought, and everybody looked to hear something fine. Gestr gave, and Heiðrekr promptly answered, some thirty riddles.[6] Then said Gestr: Tell thou me this only, since thou thinkest to be wiser than all kings: What said Odin in Balder's ear before he was borne to the pile? "Shame and cowardice," exclaimed Heiðrekr, "and all manner of poltroonery, jugglery, goblinry! no one knows those words of thine save thou thyself, evil and wretched wight!" So saying, Heiðrekr drew Tyrfing, that never was bared but somebody must fall, to cut down Gestr. The disguised Odin changed to a hawk, and made for the window, but did not escape before Heiðrekr's sword had docked the bird's tail. For breaking his own truce Odin said Heiðrekr should die by the hand of a slave, which came to pass. Fornaldar Sögur, Rafn, I, 462 ff.
The same story has come down in a Färöe ballad, 'Gátu ríma,' Hammershaimb, Færöiske Kvæder, No 4, p. 26 (and previously published in the Antiquarisk Tidsskrift, 1849-51, pp 75-78), translated by Dr. Prior, I, 336 ff. Gest promises Odin twelve gold marks to take his place. The riddles are announced as thirteen in number, but the ballad is slightly defective, and among others the last question, What were Odin's words to Balder? is lost. Odin flies off in the shape of a falcon; Hejdrek and all his men are burned up.
A tale presenting the essential traits of our ballad is cited in Vincent of Beauvais's Speculum Morale, I, 4, 10, at the end. "We read, he says, of a king, who, seeking a handle for wrenching money out of a wealthy and wise man, put him three questions, apparently insoluble, intending to make him pay a large sum for not answering them: 1, Where is the middle point of the earth? 2, How much water is there in the sea? 3, How great is the mercy of God? On the appointed day, having been brought from prison into the presence to ransom himself if he could, the respondent, by the advice of a certain philosopher, proceeded thus. He planted his staff where he stood, and said, Here is the centre; disprove it if you can. If you wish me to measure the sea, stop the rivers, so that nothing may flow in till I have done; then I will give you the contents. To answer your third question, I must borrow your robes and your throne. Then mounting the throne, clothed with the royal insignia, "Behold," said he, "the height of the mercy of God: but now I was a slave, now I am a king; but now poor, and now rich; but now in prison and in chains, and now at liberty," etc.
Of the same stamp is a story in the English Gesta Romanorum, Madden, p. 55, No 19. A knight was accused to the emperor by his enemies, but not so as to give a plausible ground for steps against him. The emperor could hit upon no way but to put him questions, on pain of life and death. The questions were seven; the third and the sixth will suffice: How many gallons of salt water been in the sea? Answer: Let all the outpassings of fresh water be stopped, and I shall tell thee. How many days' journey beth in the circle of the world? Answer: Only the space of one day.
Much nearer to the ballad, and earlier than either of the preceding, is the Stricker's tale of Âmîs and the Bishop, in the Pfaffe Âmîs, dated at about 1236. AmIs, a learned and bountiful priest in England, excited the envy of his bishop, who sent for him, told him that he lived in better style than his superior, and demanded a subvention. The priest flatly refused to give the bishop anything but a good dinner. "Then you shall lose your church," said the bishop in wrath. But the priest, strong in a good conscience, felt small concern about that: he said the bishop might test his fitness with any examination he pleased. That I will do, said the bishop, and gave him five questions. "How much is there in the sea?" "One tun," answered Âmîs; "and if you think I am not right, stop all the rivers that flow in, and I will measure it and convince you." "Let the rivers run," said the bishop. "How many days from Adam to our time?" "Seven," said the parson; " for as soon as seven are gone, they begin again." The bishop, fast losing his temper, next demanded "What is the exact middle of the earth? Tell me, or lose your church." "Why, my church stands on it," replied Âmîs. "Let your men measure, and take the church if it prove not so." The bishop declined the task, and asked once more: How far is it from earth to sky? and then: What is the width of the sky? to which Âmîs replied after the same fashion.
In this tale of the Stricker the parson answers for himself, and not by deputy, and none of the questions are those of our ballad. But in a tale of Franco Sacchetti,[7] given in two forms, Novella iva, we have both the abbot and his humble representative, and an agreement as to one of the questions. Bernabò Visconti († 1385) was offended with a rich abbot, who had neglected some dogs that had been entrusted to his care, and was minded to make the abbot pay him a fine; but so far yielded to the abbot's protest as to promise to release him from all penalties if he could answer four questions: How far is it from here to heaven? How much water is there in the sea? What is going on in hell? What is the value of my person? A day was given to get up the answers. The abbot went home, in the depths of melancholy, and met on the way one of his millers, who inquired what was the matter, and, after receiving an explanation, offered to take the abbot's place, disguising himself as well as he could. The answers to the two first questions are not the usual ones: huge numbers are given, and the seigneur is told to measure for himself, if not willing to accept them. The answer to the fourth is twenty-nine deniers; for our Lord was sold for thirty, and you must be worth one less than he. Messer Bernabò said the miller should be abbot, and the abbot miller, from that time forth. Sacchetti says that others tell the story of a pope and an abbot, adding one question. The gardener of the monastery presents the abbot, makes the usual answer to the second question as to the water in the sea, and prizes Christ's vicar at twenty-eight deniers.
