Subject: Lyr Add: THE LAIDLEY WORM OF SPINDLESTON-HEUGH From: *#1 PEASANT* Date: 29 Nov 00 - 12:15 PM THE LAIDLEY WORM OF SPINDLESTON-HEUGH^^
Virgo jam serpens sinuosa volumina versat,
"A song above 500 years old, made by the old mountain bard,
The king is gone from Bamborough Castle,
She has knotted the keys upon a string,
She tripped out, she tripped in,
It fell out on a day, the king
Oh! welcome father, the lady cries,
A lord said, wondering while she spake,
The envious queen replied, At least,
I will her liken to a Laidley worm,
The princess stood at the bower door
For seven miles east, and seven miles west,
The milk of seven stately cows,
At this day may be seen the cave,
Word went east and word went west,
Word went east, and word went west,
He called straight his merry men all,
We have no time now here to waste,
They built a ship without delay,
They went on board. The wind with speed
The sea was smooth, the weather clear,
The queen look'd out at her bower window,
When she beheld the silken sails,
The spells were vain; the hags returned
Her last effort, she sent a boat,
The worm leapt out, the worm leapt down,
The child then ran out of her reach
And now he drew his berry-broad sword,
O! quit thy sword and bend thy bow,
Oh! quit thy sword, and bend thy bow,
He quitted his sword and bent his bow,
No clothing had this lady fine,
He has taken his mantle from him about,
His absence and her serpent shape,
The queen they wanted, whom they found
Woe be to thee, thou wicked witch,
I will turn you into a toad,
Now on the sand near Ida's tower,
The virgins all of Bambrough town
All folks believe within the shire
This fact now Duncan Frasier -Source: The Northumberland Garland; or Newcastle Nightingale, Joseph Ritson, Newcastle, MDCCXCIII, Harding and Wright, London, 1809. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm From: MMario Date: 29 Nov 00 - 12:58 PM conrad, is there a tune that goes with that? Can you post it? |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm From: SINSULL Date: 29 Nov 00 - 01:17 PM Didn't this spawn "The Lair of the White Worm", a tongue-in-cheek horror movie? The worm was kept in check with bagpipes. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm From: *#1 PEASANT* Date: 29 Nov 00 - 01:26 PM This is not the version in the DT there are some tunes to that version but I do not know how they relate. Checked the web but I didnt find it. Conrad |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm of Spindleston-Heugh From: GUEST,loathsome dragon Date: 31 Oct 06 - 02:02 PM Its probable author was Robert Lambe (1712-1795) who probably was inspired by Kemion or Kempe Owyne Its possible that the Kemp--- tunes were a reference to events from about 1308AD to 1328AD during the reign of Edward II His wife Queen Isabella spent some time at Bamburg Castle during the troubles with Robert Bruce,and Robert Lambe might have been alluding to those times The ballad technically is a snake-maiden narrative in a class of Woman in White tales common in Scotland,Germany and Switzerland where the snaky heroine is a metaphor for the soul of the land |
Subject: Tune Add: THE LAIDLEY WORM OF SPINDLESTON-HEUGH From: GUEST,Jack Campin Date: 01 Nov 06 - 05:59 AM Here's the tune from the Northumbrian Minstrelsy: X:1 T:The Laidly Worm of Spindleston Haugh M:C L:1/4 Q:1/4=108 K:A Minor E|{E}AA AE |AA/A/ AE |GB/c/ dc|B3 z| EE/E/ ED/D/|EG (ED)|EA/A/ BG|A3|] |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm of Spindleston-Heugh From: leeneia Date: 01 Nov 06 - 12:10 PM It's been a long time, but thanks for posting. This would have been a good song for last night - Halloween. No doubt it would be a good idea to excise some of the 40 verses, and if children are present to skip the full-frontal nudity round about verse 31. FYI, it should be laidly, not Laidley. laidly = loathly, ugly, repulsive. And today we would call a worm a dragon. A child is, among other things, a youth of noble birth. (The spellings childe and chylde are modern.) Was there ever a King Ida? The name sounds more like something from the dark ages - cf Horsa and Offa. Got to run. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm of Spindleston-Heugh From: leeneia Date: 02 Nov 06 - 09:17 PM Can anyone tell me why the spelling "Laidley" seems like a place or personal name while "laidly" seems like an adjective? -------- "The spells were vain; the hags returned To the queen in sorrowful mood, Crying that witches have no power, Where there is rowan-tree wood. Her last effort, she sent a boat, Which in the haven lay, With armed men to board the ship, But they were driven away." Obviously we have a medicre enchantress here. Like many jealous people, she is secretly angry with herself for not studying harder heretofore. When she tried to make her stepdaughter into a laidly worm, she also failed to meet expectations. In the oldest versions of the this tale, the worm has lovely green scales, underwings a lovely pink shading into coral, and golden eyebrows. Thus it didn't take much persuading for the noble youth to give her three kisses. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm of Spindleston-Heugh From: GUEST,loathsome dragon Date: 22 Nov 06 - 02:21 PM Ida was an Angle invader who settled in the Northumberland area around 540 AD and Bamburg is named after his wife Bamba (sp) Basically decades after he came, King Urien was assassinated and his son Child Winde (Owayne, Owyne, Owain) formed an alliance with the King of Ulster. One speculation is that the Ulster king took along his ugly ill tempered daughter over to the civil war (about the 580's) and tight fisted Owyne (if it's the Owyne Talesin made an elegy to) and the Princess got together. Apparently Ida's boys took advantage of the situation and at one point the Angle's were stuck on Holy Island while the Irish and Owyne's forces surrounded them. Probably by the 580's the actual RL Ida the Flamebearer/Flamebringer had other things to do then get involved in these battles. It appears that Robert Lambe lived during a time when the British populace really needed to get in touch with its roots. The Industrial Revolution, the wholesale clearing of tenants from rural properties, the corruption of 18th century European civilisation as compared to the 'noble savage' of North America all ensured a situation where the Scots, Irish, Welsh and English all wanted to know where they'd come from. The 7 Years War with France was over and Britain was on top of the world in 1763. One problem was that during the 18th century most of the knowledge and tools we have in the 21st century didn't exist. The antiquarians and intelligentsia such as Robert Lambe were hard pressed to supply the demanded ancient history their customers wanted. In 1760 a Scotsman named James MacPherson put forth a book supposedly containing the poems of a 3rd century blind Gaelic bard named Oisin. Demand was brisk, cuz Oisin seemed to be the Scottish Homer people were looking for. The English were not to be left behind and in 1765 Thomas Percy put forth "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry" (sp) Robert Lambe seems to have kept up a steady correspondence with Percy (both were in the clergy profession) from about Oct 17 1767 where he sent the Laidly Worm ballad (probably in fragments) to Percy. MacPherson had Oisin, and Lambe had Duncan Frasier, perfectly fluent in the 'Geordie' dialect apparently. |
Subject: RE: Lyr Add: The Laidley Worm of Spindleston-Heugh From: GUEST,Laidley Date: 02 Dec 06 - 12:27 PM The name, Laidley is very personal and comes from a long line of folk singers, whom favor a Martin D28 guitar as their instrument of choice. |
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