Thomas Rymer and the Queen of Elfland- Brown 1800; Child A
Jamieson in his Popular Ballads II, p. 7, includes Brown's version of the ballad in his preface to 'True Thomas and the Queen of Elfland.' I've included Jamieson's entire text which is lengthy and includes several versions. Jamieson dates the manuscript back to the 1400s.
Child says, "A is one of the nine ballads transmitted to Alexander Fraser Tytler by Mrs. Brown in April, 1800, as written down from her recollection. [footnote 1] This copy was printed by Jamieson, II, 7, in his preface to 'True Thomas and the Queen of Elfland.'
Footnote 1. See the letter of Dr. Anderson to Bishop Percy, December 29, 1800, in Nichols's Illustrations of the Literary History of the Eighteenth Century, VII, 178 f."
'Thomas Rymer and Queen of Elfland'- Version A; Child 37
Alexander Fraser Tytler's Brown Manuscript, No 1 (see reprint in Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, 7. below)
1 True Thomas lay oer yond grassy bank,
And he beheld a ladie gay,
A ladie that was brisk and bold,
Come riding oer the fernie brae.
2 Her skirt was of the grass-green silk,
Her mantel of the velvet fine,
At ilka tett of her horse's mane
Hung fifty silver bells and nine.
3 True Thomas he took off his hat,
And bowed him low down till his knee:
'All hail, thou mighty Queen of Heaven!
For your peer on earth I never did see.'
4 'O no, O no, True Thomas,' she says,
'That name does not belong to me;
I am but the queen of fair Elfland,
And I'm come here for to visit thee.
* * * * *
5 'But ye maun go wi me now, Thomas,
True Thomas, ye maun go wi me,
For ye maun serve me seven years,
Thro weel or wae as may chance to be.'
6 She turned about her milk-white steed,
And took True Thomas up behind,
And aye wheneer her bridle rang,
The steed flew swifter than the wind.
7 For forty days and forty nights
He wade thro red blude to the knee,
And he saw neither sun nor moon,
But heard the roaring of the sea.
8 O they rade on, and further on,
Until they came to a garden green:
'Light down, light down, ye ladie free,
Some of that fruit let me pull to thee.'
9 'O no, O no, True Thomas,' she says,
'That fruit maun not be touched by thee,
For a' the plagues that are in hell
Light on the fruit of this countrie.
10 'But I have a loaf here in my lap,
Likewise a bottle of claret wine,
And now ere we go farther on,
We'll rest a while, and ye may dine.'
11 When he had eaten and drunk his fill,
'Lay down your head upon my knee,'
The lady sayd, re we climb yon hill,
And I will show you fairlies three.
12 'O see not ye yon narrow road,
So thick beset wi thorns and briers?
That is the path of righteousness,
Tho after it but few enquires.
13 'And see not ye that braid braid road,
That lies across yon lillie leven?
That is the path of wickedness,
Tho some call it the road to heaven.
14 'And see not ye that bonny road,
Which winds about the fernie brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,
Whe[re] you and I this night maun gae.
15 'But Thomas, ye maun hold your tongue,
Whatever you may hear or see,
For gin ae word you should chance to speak,
You will neer get back to your ain countrie.'
16 He has gotten a coat of the even cloth,
And a pair of shoes of velvet green,
And till seven years were past and gone
True Thomas on earth was never seen.
__________________
Jamieson's Popular Ballads, II, starting on p. 7, dated 1806. [not completely proofed]
TRUE THOMAS,
AND
THE QUEEN OF ELFLAND
The following copy of this very curious old romance is given from a MS., said to be of the fifteenth century, in the public library at Cambridge, marked Ff. v. 48, 11. The different readings in the margin are from a MS. in the library of the cathedral of Lincoln, a transcript of which I owe to the politeness and industry of my very valuable friend, the Reverend William Gray of Lincoln; and from, another MS. in the Cotton library; for a specimen of which, the reader must be referred to Vol. II. Edit. 2. of the "Border Minstrelsy." In the Camb. MS. none of the pieces have any titles: the Cotton copy is prefaced by Incipit prophesia Thome de Erseldoun; and the Lincoln MS. is intitled[sic], Thomas off Erseldoune, and is introduced in the following manner:
"Lystyns, lordyngs, bothe grete and smale,
And takis gude tente what I will saye;
I sall you tell als trewe a tale,
Als ever was herde by nyghte or daye;
And the maste marvelle ffor owten naye,
That ever was herde by fore or syne;
And ther for prestly I you pray,
That ye will of youre talkyng blyne.