The excellent old farce, "Ein Spil von einem Kaiser und eim Apt," Fastnachtspiele aus dem 15n Jahrhundert, I, 199, No 22, obliges the abbot to answer three questions, or pay for all the damages done in the course of a calamitous invasion. The abbot has a week's grace allowed him. The questions are three: How much water in the sea? How much is the emperor worth? Whose luck came quickest? The miller answers for the abbot: Three tubs, if they are big enough; eight and twenty pence; and he is the man whose luck came quickest, for just before he was a miller, now he is an abbot. The emperor says that, since the miller has acted for the abbot, abbot he shall be.
Very like this, as to the form of the story, is the anecdote in Pauli's Schimpf und Ernst, LV, p. 46, ed. Oesterley (c. 1522). A nobleman, who is seeking an occasion to quarrel with an abbot, tells him that he must answer these questions in three days, or be deposed: What do you value me at? Where is the middle of the world? How far apart are good and bad luck? A swineherd answers for him: Since Christ was sold for thirty pence, I rate the emperor at twenty-nine and you at twenty-eight; my church is the mid-point of the world, and, if you will not believe me, measure for yourself; good and bad luck are but one night apart, for yesterday I was a swineherd, to-day I am an abbot. Then, says the nobleman, an abbot shall you stay. With this agrees, say the Grimms, the tale in Eyring's Proverbiorum Copia (1601), I, 165-168, III, 23-25.
Waldis, Esopus (1548), B. 3, Fabel 92, Kurz, I, 382, agrees in general with Pauli: but in place of the first two questions has these three: How far is to heaven? How deep is the sea? How many tubs will hold all the sea-water? The answers are: A short day's journey, for Christ ascended in the morning and was in heaven before night; a stone's cast; one tub, if large enough.
Teofilo Folengo (1491-1544), as pointed out by Köhler, has the story in the 8th canto of his Orlandino; and here we find the third question of our ballad. There are three besides: How far from earth to heaven? From the east to the west? — a modification of the second question in the ballad; How many drops of water in the seas about Italy? The abbot's cook, Marcolf, answers to the first, One leap, as proved by Satan's fall; to the second, One day's journey, if the sun is to be trusted; and insists that, for a correct count under the third, all the rivers shall first be stopped. To the fourth he makes the never-stale reply, You think I am the abbot, but I am the cook. Rainero says he shall remain abbot, and the abbot the cook. (Stanzas 38, 39, 64-69, pp 186 f, 195 ff, London edition of 1775.)
A capital Spanish story, 'Gramatica Parda, Trueba, Cuentos Populares, p. 287, has all three of the questions asked and answered as in our ballad. There is a curate who sets up to know everything, and the king, "el rey que rabió," has found him out, and gives him a month to make his three answers, with a premium and a penalty. The curate is forced to call in a despised goatherd, who also had all along seen through the shallowness of the priest. The king makes the goatherd "archipámpano " of Seville, and condemns the curate to wear the herdsman's garb and tend his goats for a month.[8]
The first and third questions of the ballad are found in the thirty-eighth tale of Le Grand Parangon des Nouvelles Nouvelles of Nicolas de Troyes, 1536 (ed. Mabille, p. 155 ff); in the Patrañuelo of Juan de Timoneda, 1576, Pat. 14, Novelistas anteriores á Cervantes, in the Rivadeneyra Biblioteca, p. 154 f; and in the Herzog Heinrich Julius von Braunschweig's comedy, Von einem Edelman welcher einem Abt drey Fragen auffgegeben, 1594, ed. Holland, p. 500 ff. The other question is as to the centre of the earth, and the usual answers are given by the abbot's miller, cook, servant, except that in Timoneda the cook is so rational as to say that the centre must be under the king's feet, seeing that the world is as round as a ball.[9] The question Where is the middle of the earth? is replaced by How many stars are there in the sky? the other two remaining, in Balthasar Schupp, Schriften, Franckfurt, 1701, I, 91 f (Köhler), and in Gottlieb Cober († 1717), Cabinet-prediger, 2r Theil, No 65, p. 323 (Gräter, Idunna u. Hermode, 1814, No 33, p. 131, and p. 87). The abbot's miller gives a huge number, and bids the king (of France) verify it, if he wishes. This last is no doubt the version of the story referred to by the Grimms in their note to K. u. H. märchen, No 152.
We encounter a slight variation, not for the better, in L'Élite des Contes du Sieur d'Ouville († 1656 or 1(57), Rouen, 1699, I, 241; à la Haye, 1703, I, 296; ed. Ristelhuber, 1876, p. 46 (Köhler); Nouveaux Contes à Rire, Cologne, 1709, p. 266; Contes à Rire, Paris, 1781, I, 184. An ignorant and violent nobleman threatens a parson, who plumes himself on a little astrology, that he will expose him as an impostor if he does not answer four questions: Where is the middle of the world? What am I worth? What am I thinking? What do I believe? The village miller answers for the curé. The reply to the third question is, You are thinking more of your own interest than of mine; the others as before. This story is retold, after tradition, by Cénac Moncaut, Contes populaires de la Gascogne, p. 50, of a marquis, archiprêtre, and miller. The query, What am I thinking of? with the answer, More of your interest than of mine (which is not exactly in the popular manner), is replaced by a logical puzzle, not found elsewhere: Quel est le nombre qui se trouve renfermé dans deux œufs?
