"Derry Gaol". From Formula to Narrative Theme in International Popular Tradition
by Eleanor R. Long
Jahrbuch für Volksliedforschung, 20. Jahrg. (1975), pp. 62-85
[Footnotes moved to the end; barely proofed]
"Derry Gaol" From Formula to Narrative Theme in International Popular Tradition
By ELEANOR R. LONG (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada)
In 1957, G. Malcolm Laws identified in Anglo-American tradition a ballad which he called "Gallows" and classified as the eleventh item in his category "L: Ballads of Crime and Criminals"[1]. Most of the texts at his disposal were fragmentary and mutually contradictory in detail, but the evidence was clear enough to indicate the existence of an independent narrative song in which after taking leave of various relatives the protagonist was rescued from the gallows by a last-minute pardon brought by his sweetheart from (in all but one text) "George, our King."
Subsequent collection of additional variants from Canada, the American Southwest, and Eire, however, raised a number of questions about the precise nature of the ballad thus identified. Some texts furnished a name for the heroine ("Ann O'Neill") and many contained references to "Derry" as the site of the execution: did these allusions provide clues to an historical event immortalized in song by the ballad's composer? Sporadically, a stanza emerged in which the right of confession prior to execution was demanded by a "clergyman": should this be considered part of the ballad's narrative theme?[2] Most annoying, an ever greater number of variants attributed the fortuitous pardon not to "George, our King" but to "the Queen," and several to "the King and Queen": did this represent the natural vagaries of oral transmission, or might there in fact be two substantively different traditions involved-and if the latter proved to be true, which of them was primary, that recovered in New England or that which seemed to predominate in Eire? In a word, how could the ballad's unique identity and thus the classification appropriate to it be determined?
Because of the extraordinary complexity in this corpus of the textual evidence which must always constitute the fundamental area of inquiry in the study of folk narrative, the discussion which follows is in the nature of a relatively superficial report, using only such examples drawn from the variant texts as are necessary to illustrate conclusions drawn from more exhaustive analysis. That analysis demonstrated that Laws L 11 is extant in at least 27 variants, fragments, and prose summaries, and that those 27 texts can be divided into five groups, four of which clearly derive from independent innovations of the kind I have elsewhere attributed to the function of the integrative folk-singer or "ballad-maker." Therefore, each of the five groups represents one end-product of the traditional process, and each also represents a new departure which itself has become part of the process.
The first group is a version confined to Eire which manifests its composite nature by featuring a pardon "granted over by King and Queen":
1. My love is one of the nicest young men
That nature formed or the sun shone on.
If money could gain him I would detain him,
But now he is sentenced to be hung.
2. To see him walking the streets of Derry,
He walks them down so manfully
He resembles more a commanding officer
Than a man to die on the gallows tree.
3. The first step he gave up the ladder,
His poor aged father was standing by.
"Come here, come here, my poor aged father,
Until I see you before I die."
4. The second step he gave up the ladder,
His poor aged mother was standing by.
"Come here, come here, my poor aged mother,
Until I kiss you before I die."
5. The third step he gave up the ladder,
His loving sister was standing by.
"Come here, come here, my loving sister,
Until I speak to you before I die."
6. He pulled a gold ring from off his finger,
And rolled it up in a napkin fine.
"Keep this, keep this, my loving sister,
And bear me constant in your mind."
7. The fourth step he gave up the ladder,
It was then his courage began to fail.
With heavy sighs and dismal cries,
"There's no release from Derry Gaol!"
8. "Hang him, hang him," cried the sheriff;
With this the priest was standing by.
"I'll let you know that you will not hang him
Until his confession is done to me.
And after that you will not hang him
Until ten minutes before the setting sun."
9. "Oh, what detains my own true love,
Or what keeps her so long from me?
Or does she think it a great dishonour
To see me die on the gallows tree?"
10. He looked around and saw her coming,
And she rode as swift as any wind.
He looked again and he saw her coming,
And she was dressed in her silks so fine.
11. "Come down, come down from that weary scaffold,
Come down, come down from that weary tree.
I have your pardon here in my pocket,
Granted over by the King and Queen."
12. "Come down, come down from that weary scaffold,
Come down, come down from that weary tree.
I'll let them know you are my true lover,
And I'll style you, my Johnny, "sweet gra'd mo croidhe"[4].
Texts
(1) Aine Ni Maoladidhe, Co. Mayo, Eire, 1936. Collected by Brigid Ni Challoar 'in. Source: IFC 210, pp. 473-4765.
(2) Patrick Convey, Co. Mayo, Eire, 1936. Collected by Aine Ni Ruhdain. Source: IFC 191, pp. 311-313.
(3) "A listener in Claregalway," Co. Galway, Eire, 1940. Collected by Radio Eireann. Source: IFC Donagh MacDonagh Collection.
(4) Padraig de Brin, Co. Kerry, Eire, 1969. Collected by Eleanor R. Long. Source: personal communication.
The second group is localized on the north-east Atlantic seaboard:
1. My love he is as handsome a young man
As nature formed or the sun shone on.
And how to gain him I do not know,
For he is sentenced to be hung.
2. And as he walks through the streets of Derry,
He looks so brave and manfully,
He looks more like a commanding officer
Than like a man who is going to die.
3. "Oh, hang him high," cried the bold High Sheriff;
A noble clergyman was standing by.
"I would have you to know, you bold prosecutor,
That this young man is not fit to die.
4. That this young man is not fit for dying
Until his whole confession'sd one.
I would have you to know, you bold prosecutor,
There's fifteen minutes before the setting sun."
5. Oh, when he neared that weary gallows
His noble courage began to fail.
And looking around in every quarter
He could spy nothing but that weary jail.
6. The next step he took to that weary gallows,
His own dear sister he chanced to see.
"Step up, step up, my beloved sister,
I have one word to exchange with thee."
7. He took a gold ring from off his finger,
And rolled it in the silk so fine.
"Take this, take this, my beloved sister,
And keep your brother close in your mind."
8. The next step he took to that weary gallows,
His own dear brother he chanced to see.
"Step up, step up, my beloved brother,
I have one word to exchange with thee."
9. "Where is my sweetheart, my Annie darling,
Or has she gone and forsaken me?
Or does she think it a shame and a scandal
To see me hanged on the gallows tree?"
10. Te next step he took up that weary gallows,
His own dear sweetheart he chanced to see.
She was riding in a coach all lined with linen,
A coach and six, and fast rode she.
11. "Come down, come down from that weary gallows,
I have your pardon from George, our King.
And in spite of them all, I'll make you my darling,
And crown you in the bloom of the spring."
12. Now, lads and lasses, fill up your glasses,
Fill them up and never fail.
You lads and lasses, fill up your glasses,
And drink a health to young Ann O'Neill.