It is an harde thyng for to saye,
Of doghety dedis that have been done;
Of felle fightyngs and batells sore;
And how that ther knyghtis hase wonne.
Bot Jhu Cryst that syttis in trone,
Safe Inglysche men bothe ferre and nere;
And I sall telle yow tyte and sone,
Of batells done sythen many a yere;
And of batells that done sall bee;
In what place, and how and whare:
And wha sall hafe the higher gree;
And whether partye sall hafe the werre;
Wha sall take the flyghte and flee;
And wha sall dye, and be time, than:
Bot Jhu Cryste, that dyed on tre,
Save Inglysche men whare so thay fare."
From the prayer, with which this exordium concludes, it may fairly be inferred, that the writer was an Englishman; and the prophetic part of the piece has been evidently intended to be used as a political engine against the Scots. In the introduction to the prophecies, however, there is so much more fancy and elegance than in the prophecies themselves, that they can hardly be supposed to be the composition of the same person. Indeed, the internal evidence to the contrary almost amounts to a proof that they are not, and that the romance itself was of Scotish origin; although no indubitably Scotish copy, so far as the editor knows, is now in existence. He has been told, but upon what authority he knows not, that there was a copy in the late king's library at Paris, but uncertain of what country. More favourable times and circumstances may enable him to ascertain this fact with more precision. In the mean time, he must be contented to avail himself of such evidence, as the "fragments of the lofty strain," that have floated "down the tide of years," and luckily come to his hand, can furnish. Of these it is remarkable, that iu all the three copies now before him, the poet begins the story in thejirst person, and seems disposed to tell the incidents, as if they had really happened to himself:
St. 1. "As I me went this Andyr's day,
Fast on my way making my mone, &c."
St. 3. "Alle in a longyng as I lay,
Underneth a cumly tre, Saw / wher a lady gay,
Came ridand over a lonely le." &c.
And although he afterwards, awkwardly and unnaturally enough, speaks of Thomas as a third person, yet even then he seems to insinuate, that the story, which he is garbling, was told by another before him:
St. 14. " And certenly, as the story sayse,
He hir mette at Eldryn tre."
If he assumes the mask with a bad grace here, he shews still less address when he drops it again at stanza 52 of the First Fit:
"Ther was revell, game, and play,
More than I yow say, perdyfi,
Till hit fell upon a day,
My lufly lady seid to me:
"Busk the, Thomas, for thu must gon;
For here no longer raayst thu be;
Hye the fast, with mode and mone;—
I shall the bryng to the Eldyn tre."
Would it not be pardonable, from such instances as these, to suppose it at least probable, that Thomas Rymour was really the original author of this romance; and that, in order to give a sanction to his predictions, which seem all to have been calculated, in one way or other, for the service of his country, he pretended to an intercourse with the Queen of Elfland, as Numa Pompilius did with the nymph Egeria? Such an intercourse, in the days of True Thomas, was accounted neither unnatural nor uncommon.
As both the English and Scots availed themselves of the credit which his prophecies had obtained, in falsifying them, to serve their purposes against each other, it is now impossible to ascertain, what the real prophecies of Thomas Rymour were, if ever he published any such. But as it would have been a measure of good policy to preserve, as entire as possible, the original introduction, from which the predictions were to derive their authority, it may be presumeil, that fewer liberties were taken with it; that, notwithstanding the mutilated state in which we have found it, the general symmetry, and many of the original stamina, remain; and that it has not suffered more from the license assumed by transcribers and reciters, than other romances of that age have done.
As to the romance itself, "It will afford," says Mr Scott, (Bord. Min. Vol. II. p. 274, Edit. 2.) "great amusement to those, who would study the nature of traditional poetry, and the changes effected by oral tradition, to com-t pare this ancient romance with the (traditional) ballad. The same incidents are narrated, even the expression is often the same; yet the poems are as different in appearance, as if the older tale had been regularly and systematically modernized by a poet of the present day." The following is the copy procured in Scotland for this work, before the author knew that he was likely to be anticipated in its publication by Mr Scott, It is an imperfect fragment, but it is short, and it contains one idea (concerning the effect of eating of the fruits of Elfland) to be found in the old legend, which is not in the copy published by Mr Scott; The editor has therefore subjoined it: [This is the text of Child A:]
"True Thomas lay o'er yonder bank,
And he beheld a lady gay;
A lady, that was brisk and bold,
Come riding o'er the fernie brae.
Her skirt was of the grass-green silk,
Her mantle of the velvet fine;
At ilka tate o' her horses mane
Hang fifty siller bells and nine.