The King and the Abbot is preserved, in modern German tradition, in this form. An emperor, riding by a cloister, reads the inscription, We are two farthings poorer than the emperor, and live free of cares. Wait a bit, says the emperor, and I will give you some cares. He sends for the abbot, and says, Answer these three questions in three days, or I will depose you. The questions are, How deep is the sea? How many stars in the sky? How far from good luck to bad? The shepherd of the monastery gives the answers, and is told, as in several cases before, If you are the abbot, abbot you shall be. J.W. Wolf, Hessische Sagen, p. 166, No 262, II. 'Gustav Adolf und der Abt von Benediktbeuern,' in Sepp's Altbayerischer Sagenschatz, p. 554, No 153, is another form of the same story, with a substitution of How far is it to heaven? for the first question, and the answers are given by a kitchie-boy.[10] In 'Hans ohne Sorgen,' Meier, Deutsche Volksmärchen aus Schwaben, p. 305, the questions are, How far is it to heaven? How deep is the sea? How many leaves has a linden? and the shepherd again undertakes the answers.[11] 'Der Muller ohne Sorgen,' Müllenhoff, p. 153, 208, is a mutilated variation of these. The abbot disappears, and the questions are put to the miller, who answers for himself. The second question is How much does tbe moon weigh? and the answer, Four quarters; if you don't believe it, you must weigh for yourself.
We meet the miller sans souci again in a Danish tale, which otherwise agrees entirely with our ballad. The questions are answered by the rich miller's herdsman: Grundtvig, Gamle danske Minder, 1854, p. 112, No 111.
A Croatian version of the story is given by Valyavets, 'Frater i turski car,' p. 262. The Turkish tsar is disposed to expel all monks from his dominions, but determines first to send for an abbot to try his calibre. The abbot is too much frightened to go, and his cook, as in Foligno and Timoneda, takes his place. The questions are, Where is the centre of the world? What is God doing now? What am I thinking? The first and third are disposed of in the usual way. When called to answer the second, the cook said, You can't see through the ceiling: we must go out into the field. When they came to the field, the cook said again, How can I see when I am on such a small ass? Let me have your horse. The sultan consented to exchange beasts, and then the cook said, God is wondering that a sultan should be sitting on an ass and a monk on a horse. The sultan was pleased with the answers, and reasoning, If the cook is so clever, what must the abbot be, decided to let the monks alone. Afanasief, who cites this story from Valyavets (Narodnuiya russkiya Skazki, VIII, 460), says that he heard in the government of Voroneje a story of a soldier who dressed himself as a monk and presented himself before a tsar who was in the habit of puzzling people with riddles. The questions are, How many drops in the sea? How many stars in the sky? What do I think? And the answer to the last is, Thou thinkest, gosudar, that I am a monk, but I am merely a soldier.[12]
A few tales, out of many remaining, may be now briefly mentioned, on account of variations in the setting.
A prisoner is to be released if he can tell a queen how much she is worth, the centre of the world, and what she thinks. A peasant changes clothes with the prisoner, and answers pro more. Kurtzweiliger Zeitvertreiber durch C. A. M. von W., 1668, p. 70 f, in Köhler, Orient u. Occident, I, 43.
A scholar has done learning. His master says he must now answer three questions, or have his head taken off. The master's brother, a miller, comes to his aid. The questions are, How many ladders would reach to the sky? Where is the middle of the world? What is the world worth? Or, according to another tradition, the two last are, How long will it take to go round the world? What is my thought? Campbell, Popular Tales of the West Highlands, II, 391 f.
Eulenspiegel went to Prague, and advertised himself on the doors of the churches and lecture-rooms as a great master, capable of answering questions that nobody else could solve. To put him down, the rector and his colleagues summoned Eulenspiegel to an examination before the university. Five questions were given him: How much water is there in tbe sea? How many days from Adam to now? Where is the middle of the world? How far from earth to heaven? What is the breadth of the sky? Lappenberg, Dr. Thomas Murners Ulenspiegel, p. 38, No 28; Howleglas, ed. Ouvry, p. 28.
A herdboy had a great fame for his shrewd answers. The king did not believe in him, but sent for him, and said, If you can answer three questions that I shall put, I will regard you as my own child, and you shall live in my palace. The questions are, How many drops of water are there in the ocean? How many stars in the sky? How many seconds in eternity? The Grimms, K. u. H. märchen, No 152, 'Das Hirtenbüblein.'
Three questions are put to a counsellor of the king's, of which the first two are, Where does the sun rise? How far from heaven to earth? The answers, by a shepherd, are extraordinarily feeble. Jüdisches Maasäbuch, cap. 126, cited from Helwigs Jüdische Historien, No 39, in the Grimms' note to Das Hirtenbüblein.
Three monks, who know everything, in the course of their travels come to a sultan's dominions, and he invites them to turn Mussulmans. This they agree to do if he will answer their questions. All the sultan's doctors are convened, but can do nothing with the monks' questions. The hodja (the court-fool) is sent for. The first question, Where is the middle of the earth? is answered as usual. The second monk asks, How many stars are there in the sky? The answer is, As many as there are hairs on my ass. Have you counted? ask the monks. Have you counted? rejoins the fool. Answer me this, says the same monk, and we shall see if your number is right: How many hairs are there in my beard? "As many as in my ass's tail" "Prove it." "My dear man, if you don't believe me, count yourself; or we will pull all the hairs out of both, count them, and settle the matter." The monks submit, and become Mussulmans. Les plaisanteries de Nasr-eddin Hodja, traduites du turc par J. A. Decourdemanche, No 70, p. 59 ff.
