Ballads of Mystery and Miracle and Fyttes of Mirth Part 31

8.

He drou hym selve bi the cop that al it lavede ablode: The Iewes out of Iurselem awenden he were wode.

8.

He drew himself by the head So that it all ran with blood, The Jews out of Jerusalem Thought he was mad.

9.

Foret hym com the riche Ieu that heiste Pilatus: 'Wolte sulle thi loverd that hette Iesus?'

9.

Forth to him came the rich Jew, That hight Pilatus; 'Wilt thou sell thy Lord, That hight Jesus?'

10.

'I nul sulle my loverd for nones cunnes eiste, Bote hit be for the thritti platen that he me bi taiste.'

10.

'I will not sell my Lord For no kind of goods, Except it be for the thirty plates That he entrusted to me.'

11.

'Wolte sulle thi lord Crist for enes cunnes golde?'

'Nay, bote hit be for the platen that he habben wolde.'

11.

'Wilt thou sell thy Lord Christ For any kind of gold?'

'Nay, except it be for the plates That he wished to have.'

12.

In him com ur lord gon as is postles seten at mete: 'Wou sitte ye, postles, ant wi nule ye ete?

Ic am iboust ant isold today for oure mete.'

12.

In came our Lord walking As his apostles sat at meat: 'How sit ye, apostles, And why will ye not eat?

I am bought and sold To-day for our meat.'

13.

Up stod him Iudas: 'Lord, am I that [frek]?

I nas never othe stude ther me the evel spec.'

13.

Up stood Judas: 'Lord, am I that man?

I was never in the place Where I spake evil of thee.'

14.

Up him stod Peter, ant spec wid al is miste: 'Thau Pilatus him come wid ten hundred cnistes, Yet Ic wolde, loverd, for thi love fiste.'

14.

Up stood Peter, And spoke with all his might: 'Though Pilate should come With ten hundred knights, Yet I would, Lord, For thy love fight.'

15.

'Still thou be, Peter; well I the icnowe; Thou wolt fur sake me thrien ar the coc him crowe.'

15.

'Still be thou, Peter; Well I thee know; Thou wilt forsake me thrice Ere the c.o.c.k crow.'

[Annotations: 1.1: 'Scere-thorsday,' the Thursday before Easter.

2.3 (paraphrase): 'plates,' pieces.

6.3: 'barm,' lap, bosom: cp. the romance of _King Horn_ (_E.E.T.S._, 1866), ll. 705-6, 'He fond Horn in arme On Rymenhilde barme.'

8.1: 'drou,' past tense of _draw_.

8.1 (paraphrase): _i.e._ he tore his hair.

12.1: 'gon' is infinitive; 'cam gon' = he came on foot, or perhaps at a foot-pace. This curious construction is only used with verbs of motion. Cp. the Homeric ? d? ?e?a?.

13.2: 'frek,' man: Skeat's suggestion.

13.3: 'nas' = ne was.]

THE MAID AND THE PALMER

+The Text+ is from the Percy Folio MS. The only other known text is a fragment from Sir Walter Scott's recollection, printed in C. K. Sharpe's _Ballad Book_.

+The Story+ is well known in the folklore of Europe, and is especially common in the Scandinavian languages. As a rule, however, all these ballads blend the story of the woman of Samaria with the traditions concerning Mary Magdalen that were extant in mediaeval times.

From the present ballad it could hardly be gathered (except, perhaps, from stanza 11) that the old palmer represents Christ. This point is at once obvious in the Scandinavian and other ballads.

The extraordinary burden in the English ballad is one of the most elaborate in existence, and is quite as inexplicable as any.

The expression 'to lead an ape in h.e.l.l' (14.2) occurs constantly in Elizabethan and later literature, always in connection with women who die, or expect to die, unmarried. Dyce says the expression 'never has been (and _never will be_) satisfactorily explained'; but it was suggested by Steevens that women who had no mate on earth should adopt in h.e.l.l an ape as a subst.i.tute.

THE MAID AND THE PALMER

1.

The maid shee went to the well to washe, _Lillumwham, Lillumwham_ The mayd shee went to the well to washe, _Whatt then, what then?_ The maid shee went to the well to washe, Dew ffell of her lilly white fleshe.

_Grandam boy, grandam boy, heye!_ _Leg a derry Leg a merry mett mer whoope whir_ _Drivance, Larumben, Grandam boy, heye!_

2.

White shee washed & white shee ronge, White shee hang'd o' the hazle wand.

3.

There came an old palmer by the way, Sais, 'G.o.d speed thee well, thou faire maid.

4.

'Hast either cupp or can, To give an old palmer drinke therin?'

5.

Sayes, 'I have neither cupp nor cann, To give an old palmer drinke therin.'