King John & the Abbot of Canterbury- 1600s Child B
[Various broadside printings can be viewed at the Bodleian Library online.
Child's notes: 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.
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. 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.
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.
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