The Turkish emperor sends word to Kaiser Leopold that unless the emperor can answer three questions he shall come down upon him with all his Turks. The counsellors are summoned, but there is no help in them. The court-fool offers to get his master out of the difficulty, if he may have the loan of crown and sceptre. When the fool comes to Constantinople, there lies the sultan in the window, and calls out, Are you the emperor, and will you answer my questions? Where does the world end? "Here, where my horse is standing." How far is it to heaven? "One day's journey, and no inn on the road." What is God thinking of now? "He is thinking that I am one fool and you another." J. W. Wolf, Hessische Sagen, p. 165, No 2621.[13]
For the literature, see especially the Grimms' Kinder und Hausmärchen, notes to No 152; R. Köhler in Orient und Occident, 1,439-41; Oesterley's note to Pauli's Schimpf und Ernst, No 55, p. 479.
Translated, after Percy's Reliques, II, 302, 1765, by Bodmer, II, 111; by Doenniges, p. 152; by Ritter, Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen, XXII, 222. Retold by Bürger, 'Der Kaiser und der Abt,' Göttinger Musenalmanach für 1785, p. 177.
Footnotes:
1. A New Ballad of King John and the Abbot of Canterbury. To the Tune of The King and the Lord Abbot. With allowance. Ro. L'Estrange. Printed for P. Brooksby at the Golden Ball in Pye-corner.
2. The King and the Bishop, or,
Unlearned Men hard matters out can find
When Learned Bishops Princes eyes do blind.
To the Tune of Chievy Chase. Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright (1655-80). Printed for J. Wright, Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passenver.
The Old Abbot and King Olfrey. To the tune of the Shaking of the Sheets. Printed by and for A.M., and sold by the booksellers of London.
J. Wright's date is 1650-82, T. Passinger's, 1670-82. Chappell.
3. The King and the Bishop, or,
Unlearned Men hard matters out can find
When Learned Bishops Princes eyes do blind.
To the Tune of Chievy Chase. Printed for F. Coles, T. Vere, and J. Wright (1655-80). Printed for J. Wright, Clarke, W. Thackeray, and T. Passinger.
The Old Abbot and King Olfrey. To the tune of the Shaking of the Sheets. Printed by and for A.M., and sold by the booksellers of London.
J. Wright's date is 1650-82, T. Passinger's, 1670-82. Chappell.
4. Printed by J.M. for C.D., at the Stationers Armes within Aldgate. C.D. is, no doubt, C. Dennison, who published 1685-89. See Chappell, The Roxburgbe Ballads, I, xix.
5. This story serves as a gloss on 2 Chronicles, ii, 13, 14, where Hiram sends Solomon a cunning Tyrian, skilful to find out every device which shall be put to him by the cunning men of Jerusalem. The Queen of Sheba's hard questions to Solomon, not specified in I Kings, x, 1-13, were, according to tradition, of the same general character as the Indian ones spoken of at p. 12. See Hertz, Die Rätsel der Königin von Saba, Zeitschrift für deutsches Altertum, XXVII, 1 ff.
6. These are proper riddles, and of a kind still current in popular tradition. See, e.g., Svend Vonved, Grundtvig, I, 237 f. There are thirty-five, before the last, in the oldest text, given, with a translation, by Vigfusson and Powell, Corpus Poetieum Boreale, 'King Heidrek's Riddles,' I, 86 ff.
7. Sacchetti's life extcnded beyond 1400, or perhaps beyond 1410.
8. The form of the third question is slightly varied at first ¿Cuál es el error en que yo estoy pensando? But when put to the herdsman the question is simply ¿En qué estoy yo pensando? I was pointed to this story by Seidemann, in Archiv für Litteraturgeschichte, IX, 423. Trneba's C. P. forms vol. 19 of Brockhaus's Coleccion de Autores Españoles.
9. The editor of the Grand Parangon, at p. xiii, cites from an older source an anecdote of a king insisting upon being told how much he ought to bring if offered for sale. While his courtiers are giving flattering replies, a fool leaps forward and says, 'twenty-nine deniers, and no more; for if you were worth thirty, that would be autant que le tout-puissant Dieu valut, quant il fut vendu. The king took this answer to heart, and repented of his vanities. So an emperor is converted by this reply from a man-at-arms, Van den verwenden Keyser, Jan van Hollant, c. 1400, Willems, Belgisch Museum, X, 57; Thijm, p. 145. The like question and answer, as a riddle, in a German Manuscript of the fifteenth ceutury, and in Questions énigmatiques, Lyon, 1619; Köhler, in Weimarisches Jahrbuch, V, 354 ff.
10. In Prussia Frederick the Great plays the part of Gustavus. Sepp, p. 558.
11. Another Swabian story, in Meier, No 28, p. 99, is a mixed form. The Duke of Swabia reads "Hans sans cares" over a miller's house-door, and says, "Bide a wee: if you have no cares, I will give you some." The duke, to give the miller a taste of what care is, says he must solve this riddle or lose his mill: Come to me neither by day nor by night, neither naked nor clothed, neither on foot nor on horseback. The miller promises his man his daughter in marriage and the mill in succession, if he will help him out of his dilemma. The man at once says, Go on Mid-week, for Mid-week is no day (Mitt-woch ist ja gar kein Tag, wie Sonn-tag, Mon-tag), neither is it night; and if you are to be neither clothed nor bare, put on a fishing-net; and if you are to go neither on foot nor on horseback, ride to him on an ass. All but the beginning of this is derived from the cycle of 'The Clever Wench: ' see No 2. Haltrich, Deutsche Volksmärchen in Siebenbürgen, No 45, which is also of this cycle, has taken up a little of 'Hans ohne Sorgen: A church ha an inscription, Wir leben obne Sorgen. This vexes the king, who says as before, Just wait, and I will give you reason for cares, p. 244, ed. 1856.