Texts
(5) Mrs. Alice Robie, New Hampshire, U. S. A., 1941. Source: Helen Hartness Flanders, Ancient Ballads Traditionally Sung in New England, 3 vols. (Philadelphia, 1960-1963), III, 34-36.
(6) Sidney Luther, New Hampshire, U. S. A., 1941. Source: Flanders, Ancient Ballads, III, 31-34.
(7) Ned Odell, Labrador, Canada, 1960. Source: MacEdward Leach, Folk Ballads and Songs of the Labrador Coast (Ottawa, 1965), pp. 90-91.
(8) John Bray, Nova Scotia, Canada, n. d. Source: Helen Creighton and Doreen Senior, Traditional Songs from Nova Scotia (Toronto, 1950), pp. 110--111.
The third group is very closely related to the second, but lacks any reference to "Ann O'Neill":
1. My love he is as fine a fellow
As ever nature formed or the sun shone on.
And how to gain him I do not know,
For they say he's sentenced to be hung.
2. As he was walking the streets of Derry,
His charming features I chanced to spy.
He looked more like some commanding officer
Than any young man condemned to die.
3. When he came to the first step of the gallows,
His own dear brother he chanced to see.
"Step up, step up, my beloved brother,
I have a word to exchange with thee."
4. "Where is my sweetheart, my only jewel,
Why don't she come and visit me?
Or does she think it a shame and a scandal
To see me hanged on the gallows tree?"
5. When he came to the second step of the gallows,
His own dear sister he chanced to see.
"Step up, step up, my beloved sister,
I have a word to exchange with thee."
6. He took a gold ring from off his finger,
And wrapped it up in silk so fine.
"Take this, take this, my beloved sister,
And keep your brother close in your mind."
7. "Hang him, hang him," cried the bold High Sheriff;
A noble clergyman was standing by.
"Oh, stay your hand, you bold prosecutor,
I'll have you to know he's not fit to die."
8. "I'll let you know he's not fit for dying
Till his confession to me is done.
So stay your hand, you bold prosecutor,
It's fifteen minutes till the setting sun."
9. When he came to the last step of the gallows,
His own dear sweetheart he chanced to see.
She was riding in a coach all lined with linen,
So swift she rode, and swift rode she.
10. "Come down, come down from that weary gallows,
I have your pardon from George, our King.
And in spite of them all, I'll make you my darling,
And crown you in the bloom of the spring."
Texts
(9) Annie V. Marston, Maine, U. S. A., 1926. Source: Phillips Barry, Fannie H. Eckstorm, and Mary W. Smyth, British Ballads from Maine (New Haven, their courtesy in making these archives available, and to D. K. and Ebby Wilgus, Edith Fowke, and Hugh Shields for their very generous assistance in furnishing variants.
(10) Hanford Hayes, Maine, U. S. A., 1942. Source: Flanders, Ancient Ballads, III, 30-31.
(11) Charles Finnemore, Maine, U.S.A., 1941. Source: Flanders, Ancient Ballads, III, 37-39.
(12) Mrs. A. G. Hattie, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1950. Source: Creighton and Senior, Traditional Songs, p. 112.
(13) Ernest Sprague, Maine, U. S. A., 1928. Source: Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, British Ballads, p. 391. Reprint: Bronson, Traditional Tunes, II, 474.
With eight texts in all, the fourth group is the largest, and bears the same relationship to the first group that the third does to the second:
1. My love is one of the finest young men
That nature formed o r the sun s hone on.
And how to gain him I do not know,
For he's got his sentence to be hung.
2. And as he walked t he streets of Derry,
I'm sure he walked right manfully.
He looked more like a commanding officer
Than going to die on the gallows tree.
3. The very first step he took up the ladder,
His blooming colours began to fade.
With heavy sighs and dismal cries,
"Is there no releasement from Derry Gaol?"
4. The very next step he took up the ladder,
His aged father was standing by.
"Come here, come here, my aged father,
And speak one word to me before I die."
5. The very next step he took up the ladder,
His aged mother was standing by.
"Come here, come here, my aged mother,
And speak one word to me before I die."
6. The very next step he took up the ladder,
His beloved sister was standing by.
"Come h ere, come here, my beloved s ister,
And s peak o new ord to me b efore I die."
7. He pulled a gold ring from off his finger,
Andr olledi t up in a napkinf ine.
"Taket his,t aket his,m yb eloveds ister,
And b earm ec onstantlyin yourm ind."
8. "Hang him, hang him," cried the High Sheriff;
A clergymawn ass tanding by.
"Stand back, standb ack, youb oldp rosecutor,
I'll let you see that he will not die.
9. "I'll let you know that you will not hang him
Until h is confession to me is done.
And after that you dare not hang him
Till within ten minutes of the setting sun."
10. "What keeps my love, she's so long in coming?
And what has detained her so long from me?
Or does she think it a great dishonour
To see me die on the gallows tree?"
11. He looked around and saw her coming,
And she rode swifter than any wind.
And when she dismounted from her weary gelding
She was all dressed up in Holland fine.
12. "Come down, come down from that weary gallows,
For I've got your pardon all from the Queen.
I'll let them know we will be united,
And I'll crown you, Johnny, with Ireland's green."
Texts
(14) Elmer George and Mrs. Myra Daniels, Vermont, U. S. A., 1938. Source: Flanders, Ancient Ballads, III, 27-29.
(15) Mrs. Sarah Makem, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland, n. d. Collected by Peter Kennedy and Sean O'Boyle. Source: The Folk Songs of Britain, VII: Fair Game and Foul (12-inch LP, Caedmon Records TC 1163).
(16) Mrs. Emma Morrisey, Ontario, Canada, 1961. Collected by Edith Fowke. Source: personal communication.
(17) Mrs. Susan Cunningham, Co. Donegal, Eire, 1968. Collected by Hugh Shields. Source: "Songs from Glencolumbkille," CEOL, III (1970), 5-17. Reprint: Hugh Shields, Songs from Clencolumbkille (Wexford, n. d.), pp. 12-13. Recording: Folk Ballads from Donegal and Derry (12-inch LP, Leader Sound, 1972).
(18) Ben Henneberry, Nova Scotia, Canada, 1948. Source: Creighton and Senior, Traditional Songs, pp. 110--111. Recording: LC-AFS 9191 B 26.
(19) Mrs. James DeVine, Co. Antrim, Northern Ireland, n. d. Collected by Sam
Henry. Source: IFC Sam Henry Collection No. 705, p. 209.
(20) "A radio listener," Eire, 1940. Collected by Donagh MacDonagh. Source:
IFC Donagh MacDonagh Collection.
(21) James Argue, Co. Cavan, Eire, 1951. Collected by P. J. Gaynor. Source:
IFC 1222, p. 26.
