Subject: add: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight ^^ From: Alan of Australia Date: 01 Jul 00 - 09:51 PM G'day, From the Penguin Book Of English Folk Songs, Ed Pellow's rendition of the tune of The Outlandish Knight (Child #4) can be found here.
THE OUTLANDISH KNIGHT
'An outlandish knight from the north land came,
'Well, go and get me some of your father's gold,
She borrowed some of her father's gold,
She mounted on her lilywhite horse,
He says: 'Unlight, my little Polly,
'Pull off, pull off your silken gown,
She said: 'Go get a sickle to crop the thistle
So he got a sickle to crop the thistle,
Lie there, lie there, you false-hearted man,
Then she mounted on her lilywhite horse,
Now the parrot being in the window so high,
Don't prittle, don't prattle, my pretty Polly,
Now the master being in the bedroom so high,
There come an old cat on top of my cage, Sung by Mr Hilton, South Walsham, Norfolk (R.V.W. 1908)
Click here for another version. Also search the DT for #4.
Previous song: One Night As I Lay On My Bed.
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Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Amergin Date: 01 Jul 00 - 09:54 PM Cool, but don't let the walnut catch you posting new topics without labelling them. Amergin |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Joe Offer Date: 01 Jul 00 - 10:02 PM Ah, but the harvester has seen and harvested. He's up to page 81 of 108. Outstanding, Alan! -Joe Offer- |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: bob jr Date: 01 Jul 00 - 10:29 PM um i was hoping for something bout penquins.... |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Rick Fielding Date: 02 Jul 00 - 09:21 AM Thanks Alan. I never tire of singing (a version) of this. Other than "The House Carpenter" it may be the only song that's stayed on my repertoire's "A" list from the age of 15 to today. Rick |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 10 Jul 00 - 11:56 PM From the notes to the Penguin Book (1959): "This ballad has many titles. Scholars know it as Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight or May Colvin, but An Outlandish Rover, The Highway Robber, The Old Beau are among titles preferred by folk singers. Child...noted it as one of the most widespread of ballads, with relatives in Poland, Germany, Scandinavia, France, the Netherlands (as Halewijn), and elsewhere, as far afield as Australia. It is also among the most persistent, being not infrequently sung today. Some scholars see in it traces of the Bluebeard story, others believe it may be an offshoot of the legend of Judith and Holofernes. Perhaps more plausible is the theory that the ballad is descended from a folk-tale about a malevolent water-spirit who transforms himself into a knight and marries a girl with the intention of carrying her off to his watery home. The genial incident of the dialogue with the parrot (borrowed from Oriental tradition?) was isolated and made into a comic stage song, called Tell-Tale Polly (c. 1860). Within this century, besides our Norfolk set, versions have been printed from Westmoreland (FSJ vol.II, p.282), Yorkshire (three versions, FSJ vol.II, pp. 282-3), Herefordshire (FSJ vol.IV, p.122), Hertfordshire (FSJ vol.IV, p.118), Sussex (FSJ vol.IV, p.121), Wiltshire (Folk Songs of the Upper Thames, ed. A. Williams, 1923; pp.159-161), and Somerset (four versions, FSJ vol.IV, pp.119-121); Sharp reported that he had found 23 sets of it in that county), Devon (FSJ vol.IV, p.119) and Cornwall (FSJ vol.IV, pp.116-117). A fragmentary version in Manx is printed in FSJ vol.VII, p.301)." -R.V.W./A.L.L.
This version was collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams from Mr. Hilton of South Walsham, Norfolk, in 1908. It was first published in the Folk Song Journal, vol. IV, p. 123.
Child #4
@courting @murder @animal @trick @seduction @talkbird
Other versions on the DT:
False Sir John (May Colvin)
False Sir John (2) (May Colven: Child's version C)
Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight (Child A)
Lady Isobel and the Elf Knight There is a note from Sandy Paton regarding the provenance of this version, here.
In the Forum:
The Outlandish Knight A discussion, largely of Martin Carthy's recorded version.
There is an entry at the Traditional Ballad Index: Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight
As might be expected, there are a lot of broadside versions of this song at Bodleian Library Broadside Ballads. Here is a selection:
The Outlandish Knight Printed and Sold by H.F. Sefton, 33, Broad Street, Worcester 18(?)
