Lord Bateman- Rich (VT) c.1920 Flanders L
[My date From Flanders; Ancient Ballads, 1966. Notes by Coffin follow. This is patterned after the print versions of Child L, (The Loving Ballad of Lord Bateman, 1839) published in the New England area.
Lena E. Rich was born Nov. 7, 1911 in Belvidere, Vermont and died March 7, 2007 in Burlington, Chittenden, Vermont. I'm assuming she was around 9 years old when a young schoolgirl, so 1920 is about the date she assembled her notebook of songs and poetry.
R. Matteson 2014]
Young Beichan
(Child 53)
This ballad has an extensive Anglo-American tradition and still is well known on both sides of the Atlantic. The American songs all trace back to early broadsides[1] and song books and quite generally refer to the hero as Lord Bateman or Bakeman. These texts vary somewhat in minor detail, but follow the Child L pattern as to plot outline, significant facts, and length. Nevertheless, a good many scholars have devoted a good bit of time to the minor variations of the American versions and more particularly to identifying the printed sources of the ballad in the New World. George L. Kittredge JAF, XXX, 295-97) used "the hole bored in the hero's shoulder" as a means of distinguishing texts closely akin to Child L from those related to the Coverly broadside in the Isaiah Thomas Collection, Worcester, Massachusetts, and Phillips Barry, British Ballads from Maine, 106 f., continues the probings and points out the "hole in the shoulder" stanza is characteristic of the South. There is also a good bit of information along similar lines in Jane Zielonko's Master's thesis, "Some American Variants of Child Ballads" (Columbia University, 1945), 83 f.
The Flanders versions below have been divided according to the findings of these researchers. Texts A-J seem to be similar to the Coverly broadside or to the version printed in the J. S. Locke of Boston Forget-Me-Not Songster (See A particularly) that goes back to an earlier broadside Coverly may have used. K-S are close to the text printed by Lucy E. Broadwood and J. A. F. Maitland in English Country Songs (London, 1893) and cited by Barry, op. cit., 116. This is a form of the song still known in Britain that evidently found its way into print in New England. In this series (see K-O) the hero's shoulder is not bored through as in many Child texts, but Bateman is tied to a tree[2]. T, it will be noted, contains further modifications and a compression
of the narrative. But, all in all, the Flanders texts are pretty typical of the northern findings for this ballad. Child, I,455 f., discusses the affinities of this song and the legend associated with Gilbert a Becket in the Middle Ages. However, analogous stories are known about Henry of Brunswick, Alexander von Metz, and a host of other heroes in Scandinavian and southern European balladry. A start on a bibliography can be had in Coffin, 63-65 (American); Dean-Smith, 5 (English) ; Greig and Keith, 40-43 (Scottish) ; and the notes in Child. Kittredge's JAF article contains a number of references, not easily available elsewhere, to printed American texts of "Lord Bateman" and its relative "The Turkish Lady." The latter, listed by Laws as O 26 and possibly derived from "Lord Bateman," is also immensely popular in America. Laws, AEBB,238, and Coffin, 65, give a
good many references for it.
The eight tunes for Child 53 are all related, and all correspond to tune group A in BC1. Two subfamilies appear: 1) the Davis, Kennison, Pierce, and Burke tunes, characterized by a triad at the beginning, this group corresponds to BCI group Aa. The other tunes together fit in with BCI group Ab, the Morton tune being relatively divergent from the others, however.
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1. In my opinion, this statement is simply inaccurate, "the American songs all trace back to early broadsides." Consider, for example, the Hick/Harmon version (Susan Price/Young Behan) which was collected from three different family members which they brought from Virginia (circa late 1600s) to the Carolina mountains probably around 1770 and has been passed strictly through oral tradition since then. [R. Matteson 2014]
2. It's likely that the "tied to a tree" reference is, in fact, derived from the "hole in the shoulder" texts, via faulty oral transmission. After all, there aren't many prisoners tied to a tree in a jail cell. [R. Matteson 2014]
L. Lord Bateman. The following lines were furnished. by Mrs. Lena Rich postmistress of Belvidere, Vermont. When a young school girl, Mrs. Rich with the help of her aunt compiled a book of poetry, folk songs, and, paper-clippings. The poetry and folk songs were items which had been recited and sung in and around Belvidere. The paper-clippings, taken from a newspaper, related for the most part "events of the time."
As Mrs. Rich was unable to recall the tune to this ballad, I hummed three different melodies. Mrs. Rich without hesitation selected the melody she associated with this ballad. It was the air generally used by the traditional Vermont folk singer. Copied literatim et punctatim. M. Olney, Collector; November 18, 1954.
Lord Bateman
Lord Bateman was a noble lord.
A noble lord of high degree;
He shipped himself on board of a ship,
Some foreign country for to see.
He sailed east, he sailed west
Until he came unto Turkey
When he was taken and put in prison
Until his life was quite weary
ir this prison there grew a tree
It grew so very stout and strong
And he was chained by the middle
Until his life was almost gone.
The Turk he had one only daughter
The fairest creature eye ere did see;
He stole the keys of her father's prison
And said she'd set Lord Bateman free.
Have you got houses, have you got lands
And does Northumberland belong to thee?
And what would you give to the fair young lady
Who out of prison would set you free?"
Oh, I've got houses and I've got lands
And half Northumberland belongs to me,
I'd give it all to the fair young lady
If out of prison would set me free."
She took him then to her father's palace,
And gave to him the best of wine'
And every health that she drank unto him,
Was, "I wish Lord Bateman, that you were mine!"
For seven long Years I'll make a vow-
And seven long years I'll keep it strong
If you will wed no other woman
Then I'll wed no other man.
Then she took him to her father's harbour
And gave to him a ship of fame,
"Farewell, farewell, to you Lord Bateman,
I fear I'll n'er see You again!"
When seven long years were gone and past
And fourteen days well known to me
She packed up her gold and clothing
And said Lord Bateman she would see.
When she came to Lord Bateman's castle,
So boldly there she rang the bell,
.,who's there, who's there." cried the young proud porter,
"'Who's there, who's there, unto me tell"'
"Oh, is this Lord Bateman's castle?
And is his lordship here within?"
"Oh, yes, oh, yes," cried the proud young porter,
"He has just now taken his new bride in.''
"Tell him to send me a slice of cake
And a bottle of his best wine
And not to forget the fair young lady
That did release him when close confined."
Away, away went this proud young porter,
Away, away, away went he
Until he came to Lord Bateman's castle
When on his bended knees fell he.
What news, what news, my proud young porter.
What news, what news have you brought to me?"
Oh, there is the fairest of all young ladies
That ever my two eyes did see.
She's got rings on every finger,
And on one of them she has got three,
And she's got as much gold around her middle
As would buy Northumberland of thee.
She tells you to send her a slice of cake
And a bottle of your best wine
And not to forget the fair young lady
That did release you when close confined."
Lord Bateman in a passion flew.
He broke his sword in splinters three
To you I will give all my father's riches
Now that Sophia has crossed the sea."
Then up spoke the young bride's mother,
Who never was heard to speak so free
Don't you forget my only daughter
Although Sophia has crossed the sea."
"I own I've made a bride of your daughter
She's none the better or worse for me,
She came to me on a horse and saddle
She may return in a coach and three."
Then another marriage was prepared,
With both their hearts so full of glee,
"I'll rove no more to foreign countries
Since Sophia has crossed the sea for me."