Finally, a group of six variants is distinguishable for its textual affiliations with all five of the preceding groups, the generally fragmentary nature of its texts, and its geographical-historical distribution (in all six, the pardon is from "the King"). In this composite, therefore, the textual source of each line is indicated:
1. Oh, once I had a fair true lover (23)
Ever n ature fo rmed o r the s un s hone o n. (22,2 3)
To win his love I have been trying, (23)
He nowi s sentencedto be hung. (23)
2. He usedt o walkt hes treetso f London, (23)
He walked them, oh, so manfully! (23)
He walkedt heml ike some B ritish officer (23)
Andn owt o die on the gallows tree. (22,2 3)
3. The very next step he went up the ladder, (22)
His bloomingco loursb egant o pale. (22)
He stood,h e stood,a ndh e lookeda roundh im, (22)
"Ist heren o releasemenfrt omD erryG aol?" (22)
4. The [very] next step he went up the ladder, (22, 23)
His belovedf atherw ass tandingb y. (22,2 3)
"Comeh ere,c omeh ere,m yb elovedf ather, (22,2 3)
One word to you before I die." (23)
5. The [very] next step he went up the ladder, (22, 23)
His belovedm otherw ass tandingb y. (22,2 3)
"Comeh ere,c omeh ere,m yb elovedm other, (22,2 3)
Onew ordt o you beforeI die." (23)
6. The [very] next step he went up the ladder, (22)
His lovings isterw ass tandingb y. (22)
"Comeh ere,c omeh ere,m yb eloveds ister, (22)
And speak one word to me before I die." (22)
7. He took the gold ring from off his finger, (24, 25)
Andw rappedit in a napkinf ine. (23,2 4)
"Keept his,k eept his,m yb eloveds ister, (22,2 4)
Andb earm ec onstantlyin yourm ind." (22,2 3,2 4)
8. ...
His own dear brother he chanced to spy (25)
9. "I wonderw hy my truel ove'sn ot coming, (23)
What keeps my true love so long from me? (22)
I wonderif shet hinksi t a scandal (23)
To seem e die on the gallows tree?" (22,2 3)
10. "Oh, hang him, hang him," cried the sheriff, (23)
Thec lergymawn ass tandingb y. (24,2 3)
"I'll have you to know that you dare not hang him,
I'll have you to know that he shall not die." (23)
11. "I'll have you to know that you dare not hang him (23)
Untilh isc onfessionto mei s done. (22,2 3)
And after that, you bold prosecutor, (24)
There'fsi fteenm inutetsi ll the settings un." (24)
12. He stood,h e stood,a ndh e lookeda roundh im, (22)'
Andh e sawh erc ominga ss wifta s thew ind. (22)
As shed ismountefdr omt hes teeds her odeo n (22)
Shew asd ressedu pi n silkg armentfsi ne. (22)
13. "Come down, come down from that weary gallows, (25, 27)
I've got your pardon from George the King. (22, 24, 25)
And now to show that I'm true to my lover (23)
I'll crown you, John, in the blooming spring." (25, 22, 23)
Texts
(22) James Megan, Co. Down, Northern Ireland, 1943. Collected by G. R. R. Green. Source: IFC 1014, pp. 290-291.
(23) Mrs. Susie Evans Daley, Oklahoma, n. d. Source: Ethel and Chauncey Moore, Ballads and Folk Songs of the Southwest (Norman, Oklahoma, 1964), pp. 179-181.
(24) Jack Anderson, Nova Scotia, Canada, n. d. Source: Creighton and Senior, Traditional Songs, p. 111.
(25) Mrs. Arlie Fraser, Ontario, Canada, 1961. Collected by Edith Fowke. Source: personal communication.
(26) Orlon Merrill, New Hampshire, U. S. A., n. d. Source: Helen Hartness Flanders, Elizabeth Flanders Ballard, George Brown, and Phillips Barry, The New Green Mountain Songster (New Haven, Conn., 1939), p. 117. Reprints: Flanders, Ancient Ballads, III, 40-41; Bronson, Traditional Tunes, II, 473-374.
(27) Eunice M. Macauslan, Maine, n. d. Source: Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, British Ballads, p. 392. Reprint: Bronson, Traditional Tunes, II, 474-475.
As composite texts, these models do not reflect the extraordinary quality of variation in the ballad corpus, but the degree of interpenetration between the five types can be illustrated by key lines from two of the more consistent stanzas, those in which the protagonist addresses his sister:
GROUP I (1) The third step he gave up the ladder
(2) The third step he gave up the ladder
(3) The third step he stepped up the ladder
GROUP II (5) The next step he took to that weary gallows
(6) The next step he took to that weary gallows
(7) As he went up the first step of the gallows
GROUP III (9) When he got to the second step of the gallows
(10) But when he got to the second step of the gallows
(11) As he came to the second step of the gallows
(12) Then as he went up the next step of the gallows
GROUP IV (14) The very next step he took up the ladder
(16) Now the next step he took up the ladder
(17) The last step he went up the ladder
(18) As he stepped on the first step of the gallows
(19) The third step he went up the ladder
(20) The very next step he took up the ladder
GROUP V (22) So the very next step he went up the ladder
(24) Then as he went up the next step of the gallows
GROUP I (1) And rolled it up in a napkin fine
(2) And rolled it up in a napkin fine
(3) And put it on hers so thin and fine
GROUP II (5) And rolled it in the silk so fine
(6) And rolled it in the silk so fine
(7) He wrapped it up in silk so fine
GROUP III (9) And wrapped it in her silk so fine
(10) And wrapped it up in silk so fine
(11) He wrapped it in her silk so fine
GROUP IV (14) And wrapped it up in a napkin fine
(17) And he rolled it up in a napkin fine
(18) And rolled it up in the silk so fine
(19) And rolled it up in a napkin fine
(20) And wrapped in in a napkin fine
GROUP V (22) And rolled it up in the linen fine
(23) And wrapped it in a napkin fine
(24) And wrapped it up in silk so fine
(25) And wrapped it in his napkin fine
The structural sequence of the variant texts is equally confused. The two initial stanzas and the two concluding stanzas are almost massively consistent in position, if not in textual detail; but the remaining stanzas shift in position, appear and disappear, in the way that is coming to be identified as one hallmark of the "blues ballad"[7], as the accompanying table (see p. 72) shows.