12. These two stories were communicated to me by Mr. Ralston
13. In the beginning there is a clear trace of the Oriental tales of 'The Clever Lass' cycle.
Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge
Version B was printed for P. Brooksby, who published from 1672 to 1695. It was "allowed" by Roger L'Estrange, who was licenser from 1663 to 1685. The title of B is 'A New Ballad of King John and the Abbot of Canterbury. To the Tune of The King and the Lord Abbot.' The older ballad seems not to have come down.
The story is apparently of Oriental origin. The oldest known version was discovered by Professor C. C. Torrey in the Conquest of Egypt, an Arabic historical work of about 850 A. D., and is thought by him to be "a genuine bit of Coptic folk-lore," current in Egypt long before the Arab invasion in the seventh century. In this tale a wicked king gives his vezirs certain questions: if they answer them, he promises to increase their pay; if they fail, he will cut off their heads. They are assisted by a potter, who disguises himself as a vezir and tricks the king (Journal of the American Oriental Society, xx, 209). There are a multitude of other versions, Oriental and Occidental. Among those which resemble the ballad closely may be mentioned the Middle High German tale of Âmîs and the Bishop, in the Strieker's Pfaffe Âmîs (about 1236) , and the fourth novella of Sacchetti. In the latter we have the prizing of the questioner at twenty-nine deniers, as in the English. Riddle stories in which a forfeit is to be paid by the vanquished party are a very extensive class. The oldest example is that of Samson's riddle in Judges xiv, 12 if. Death is often the penalty, as in the Poetic Edda (Vafprúðnismál).
Child's Ballad Texts A-B
Kinge John and Bishoppe- Version A; Child 45 King John and the Bishop
Percy Manuscript, p. 184. Hales and Furnivall, I, 508.
1 Off an ancient story Ile tell you anon,
Of a notable prince that was called King Iohn,
In England was borne, with maine and with might;
Hee did much wrong and mainteined litle right.
2 This noble prince was vexed in veretye,
For he was angry with the Bishopp of Canterbury;
Ffor his house-keeping and his good cheere,
Th rode post for him, as you shall heare.
3 They rode post for him verry hastilye;
The king sayd the bishopp kept a better house then hee:
A hundred men euen, as I [have heard] say,
The bishopp kept in his house euerye day,
And fifty gold chaines, without any doubt,
In veluett coates waited the bishopp about.
4 The bishopp, he came to the court anon,
Before his prince that was called King Iohn.
As soone as the bishopp the king did see,
'O,' quoth the king, 'Bishopp, thow art welcome to mee.
There is noe man soe welcome to towne
As thou that workes treason against my crowne'
5 'My leege,' quoth the bishopp, 'I wold it were knowne
I spend, your grace, nothing but that that's my owne;
I trust your grace will doe me noe deare
For spending my owne trew gotten geere.'
6 'Yes,' quoth the king, 'Bishopp, thou must needs dye,
Eccept thou can answere mee questions three;
Thy head shalbe smitten quite from thy bodye,
And all thy liuing remayne vnto mee.
7 'First,' quoth the king, 'Tell me in this steade,
With this crowne of gold heere vpon my head,
Amongst my nobilitye, with ioy and much mirth,
Lett me know within one pennye what I am worth.
8 'Secondlye, tell me without any dowbt
How soone I may goe the whole world about;
And thirdly, tell mee or euer I stinte,
What is the thing, bishopp, that I doe thinke.
Twenty dayes pardon thoust haue trulye,
And come againe and answere mee.'
9 The bishopp bade the king god night att a word;
He rode betwixt Cambridge and Oxenford,
But neuer a doctor there was soe wise
Cold shew him these questions or enterprise.
10 Wherewith the bishopp was nothing gladd,
But in his hart was heauy and sadd,
And hyed him home to a house in the countrye,
To ease some part of his melanchollye.
11 His halfe-brother dwelt there, was feirce and fell,
Noe better but a shepard to the bishoppe himsell;
The shepard came to the bishopp anon,
Saying, My Lord, you are welcome home!
12 'What ayles you,' quoth the shepard, 'that you are soe sadd,
And had wonte to haue beene soe merry and gladd?'
'Nothing,' quoth the bishopp, 'I ayle att this time;
Will not thee availe to know, brother mine.'
13 'Brother,' quoth the shepeard, 'you haue heard itt,
That a foole may teach a wisemane witt;
Say me therfore whatsoeuer you will,
And if I doe you noe good, Ile doe you noe ill.'
14 Quoth the bishop: I haue beene att the court anon,
Before my prince is called King Iohn,
And there he hath charged mee
Against his crowne with traitorye.
15 If I cannott answer his misterye,
Three questions hee hath propounded to mee,
He will haue my land soe faire and free,
And alsoe the head from my bodye.
16 The first question was, to tell him in that stead,
With the crowne of gold vpon his head,
Amongst his nobilitye, with ioy and much mirth,
To lett him know within one penye what hee is worth.
17 And secondlye, to tell him with-out any doubt
How soone he may goe the whole world about;
And thirdlye, to tell him, or ere I stint,
What is the thinge that he does thinke.
18 'Brother,' quoth the shepard, 'you are a man of learninge;
What neede you stand in doubt of soe small a thinge?
Lend me,' quoth the shepard, 'your ministers apparrell,
Ile ryde to the court and answere your quarrell.