True Thomas he took off his hat,
And bow'd him low down till his knee;
"All hail, thou mighty queen of heaven!
For your like on earth I never did see."
"O no, O no, True Thomas," she says,
"That name does not belong to me;
I am but the queen of fair Elfland,
And I am come here to visit thee.
"But ye maun go wi' me now, Thomas,
True Thomas, ye maun go wi' me;
For ye maun serve me seven years,
Through weal and wae, as may chance to be."
She turned about her milk-white steed.
And took True Thomas up behind;
And ay whene'er her bridle rang,
Her steed flew swifter than the wind.
O they rade on, and farther on,
Untill they came to a garden green;
"Light down, light down, ye lady free,
Some o' that fruit let me pull to thee."
"O no, O no, True Thomas," she says,
"That fruit maun no be touch'd by thee;
For a' the plagues that are in Hell,
Light on the fruit o' this countrie.
"But I have a laef here in my lap,
Likewise a bottle of clarry wine;
And now, ere we go farther on,
We'll rest a while, and ye may dine."
When he had eaten and drank his fill,
The lady said, "ere we climb yon hill,
Lay your head upon my knee,
And I will shaw you ferlies three.
"O see you not yon narrow road,
So thick beset with thorns and briers ?—
That is the path o' righteousness,
Though after it there's few inquires.
"And see ye not yon braid, braid road,
That lies across yon lily leven ?—
That is the path of wickedness,
Though some call it the road to heaven.
"And see ye not that bonny road,
That winds about the fernie brae?
That is the road to fair Elfland,
Where you and I this night maun gae.
"But, Thomas, ye maun hald your tongue,
Whatever ye may hear or see;
For gin a word ye should chance to speak,
You will ne'er get back to your ain countrie.'
For forty days and forty nights
He wade through red blood to the knee;
And he saw neither sun nor moon,
But heard the roaring of the sea.
He's gotten a coat o' the even cloth,
And a pair of shoes of velvet green;
And till seven years were past and gone,
True Thomas on earth was never seen.
TRUE THOMAS,
AND
THE QUEEN OF ELFLAND [footnotes moved to the end]
As I me went this [1] Andyrs day,
Ffast on my way makyng my mone,
In a mery mornyng of May,
Be Huntley Bankis my self alone;
"I herde the jay and the throstell,[2]
The mavis menyd in hir song, [3]
The wodewale farde[4] as a bell,
That the wode aboute me rong.
"Alle in alongyng as I lay
Underneath a cumly [5] tre,
Saw I wher a lady gay,
Came ridand over a lonely [6] le.
"Zif I shuld sitte till domisday,
All with my tong to know and se,
Sertenly alle hir aray
Shall hit never be scryed for me.
"Hir palfray was of dappul gray;
Like on se I never non;
As dose the sonne on somers day,
The cumly lady hir self schone. [7]
"Hir saddil [8] was of reayll bon;
Semely was that sight to se!
Stiffly sette with precious ston,
Compaste aboute with cramese.[9]
"Stonys of oryens gret plente;
Hir here aboute hir hed hit hong;
She rode over that lonely[10] le,
Awhile she blew, a while she songe.
"Hir garthis of nobull silke thai were;
Hir boculs thai were of bary's [11] ston;
Hir stiroppis were of cristall clere,
And alle with perry [12] aboute be gon.
"Hir paytrel was of a pall [13] fyne;
Hir cropur was of arafe;
Hir bridull was of golde fyne;
On every side hong bellis thre.
"She led vij [14] grehoundis in a leesshe;
Vij rachis be hir fete ran;—
To speke with her wold I not presse;
Hir lire was white as any swan.
"She bare a horne about hir halce, And undir hir gyrdill meny flonne; For sothe, lordyngis as I yow tell, Thus was this lady fayre be gon." Thomas lay, and saw that sight,
Underneth a semely tre; He seid, "yonde is Mary of myght, That bare the childe that died for me.
"But I speke with that lady bright, I hope my heart will breke * in thre; But I will go with alle my myght Hir to mete at Eldryn tre." Thomas sadly f up he rase,
And ran over that mounteyne hye; And certenly, as the story sayes,
He hir mette at Eldryn tre.
* MS. line, bryste:
t MS. Line, and Cott. rathely, i. e. readily; which is a better reading.
He knelit downe upon his kne Underneath the grenewode spray: "Lovely lady! thu rew on me; Qwene of heven, as thu well may." Than seid that lady milde of thozht, "Thomas, let such wordis be; For quene of heaven am I nozht; I toke never so hye degre. "But I am a lady of another cuntre, If I be pareld moost of price; I ride after the wilde fee; My raches rennen at my devys." "If thu be pareld most of price,
And ridis here in thy folye, Lufly lady, as thu art wyse,
So gif me leve to lye the by."