Now, what has seemed to be the most conspicuous and consistent feature of the ballad is the first line of the second stanza, referring to "the streets of Derry," with the corollary that the stanza in which the hero seeks "releasement from Derry Gaol" is equally integral to the ballad text[8]: it is by this title ("Derry Gaol") that the ballad is best known in Eire. As the table shows, that stanza precedes the relative-sequence in two Group II variants, (5) and (6), and four of Group IV's, (15), (17), (18), and (20). However, it follows the relative sequence in all three complete variants in Group I, (1), (2), and (3); one of Group IV's, (14), and one of Group V's, (22). It immediately precedes the " clergyman" stanzas in variants (2), (3), and (14), but immediately follows them
[chart p. 72]
in variants( 5) and (6)[9]. This pattern contrasts with the relative stability of the "sister,"" ring," and "sweetheart" stanzas 10. Key lines may also be compared in these" Derry" references:
GROUP I (1) To see him walkingt he streetso f Derry
(2) To see him walking the streets of Derry
(3) And as he walked through the streets of Galway
(4) And as he walks through the flags of Sligo
GROUPI I (5) And as he walkst hrought he streetso f Derry
(6) As he walked down through the streets of Derry
(7) As he rode throught he streetso f Derry
GROUP III (9) As I was walkingt he streetso f Derry
(10) As he was walking the streets of Derry
(12) And when he walks down the streets of Derry
GROUP IV (14) And when he walkst he streetso f Derry
(15) As he went walking up the streets of Derry
(17) If you would see him walk through the streets of Derry
(18) As he rode throught he streetso f Derry
(19) And as he walks the streets of Derry
(20) As he walked up the streets of Derry
GROUP V (22) But as he walked up the streets of Derry
(23) He usedt o walk the streetso f London
GROUP I (1) There's no releasef rom D erry Gaol
(2) Saying,t here is no releasemenint DerryG aol
(3) Saying, there is no mercy from the jury jail
GROUP II (5) He could spy nothing but that weary jail
(6) He could spy nothing but the weary jail
GROUP III no variants
GROUP IV (14) "There's no relief from Derry's Gaol"
(15) "Is there no releasement from Derry Gaol?"
(17) "Is there any releasement from Derry Gaol?"
(18) Like one undaunted from Derry Dale
(20) "Is there no relief from Derry Gaol?"
GROUP V (22) "Is there no releasement from Derry Gaol?"
In the "ring" stanza which regularly accompanies the protagonist's encounter with his sister, it seems evident that an original "wrapped it in a napkin fine" as in variants (14), (20), (23), and (25) was altered to "rolled it up in a napkin fine" in "pardon from the Queen" texts (Groups I and IV) and to "wrapped it up in silk so fine" in the American innovation which replaced the "silks so fine" worn by the rescuing sweetheart in Groups I and V with "a coach all lined with linen" (Groups II and III). The "Derry Gaol" stanza does not occur in any variant featuring "wrapped it up in silk so fine"; it does occur with the only "rolled it up in silk so fine" variants, (5) and (6), and in the only "pardon from the King" variant (22) which also uses the verb "rolled." In spite of the fact that most Group IV variants speak of "colours" that "fail" or "fade" rather than the "courage" of Groups I and II, the likelihood that the stanza belongs to the re-creation of the text in which "rolled it in a napkin fine" and "pardon from the Queen" were introduced is strong.
Similarly, "To see him walking," "As he walked through," "As he went walking up," "If you would see him walking through," and "As he walked up" may all be suspected to derive from the commonplace line "As I was walking the streets of Derry," which appears in that form in variant (9). "As he rode," "When he walks down" and "He used to walk," on the other hand, suggest an
original past tense whose structure is exemplified in variant (14): "When he walks the streets of Derry."
The ballad's terminus ad quem is fixed by the occurrence of the line "I have a remit from the King" in a single variant of Child 209 "Geordie" (F-text, collected between 1830 and 1835)[11]. The terminus a quo for the "Derry Gaol" stanza can be fixed by the construction of that building. Although from the time of the Protestant plantation in Ulster in 1608[12] there had been a British prison in the town of Derry, first on the corner of Butcher's Street and then over the Ferrygate, the "Derry Gaol" which later became infamous was completed in 1824, its adjoining court house having been ready for use since 1817[13]. It could, therefore, have played no part in the rebellion of 1798, as some have suggested[14], and indeed there is no record of Derry's having been involved in that insurrection except marginally[15].
Certain aspects of the ballad's narrative, however, are timeless in their reflection of Irish history and culture. The public execution of Irish patriots was a familiar phenomenon throughout the period of British occupation, and history as well as ballad-literature reports the ubiquity of sorrowing relatives at the execution site, requests for appropriate religious rites for the dying, and desperate, not infrequently successful appeals for last-minute pardons f or political offenders[16]. But during the time-period under consideration (1817-1830), two specific historical events occurred which corroborate the circumstances described in Laws L 11 without localizing those circumstances in northern Ireland: the Catholic clergy developed an exceptionally militant attitude toward the denial of freedom of conscience to prisoners in British penitentiaries[17], and in the summer of 1821 King George IV became the first English monarch to set foot on Irish soil since the Reformation, winning by that gesture a degree of popularity among the Irish people that was as unprecedented as it was temporary. A five shilling pamphlet published less than a month after the king's departure from the port of Dun Laoghaire describes the following episode:
His Majesty did not reach Dunleary till near seven o'clock.... A woman, whose son being convicted of a robbery committed in the neighborhood of Ranelagh, was to be hanged, appeared very desirous to hand the king a paper which contained a petition on behalf of the felon; but being prevented by those near him, she followed his Majesty into the water. There was so much at stake that she was in a state of mental derangement; yet, though she did not succeed in handing the paper, her struggles were not in vain, for his Majesty perceiving her anxiety, enquired into the cause, and on learning the particulars, with a well timed humanity, was pleased to extend his mercy to the culprits[18].
In spite of the ubiquity of references to "the streets of Derry" and "Derry Gaol" in the ballad-corpus, therefore, the conclusion to be drawn both from textual and from historical evidence is that neither was included in the text composed before 1830, and that the line "He used to walk the streets of London" in variant (23) may well demonstrate the validity of the geographical historical premise by preserving, in a text at farthest remote from the time and place of the original composition (Oklahoma, 1964), traits most closely conforming to that original-in this case, "When he walked the streets of Dublin."
It has also frequently been assumed that the ballad under discussion is a version of Child 95 "The Gallows Tree"[19]. Both ballads begin with an imminent execution by hanging; both center upon a sequence of relatives who appear immediately before the execution is to take place; and both are climaxed by a last minute rescue by the victim's sweetheart. On the other hand, Child 95 is a classic "traditional" ballad[20]; our ballad, while probably most properly to be classified as of the "blues" type (see above, n. 7), is more circumstantially narrated and punctuated by sentimental intrusions in the manner usually associated with broadside composition[21]. Both utilize incremental repetition in the sequence of relatives (although the imbalance in Laws L 11 between the total number of relatives in any given text and the number of farewell conversations as represented in "ring" and "sweetheart" stanzas is both striking and significant).
Neither specifies the victim's crime. But the Irish ballad further departs from the pattern established in Child 95 by introducing the clergyman's demand for delay, the victim's request for conversation, not ransom, from his relatives, and his redemption through a royal pardon, not a money payment. The influence of Child 95 cannot be denied. Although the fifteen tunes which have been collected with the ballad have undergone modal shift in eight cases and are badly zersungen in others, the "Butcher-Boy" tune which overwhelmingly dominates the Child 95 tradition dominates this one as well[22]; and although the father-mother-brother-sister sequence which also dominates the Child 95 tradition is nowhere precisely reproduced, it does occur selectively throughout the corpus. Most directly, the appearance of "Stay your hand, you bold prosecutor" in one Group III text (11), and "Stand back, stand back, you bold prosecutor" in one in Group I (3), one in Group III (9), and two in Group IV, (15) and (17), reflects the origin and development of that injunction in the English-language version "The Gallows Tree," and generally supports the dating for the Irish ballad in that "Stay your hand" belongs to the earliest stratum of Child 95's history[23].