The Outlandish Knight Printed by J. Catnach, 2, Monmouth-court. Sold by Marshall, Bristol between 1813 and 1838
The Outlandish Knight Swindells, A. (Manchester) between 1796 and 1853
The Outlandish Knight Wilson, J. (Bideford)
The Outlandish Knight Pitts Printer Wholesale Toy & Marble warehouse 6, Great st, Andrew street 7 dials between 1819 and 1844
Old Beau's Courtship Harkness, J. (Preston) between 1840 and 1866
In Folk Song in England (1967) A. L. Lloyd refers to Lajos Vargyas' Researches into the Medieval History of Folk Ballad (Budapest, 1967), in which Vargyas uses iconography, amongst other things, to trace this ballad back to a putative Central Asian origin. Although a good pinch of salt should probably be taken, it's hard to resist Lloyd's comment:
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Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Wolfgang Date: 11 Jul 00 - 04:30 AM Malcolm, I use this thread for a BIG thank you though I could have used many other threads. Your additions to the Penguin threads are invaluable. Sometimes I dream of a Mudcat that has all notes and additions to one song in a single thread with all the posts of no value beyond the day (like the one I'm writing right now) fading away soft(ware)ly after about two weeks. Wolfgang |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Susan of DT Date: 11 Jul 00 - 05:32 AM Joe - did you get all of these, or do you want me to grab some? |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 21 Jun 01 - 10:08 PM A new posting of another set of this song to the Forum reminds me that the links I gave here last year here need to be updated. I add only references to stable sites that take the trouble to acknowledge their sources, though it has to be said that some of the examples here at the Mudcat, referred to above, are given with no information at all as to what tune, if any, they might have been sung to, and no information at all as to where they might have come from. At the Max Hunter Folk Song Collection (all with full texts, notation and sound files: Malcolm |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Joe Offer Date: 21 Jan 05 - 03:08 AM Here's the entry from the Traditional Ballad Index: Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight [Child 4]DESCRIPTION: A knight woos a lady. He will marry her if she runs away with him. He leads her to the seashore and threatens to drown/kill her as he has killed others before. She makes him turn his back and kills him instead. She bribes her parrot to keep her secretAUTHOR: unknown EARLIEST DATE: 1776 (Herd) KEYWORDS: elopement murder seduction bird lie FOUND IN: Britain(England(All),Scotland) US(Ap,MA,MW,NE,SE,So,SW) Canada(Mar,Newf) Ireland Australia; analogues in Poland, Germany, France, Scandinavia, Netherlands REFERENCES (42 citations): Child 4, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (8 texts) Bronson 4, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (144 versions plus 2 in addenda) BarryEckstormSmyth pp.14-34, "The False-Hearted Knight" (8 texts plus a fragment, 6 tunes; the "B" text is probably mixed as it starts with first person verses from the false knight) {Bronson's #50, #22, #35, #81, #5, #13} Belden, pp. 5-16, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (8 texts plus variants) Randolph 2, "Pretty Polly Ann" (4 texts plus a fragment, 3 tunes) {A=Bronson's #121, C=#86, E=#131} Randolph/Cohen, pp. 16-18, "Pretty Polly Ann" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 2A) {Bronson's #121} Eddy 2, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (4 texts plus a fragment, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #49, #89} Gardner/Chickering 1, "Lady Isabe and the Elf-Knightl" (1 text plus a fragment and mention of 1 more, 1 tune) {Bronson's #92} Flanders/Brown, pp. 190-192, "The Outlandish Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #130} Flanders/Olney, pp. 4-7, "The False-Hearted Knight"; pp. 109-111, "The Castle by the Sea"; pp. 129-131, "The Outlandish Knight" (3 texts, 3 tunes) {Bronson's #138 ,#57, #141} Davis-Ballads 3, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (17 texts plus 2 fragments, 7 tunes entitled 'Pretty Polly," "The Nine King's Daughters," "The Seven King's Daughters," "The False-Hearted Knight," "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight"; 9 more versions mentioned in Appendix A) { {Bronson's #103, #146, #23, #104, #2, #19, #24} Davis-More 4, pp. 16-25, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (3 texts, including one reconstructed, 2 tunes) BrownII 2, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (7 texts) Chappell-FSRA 2, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (2 fragments) Hudson 1, pp. 61-66, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (3 texts plus a fragment) Brewster 3, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (3 