"Do way, Thomas, that were foly;
I pray thee hertely lete me be; Ffor I say the securly,
That synne wil for doo al my bewtie." * "Lufly lady, thu rew on me,
* This line js adopted from the Line, and Cott. MSS. as it is wanting in the Camb. copy.
And I shall ever more with the dwell; Her my trouth I plight to the,
Wheder thu wilt to heven or hell."
"Man of molde, thu wilt me marre, But zet thu shalt have thi wille;
But trow thu well thu thryvest* the warre, Ffore alle my bewte thu wille spille."
Down then light that lady bright, Underneath a grene wode spray; And, as the story tellus.ful right, Vij tymes f be hir he lay. She seid, "Thomas, thu likis thi play: What byrde in boure may duel with the? Thu marris me here this lefe long day; I pray thee, Thomas, let me be." * MS. Linc. and Cott. chewys. t MS. Linc. sythis.
Thomas stonde up in that stede,
And beheld that lady gay: Hir hare that hong upon hir hed, The tother was black, the tother gray.
And all hir clothis were away
That he before saw in that stede;
Hir een semyd out that were so gray, And alle hyr body like the lede.*. Thomas seid, " alas! alas!
In feith this is a doleful sight, That thu art so fadut in the face,
That be fore schone as sunne bright!"
"Take thi leve at sune and mone, And also at levys of Eldryn tre;f
This twelmond shall thu with me gon, That mydul erth thu shall not se."
* MS. Cott Hyr body as bio as any lede. Qu. Should it not be, as in the other copies, lede? t MS. Cott. At grasse, and at every tre.
vOL. II. B
He knelyd down upon his kne;
To Mary mylde he made his in one: "Lady, but thu rew on me,
All my games fro me ar gone.
"Alas/' he seyd, "woo is me, I trow my dedis wil wyrke me woo:
Jhu, my soule be teche I the,
Wher so ever my bonys shall goo."
She led hym to the Eldryn Birke, Underneth the grene wode tre, Ther it was a myd nyght myrke, And ever water tille the knee.* * This is one of those passages, which, having become illegible, an attempt had been made to restore. Fortunately in this, as in several other instances, the preparation which I applied to the MS., by restoring the original and genuine text, has enabled me to discover the inaccuracy of the interpolator, who has attempted to supply what he supposed to be wanting. The stanza, as filled up by him, ran thus:
« She led him to the Eldryn Hill, Underneth the grenewood Ice, Where hit was derk as any hell," Sic. This " Eldryn Birke" of Fairy-land is different from the Scotish Eldryn, Eldyn, or Eildon tree of Erceldoune; and is probably a mistake of the English transcriber for Elric Birke,
Ther the space of dayes thre He herd the noyse * of the flode; At the last he seid, "Wo is me! Almost I dye for fawte of foode!" She led hym in to a fayr herbere, That frute groand was gret plente; Peyres and appuls, bothe ripe thei were, The darte, and also the damsyn tre. •}• which, in Scotland, or in Germany, would signify a birke, under the dominion of Elves, or frequented by them. It is since this note was written, that the editor has received the transcripts of the Line, and Cott. MSS., in the former of which the stanza runs thus:
"She ledde him in at Eldone Hill,
Undernethe a derne lee, Where it was derke als mydnight merke. And ever the water till his kne." In MS. Cott. it is,—- "She ledde hym furth with all her myzt,
(Jndir nethe the derne lee; Wher it was as derke as at mydnyzt, And evyr in water unto the kne."
These readings, perhaps, do away the observation concerning the Eldryn Birke. There is something uncommonly romantic and poetical in Thomas's going under ground with the queen of Elfland, as jEneas does with the Sibyl; marching for three days in pitchy darkness, and hearing nothing but the swechyng and saowyng (i.e. swinging and booming) of the waves over his head. * MS. Line, siceghynge; MS. Cott. swowyng; both preferable to MS. Camb. as being more expressive of the noise of the sea,
"On some wide-watered shore,
Swinging slow with sullen roar." Milton.
t MS. Line, and MS. Cott. damasee.
.
