~M~

The rose-briar motif, for the purposes of this thread, consists of the rose, the briar, and the true lover's knot. Other elements are indeed important but in a strictly relative sense...

~D~

OK let's talk about these gendered plants and about Barbara Allen.

It is interesting to note that all occurrences of the Scottish variation, the "birk-briar motif" as it were, do not ascribe gender to the plants at all. Ascribing gender, like the theme of death by love-sickness, seems to fall more in line with English tradition. Although generally referred to as a Scottish ballad, Barbara Allen obviously descends from a courtly tradition and bears the influences of English (and French) ideas about courtly love. This death by love-sickness is simply not a folkish sentiment of the Scots. Recall the Twa Corbies. That's how the Scots think.

We know that ultimately Barbara Allen became the most popular ballad of them all. Why wouldn't such a popular motif eventually end up on the most popular ballad? But it didn't start out there. Your friend Child indicated that the rose-briar motif was NOT attached to Barbara
Allan originally by not including any variants that have it. I happen to agree with him there. The earliest printed broadside is from 1690, it is English, takes place in the "merry" month of May and the "young man" is not named. There is no motif in any of the early versions.

The version that is generally referred to as Scottish, takes place during Martinmas (11/11)and the young man's name is John Graeme. That is interesting to me because Bonnie Dundee is the soubriquet for John Graham, 7th Laird of Claverhouse, 1st Viscount Dundee, who with the help of the Catholic highlanders led the three main Jacobite risings in 1689 and thus became known as a Jacobite hero. Could there be a connection? Oh, most certainly I would think. The timing is right. I believe also that there is a tradition in folk music, generally speaking, that tends to put the name of notable persons or families into folk songs and ballads.

Anyway, gender occurs with the plants in this motif in English traditions: Fair Margaret and Sweet William, some variants of Lord Lovel, and some variants of Earl Bran- and nowhere else. I am satisfied that the motif did not originate on any of the other 7 ballads that it has been associated with.

Another thing Don, while I'm perfectly willing to take what "established" ballad scholars have to say into account, I'm a bit leary of strict reliance on "authoritative" sources. I like to do my own thinking. Why did Child, for example, exclude the comic tradition of Lord Lovel? Is it because he's not the be-all and end-all of ballad scholarship? Was it because he was interpreting from his own stodgy, prudish Victorian, racist mindset much of the time? I would say so. He collected a lot of information, however, he really was a bit limited in the analyses department. He missed a lot, ignored a lot, rejected a lot.

And one more point, only so much can be "proven" by citing high ranking academics in the field. This is not law, we don't base things purely on precedent do we? That's a system where a bad decision generally leads to several more bad decisions. I hope that's not how we do things around here. Some things are obvious as in common sense, we shouldn't have to wait for some important academic to point such things out to us that seem to be staring us in the face. Like the John Graeme thing. How do I "prove" it? Why the hell should I have to? It's right there!

                                              ~S~


Btw, I do that little flourish on my initial because I'm very vain :-)