Earl Brand
Encyclopedia
Earl Brand is one of the Child ballads 7 (Roud
23). Legend claims it recounts a historical event.
, where the lovers succeed in their escape, and the fight scenes often have details in common across variants. Francis James Child
only reluctantly separated them, but concluded that because the lovers' assailents are her kin in Earl Brand and strangers in Erlinton, they were separate types.
Scandavian variants often have a detail that Child believed was originally contained but lost from the English ballad: the hero warns the heroine not to speak his name
, and when he is about to kill her last brother, she begs him by name to let the brother live to bear the news, and this causes his death. These variants include the Danish Ribold and Guldborg and Hildebrand and Hilde and the German Waltharius
and Þiðrekssaga.
Auld Carl Hood is also an old man in the Scandavian variants; he appears to be a malicious figure of Odin
or Woden
.
Many variants of this ballad end with flowers growing from the lovers' grave. This is a common motif for all manner of ballads having no other connection, such as Fair Margaret and Sweet William
, Lord Thomas and Fair Annet
, Fair Janet
, and Lord Lovel
, and in tales and ballads found throughout Europe and parts of Asia. This is found in the legend of Tristan and Iseult
, which is sometimes supposed to be the source, but there is no evidence for its being older in the romance
s than in the ballad.
drew upon a Danish ballad of this type for his "Meeting on the Turret Stairs", depicting the parting of the lovers before the fight.
Roud Folk Song Index
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of 300,000 references to over 21,600 songs that have been collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world...
23). Legend claims it recounts a historical event.
Synopsis
The hero, who may be Earl Brand, Lord Douglas, or Lord William, flees with the heroine, who may be Lady Margaret. A Carl Hood may betray them to her father, but they are always pursued. The hero kills the pursuers and is mortally wounded. He gets the heroine to his mother's house, but when he dies, she dies of sorrow.Commentary
This ballad has many similarities with Child ballad 8, ErlintonErlinton
"Erlinton" is Child ballad 8.One variant features Robin Hood, but this variant forces the folk hero into a ballad structure where he does not fit naturally.-Synopsis:...
, where the lovers succeed in their escape, and the fight scenes often have details in common across variants. Francis James Child
Francis James Child
Francis James Child was an American scholar, educator, and folklorist, best known today for his collection of folk songs known as the Child Ballads. Child was Boylston professor of rhetoric and oratory at Harvard University, where he produced influential editions of English poetry...
only reluctantly separated them, but concluded that because the lovers' assailents are her kin in Earl Brand and strangers in Erlinton, they were separate types.
Scandavian variants often have a detail that Child believed was originally contained but lost from the English ballad: the hero warns the heroine not to speak his name
True name
A true name is a name of a thing or being that expresses, or is somehow identical with, its true nature. The notion that language, or some specific sacred language, refers to things by their true names has been central to philosophical and grammatical study as well as various traditions of magic,...
, and when he is about to kill her last brother, she begs him by name to let the brother live to bear the news, and this causes his death. These variants include the Danish Ribold and Guldborg and Hildebrand and Hilde and the German Waltharius
Waltharius
Waltharius, a Latin poem founded on German popular tradition, relates the exploits of the west Gothic hero Walter of Aquitaine.-History:Our knowledge of the author, Ekkehard, a monk of St. Gall, is due to a later Ekkehard, known as Ekkehard IV , who gives some account of him in the Casus Sancti Galli...
and Þiðrekssaga.
Auld Carl Hood is also an old man in the Scandavian variants; he appears to be a malicious figure of Odin
Odin
Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz"....
or Woden
Woden
Woden or Wodan is a major deity of Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic polytheism. Together with his Norse counterpart Odin, Woden represents a development of the Proto-Germanic god *Wōdanaz....
.
Many variants of this ballad end with flowers growing from the lovers' grave. This is a common motif for all manner of ballads having no other connection, such as Fair Margaret and Sweet William
Fair Margaret and Sweet William
"Fair Margaret and Sweet William" or Lady Margaret or Lady Margaret and Sweet William is a folk song, collected by Francis James Child as Child ballad number 74...
, Lord Thomas and Fair Annet
Lord Thomas and Fair Annet
Lord Thomas and Fair Annet is an English folk ballad.-Synopsis:Lord Thomas is in love with Fair Annet, or Annie, or Elinor, but she has little property. He asks for advice. His father, mother, and brother advise that he should marry the nut-brown maid with a rich dowry...
, Fair Janet
Fair Janet
-Synopsis:Janet is in love with Willie, but her father insists on her marrying a French lord. They may attempt to flee, but she goes into labor and can not escape. She hands their baby to Willie, for his care, and he delivers the baby to his mother and goes to the wedding. Janet is ill and dies...
, and Lord Lovel
Lord Lovel
-Synopsis:A lord tells the lady he loves that he is going in a journey that will take several years. After a time, he longs to see her. He returns whereupon he hears of her death, and dies of grief....
, and in tales and ballads found throughout Europe and parts of Asia. This is found in the legend of Tristan and Iseult
Tristan and Iseult
The legend of Tristan and Iseult is an influential romance and tragedy, retold in numerous sources with as many variations. The tragic story is of the adulterous love between the Cornish knight Tristan and the Irish princess Iseult...
, which is sometimes supposed to be the source, but there is no evidence for its being older in the romance
Romance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
s than in the ballad.
Cultural uses
Frederick William BurtonFrederick William Burton
Sir Frederic William Burton RHA was an Irish painter born in Corofin, County Clare. He was the third director of the National Gallery, London.-Artistic career:...
drew upon a Danish ballad of this type for his "Meeting on the Turret Stairs", depicting the parting of the lovers before the fight.
External links
- "Scottish Ballads Online" Child Ballad #7: 'Earl Brand' Nine variants from Francis J Child's collection and a further two from the appendix and a link to versions from the living tradition.