The fygge, and also the wynne bery ; * The nyghtyngale byggyng hir nest; The papyngay fast about can flye; The throstill song wolde have no rest. He presed to pul the frute with his honde: "As man for fode wex nere honde feynte." She seid, "Thomas, let that stond, Or ellis the feend will the atteynt. "If thu pulle, the sothe to sey, Thi soule goeth to the fyre of hell; Hit comis never out til domis day, But ther ever in payne to dwell." She seid, "Thomas, I the bight, Come, lay thi hed on my kne, And thu shal see the feyrest sight, That ever saw mon of the cuntre." He leyd downe his hed as she hym badde, His hed upon hir kne he leide;
Hir to pleese he was full gladde;
And then that lady to him she seide,—
* In the north of Scotland, the common currant is called the wine berry.
"Sees thu zonder is fayr way,
That lyes over zonder mounteyne r
Zonder is the way to heven for ay,
Whan synful souls have duryd ther peyne.
"Seesl thu now, Thomas, zonder way, That lyse low under zonder rise? Wide is the way, the sothe to say, Into thejoyes of paradyse. "Seest thu zonder thrid way, That lyes over zonder playne?
Zonder is the way, the sothe to say, That sinful soules shall drye to payne.
"Seest thu zonder fourt way, That lyes over zonder felle? Zonder is the way, the sothe to say, Unto the brennand fyre of hell. "Seest thu now zonder fayre castell, That stondis upon zonder fayre hill? Off towne and toure it berith the bell; Jn mydull erth is non like ther till. "In faith, Thomas, zonder is myne owne, And the kyngus of this cuntre;
But mewer better be honged and drawyn, Then he wist that thu lay be me.
"My lorde is served at ilk a messe With xxx knyghts fayre and fre; And I shalle say, sittand at the dese— I toke thi speche be zonde the lee. * "Whan thu comes to zonder castell gay, I pray the curtese man to be;
And what so ever any man to the say, Loke thu answer non but me." Thomas styll als stone he Btode,-f And be helde that lady gay; She was as feyre, and as gode, J And as riche on hir palfray. * Her injunction, that Thomas must speak to no one but herself, and her pretence that she has deprived him of the faculty of speech, proceeds from a fear of his blabbing and betraying her to the jealousy of her husband, the king of Elfland.
t Sic. in MS. Line.
t MS. Cott, Than was sche fayr and ryche anone.
4
Hir grey houndis fillid with dere blode;
Hir rachis coupuld, be my fay; She blew hir home on hir palfray gode,*
And to the castell she Joke the way.
In to a hall sothely she went;
Thomas folud at hir hande; Ladis come, bothe faire and gent,
Fful curtesly to hir kneland.
Harpe and fidul both thei fande, The getern and also the sautry; The lute, and the ribybe, both gangand, And all maner of minstralcy* Knigts dawnsyng be thre and thre: Ther was revel, both game and play;
The feare ladys fayre and fre
Dawnsyng with f [thaim in] ryche aray.
The gretest ferjy ther Thomas thozt, When xxx harts lay upon [the] flore; And as many dere in were brozt, That was largely long and store. * MS. Line, with mayne and moae. t MSS. Cott. and Line, sat and sang.
Ilaches * lay lappand on the deris blode;
The cocys thei stode with dressyng knyfe, Brytnand the dere as thei were wode;
Revel was among thaim rife.
Ther was reveli, game, and play, More than I yow say perdye, Till hit fell upon a day My lufly lady seid to me: "Busk the, Thomas; for thu most gon, Ffor here no longer mayst thu be; Hye the fast; with mode and mone, I shall the bryng to the Eldyn Tre." Thomas answered with hevy chere, "Lufly lady, thu let me be; For certenly I have be here But the space of dayes thre." "Ffor sothe, Thomas, I the tell,
Thou hast bene here seven zere and more; Ffor here no longer may thu dwell,
I shal tel the skyl wherfore.
* MS. Cott. Lymours; Fr. Limier, a mougrel dog.
"To morow on of Hel, a * fowle fende, Among these folke shal chese his fee:
Thou art a fayre f man and a hende, Fful wele I wot he wil chese the. "Ffore all the golde that ever myght be Ffro heven unto the wordys J ende,
Thu beys never trayed for me; Ffor with me I rede the wende." She broght hym agayn to the Eldyntre, Underneth the grene wode spray,
In Huntley Banks ther for to be,
Ther foulys syng bothe nyzt and day.
Ffor out over zon mownten gray, Thomas, a fawken maks his nest;—
A fawken is an yrons|| pray;
Ffor thei in place will have no rest.
\
* MSS. Cott. and Line. the. t MS. Cott. lang. t Worldys. || (i. e.) Earne's. In MS. Linc. it is Eglis. Earn is Gaelic, *nd means the bead, chief, or king of birds; Fear coin.