Nevertheless, Laws L 11 intrinsically belongs to a similar, but distinct, international ballad tradition. In particular, the sequence of relatives deserves closer scrutiny. Every text collected by Child of "Hughie Graeme" (Child 191) features a sequence restricted to "father" and "mother" or to "father" alone, in which he "looked over his shoulder" or "looked around" (compare Laws L 11, Groups I, IV, V) and gives final messages to each. The I-text collected by Thomas Wilkie, 1813-1815, is representative:
Now's he looked over his left shoulder,
All for to see what he could spy,
And there he saw his father dear,
Stood weeping there most bitterlie.
"O hold your tongue now, father," he said,
"And of your weeping lai'd now by;
For they can rob me of my life,
But they cannot rob me of the heavens high."[24]
Irish laborers, whose custom it was in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to migrate to England and Scotland during the harvest season in order to earn the cash necessary to pay their own heavy land-rents[25], almost certainly introduced the Child 95 tradition into their own country. It is equally feasible for this basic structure to have been borrowed by one of them for a "pardon from the King" balled in the 1820's.
But "Hughie Graeme," in turn, derives this part of its narrative not from Scots history but from a German-Flemish tradition. And it is in the ramifications of this Continental narrative song, without English or Scots mediation, that are to be found the precise analogues for the traits which characterize our Irish ballad.
Most closely related to Child 95, but paralleling the appearance in the Irish ballad of a clergyman prior to the relative-sequence, is a variant of the Flemish "Isabella den Kindermoordster":
1. Ze gingen daarmee twers door de stee:
Capucijn-convente, n daar klonkenz e aan de belle.
Ze gingen het naar pater gardiaan vertellen.
2. "Pater gardiaan, en zij je niet thuis?
Wil je nog een uurtje, twee, drij, naar haar verlangen,
Ga kijk naar de markt en je zal ze daar zien hangen."
3. 't Eerste traptje dat zij oppere de leere klom,
Zij sloeg haar oogjes neerewaarts naar de aarde.
Zij vroeg of 't haren vader niet en deerde:
4. "Vader, lieven vader, en en deert het joun niet?"
- "Zoude' t mij niet derenv an jen overschoonj ong leven,
Die ik zoo lange de kost hen helpen geven?"
5. - "Dochter, lieve dochter, we hen nog geld in goed.
Willen we 't aan de Heeren van de stad gaan presenteeren,
Al om te behoudenj en overschoonj ong leven?"
6. - "Vader, lieven vader, en en doet dat niet.
Ik heb de dood verdiend en 'k wil er geerne voren sterven,
Zoo laat de justitie maar over mij geweren."
7. 't Tweede traptje dat zij oppere de leere klom...[mother, brother, sister]
8. 't Laaste traptje dat zij oppere de leere klom,
Zij sloeg haar oogjesn eerewaartsn aar de aarde,
Zij zei adieu naar hemel en naar aarde:
9. "Adieu aan 't koren en 't schoon groen gers!
Adieu aan al die in de wereld es!
Nu trek ik naar den Heere van Nazareth"[26].
In addition to the "clergyman" stanzas ( whichi n this text are quite different in content from those in the Irish ballad, but nevertheless include the reference to the time remaining before the execution typical of all Irish versions), "Isabella de Kindermoordster" shares with Laws L 11 a "father-mother-brother-sister" sequence (although "brother" never o ccurs in the sequence in Groups I and IV), conversation with each relative (although again the content is different, and in the Irish ballad each relative receives a different message, as is true in Child 191), and the precise terminology" The first step she [climbed/took/gave] up the ladder" which i s associated w ith the "pardon from the Queen" version of Laws L 11.
Another Flemish text, "Heer Halewijn," approaches the Irish ballad more closely. It begins with an appeal for mercy from the victim's mother (paralleling in content, at least roughly, the Irish clergyman's re quest f or delay), and follows a "mother-father-brother-sister sequence:
't Eerstter aptjde at' t kindo pd el eerek lom,
Het keek zoo dikwyls omme,
Als 't vanv errez yn moedern iete n zag;
En van narenz agh y haerk omen.
"Liefste moeder", zeyd hy, "ende moeder van my,
En uw kleyne kind moet hangen,
Enh adg y noge enu ertjela ngerw egg eweest,
Myn jong leventje die wasser gelaten."
't Vyfde traptje dat 't kind op de leere klom,
Het keek zoo dikwyls omme,
Enh etz agM ariak ommen,
Enh etg ingM arigar oeten:
Het woordjew ass chaerusy t zynenm ond
Enz ynh oofdetjvei elv orenz y voeten[27].
Two new aspects, common to Laws L 11 and "Heer Halewijn" but absent from intermediary ve rsions, a re the dramatic use of the Virgin or the victim's sweetheart as the climax of the ladder-sequence (in GroupsI I and III, the sweetheart appears "When he came to the last step of the gallows," in Groups I and IV "He looked all around h im and saw her coming") a nd the more p recisely articulated fo rmulation o f the length of time the victim will remain alive (in "Heer Halewijn," the time shortens by fifteen minutes as he greets each relative, with "dry kaertjes" left when his father arrives, "een half uertje" for the brother, and "een kaeretje" for the sister). All variants of Laws L 11 make this reference in connection with the clergyman's intervention, as in "Isabella den Kindermoordster"; but in the "pardon from the Queen" texts of Groups I and IV the reference is to a time pre-established as the hour of execution ("ten minutes before the setting sun"), while in the "pardon from the King" texts of Groups II, III, and V the phrasing "There's fifteen minutes till the setting sun" reveals both verbal correspondence and logical coherence with the tradition here manifested.
A unique variant of "Der Kinig von Mailand" (DVldr. 67, No. 3) displays (like "Isabella den Kindermoordster") the intrusion of the ballad-type into another gallows-rescue tradition:
Und als nun jetzt der Freitag anbricht,
Muss sie ans Galgen und vors Gericht.
Und als sie die erste Treppe betritt:
"Ach Mutter, herzliebste Mutter, ich bitt',
Verschont mein armes Wiirmelein!"
Die Mutters prach:" Verschonwt ird nicht.
Hhingt zu, haingt zu, ihr Henkersknecht!"
Und als sie auf die zweite tritt:
"AchV ater, herzliebsterV ater, ich bitt',
Verschont mein armes Wiirmelein!"
Die Mutters prach:" Verschonwt ird nicht.