texts, 1 tune) Creighton/Senior, pp. 2-9, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (4 texts plus 3 fragments, 4 tunes) {Bronson's #74, #44, #42, #43} Greenleaf/Mansfield 1, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (3 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #73} Leach, pp. 53-59, ""Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (3 texts) Wyman-Brockway I, p. 82, "Six Kings Daughters" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #109} McNeil-SFB2, pp. 143-145, "The Seventh Sister" (1 text, 1 tune) OBB 8, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight"; 10, "May Colvin" (2 texts) Friedman, p. 10, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (2 texts) Warner 41, "The Castle by the Sea" (1 text, 1 tune) PBB 12, "Lady Isobel and the Elf-Knight" (1 text) Sharp-100E 11, "The Outlandish Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #28a} Niles 4, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (3 texts, 2 tunes) {A=Bronson's#96} Sharp/Karpeles-80E 4, "The Outlandish Knight (Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (1 text, 1 tune, somewhat edited and expanded) {Bronson's #99} Sandburg, pp. 60-61, "Pretty Polly" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #64} Vaughan Williams/Lloyd, pp. 80-81, "The Outlandish Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #39, though Bronson has a different title and no text} SHenry H163, pp. 413-414, "The King o' Spain's Daughter" (1 text, 1 tune) Lomax-FSNA 8, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) {Bronson's #44} Hodgart, p. 28 ,"Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (1 text) DBuchan 42, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (1 text) TBB 32, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (1 text) JHCox 1, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (9 texts, 1 tune) {Bronson's #126} JHCoxIIA, #IA-B, pp. 5-9, "The False Sir John," "Six Kings' Daughters (2 texts, 2 tunes) {Bronson's #128, #127} MacSeegTrav 2, "Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight" (1 text, 1 tune) Silber-FSWB, p. 188, "Lady Isabel And The Elf Knight" (1 text) Darling-NAS, pp. 23-26, "Lady Isabel and the Elf-Knight" (2 texts) BBI, ZN975, "Go fetch me some of your father's gold" (said to be combined from several Child ballads) DT 4, OUTKNGHT* ELFKNGHT* WILLWTRE* KNGSPAIN* FLSESIRJ Roud #21 RECORDINGS: Jumbo Brightwell, "The False-Hearted Knight" (on Lomax41, LomaxCD1741) Fred Jordan, "The Outlandish Knight (Lady Isabel and the Elf Knight)" (on FSB4, FSBBAL1) (on FJordan01, HiddenE) Sam Larner, "The Outlandish Knight" (on SLarner01) Jean Ritchie, "False Sir John" (on JRitchie01) {Bronson's #102{ ALTERNATE TITLES: False Sir John King of Spain's Daughter Lady Ishbel and Her Parrot King William's Son The Courting of Aramalee May Colvin An Outlandish Rover The Highway Robber The Old Beau Halewijn The Seventh King's Daughter Pretty Cold Rain Sweet William The Six Fair Maids Notes: Many theories have been offered as to the origin of this ballad (closely connected with the Franko-Dutch tale of Halwijn). The most widely known is Bugge's theory that this is a corrupt form of the tale of Judith, found in the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical books of the Bible. It should be noted, however, that the only actual parallel between Judith and Lady Isabel is that both end with the bad guy being killed by the heroine. A comprehensive study of the origins of this piece is offered by Holger Olof Nygard in "Ballad Source Study: Child Ballad No. 4 as Exemplar" (first printed in the Journal of American Folklore, LXV, 1952; see now MacEdward Leach and Tristram P. Coffin, eds, The Critics and the Ballad, pp. 189- 203). Nygard concludes that none of the theories of origin is accurate, and I heartily agree. This piece stands on its own. - RBW MacColl & Seeger cite a German broadside, c. 1550. - PJS Of course, most of the alleged parallels to this piece (few of which are *truly* parallel) are in German and Scandinavian literature. - RBW File: C004 Go to the Ballad Search form The Ballad Index Copyright 2004 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle. |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: GUEST,DHL Date: 21 Jan 05 - 03:37 PM Norma Waterson and Nick Jones also have recorded versions of this song. |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: Goose Gander Date: 23 Aug 08 - 01:29 PM Lady Isabel and the Elfin Knight sung by Betty Smith at the Berea College Celebration of Traditional Music, 10/30/76. Click on the button that says 'access this item' to hear the soundfile. From the Digital Library of Appalachia |
Subject: RE: Penguin: The Outlandish Knight From: GUEST,Hilary Date: 07 Feb 11 - 09:05 AM Does anyone know the name of a German version? I would love to learn one. |
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