"Ffare wel, Thommas; I wende my way;
Ffor me most over zon bentis brown." This is a fytte: twain ar to sey .
Of Thomas of Erseltown,
Footnotes (First Fytte)
1. In the MS. from which the editor made this transcript, the Saxon th is always used before a consonant; but the Romany is a bad substitute for it, as it resembles it only in figure; so he used the common letters.
2. MS. Lin. throstyll cokke.
3 MS. Lin. her of her song.
4. Farde, I suppose, means rerf, i. e. went on; but the Lin. MS. reading, beryd, i. e. " made a noise," is preferable.
5. MS. Cott. dern.
6. MS. Lin. 2onge, MS. Cot. fair.
7. MS. Lin. and Cott, wrcbbe and wrye.
8. MS. Cott. All abawtc that lady schone.
9. MS. Lin. selle. 5f MS. Lin. and Cot. crapste. In MS. Camb. this word was very indistinct, and may have been the same.
10. MS. uCott. farnyle. This seems the better reading, as ferny brae occurs in the traditional ballad.
11. MS. Line, beryll.
12. Perell, MS. linc.
13. MS. Line, irale.
14. Thre.
THE SECOND FYTTE.
"Fa Re wel, Thomas; I wend m[y] [w]ay;
I may no longer stande with the."— "Gif me sum tokyn, lady gay,
That I may say I spake with the."
'• To harpe and carpe, Thomas, wher so ever ze gon,
Thomas, take the these with the." 'Harping," he seid, " ken * I non;
TTor tong is chefe of mynstralse." -f
"If thu wil spell, J or talys telle, Thomas, thu shal never make lye: Wher so ever thu goo, to frith, or felle, || I pray the speke never non ille of me. * MS. Line, kepe; a good reading.
f How would Mr Ritson, if he were alive, like True Thomas's definition of a profession which he knew so well?
| This is the real word, which, in Scotland, has now taken the form of spue.
|| Thomas received, according to common tradition, this faculty of always speaking truth, as a valuable companion to his
"Ffare wel, Thomas, and wel thu be;
I can no longer stohd the by." "Lovely lady, fayre and fre,
Tell me zet of some farley."
"Thomas, truly I the say, When [that] a tre rote is ded,
The levys fal and dwyne away;
Frute hit berys noder white nor red.
"So shalle this fallys blode befall, That slial be like this rotan tre; The semelles and the telys all, The refull and the frechel fre;* "Alle shalle falle and dwyne away;
No wonder thoz the rote dy! And mekill "bale shal after spray, -f
Ther joy and blisse were wont to be.
gift of prophecy, from the Queen of the Fairies; and from thence he derived his common appellation of True Thomas. Tammy Tell-the-Trulh is a principal character in several satirical rustic ballads which I have heard in Morayshire; and probably was so in the old interludes.
* In the Line. MS. it is " the Comym and the Barlays alle, the Treffells and the Ffresell (i. e. Fraser) free."
t Spray, Qu. spring?
.
"Pfare wel, Thommas; I wende my way;
I may no longer stand the by." "Lufly lady, gflde and gay,
Tell me zet of some ferly."
"What kynd ferly, Thomas gode, Shall I tell the if thi will be?"
"Tell me, of this gentil blode,
Who shal thrife, and who shal the;
"Who shal be kyng, who shall be non, And who shall weld the north countre; Who shall fley, who shal be tane, And where the batell on shal be." "Off a batell I wyl the tell, That shall come sone at will: Barons shal mete both fro * and fell, And fresshely fegt at Ledyn hill, f
"The Brutys * blode shalle under fall;
The Bretens blode shall wyn the spray ;•(• C thowsandmen ther shalbe slayn,
OiF Scottyshmen that nyght and day. J
"Ffare wel, Thomas; I wende my way;
To stande with the me thynke full yrke— Off the next batell I wil the say,
That shalbe done at Faw Kyrke.
"The Bretans blode shall under fall;
The Brouttys blode shall wyn the spray; Vij thousynd Englisshe men, gret and smalle,
Ther shalbe slayn that night and day. ||
* MS. Line. Bretons.
t MS. Line, ffray.
J MS. Dnc. Vj thousands Ynglysche, wele I wete,
Sail there be slayne that ilk a daye.
|| Both Line, and Cott. MS. seem to agree in the following reading from MS. Line.:
"Banners sall stande, bothe long and large, Trow this wele, with mode and mayne; The Bruysse blode sall undir game,
Sevene thowsande Scottis there sallbe slayne."
