The English and Scottish Popular Ballads Edited by Francis James Child. |
 | I. |
| II. |
| III. |
| IV. |
| V. |
| VI. |
| VII. |
| VIII. |
 | IX. |
| 266. |
| 267. |
| 268. |
| 269. |
| 270. |
| 271. |
| 272. |
| 273. |
| 274. |
| 275. |
| 276. |
| 277. |
| 278. |
| 279. |
| 280. |
| 281. |
| 282. |
| 283. |
| 284. |
| 285. |
| 286. |
| 287. |
| 288. |
| 289. |
| 290. |
| 291. |
| 292. |
| 293. |
| 294. |
| 295. |
| 296. |
| 297. |
| 298. |
| 299. |
| 300. |
| 301. |
| 302. |
| 303. |
| 304. |
| 305. |
 | The English and Scottish Popular Ballads |  |
Earl Marshall
QUEEN ELEANOR'S CONFESSION—G
[_]
“Scotch Ballads, Materials for Border Minstrelsy,” No 4 b, Abbotsford; in the handwriting of William Laidlaw.
1
The queen of England she is seek,And seek and like to dee;
She has sent for friers out of France,
To bespeek hir speed[i]ly.
2
The king has cald on his merrymen,By thirtys and by threes;
Earl Marshall should have been the formest man,
But the very last man was he.
3
‘The queen of England s[h]e is seek,And seek and like to dee,
And she has sent for friers out of France,
To bespeek hir speedyly.
4
‘But I will put on a frier's weeg,And ye'l put on another,
And we'll away to Queen Helen gaits,
Like friers both together.’
5
‘O no, no,’ says Earl Marshall,‘For this it must not be;
For if the queen get word of that,
High hanged I will be.’
6
‘But I will swear by my septer and crown,And by the seas so free,
I will swear by my septer and crown,
Earl Marshall, thow's no dee.’
7
So he has put on a frier's wig,And the king has put on another,
And they are away to Queen Helen gaits,
Like friers both together.
8
When they came to Queen Helen gaits,They tirled at the pin;
There was non so ready as the queene herself
To open and let them in.
9
‘O are you two Scottish dogs? —And hanged you shall be —
Or are [you] friers come out of France,
To bespeek me speedily?’
10
‘We are not two Scottish dogs,Nor hanged we shall be;
For we have not spoken a wrong word
Since we came over the sea.’
11
‘Well then, the very first that ever I sindI freely confess to thee;
Earl Marshall took my maidenhead
Below yon greenwood tree.’
12
‘That is a sin, and very great sin,But the Pope will pardon thee;’
‘Amene, Amene,’ says Earl Marshall,
But a feert, feert heart had he.
13
‘The very next sin that ever I sindI freely confess to thee;
I had [poisen] seven years in my breast
To poisen King Hendry.’
14
‘That is a sin, and very great sin,But the Pope forgiveth thee;’
‘Amene, Amene,’ says Earl Marshall,
But a feert, feert heart had he.
15
‘The very next sin that ever I sindI freely confess to thee;
I poisened one of my court's ladies,
Was far more fairer than me.’
16
‘That is a sin, and a very great sin,But the Pope forgiveth thee;’
‘Amene, Amene,’ says Earl Marshall,
But a feert, feert heart had he.
17
‘Do you see yon bony boys,Playing at the baw?
The oldest of them is Earl Marshall's,
And I like him best of all.’
18
‘That is a sin, and very great sin,But the Pope forgiveth thee;’
‘Amene, Amene,’ says Earl Marshall,
But a feert, feert heart had he.
19
‘Do ye see two bony [boys],Playing at the baw?
The youngest of them is King Hendry's,
And I like him worst of all.
20
‘Because he is headed like a bull,And his nose is like a boar;’
‘What is the matter?’ says King Henry,
‘For he shall be my heir.’
21
Now he put off his frier's wigAnd drest himself [in] red;
She wrung hir hands, and tore hir hair,
And s[w]ore she was betraid.
22
‘Had I not sworn by my septer and crown,And by the seas so free,
Had I not sworn by my septer and crown,
Earl Marshall, thowst have died.’
| The English and Scottish Popular Ballads | |