Haingt zu, hingt zu, ihr Henkersknecht!"
Und als sie auf die dritte tritt:
"AchS chwesterh, erzliebsteS chwesteri, ch bitt',
Verschont mein armes Wiirmelein!"
Die Mutters prach:" Verschonwt ird nicht.
Hingt zu, hingt zu, ihr Henkersknecht!"
Und als sie auf die vierte tritt:
"AchB ruder,h erzliebsterB ruder,i ch bitt',
Verschont mein armes Wiirmelein!"
Und als sie auf die letzte tritt,
Ihr Fiirst kommt hinten angeritt'.
"Guten Tag!" -
"Schaan
Dank!" - "Ihr allumringt,
Was schafft ihr mit meinem Weib und Kind?"[28]
Here (as, it should be observed, in the text quoted from the "Heer Haleweijn" corpus) the sequence begins with "mother," not "father," and the colloquies are repetitive, with "die Mutter" responding regardless of which relative is addressed at each step. But the language is that of "pardon from the King" variants of Laws L 11: "ans Galgen," "als sie die erste Treppe betritt," "Haingt zu, haingt zu"[29]. And the rescuing sweetheart's arrival on horseback is paralleled in variants distributed throughout the Laws L 11 corpus:
(1) And she rode as swift as any wind
(2) She rode as swift as any wind
(7) As she came riding on her weary gelding
(14) From a noble gallyant she dismounted
(15) As she rode swifter than the wind
(18) A-riding swift, just as the wind.
And she was riding on an alien gilder
(20) And she rode swifter than the wind.
And when she dismounted from her weary gelding
(22) And she dismounted from the steed she rode on
(23) When she got off her weary pony
Still another German analogue is "Das Schloss in Usterreich":
Man fiihrt den Knaben wohl aus dem Thurm,
man reicht ihm das Sacramente:
"Hilff, reicher Christ vom Himmel herab,
Es gehet mir an mein Ende."
Man fiihrt den Knaben zum Gericht hinauss,
die sprossen muss er steigen:
"AchZ iichtigerl,i ebsterZ iichtigerm ein,
lass mir ein kleine weile!"
"Eine kleine weile lass ich dir nicht,
du micht mir sonst entrinnen;
leiht mir ein seidens Tiichlein her,
lass ihm sein Augen verbinden!"
"Ach meine Augen verbinde mir nicht,
Ich muss die Welt anschawen,
ich sehe sie heut und nimmermehr
mitm einens chwarzbrauAnu gen."
SeinV ateru nterd emG erichtset und,
seinH erzm bchith mz erbrechen:
"AchS ohnel,i ebsterS ohnem ein,
dein Todt den will ich rechen."
"AchV ater,l iebsterV aterm ein,
mein Todt solt ihr nicht rechen,
bringtm einerS eelene ins chwerPe ein:
umbu nschulsdo wil ichs terben.
"Esi st nichtu mbm einj ungesL eben
nochu mbm eins toltzenL eibe,
Es ist nuru mbm einF rawM utterd aheime,
die weinst sich also sehre[30].
The parallels in this instance are more conceptual than structural, but again the young man receives the sacrament before ascending the scaffold, for the first time a silk handkerchief is mentioned (if not in the same context), and "mein stoltzen Leibe" furnishes a bare suggestion of the "shame and scandal" or "great dishonour" which in Laws L 11 is conjectured as the motivation for the sweetheart's absence.
But a silk handkerchief does not occur in the stanza from "Der gefangene Ritter," another ballad otherwise unrelated to the "rescue" and "sequence of relatives" traditions, of which the "ring" stanza in Laws L 11 is a close and literal translation:
Was zog er von sein Finger?
von Gold ein Ringlein roth:
"Herzlieb, das will ich euch wieder schenken,
thut mein darbei gedenken
weil ihr das Leben habt"st.
Finally, one variant of "Herr von Braunschweig" omits parents from the sequence of relatives (as evidence from Groups II, III, and V indicates was true of the "pardon from the King" version of Laws L 11) and includes addresses to sisters and brothers (in the order logically implied by the Laws L 11 "message" stanzas concerning the ring bequeathed to the victim's sister and the anxiety about his sweetheart's absence expressed to his brother immediately prior to her arrival) and a reference to the "half uer" remaining before the moment of execution (as in variant 7 of the Irish ballad):
Als 't kint op 't eerste trapje trat,
het keecks oo dickmaelso mme,
Und als er zu der Rechten sah,
Sah er die Mutter flehen:
"AchS ohn, ach Sohn, allerliebsterS ohn,
'Muss ich dich sterben sehen!"
Und als er zu der Linken sah,
Sah er sein Liebchens tehen.
Sie reichtei hm die schneeweissHe and:
"Muss ich dich sterben sehen!"
daer saghh et zijn seven ghesusterss tout
van verre gerede comme.
"Rijdt aen, rijdt aen, ghesusterss tout,
en steect jou paert met sporen,
had jn der een half uer langher ghebendt,
myn leven waer al verlooren."
Als 't kint op 'tweede trapje trat,
het keecks o dickmaelso mme,
daer sachh et zijn sven ghebroedersst out
van verre gerede komme.
"Rijdt aen, rijdt aen, ghebroederss tout,
en steect jou paert met sporen,
had jn der een half uer langher ghebendt,
mye leven waer al verlooren."
Als 't kint op 't derde trapje trat,
het most noch eensjes drincken;
het lieter soo menighen natten traen
al in de schale sincken.
"Mijn edele heer al van Brunnswijck,
nou slunt jou poorte vaste,
morgen ochtent, eer datter den dag aenkomt,
soo sel jn krijgen gasten[32].
This review of textual, structural, and historical evidence finds external support in the presence of numbers of settlers from the German Palatinate in Co. Dublin during the period with which we are concerned[33], bringing with them, one may suppose, a ballad or several ballads reflecting this broad tradition in the following respects:
(a) an initial encounter with a priest for the purpose of receiving the last
sacrament
(b) a relative-sequence consisting of sister and brother only
(c) a farewell message delivered to each sibling in turn. The ring bestowed on the victim's sister, as we have seen, is borrowed from a similar ballad tradition among German-speaking peoples; the "napkin fine" in which it is wrapped, however, is derived from a stanza occurring regularly in the French ballad "Le capitaine tue par le deserteur":
Que l'on mette mon coeur
Dans un' serviette blanche,
Qu'on le porte ma mie,
Qui demeure au pays
En disant: c'est le coeur
De votre serviteur[34].