"Ffare we], Thomas; the day the sees;
No longer here thu tayr6 me; Lo! wher my gray hounds breke ther leesshe;
My raches breke ther copulls in thre.
"Lo! qw[h]er the dere goos be too and too, And holdis over zonder mounten hie"—
Thomas seid, " God schild thu goo, But tell me zet of sum ferly. "Holde thi greyhounds in thi honde;
And cupull thi raches to a [tre]; And lat the dere reyke over the londe;— Ther is a herd in Holteby."
"Off a batell I wil the say,
That shall gar ladys mourne in mode: A Banokys Borne is water and clay,
That shalbe myngyd with manys blode.
"And stedys shall stumbil for treson, Bothe bay and browne, grisell and gray; And gentill knyzts shalle tombull downe, Thoro takyng of that wyckid way. "The Bretans blode shall under fall;
The Brutys * blode shall wyn the spray; Viij \ thousand Englyssh men, gret and smale,
Ther shalbe slayne that nyght and day.
"Then shalle Scotland kyngless be see;
Trow this wil thai I the say, And thei shalle chese a kyng ful yong, That can no lawes lede, perfay.
"Robert with care he shalle reng, And also he shalle wynd away; Lordys and ladys, both olde and yeng, Shall draw to hym with owtyn nay. "And they with pryde to England ryde, Est and west ther lyggys his way; And take a toune of mych pryce, And slee **x knygts veray. * MS. Linc. has Bruesse. t MS. Line. Vj. J See, qu. long.
"Be twene a parke * and an abbay,
A palys and a parisshe kyrke, Ther shalle the kyng mys of his way,
And of hys life be full yrke.
"He shalbe teryd ful wonder sare,
So away he may not fle; His nek shal rife or he then fare, The red blod trikland to his kne.
"Be twene a myckul way and a water,
A parke and a stonlLway then, Ther shal a cheften mete in fere;
A ful dugty ther shalbe slayn.
* From this to the end of the Fytte all the MSS. differ so much, that there is no reconciling them. MS. Line, mentions the battle on Depplynge More, where it says xj Scots were slain, and the subsequent taking of the —" town of gret renown,
That stands near the water of Tay; and MS. Cott says:
"Bytwys a wethy and a water,
A wel and a haly staine, Ther sal two cheftans met in fer; The Douglas ther sall be slaine. A tarslet sal in halde be tane,
Cheftans away— And lede hym to ane halde of stane, And close him in a cart."
"The toder cheftan shalbe tane, A presans of blode hym shal slee, And lede hym a w[ay in a] wan, And cloyse hym in a castell hee. "Ffare wel, Thomas; I wende my way;
Ffor I most over zon bentis brown." Here ar two fytts Thomas to say,
Off Thomas of Erseldown.
THE THIRD FYTTE,
"But, Thommas, truly I the say, •
This worlde is wondir wankill: * Off the next batell I will the say,
That salbe done at Spynard hill.f
"The Brutya blode shall under fall;
The Brettenis blode shall wyne [the spray]; Xiij thousand ther shalbe slayne [alle],
Of Scottishe men that nyght and day.
"Off the next batell I wil the telle, That shalbe done sone at will;
Barons, both fleshe and fell
Shalbe fresshely fyght at Pentland Hyll.
* MS. Line, zcondereth and woghe. t MS. Line, cloughe.
"But when [betwene?] Pentlandand Edyn-borow, And the hill that stands on the red clay,
Vij thousand ther shalbe slayn there, Of Scottishe men that nyght and day. "Then shalle they met both stiff and strong,
Betwene Seton and the see; The Englyssh shalle lyg the cragys among, The tother at the Est bank.
** The Florence forth shall fare Upon a Sonday to here the messe; A thousande ther shalbe slayne, Of bothe partyes more and Jesse. "Ffor that ther shall no barrens * presse, But fer asonder shall they be: Carful shalbe the furst messe, Be twene Seton and the see. "Then shalle they figt with helm and shylde there, And wouudyt men [shall many be]; But on the morn there shalbe care, Ffor nedyr [parte] shall have the gree. * Qu. banners?
* Then shalle thei take a truce and swere, Thre zere and more I understonde,
That nouther side shalle odir dere, Nouther be se nor be londe. "Be twene twoo seynt Mary dayes, When the tyme waxis nere long, Then shall thei mete and banerse rese, In Gleydis-more that is so long. "Gladys-more, that gladis us all;
This is beginning of oure gle; Gret sorow there shall fall,
Where rest and peese were wont to be.