19 'Lend me your serving men, say me not nay,
With all your best horsses that ryd on the way;
Ile to the court, this matter to stay;
Ile speake with King Iohn and heare what heele say.'
20 The bishopp with speed prepared then
To sett forth the shepard with horsse and man;
The shepard was liuely without any doubt;
I wott a royall companye came to the court.
21 The shepard hee came to the court anon
Before [his] prince that was called King Iohn.
As soone as the king the shepard did see,
'O,' quoth the king, 'Bishopp thou art welcome to me.'
The shepard was soe like the bishopp his brother,
The king cold not know the one from the other.
22 Quoth the king, Bishopp, thou art welcome to me
If thou can answer me my questions three.
Said the shepeard, If it please your grace,
Show mee what the first quest[i]on was.
23 'First,' quoth the king, 'Tell mee in this stead,
With the crowne of gold vpon my head,
Amongst my nobilitye, with ioy and much mirth,
Within one pennye what I am worth.'
24 Quoth the shepard, To make your grace noe offence,
I thinke you are worth nine and twenty pence;
For our Lord Iesus, that bought vs all,
For thirty pence was sold into thrall
Amongst the cursed Iewes, as I to you doe showe;
But I know Christ was one penye better then you.
25 Then the king laught, and swore by St Andrew
He was not thought to bee of such a small value.
'Secondlye, tell mee with-out any doubt
How soone I may goe the world round about.'
26 Saies the shepard, It is noe time with your grace to scorne,
But rise betime with the sun in the morne,
And follow his course till his vprising,
And then you may know without any leasing.
27 And this [to] your grace shall proue the same,
You are come to the same place from whence you came;
[In] twenty-four houres, with-out any doubt,
Your grace may the world goe round about;
The world round about, euen as I doe say,
If with the sun you can goe the next way.
28 'And thirdlye tell me or euer I stint,
What is the thing, bishoppe, that I doe thinke.'
'That shall I doe,' quoth the shepeard; 'For veretye,
You thinke I am the bishopp of Canterburye.'
29 'Why, art not thou? the truth tell to me;
For I doe thinke soe,' quoth the king, 'By St Marye.'
'Not soe,' quoth the shepeard; 'The truth shalbe knowne,
I am his poore shepeard; my brother is att home.'
30 'Why,' quoth the king, 'if itt soe bee,
Ile make thee bishopp here to mee.'
'Noe, Sir,' quoth the shepard, 'I pray you be still,
For Ile not bee bishop but against my will;
For I am not fitt for any such deede,
For I can neither write nor reede.'
31 'Why then,' quoth the king, 'Ile giue thee cleere
A pattent of three hundred pound a yeere;
That I will giue thee franke and free;
Take thee that, shepard, for coming to me.
32 'Free pardon Ile giue,' the kings grace said,
'To saue the bishopp, his land and his head;
With him nor thee Ile be nothing wrath;
Here is the pardon for him and thee both.'
33 Then the shepard he had noe more to say,
But tooke the pardon and rode his way:
When he came to the bishopps place,
The bishopp asket anon how all things was.
34 'Brother,' quoth the shepard, 'I haue well sped,
For I haue saued both your land and your head;
The king with you is nothing wrath,
For heere is the pardon for you and mee both.'
35 Then the bishopes hart was of a merry cheere:
'Brother, thy paines Ile quitt them cleare;
For I will giue thee a patent to thee and to thine
Of fifty pound a yeere, land good and fine.'
36 . . . . . .
. . . .
'I will to thee noe longer croche nor creepe,
Nor Ile serue thee noe more to keepe thy sheepe.'
37 Whereeuer wist you shepard before,
That had in his head witt such store
To pleasure a bishopp in such a like case,
To answer three questions to the kings grace?
Whereeuer wist you shepard gett cleare
Three hundred and fifty pound a yeere?
38 I neuer hard of his fellow before.
Nor I neuer shall: now I need to say noe more.
I neuer knew shepeard that gott such a liuinge
But David, the shepeard, that was a king.
-----------------
'King John and the Abbot of Canterbury'- Version B; Child 45 King John and the Bishop
Broadside, printed for P. Brooksby, at the Golden Ball in Pye-corner (1672-95).
1 I'll tell you a story, a story anon,
Of a noble prince, and his name was King John;
For he was a prince, and a prince of great might,
He held up great wrongs, he put down great right.
Derry down, down hey, derry down
2 I'll tell you a story, a story so merry,
Concerning the Abbot of Canterbury,
And of his house-keeping and high renown,
Which made him resort to fair London town.
Derry down, down hey, derry down
3 'How now, father abbot? 'Tis told unto me
That thou keepest a far better house than I;
And for [thy] house-keeping and high renown,
I fear thou has treason against my crown.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
4 'I hope, my liege, that you owe me no grudge
For spending of my true-gotten goods:'
'If thou dost not answer me questions three,
Thy head shall be taken from thy body.
Derry down, down hey, derry down
5 'When I am set so high on my steed,
With my crown of gold upon my head,
Amongst all my nobility, with joy and much mirth,
Thou must tell me to one penny what I am worth.
Derry down, down hey, derry down
6 'And the next question you must not flout,
How long I shall be riding the world about;
And the third question thou must not shrink,
But tell to me truly what I do think.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
7 'O these are hard questions for my shallow wit,
For I cannot answer your grace as yet;
But if you will give me but three days space,
I'll do my endeavor to answer your grace.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
8 'O three days space I will thee give,
For that is the longest day thou hast to live.