And this detail attests the immigration of French Huguenots as well as German Protestants to Eire, also setling in considerable numbers in Co. Dublin [35]. The Irish composer of Laws L 11, of course, combined these elements into an original and unique ballad text of his own, which has enjoyed considerable vitality both in the form in which he fashioned it and in a subsequent Northern Irish version in which the victim's brother was supplanted by "father" and "mother" in response to Scots preference; the clergyman's appeal was supplanted by a "Derry Gaol" stanza and shifted to the position previously occupied by "brother"; "gallows" became "ladder" (as Flemish versions prefer)36; wrapped" became "rolled"; and "George, our King" became "our young Queen" (reflecting
the accession to the English throne of Victoria, in 1837). But this Englishlanguage
ballad owes its existence, not to Anglo-Irish or Scots-Irish relationships,
but directly to the fidelity with which German and French Protestants
preserved their ballad-traditions on Irish soil and to the ease of communication
which obtained between them and their Catholic neighbors in the British-ruled
city of Dublin in the early nineteenth century.
The "narrative theme" of the tradition, as revealed through the presence of
the "take this ring" and "where's my sweetheart" stanzas (one borrowed, one
unique, both stable and persistent) in all versions of Laws L 11, is neither a sequence
of relatives descending from the victim's parents nor rescue from impending
death37, both of which are characteristic of Child 95 and its analogues. Nor
is its "narrative theme" criminality or punishment therefore, as Laws' own classification
would indicate. In spite of continuous "crossing" between textual traditions, sometimes thematic and sometimes formulaic, the substance of Irish, Flemish, Scots, and German exemplars is "death by execution"-a "narrative theme"
which in this instance is further distinguishablef rom neighboringt raditionsb y its
stipulation of religious absolution and a sequence of "goodbye" (as opposed to
"repudiation") colloquies, whether or not the execution is carried out. Laws L 11
departs from many of its analogues in incorporating a last-minute rescue, and
achieves its identity by stipulating rescue through a royal pardon, but its place
in European balladry is unmistakable.
Footnotes:
1 G. Malcolm Laws, American Balladry from British Broadsides (Philadelphia 1957),
pp. 171-172.
2 For a discussion of this term and its application, see Eleanor R. Long, "Thematic Classification
and 'Lady Isabel' ". Journal of American Folklore LXXXV (1972) 32-41.
3 Eleanor R. Long, "Ballad Singers, Ballad Makers, and Ballad Etiology," Western Folklore
4 "Love of my heart." Texts as presented here do not correspond precisely to any single
variant; I have chosent hroughout that phrasing which (a) characterizest his group as
opposed to what is shared with other groups, or (b) is typical of the group in terms of
the number of texts following it.
5 IFC refers throughout to the archives of the Irish Folklore Commission, located at University
College, Dublin, Eire. I should like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude
to Seamus Delargy, Sean O'Sullivan, and Thomas Wall of the Commission for Research for this study was greatly facilitated by a grant from the University of Santa Clara in the summer of 1970, for which I am likewise thankful XXXII (1973) 225-236.
Conn., 1929), p. 391. Reprint: Bertrand H. Bronson, The Traditional Tunes
of the Child Ballads, 4 vols. (Princeton, N. J., 1959-1972), II, 474.
6 LC refers t hroughout to the folksong archives of the Libraryo f Congressl,o cateda t
7 For a tentative definition of this ballad style, see D. K. Wilgus and Lynwood Montell, "Clure and Joe Williams". Journal of American Folklore LXXXI (1968) 295-315, pp. 296-297.
8 See Shields,S ongsf rom Glencolumbkillep, . 13. Washington, D. C.
9 Variants (5 ) and (6) mayb e presumed to have b een l earned f romt he sames ources, ince
Mrs.R obie,t he informanfto r (5), reportedh avingl earnedit fromJ ohnL utherin the
samet own (Pittsburghin) which( 6) was reportedb y SidneyL utherI.t is interestintgh at
the "DerryG aol"s tanzai s corrupta s well as anomalouisn sequencein this pair of
variants:
(5) The first step he took to that weary gallows,
His noblec ourageb egant o fail,
Andl ookinga roundo n everyc orner,
He coulds py nothingb ut thatw earyj ail.
(6) Oh, whenh e nearedt hatw earyg allows,
His noblec ourageb egant o fail,
Andl ookinga roundin everyq uarter,
He coulds py nothingb ut thatw earyj ail.
10 Referencetso "ring"a nd "sweethearts"ta nzasa re to the "words"th e protagonisat ddressest
o specificr elativest, he first involvingt he gold ringh e presentas s a keepsake,
the second to his query," Where'sm y sweetheart?"
11 Francis James Child, The English and Scottish Popular Ballads, 5 vols. (New York 1965), IV, 132. Two variants of Child 95, collected early in the twentieth century from Irish informants in the United States, also feature such an intrusion; see G. L. Kittredge, "Various Ballads". Journal of American Folklore XXVI (1913) 175, and Flanders, Ancient Ballads III, 18-20.
12 See Francis P. Jones, History of the Sinn Fein Movement and the Irish Rebellion of 1916 (New York 1916) p. 288, and John Devoy, Recollections of an Irish Rebel (New
13 Now abandoned, Derry Gaol is situated in Bishop's Street just outside the City wall:
for its description and history, see Robert Simpson, The Annals of Derry (Londonderry
1847), pp. 242-243.
14 See Barry Eckstorm, and Smyth, British Ballads, p. 392, and Tristram P. Coffin in
Flanders, Ancient Ballads III, 16.
15 See Simpson, p. 224, and P. F. Kavanagh, A Popular History of the Insurrection of
1798, 2nd ed. (Cork 1874); W. H. Maxwell, History of the Irish Rebellion in 1798
(London 1852); H. F. B. Wheeler and A. M. Bradley, The War in Wexford: An Account
of the Rebellion in the South of Ireland in 1798 (London 1910).
1I Kavanagh, pp. 41, 46; Maxwell, pp. 50-51, 141, 215-217, 250-251, 276-277, 279,
409; Constantia Maxwell, Country and Town in Ireland under the Georges, 2nd rev. ed.
(Dundalk 1949), p. 53; John Mitchel, The History of Ireland, from the Treaty of Limerick
to the Present Time, 2 vols. (Glasgow 1967), II, 15, 101-103, 256; Patrick Rogers,
The Irish Volunteers and Catholic Emancipation (London 1934), p. 78.
17 See Minutes of the Proceedings and Evidence of the Commission of Inquiry, Ordered
by the Irish Government, into Charges of Proselytism and Cruelty preferred against the
Officers of the Richmond General Penitentiary (Dublin 1827), pp. ix, 203-213 (testimony
of the Rev. John Martin O'Donovan, Catholic chaplain of the penitentiary);
James A. Reynolds, The Catholic Emancipation Crisis in Ireland, 1823-1829 (New
Haven 1954), pp. 50, 54, 66, 147; G. I. T. Machin, The Catholic Question in English
Politics 1820-1830 (Oxford 1964), p. 28.
York 1929), pp. 2-3.