"Crowned kyngus ther shalbe slayn, With dynts sore, and wonder [to] se,
Out of a more a raven shal cum, And of hym a schrew shall flye, "And seke the more with owten rest, After a crosse is made of ston, . Hye and lowe, both est and west; But up he shal spede anon. "He shal lig ther wher he shulde be, And hold his neb up to the skye; And he shal drink the red blode ther— Lordys shall cry welaway. "Then shal they figt with helm and spere, Un to the sun be set nere west;
Ther is no wyzt in that fyld [ther]
That wots qwylke side shall have the best.
"A bastard shall cum fro a forest, Not in Yngland borne shall he be, And he shal wyn the gre for the best, Alle men leder of Bretan shal he be. "And with pride to England ride,
Est and west in certan; And hold a parlement with pride, Wher never non be fore was seyn.
"Alle false lawes he shalle lay doune,
That are begune in that cuntre; Truly to wyrke he shalbe boune,
And all leder of Bretans shal he be.
"The bastard shal get hym power strong, And all his faes he shall down dyng; Of alle the v kingys londis, Ther shal non bodword home bryng. "The bastard shalle go in the holy land;
Trow this wel as I the say: Tak his [soule] to his hande,
Jhu Christe that mycull may.
"Thomas [truly] I the say, This sertand yll worde;— Of the last batel I the say, That shalbe don at Sandeforde. "Nere Sandyforth ther is a wroo,* And nere that wro is a well; A ston there is the wel even fro, And nere the wel truly to tell, "On that grounde ther groeth okys thre,
And is called Sandyford; Ther the last batel ever shalbe;
Thomas, trow thu ilke a worde;"
* MS. Cott. broo, i. e. brow, brae, or rising ground. * After the stanza (p. 36. v. 2.) beginning,
Then she said with hevy chere j The terys ran out of her een gray: "Lady, or thu wepe so sore,
Take thi houndis, and wend thi way."
"I wepe not for my way-walkyng,
Thomas, treuly, I the say; But for ladys shal wed ladys zeng, When the lordis are dede away.*
"He shall have a stede in stabul fed, A hauke to beyre upon his hond;
A bright lady to his bed,
That before had non in londe.
"Then shalle they met both stiff and strong,"
there is in the Line, and Cott. MSS. a strong picture of the desolation of war, and the depopulation of the country:
"Stedis a waye maysterles sal flynge,
On the mountans too and froo; Thair sadells on thare bakkis sall hynge, Unto the garthis be rotyn in two."
In all the MSS. the order of the events in the prophetic part is different; but amid the hurry and confusion of providing and packing up for a voyage to a distant country, the editor has no leisure to arrange or comment upon them; nor are they worth so much pains, if he had leisure.
v "Ffare wel, Thomas; I wende my way;
AlLe the day thu wil me marre." "Lufly lady, tel thu me Of Black Agnes of Dunbar.
"And why she have gyven me the warre, And put me in her prison depe;
For I walde dwel with her ever mar, And kepe hir plaes and hir shepe." "Off black Agnes cum never gode;
Wher for, Thomas, she may not the; Ffor al hir welth and hir worldly gode,
In London cloysed shal she be.
"Ther prevysse never gode of hir blode, In a dyke than shall she dye;
Hounds of hir shall have ther fode, Margrat of all hir kyn and she." Then Thommas a sory man was he, The terys ran out of his een gray: "Lufly lady, zet tell to me, If we shall parte for ever and ay." "Nay; when thu sitts at Erseldown, To Hunteley Bank thu take thi way,
And there shal I be redy bown,
To mete the, Thomas, if that I may."
She blew hir horne on hir palfray,
And left Thomas at Eldyrntre; Til Helmesdale she toke the way, . And thus departed that lady and he.
OS such a woman wold I here, That couth tell me of such ferly: Jhu crowned with thorne so clere, Bring us to the hall on hye! J
%* The Camb. MS., from which the editor made the above transcript, has suffered by rain-water nearly as much as the Cotton has done by fire; a great part of each page having become entirely illegible by the total disappearance of the ink. By wetting it, however, with a composition which he procured from a bookseller and stationer in Cambridge, the writing was so far restored in most places, that, with much poring, and the assistance of a magnifying glass, he was able to make it out pretty clearly. The greatest difficulty he met with was from the unlucky zeal and industry of some person, who, long ago, and in a hand nearly resembling the original, had endeavoured to fill up the chasms, and, as appeared upon the revival of the old writing, had generally mistaken the sense, and done much more harm than good. The Line. MS. is very imperfect towards the latter part of the prophecies; but that is of little moment