Lord Thomas & Fair Eleanor- Sullivan (IN) 1885 Brewster C
[From Brewster: Ballads and Songs of Indiana; 1940. His notes follow.
R. Matteson 2012, 2014]
10. LORD THOMAS AND FAIR ANNET (Child, No. 73)
Eight texts of this ballad have been recovered in Indiana under the following titles: "Lord Thomas," "The Brown Girl," "Fair Eleanor," "Lord Thomas's Wedding," and "Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor." All belong to the D group of Child, and tell substantially the same story. The hero is in a quandary as to which he shall wed, Fair Eleanor or the brown girl, and takes the problem to his mother. As the brown girl has house and land and Fair Eleanor has none, the advice of the mother is for him to marry the former. He dresses himself in gorgeous attire and with his attendants rides to the home of Fair Eleanor, whom he invites to his wedding. After his departure she asks her mother's advice about attending. The mother advises her to stay at home where she will be among friends, but Fair Eleanor is determined to go. She dresses in fine array, takes her maids with her, and goes to Lord Thomas's hall. He himself admits her, leads her through the hall, and gives her the seat of honor. During the festivities she comments scornfully upon the brown complexion of the bride-to-be. The brown girl overhears her, and stabs Fair Eleanor with a penknife. After a time Lord Thomas notices the pallor of the latter, inquires as to the reason for it, and is told that he must be blind not to see the heart's blood trickling down her knee. When he realizes what has happened, he draws his sword and cuts off the brown girl's head, throws it against the wall, and then uses the sword to kill himself. Dying, he requests that Fair Eleanor be buried in his arms and the brown girl at his feet.
For American texts, see Barry, No. 2; Belden, No. 4 (fragment); Brown, p. 9; Campbell and Sharp, No. 16; Hudson, No. 10; Hudson, Folksongs, p. 78; Journal, XVIII, 128; XIX, 235; XX, 254; XXVII, 71 (melody only) ; XXVIII, 152; XXIX, 159; XXXIX, 94; XLII, 262; Cox, p. 45; Pound, Ballads, p. 27; Barry, Eckstorm, and Smyth, p. 139; Davis, p. 240 (fifteen variants, including fragments) and p. 573 (airs); Greenleaf and Mansfield, p. 18; Mackenzie, Ballads, p. 20; McGill, p. 28; Sandburg, p. 157; Shoemaker, p. 155; Scarborough, Song Catcher, p. 106; Shearin, p. 3; Shearin and Combs, p. 8; Thomas, p. 88; Wyman and Brockway, Songs, p. 14; Flanders and Brown, p. 209; Fuson, p. 49; Mackenzie, p. 97; Folk-Iaore Journal, VII, 33; Smith and Rufty, American Anthology of Old-World Ballads, p. 17; PTFLS, X, 144; Henry, Folk-Songs from the Southern Highlands, p. 60; Henry, Songs Sung in the Southern Appalachians, p. 41; Neely, Tales and Songs of Southern Illinois, pp. 136-37; Cambiaire, East Tennessee and Western Virginia Mountain Ballads, pp. 34-36, 115-16.
C. "Lord Thomas and Fair Eleanor." Contributed by Mrs. Richard Sullivan, of Oakland City, Indiana. Gibson County. Learned in Warrick County from her mother more than fifty years ago. September 25, 1935.
1. "O Mother, O Mother, come riddle me this;
Come riddle me two in one,
Whether I shall marry Fair Eleanor dear
Or bring the Brown Girl home?"
2. "The Brown Girl she has house and lands;
Fair Eleanor she has none;
Before you shall grant any of those blessings[1]
Go bring the Brown Girl home."
3. "Go saddle and bridle my milk-white steed;
Go saddle and bridle in haste,
That I may invite Fair Eleanor dear
To my wedding dinner this day."
4. He rode till he came to Fair Eleanor's gate,
And rattled at the ring;
And there was no one so ready as she
To arise and let him in.
5. "Bad news, bad news, Lord Thomas?" she cried;
"Good news, good news!" said he,
"For I've come to invite Fair Eleanor dear
To my wedding dinner this day."
6. She dressed herself in scarlet red,
A waist in maiden green,[2]
And every town that she rode round
They took her to be some queen.
7. She rode till she came to Lord Thomas's gate,
And rattled on the ring;
There was no one so ready as he
To arise and let her in.
8. He took her by the lily-white hand
And led her through the hall,
And seated her at the head of the table,
Amongst the ladies all.
9. "Is this your bride, Lord Thomas?" she cried;
"She looks most plagued brown,
When you could have got as pretty a maid
As ever the sun shone on."
10. The Brown Girl had a little penknife,
And the blade was long and sharp;
She pierced it in Fair Eleanor's side,
And it ended in her heart.
11. ".................
...................
For don't you see my own heart's blood
Come trickling down my knee?"
12. Lord Thomas had a sword hanging at his side;
The blade was long and small;
He drew his sword, cut off her[3] head,
And slung it against the wall.
13. "O Mother, O Mother, go dig my grave;
Go dig it both long and deep;
Bury Fair Eleanor in my arms
And the Brown Girl at my feet."
Footnotes:
1. For Before I shall grant you my blessing
2. And arrayed her maids in green
3. Referring, of course, to the Brown Girl.