Lord Barnet and Fair Eleonder- (VA) 1917 Davis A
[No informant named. From Traditional Ballads of Virginia; Davis, 1929. His notes follow.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
YOUNG HUNTING
(Child, No. 68)
THE hero, who is usually Lord Henry, returning from the hunt, is courteously invited in for the night by his mistress, who is usually Lady Margaret. Lord Henry refuses the invitation rather brusquely, saying that another lady whom he loves more than he loves her is awaiting him. As he leans over to kiss her good-bye, Lady Margaret wounds him sorely with a little pen-knife, In the conversation that ensues, he indicates that he really loves Lady Margaret. He dies, and Lady Margaret, sometimes with the help of her maids whom she offers to reward for silence, throws his body into a deep well. Her parrot speaks accusingly to her, and she tries to cajole the bird with promises, then threatens it, but to no avail. The wily parrot is not to be deterred, and presumably betrays her guilt.
Here the Virginia texts end, as does Child F. They do not go ahead, like Child A and other fuller versions of the ballad, to the coming of the king's duckers, their finding of the body by candle light after a hint from the bird, the lady's protestations of innocence and her attempt to throw the guilt on one of her maids, the trial by fire, which leaves the maid unscathed but consumes the guilty lady.
The names and title of Virginia A, " Lord Barnet and Fair Eleonder," seem to be borrowed partly from "Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard (Barnett)" (Child No. 81) and partly from "Lord Thomas and Fair Ellinor" (Child, No. 73). "Proud Lady Margaret," "Lord Henry," sometimes "Love Henry," and "sir Henry and Lady Margaret," are the titles more properly its own.
A point of special interest in these Virginia variants is their obvious contamination with stanzas from "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (Child, No. 4). Note the stanzas about the bird in all texts, and also stanza 8 of Virginia E. E has also many interesting verbal expressions. A, B, C, D are all excellent ballads, well preserved. The four tunes are also good, especially the strangely wild hunting tune of B.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 18; Bulletin, Nos. 5-7, 10 Campbell and Sharp, No. 15 (North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia); Cox, No. 9, Hudson, No. 9 (Mississippi); Journal XVIII, 295 (Barry, Vermont, melody only); XX, 252 (Kittredge, Kentucky); XXX, 297 (Kittredge, Kentucky, text and melody, Missouri, Indiana); Reed Smith, No. 4 (text and melody); Reed Smith, Ballads, No.4; Sandburg, p.64 (North Carolina); Sharp, Songs, I, No. 3 (Kentucky); Shearin, p. 3; Shearin and Combs, p. 8. For additional references, see Cox, p. 42; Journal, XXXI 297.
A. "Lord Barnet and Fair Eleonder." Collected by Mrs. Henry Semones, of Roanoke, Va. Smyth County. December 2, 1917.
1 Lord Barnet he went out a-huntins.
A-hunting he did ride, o,
With his. hunling horn around his neck
And his broadsword by his side.
2 He rode till he came to fair Eleonder's hall,
He tinkled at the ring;
There was none so ready as fair Eleonder
To rise and let him in.
3 "Come light, come light, Lord Barnet," she said,
"And tarry with me all night;
And you shall have both candle and coal
And fire a-burning bright."
4 "I cannot light nor I will not light,
And I cannot light at all;
For there is a ten times fajrer lady than you
Sitting in Lord Barnet's hall."
5 He stooped over out of his saddle,
Thinking to kiss her so sweet;
But she havjng a little pen-knife,
She ran him very deep.
6 "What have you done, fair Eleonder?" he said,
" What have you done to me?
You have killed your own sweet
Who loved you so dear."
7 " Come live, come live, Lord Barnet," she said,
"Come live just one hour,
And all the dociors in the town
They shall be at your bower."
8 "I cannot live and I will not live
And I cannot live at all,
For don't you see my own heart's blood
Down on the ground doth fall."
9 She called up her maidens all
Three hours before it was day,
"Lord Barnet he lies here in my bower,
I want to get him away."
10 Some took him by his lily-white hands,
Some took him by his feet,
And they threw him into yon deep well
Which was fifty fathoms deep.
11 "Lie there, lie there, Lord Barnet," she said,
"I hope you may not swim;
That ten times fairer lady than me,
I'm afraid she might you win."
12 Then up jumped a pretty little bird
And sit upon a briar,
" Go horn€, go home, false lady," it said,
"And pay your maids their hire."
13 "Come here, come here, my pretty little
And sit upon my hand,
And you shall have a cage of the beaten gold
And hung under yon ivory (willow) tree."
14 "I cannot come and I will not come,
And I can't come off of this briar;
For I know very well you would kill me
As you have done the worthy squire."