And if thou dost not answer these questions right,
Thy head shall be taken from thy body quite.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
9 And as the shepherd was going to his fold,
He spy'd the old abbot come riding along:
'How now, master abbot? You'r welcome home;
What news have you brought from good King John?'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
10 'Sad news, sad news I have thee to give,
For I have but three days space for to live;
If I do not answer him questions three,
My head will be taken from my body.
Derry down, down hey, derry down
11 'When he is set so high on his steed,
With his crown of gold upon his head,
Amongst all his nobility, with joy and much mirth,
I must tell him to one penny what he is worth.
Derry down, down hey, derry down
12 'And the next question I must not flout,
How long he shall be riding the world about;
And the third question I must not shrink,
But tell him truly what he does think.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
13 'O master, did you never hear it yet,
That a fool may learn a wiseman wit?
Lend me but your horse and your apparel,
I'll ride to fair London and answer the quarrel.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
14 'Now I am set so high on my steed,
With my crown of gold upon my head,
Amongst all my nobility, with joy and much mirth,
Now tell me to one penny what I am worth.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
15 'For thirty pence our Saviour was sold,
Amongst the false Jews, as you have been told,
And nine and twenty's the worth of thee,
For I think thou are one penny worser than he.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
16 'And the next question thou mayst not flout;
How long I shall be riding the world about.'
'You must rise with the sun, and ride with the same,
Until the next morning he rises again,
And then I am sure you will make no doubt
But in twenty-four hours you'l ride it about.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
17 'And the third question you must not shrink,
But tell me truly what I do think.'
'All that I can do, and 'twill make you merry;
For you think I'm the Abbot of Canterbury,
But I'm his poor shepherd, as you may see,
And am come to beg pardon for he and for me.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
18 The king he turned him about and did smile,
Saying, Thou shalt be the abbot the other while:
'O no, my grace, there is no such need,
For I can neither write nor read.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
19 'Then four pounds a week will I give unto thee
For this merry jest thou hast told unto me;
And tell the old abbot, when thou comest home,
Thou hast brought him a pardon from good King John.'
Derry down, down hey, derry down
End-Notes
A. Not divided into stanzas in the Manuscript.
33, 35, 62, 85, 152, 222, 244, 273, 312, 374. Arabic numerals are expressed in letters.
141. thy court.
242. worth 29 pence.
312. patten.
314. earning
354. 50li.
376. 350li.
B. 51, 111, 141. on my [hisJ steed so high.
71. my show.
111. sat.
123. thou must.
194. K. John
Additions and Corrections
P. 410. Translated after Percy's Reliques also by von Marées, p. 7, No 2.
503 a, fifth paragraph (ring stories). Add: W. Freiherr von Tettau, Ueber einige bis jetzt unbekannte Erfurter Drueke, u.s.w., Jahrbücher der königlichen Akademie zu Erfurt, Neue Folge, Heft VI, S. 291, at the end of an excellent article on Ritter Morgeners Wallfahrt. (Köhler.)
P. 404 a. The Two Noble Kinsmen, V, ii, 67, 68,
Daughter. How far is 't now to the end o the world, my masters?
Doctor. Why, a day's journey, wench.
(G. L. K.)
404 b. Death the penalty for not guessing riddles. There is no occasion to accumulate examples, but this Oriental one is worth mentioning. In the tale of Gôsht-i Fryânð, Akht, the sorcerer, will give three and thirty riddles to Gôsht, and if Gôsht shall give no answer, or say, I know not, he will slay him. After answering all the riddles, Gôsht says he will give Akht three on the same terms, and the sorcerer, failing to solve them, is slain. Ardâ-Vîrâf, Pahlavî text, etc., Haug and West, Bombay and London, 1872, pp. 250, 263 f. This tale Köhler has shown to be one with that of the fine Kirghish lay 'Die Lerche,' in Radloff, Proben der Volkslitteratur der turkiscben Stamme Süd-Sibiriens, III, 780: see Zeitschrift der deutschen morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, XIX, 633 ff.
Additions to the literature, by Dr. R. Köhler.
405 b. The tale cited by Vfncent of Beauvais is told by Étienne de Bourbon, A. Lecoy de la Marche, Anecdotes historiques, légendes et apologues, tirés du recueil inédit d'Étienne de Bourbon, No 86.
In an as yet unprinted fifteenth-century Low German poem on the Seven Deadly Sins (Josefs Gedicht von den sieben Todsünden ... nach der Handschrift bekannt gemacht von Dr. Babucke, Oster-Programm des Progymnasiums zu Norden, 1874, p. 18), a king puts an abbot four questions:
De erste vraghe was, wor dat ertrike wende
Unn were hoghi'st, eft he dat kende;
De ander, wor dat unghelucke queme
Unn bleve, wan dat eyn ende neme;
Dat drtidde, wo gr.d de konig were na rade
Wan he stunde in synem bestcn wade;
De verde, we syner eldermoder beneme
De maghedom unn dar wedder in greme.
The abbot's swineherd, named Reyneke, answers:
Die erste vraghe, wor de erdc hoyhest were,
Reyneke sede: In deme hemmel konimet, here,
By dem vadere Cristus syn vordere hant,
Dar is de hoghe unn keret de erde bekant.
De andere, wor dat lucke ghinghe an,
Dar moste dat ungelucke wenden unn stan,
Unn kende nerghen vorder komen.