18 The Royal Visit, containinga Full and Circumstantiala ccount of everything connected
with The King's Visit to Ireland; His Private Landing, - Public Entry, - Illuminations,
- The Review, - Going in State to Christ's Church, - The Levee, - Drawing Room,
- Corporation and College Dinners, - His Visits to the Theatre, Public Institutions,
Slane, the Curragh, the Installation, etc. - His Majesty's Departure, - Powerscourt, -
Embarkation, - His Letter, etc.... Nothing is omitted, that has the least bearing on the
Subject. (Dublin 1821), pp. 129, 137. For general discussions of the significance of the
visit, see Mitchel, II, 151 ff., and R. Barry O'Brien, Two Centuries of Irish History
1691-1870 (London 1907), pp. xxx-xxxi, 272-273. An investigation of the possible
relationship of an "Ann O'Neill" to this or any similar episode yielded no results;
the "toast to Ann O'Neill" stanza of Group II is not reported from Irish tradition in the
IFC archives. I suspect, although I cannot prove, that "Ann O'Neill" is a corruption of
"Ea6in O'Neill," a folk hero of the Cromwellian period (see Elizabeth O'Neill, Owen
Roe O'Neill [Dublin and London 1937], and Diarmid Coffey, O'Neill and Ormond:
A Chapter in Irish History [Dublin and London 1914]).
19 In addition to Barry and Coffin (see above, n. 14), see MacEdward Leach, The Ballad
Book (New York 1955), p. 296, and Shields, loc. cit.
20 According to the criteria defined by Gordon Hall Gerould in The Ballad of Tradition
(New York 1932); pp. 1-14, 84: central situation, dramatic presentation, impersonal
and objective tone.
21 See discussion by Laws, American Balladry from British Broadsides, pp. 78-100, and
Albert B. Friedman,V iking Book of Folk Ballads of the English-SpeakingW orld (New
York 1956), pp. xxv-xxviii. According to Hugh Shields, however (p. 13), "Derry
Gaol" never circulated in print.
22 Variants (11), (13), (17), and (25) are sung to "gapped" scales, (16) and (27) show Mixolydian influence, (15) is in the Dorian mode and (23) Aeolian. Of the remaining tunes collected - (5), (6), (7), (9), (10), (18), and (26) - all reflect the leit-motif characteristic of the "Butcher-Boy" tune (see Eleanor Long, "The Maid" and "The Hangman" [Berkeley and Los Angeles 1971], pp. 89-95), with the difference that the contour is ABAB rather than ABBA and the leit-motif characteristically o ccurs i n phrases 1 and 2 rather than in phrase 3. (I am omitting consideration of extraneous tunes to which the ballad may be sung.)
23 Long, Ibid., p. 21.
24 Child, English and Scottish Ballads IV, 520. The same formula occurs in "The Gallant
Grahams" (John Ord, Bothy Songs and Ballads [Paisley 1930], pp. 441-442).
25 Constantia Maxwell, Country and Town, pp. 113, 135; John Mitchel, History of Ireland
II, 200; O'Brien, Two Centuries, p. 209.
26 Albert Blyau and Marcellus Tasseel, lepersch Oud-Liedboek (Gent 1900), pp. 66-68.
27 Ed. de Coussemaker, Chants populaires des Flamands de France (Gand 1856), pp. 66
to 68.
28 Deutsche Volkslieder mit ihren Melodien III (Berlin 1954), 4219-4237, No. 67. The
text cited is on pp. 225-226.
29 The mother's imprecation, translated as "'Hang him, hang him,' cried the sheriff" in
the Irish ballad, is derived in turn from the source responsible for a similar interpolation
in Erk-Bihme, No. 144 (Ludwig Erk and Franz Magnus Bi5hme, Deutsche Liederhort,
3 vols. [Leipzig 1893-1894]): "Du hailloss f..., du krauschloss p ..., henng nach,henggn ach,H ainrice Kunraded er schreibery m korb."
30 Deutsche Volkslieder mit ihren Melodien I (Berlin 1935) 250-276, No. 24. The text cited is on pp. 252-253; its content, however, is shared with variants 2 b and 7. Variant 4 concludes w ith the "Hughie Graeme-Pardon-from-the-Queen-HeHera lewijn" formulation:
31. t Ludwig Erk, Deutscher Liederhort (Berlin: Verlag von Th. Ehr. Fr. Enslin, 1856), p. 34.
The verse in this form occurs only in the c-text, dating from 1632, of the ballad; the
a-text, interestingly enough, mentions "ein Tiichlein kreideweiss" and thus shows the
reciprocal influence of members of this thematic complex on each other. The bequest
of a ring is commonplace in Anglo-American balladry, but the detail of pulling the
ring off his finger is absent in the English-languaget radition. Typical is a stanza from
"Brave Wolfe":
Love, here's a ring of gold; 'tis long that I have kept it.
My dear, now for my sake, I pray you to accept it.
When you the posy read, pray, think on the giver;
My dear,r ememberm e, or I'm undonef orever.
(Reprinted from The Forget-Me-Not Songster in Friedman, Viking Book, p. 289.)
32 Deutsche Volkslieder mit ihren Melodien I, 241-249. In variant 1 of this collection,
the victim bids his mother "Hadieu," with no reference to other relatives or to looking
around on successive steps of the gallows; in variant 3, he invokes the Virgin on the
first rung of the ladder, his brothers on the third (the second rung is omitted); in
variant 4, he looks around as he begins to climb the ladder and sees his seven brothers
coming. In no variant is he rescued.
33 See W. E. H. Lecky, History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century, 8 vols. (London
1892 ff.), I, 351; Constantia Maxwell, Country and Town, p. 147; Mitchel, History of
Ireland I, 47; Donal O'Sullivan, Songs of the Irish (Dublin 1960), p. 70.
34 Lajos Vargyas, Researches into the Mediaeval History of Folk Ballad, tr. Arthur H.
Whitney (Budapest 1967), pp. 34-35.
as Lecky, loc. cit.; Constantia Maxwell, Country and Town, pp. 147, 230-231, 240;
T. P. LeFanu, "Huguenot Veterans in Dublin," Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries
of Ireland LXXII part 1 (1942) 64-70.
se I have found no evidence for significant Flemish immigration into Ireland; it is quite
possible that "ladder" was used in the earliest form of the ballad, following many German
precedents, in spite of the massive evidence of extant texts. On the other hand,
the influence of Flemish traditions upon Scots balladry and other lore has yet to be
adequately explored.
37 It is abundantly clear that the theme of rescue, dramatically salient and capable of
independent existence though it may be, cannot be considered integral to the "execution"
theme, which seems to focus invariably upon intrafamilial relationships; these are made
explicit in the narrative by the content of the victim's last-minute conversations. For
a stimulating discussion of this "narrative theme," which in expanded form she calls
"the criminal brought to justice," and the effect upon it of the "murdered girl" theme
in the "Pearl Bryan" ballad complex, see Anne B. Cohen, Poor Pearl, Poor Girl: The
Murdered-GirSl tereotypei n Ballad and Newspaper( AustinT exas 1973).