Lord Bateman and the Turkish Lady- Huffman (VA) 1920 Davis B
[From Traditional Ballad of Virginia; Kyle Davis Jr.; 1929. His notes follow. Cf. Sharp D (shoulder boring). The grouping of stanza 2 and 3 seems incorrect:
2 He sailed east, he sailed west,
Till he came to Turkey' s shore;
There he was taken and put in prison
[Where he could see or hear no more.]
3. And a hole in his shoulder bored.
In the same hole a rope they did tie,
And made him pull whole cars of iron,
Till he took sick and liked to die.
This torture technique, where the hole is bored in the shoulder, is found in some US versions (Sharp D, Davis B, E). Here's more from the Brown Collection:
"There are certain interesting variations among these many texts. Kittredge, in the note above referred to, remarks that some of the American texts differ from the broadsides in retaining a detail of the Turks' barbarous cruelty: a hole is bored in Beichan's shoulder by means of which he is harnessed and becomes a draft-animal. Thus in Child A:
For thro his shoulder he put a bore.
An thro the bore has pitten a tree,
An he's gard him draw the carts o wine.
Where horse and oxen had wont to be.
Similarly in B D E H I N. The word "tree" here means "draught-tree," the pole of a wagon or cart by which it is attached to the draft animal. "Tree" in this sense was apparently not an acceptable locution, was not understood in America ; Henry's Tennessee text and our version E change it to "key," two of the West Virginia texts and the only text in TBV that retains this feature change the word to "rope" and the other West Virginia text to "string." Other American texts that keep the word change the meaning; the "tree" is now that to which the captive is tied (chained, nailed, bound, fastened, sometimes around his middle), giving a quite different picture. So BBM D, TBV E, SharpK A E, JAFL xxviii 150, XXX 295, and our A version."
R. Matteson 2014]
YOUNG BEICHAN
(Child, No. 53)
In Virginia the ballad is known as "Lord Bateman," "The Turkish Lady," or as "Lord Bateman and the Turkish Lady." This would indicate, what is indeecl the case, that the Virgina variants are closely related to Child L, "The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman." The story is well known, Lord Bateman, an Englishman of high degree is discontented and must take a sea voyage. He is captured by the Turks and imprisoned. A lady, daughter of his Turkish captor, sees him in prison and is enamored of him. The attraction is mutual, and after they have vowed that for seven long years neither would wed another, she sets him free and he returns home. At the end of this period, having heard nothing of him, lover, she sets out to find him. Lord Bateman has just brought home his bride but when his Turkish love appears he bids the bride's mother take back her daughter, who is none the worse for him, and forthwith he marries the Turkish lady. The Virginia variants, in the main, follow Child L fairly closely, but often they show traces not found in the Child version, such as the hole bored in the captive's shoulder (see other child versions), the lady's statement that she wants not his gold and silver but only his body, and the naming of India rather than England as the home of the noble lord. There are also certain fairly persistent exclusions, such as the stanza about the tree in the prison (Child L3) and that about the harbor and the ship of fame (Child L 9). But the likenesses are quite sufficient to prove
a common source.
Child says that, " 'Young Beichan,' is a favorite ballad, and most deservedly. There are beautiful repetitions of the story in the ballads of other nations, and it has secondary affinities with the extensive cycle of 'Hind Horn,' the parts of the principal actors in the one being inverted in the other." The story of the ballad he points out, agrees in general outline, and also in some details, with a well-known legend about Gilbert Beket, father of St. Thomas, which legend he recounts at length. but his conclusion is, "That our ballad has been affected by the legend of Gilbert Beket is altogether likely. . . But the ballad is not derived from the legend."
For American texts, see Barry, No. 12; Brown, p. 9 (North Carolina); Bulletin,Nos. 2, 3, 5-9, 12; Campbell and Sharp, No. 12 (North Carolina, Kentucky); Cox No.8; Hudson, No. 8 (Mississippi); Journal, XVIII, 209 (Barry, Mass.); XX, 251 (Kittredge, Kentucky); XXVI, 64 (Beatty, Kentucky), 78 (Barry, Pennsylvania, melody only) XXIII, 451 (Barry, Pennsylvania, melody; the Forget-me-not Songster text); XXVI, 353 (Pound, Nebraska, fragment); XXVII, 149, (Perrow, North Carolina); XXX, 294 (Kittredge, Indiana, West Virginia, North Carolina, all fragments); Mackenzie, p. 115; Mackenzie, Ballads, No. 5, p. 392 (melody); Pound, Syllabus, p. 9 (fragment); Pound Ballads no. 14; Shearin p. 4 (fragment); Shearin and Combs p. 7; Reed Smith No. 3 (text and melody) Reed Smith, No. 3; Wyman and Brockway, p. 54. For additional references, see Journal XXX, 294.
B. "Lord Bateman and the Turkish Lady." Collected by Miss Alfreda M. Peel. Sung by Mrs. Ballard Hoffman, of New Castle, Va., Craig County. August 28, 1920.
1 Lord Bateman was in England born,
He was of high degree,
He, grew uneasy and discontent
Till a voyage he took to sea.
2 He sailed east, he sailed west,
Till he came to Turkey' s shore;
There he was taken and put in prison
And a hole in his shoulder bored.
3 In the same hole a rope they did tie,
And made him pull whole cars of iron,
Till he took sick and liked to die.
4 The old king had an only daughter.
And she was of high degree,
She stole the keys of her father's prison
And vowed Lord Bateman she'd set free.
5 She took him to her father's house
And drew for him a glass of wine,
And every health that she drank to him
Was, "Oh, Lord Bateman, if you were mine.
6 "Have you houses? Have you lands?
Have you living of high degree?
What would you give to a Turkish lady
If out of prison I'd set you free."
7 "Yes, I have houses and I have lands,
And I have a living of high degree.
I would give all to a Turkish lady,
If out of prison you'd set me free."
8 They made a vow and made it strong,
F or seven long years and almost three
He vowed he'd marry no other woman,
If she'd marry no other man.
9 After seven long years and almost three
This Turkish lady grew uneasy
And vowed Lord Bateman she'd go see.
She bundled up some richest clothing.[1]
10. She sailed east, she sailed west,
Till she sailed to Lord Bateman's home.
"Who's there? who's there?" cried the proud young porter
"Who's there that raps so loud and strong and won't come in?"
11. . . .
"Is Lord Bateman himself within?"
"Oh yes, oh yes," cried, the proud, young porter,
"He has just taken his young bride in.
12 "Go tell him of the wine so strong,
Go tell him of the raging sea,
Go tell him of the Turkish lady,
That out of Prison set him free'"
13 "Lord Bateman, there's a lady at your gate,
And she is of high degree.
She wears a ring on her forefinger
And on the other she wears three.
14 "She bade me remind you of the wine so strong,
She bade me tell of the raging sea,
She bade tell of a Turkish lady,
Who out of prison set you free."
15 Lord Bateman rose from his seat
And split his chair into pieces three,
"I'll lose my life for a Turkish lady,
Who out of prison set me free.
16 "Go take away this little bride,
Go take her straight away from me.
She came to me on horse and saddle;
I'll send her home in a coach and three."
1. The order of the lines is confused. It would seem to be 2, 1, 4, 3. The stanza is given as written, presumably as sung.