Dat hebbe ik by my sulven vornomen:
Ghisterne was ik eyn sweyn, nu bin ik beschoren,
Undo byn to eyneme heren koren.
The replies to the third and fourth questions are wanting through the loss of some leaves of the Manuscript As to the first question, compare the legend of St. Andrew, Legenda Aurea, ed. Grasse, p. 21, ubi terra sit altior omni coelo; to which the answer is made, in coelo empyreo, ubi residet corpus Christi. See, also, Gering, Íslendzk Æventýri, Mo 24, I, 95, II, 77, and note. For the fourth question see Kemble's Salomon and Saturn, p. 295, and Kbhler in Germania, VII, 476.
408 b. Other repetitions of the popular tale, many of them with the monk or miller sans souci. Bartsch, Sagen, Märchen u. Gebrauche aus Meklenburg, I, 496 (Pater ohne Sorgen); Asbjørnsen, Norske Folke-Eventyr, Ny Samling, 1876, p. 128, No 26; Bondeson, Halländske Sagor, p. 103, No 27; the same, Svenska Folksagor, p. 24, No 7 (utan all sorg), cf. p. 22, No 6; Wigstrbni, Sagor och Äfventyr upptccknade i Skåne, p. 109, in Nyare bidrag till kännedom om de svenska landsmålen och svenskt folklif, V, 1; Lespy, Proverbcs du Pays de Béarn p. 102; Bladé, Contes pop. de la Gascogne, III, 297; Moisant de Brieux, Origines de quelques coutumes anciennes, etc., Caen, 1874, I, 147, II, 100; Armana prouvençau, 1874, p. 33 (parson, bishop, gardener, middle of the earth, weight of the moon, what is my valuation? what am I thinking?); Pitré, Fiabe, Novelle, etc., II, 323, No 97 (senza pinseri); Imbriani, La novellaja fiorentina, etc., p. 621, V (Milanese, senza pensà); Braga, Contos tradicionaes do povo portuguez, I, 157, No 71, previously in Era Nova, 1881, p. 244 (sem cuidados), and No 100; Krauss, Sagen u. Märchen der Sudslaven, II, 252, No 112 (ohne Sorgen); Erman, Archiv für die wissenschaftliche Kunde von Russland, XXIV, 146 (Czar Peter, kummerloses Kloster); Vinson, Le Folk-Lore du Pays basque, p. 106; Cerquand, Légendes et recits pop. du Pays basque, No 108.
Unterhaltende Räthsel-Spiele in Fragen u. Antworten, gesammelt von C.H.W., Merseburg, 1824, has the story of king, abbot, and shepherd, with the three riddles, How far is it to heaven? How deep is the sea? What is better than a gold coach? The shepherd prompts the abbot, and the abbot answers the king in person. The answer to the third is, the rain that falls between Whitsuntide and St John's. For this reply compare Archiv für slavische Philologie, V, 56, lines 25-36.
408 note *. Add the Æsopian tale, P. Syrku, Zur mittelalterlichen Erzählungsliteratur aus dem Bulgarischen, Archiv für slavische Philologie, VII, 94-97.
410 a. The Jewish-German story is given in Grünbaum's Jüdischdeutsche Chrestomathie, 1882, pp. 440-43. The third question is, What am I thinking? with the usual answer.
410 b. Some additions to the literature in Keller, Fastnachtspiele, Nachlese, p. 338, note to 199.
To be Corrected in the Print.
507 a, Josefs Gedicht. Eighth line, read Den ... in queme. First line of answer, read De; third, deme; seventh, konde.
P. 403 f. Roxburghe, III, 883, is B. Roxburghe, III, 494 was printed and sold by John White, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, "circa 1777:" Ebsworth, Roxburghe Ballads, VI, 749. 'The King and the Bishop,' Roxburghe, III, 170, is printed in the same volume, p. 751, and 'The Old Abbot and King Olfrey,' Pepys, II, 127, at p. 753.
405 b, II, 507. An Armenian, a Slovak, and a Hungarian version, by H. v. Wlisłocki, Zs. f. vergleichende Litteraturgeschichte, u.s.w., N.F., IV, 106 ff., 1891.
404 b, 2d paragraph. Of this kind is the Russian tale, How Fraud made entrance into Russia. Ivan the Terrible demands tribute of neighboring princes. They propose to him three riddles: if he guesses them, they are to pay twelve casks of gold and tribute; if he fails, they take his kingdom. A marvellous old man helps the Tsar out. He has been promised a cask of gold, but the Tsar fills one of the casks two thirds with sand, and offers that. The old man tells him that he, the Tsar, has brought Fraud into the land, never to be eradicated. Ivan begs him to take one of the other casks, but in vain. The old man vanishes; it was God. Rybnikof, II, 232, No 39. (W.W.)
P. 405 b, II, 506, IV, 459 b. Another Magyar version in Zs. f. vergleichende Literaturgeschichte, N. F. V, 467.
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[P. 405 ff., II, 506 f., IV, 459 b, V, 216 a. A Christian ascetic has taken up his abode in a hogshead, on which he has written, "If thou art wise, live as I live!" The sultan puts three questions to him: How far is it to heaven? At how much do you value me? Which is the best religion? The penalty for failure to solve them is to be dragged at the tail of the sultan's horse. The answers are: A day's journey; twenty-nine silver pieces; neither of the two religions is the better, for the two are God's eyes, one of which is as dear to him as the other. Von Wlislocki, M. u. S. der Bukowinaer u. Siebenbürger Armenier, 'Der weise Mann,' No 30, p. 83 ff.]